On the recordDecember 19, 2012
I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 3564, the Public Interest Declassification Board Act, reauthorizes the Public Interest Declassification Board, or PIDB, for an additional 2 years. Without congressional action, the PIDB will sunset on December 31, 2012. The PIDB is an advisory committee tasked with improving and modernizing the process used to classify and declassify government information. The volume of classified information has skyrocketed in recent years, due to the rapid increase in electronic communications, as well as an institutional bias that prefers overclassification as a risk-avoidance strategy. Over classification can unduly hinder much- needed public transparency and the ability to rapidly share information across the government. The chief goals of the PIDB are to help develop effective modern standards and processes for classification and declassification to address the problems by overclassification and promote the fullest possible public access to national security records through efficient and timely declassification systems. S. 3564 will further the cause of transparency by maintaining an expert advisory group to ensure the executive branch is classifying and declassifying records in a timely and responsible manner. I reserve the balance of my time.
