Obama plan could limit records hidden from public

[babylonsister]

Obama plan could limit records hidden from public

By PETE YOST
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama plans to deal with a Dec. 31 deadline that automatically would declassify secrets in more than 400 million pages of Cold War-era documents by ordering government-wide changes that could sharply curb the number of new and old government records hidden from the public.

In an executive order the president is likely to sign before year's end, Obama will create a National Declassification Center to clear up the backlog of Cold War documents. But the order also will give everyone more time to process the 400 million pages rather than flinging them open at year's end without a second glance.

The order aimed at eliminating unnecessary secrecy also is expected to direct all agencies to revise their classification guides - the more than 2,000 separate and unique manuals used by federal agencies to determine what information should be classified and what no longer needs that protection. The manuals form the foundation of the government's classification system.

snip//

Obama's executive order will follow on the president's inauguration day initiatives on open government. On his first day in office, Obama instructed federal agencies to be more responsive to requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act and he overturned an order by President George W. Bush that would have enabled former presidents and vice presidents to block release of sensitive records of their time in the White House.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLASSIFIED_DOCUMENTS?SITE=CONGRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[girl gone mad]

1. k & r

something good, for a change.