A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation to reform the federal security classification system to minimize overclassification and prevent the mishandling of sensitive government documents.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement published Wednesday that the Classification Reform Act of 2023 would designate the director of national intelligence as the “executive agent for classification and declassification” of national security information.
According to Wyden, it is highly important to “put someone in charge of modernizing the system so that records are tracked and then declassified and released when appropriate.”
“It is also critical that the rules that govern declassification of records be updated and strengthened and that the entities responsible for oversight of the system be empowered,” he added.
The legislation would: ensure that information remains classified when national security concerns outweigh the public interest, set a 25-year maximum period for classification and require a security review of presidential and vice presidential records.
