Secrecy Versus Openness: New Proposed Arrangements for Balancing Competing Needs

Publication Date: October 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Media, telecommunications, and information

Type:

Abstract:

Disputes have arisen recently over whether or not to declassify portions of the sensitive content of reports resulting from congressional investigations and national commission inquiries into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the war in Iraq, and related matters. As a result, some have called for Congress to create a special mechanism for the impartial and expeditious resolution of such disputes (S. 2672/H.R. 4855; S. 2845 amendment), which may also facilitate better information sharing as recommended by the 9/11 Commission. In this regard, Congress has previously legislated special arrangements for the impartial and expeditious review of certain kinds of officially secret records with a view to making them available to the public. Such efforts at balancing legitimate competing needs for secrecy and openness are examined in this report, which will be updated as events warrant.