Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said they are encouraged by programs within the Intelligence Community to automate the declassification review process and welcome the move of Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines to recognize the risks posed by deficiencies in the current classification system to national security.
“We agree with the DNI that efforts such as these need to be better prioritized and funded, Wyden and Moran said in a joint statement published Thursday.
“There must also be a process by which the most effective modernization processes are identified as best practices and applied across the government,” they added.
Haines, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, responded to an October 2021 letter by the lawmakers regarding the need to reform the U.S. declassification system. She also provided examples of declassification efforts that are underway within the IC.
The lawmakers also called for reforms of executive orders that govern classification and declassification.
“We have asked the DNI to coordinate with the National Security Council to make needed updates and we intend to reach out to the Administration to address this critically important reform,” Moran and Wyden noted.
