Congressman Bennie Thompson pushing CORRECT Act to cut costs, improve security

New bill aims to reduce over-classification to cut costs, improve security

A new bill has been introduced by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) that aims to reduce U.S. government over-classification in order to improve information sharing, cut costs, and improve overall national security. The government spends more than $11 billion classifying more than 80 million documents annually.

The bill, the Clearance and Over-Classification Reform and Reduction Act or CORRECT Act, also aims to improve government transparency and improve background investigations for people who hold security clearances.

The ballooning volume of classified material now requires more than five million people to hold security clearances — an unwieldy arrangement that is both costly, limits legitimate public oversight, and has led to the creation of potentially invasive programs to monitor people who hold security clearances, the Congressmen said….

…“By fostering a culture within the government that meaningfully addresses over-classification and the over-designation of positions requiring security clearances, we can save taxpayer dollars and promote information sharing and, ultimately, a more open government,” said Rep. Thompson, the Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

GSNMagazine
7/30/14