The House passed legislation Tuesday from Rep. Steve Driehaus - his first - that seeks to make unclassified information more accessible



His bill would direct the archivist of the United States to issue rules for how to classify documents using the same system across agencies. It also would require federal inspector general offices to audit how documents are being classified. "We should make it as easy as possible for taxpayers to know exactly what their government is doing," Driehaus said. Senegal RPCV Steve Driehaus was elected to Congress in 2008. Driehaus had served in the Ohio House of Representatives since 2001 and has served as Minority Whip since 2005.

The House passed legislation Tuesday from Rep. Steve Driehaus - his first - that seeks to make unclassified information more accessible

Driehaus bill on access to documents moves up

By Malia Rulon • mrulon@enquirer.com •

March 18, 2009

WASHINGTON - The House passed legislation Tuesday from Rep. Steve Driehaus - his first - that seeks to make unclassified information more accessible.
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Each U.S. department or agency currently has its own system for restricting access to certain unclassified documents.

"There are over 107 different classifications for documents: For Your Eyes Only, Top Secret, Super Top Secret. The whole idea here is that there has to be some uniformity about what the classifications are and what qualifies for a document to be put into a certain classification," said Driehaus, a Democrat from Price Hill.

His bill would direct the archivist of the United States to issue rules for how to classify documents using the same system across agencies.

It also would require federal inspector general offices to audit how documents are being classified.

"We should make it as easy as possible for taxpayers to know exactly what their government is doing," Driehaus said.

Similar legislation from Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., passed the House in August, but it wasn't considered in the Senate.

Driehaus said he has been in touch with the Obama administration about the measure and that "the White House is very supportive," which could help get consideration in the Senate.

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Headlines: March, 2009; RPCV Steve Driehaus (Senegal); RPCV Steve Driehaus (Senegal); Peace Corps Senegal; Directory of Senegal RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Senegal RPCVs; Congress; Politics; FOIA; Ohio

When this story was posted in March 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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