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A policy of responsible openness is an important
priority for DOE in the years ahead. Such a policy is a necessary ingredient
in restoring public confidence in the Department. By assuring improved and
focused protection of those subject areas that truly require classification
(such as design information for nuclear weapons), the policy can enhance
protection of national security. Moreover, by encouraging a free interchange
in ideas in appropriate areas, such a policy can improve DOE's capacity
to involve the country's best scientists and engineers at a time when the
Department's mission and that of its laboratories is changing. And it can
enable important efficiency improvements and can promote informed public
debate on important policy issues.
In recognition of these many benefits, Secretary O'Leary announced in late1993
that the Department had commenced aggressive efforts to lift the veil of
Cold War secrecy that has surrounded many of the Department's activities.
She announced that the Department would declassify significant amounts of
information that had previously been withheld from the public on groundsof
national security. She authorized the release of information of pressing
public interest, such as information about past nuclear tests; commenced
a Fundamental Classification Review to reexamine the rules governing classification;
prepared a draft rule on classification matters; sought a review of classification
issues from the National Academy of Sciences; and established the Openness
Advisory Panel of SEAB, among other actions. These are significant accomplishments
that lay the foundation for further advances in the years ahead.
For more information on the Openness Advisory Panel, please
contact:
Richard Burrow
Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, AB-1
U.S. Department of Energy, AB-1
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585
(202) 586-7092
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