‘We’re Not Even in the Right Century’: Senators Unveil Bipartisan Reforms to Security-Classification System

A bipartisan group of senators announced on Wednesday a robust set of reforms to the federal security-classification system after a series of classified-document debacles, including leaks of sensitive information pertaining to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by a Massachusetts airman.

Senate Intelligence chairman Mark Warner (D., Va.) was flanked by Senators John Cornyn (R., Texas), Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), and Jerry Moran (R., Kan.) to announce the two bills.

“A lot of this effort started when we were looking at the challenges with the Trump, Biden, and Pence documents,” explained Cornyn, referring to the classified documents that have been discovered in the personal residences of the three executives.

Warner explained that while the authority of the president to declassify documents is not being challenged here, the four senators plan to create a formal step in which an archivist comes in to make sure classified documents are not improperly marked as personal documents in the “mad rush to get things boxed up” that occurs at the end of an administration.

“If any of these individuals did not have an intent to take something inappropriate, this process would have solved that problem,” Warner added.

According to Wyden, a longtime privacy advocate, “every single day more and more classified records are created and build into a digital tsunami that basically overwhelms the declassification system.” He explained that it costs $18 billion to operate this “mess,” with agencies often unable to find documents and communicate with one another.

“In 2023, documents actually have to be printed out and walked around town to get everybody to sign off before they’re declassified. We’re not even in the right century with respect to technology on these crucial issues,” Wyden said, adding that while change may not go over too well, both privacy and national security are at stake. According to the Oregon senator, he and Moran received a letter from director of national intelligence Avril Haines who concurred that the system as it currently exists is not serving anyone.

Whereas the findings of the 1997 Moynihan report on government secrecy were largely shelved, the senators promised real reform with these bills.

The first bill — the Classification Reform Act of 2023 — designates the director of national intelligence as the point person to lead a whole-of-government reform. It requires that information only take on a classification level if it passes a test where the need to classify outweighs the public-interest right to know. The bill enforces a maximum 25-year period for classification unless the president or an agency head intervenes to extend classification beyond that period. It also creates financial incentives that effectively tax agencies based on how many records they classify. Those proceeds then go to bettering technology solutions for classification and declassification.

To avoid another situation analogous to the Jack Teixeira leaks, minimum standards for insider threats programs would be instituted so that an insider cannot walk out the door with classified documents.

“If you have by default virtually everything classified, that ability to keep that level of security high goes down,” explained Warner, adding that there will also be continuous vetting.

“Four million [persons with security clearances] seems crazy,” explained Cornyn. “If we can reduce the number of classified documents in a rational way that protects our national security and increase the public’s access to information about what the government is doing on their behalf…there should be an opportunity to reduce the number of people with security clearances and address the backlog,” he added, referring to the often years-long process to attain security clearances in certain agencies.

The second bill — the Sensible Classification Act of 2023 — promotes more efficient declassification and expands oversight by adding staff to the Public Interest Declassification Board. It also directs the federal government to develop better technological solutions for classification and declassification and also study the number and types of security clearances.

Cornyn also addressed some of the reasons as to why over-classification might occur. “To classify information which could potentially be embarrassing or jeopardizing to one’s advancement in their career is just a natural human instinct,” he said. Additionally, Cornyn explained he’s attended classified briefings where the information given was also being reported on TV and in major newspapers. The Texas senator argued the intelligence community can become lackadaisical protecting sensitive information generally when a good portion of it can be obtained by any reasonably informed person.

Wyden reiterated that sources and other sensitive information that needs to be classified will remain so. “It’s a lot easier to protect important secrets when you’re not acting like everything is a secret,” Wyden said.

“We’re a better country than what this system allows us to be,” Moran added.