Presidential Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information Releases Report and Recommendations

Release Date: December 15, 2009 For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary

Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder announce dedicated offices to support threat-based information sharing and reporting between all levels of government

Report and Recommendations of the Presidental Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information (PDF - 50 pages, 1.25 MB)

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder today announced two major steps in their efforts to implement reforms to enhance information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and safeguard sensitive information used by the government—designed to expand joint capabilities to protect the United States from terrorist activity, violent crime and other threats to the homeland.

The Presidential Interagency Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), led by Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder, today released a report recommending a single, standardized framework for marking, safeguarding and disseminating sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information across the federal government. SBU information refers collectively to the various designations for documents and information that are sufficiently sensitive to warrant some level of protection but that do not meet the standards for classification. Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder also announced the creation of dual Program Management Offices (PMOs) to coordinate support for state and local Fusion Centers and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI), housed within DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ), respectively, to work in partnership to enhance information sharing between federal, state, local and tribal agencies and the private sector. Coupled with the CUI framework, these new offices represent a significant milestone toward fully implementing information sharing reforms called for following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"Our review of policies and procedures for access to and sharing of sensitive but unclassified information across the U.S. Government revealed a need for a more open, standardized approach," said Secretary Napolitano. “The task force recommendations, coupled with newly-dedicated federal-wide resources to support Fusion Centers, will improve information sharing, transparency and engagement with our partners in state and local law enforcement as we work together to combat terrorism, violent crime and other dangerous threats to the homeland."

"Our recommendations will allow the federal government to be more open and transparent while still meeting our first priority of keeping the American people safe," said Attorney General Holder. "By streamlining and modernizing the system for designating, marking and handling sensitive information, we can achieve the appropriate balance between the public’s right to access information and the government's imperative to maintain the security and privacy of all Americans."

Both announcements reflect the Obama administration's commitment to improving the ability of federal state, local and tribal governments as well as the private sector to gather, analyze, share and utilize information in order to protect communities from violent crime including terrorism, while protecting the privacy and civil rights of Americans.

The Task Force report proposes 40 actions intended to mitigate current inconsistencies among SBU information policies in federal agencies by simplifying and consolidating procedures—intended to enhance standardization, information sharing, government transparency, and protection of information only where there is a compelling requirement to do so. The recommendations also seek to balance the imperatives of protecting legitimate security, law enforcement, privacy and civil liberties interests.

The Task Force was directed to review the ongoing efforts of the CUI Council, which was established by a 2008 Presidential Memorandum, and its ongoing efforts to establish a CUI Framework for terrorism-related information. One significant recommendation in the report would expand the scope of the CUI Framework to the designation, marking, safeguarding and dissemination of all SBU information.

The new PMOs will work jointly to provide sustained funding and personnel support to 72 state and local Fusion Centers nationwide and provide training and resources to frontline law enforcement officials to better document activities possibly linked to terrorism through NSI, a DHS-DOJ collaboration designed to detect, analyze and share intelligence about suspicious behavior and other indicators while protecting privacy and civil liberties.

The Fusion Center and NSI PMOs will establish strong cross-linkages, including the exchange of senior-level specialists and management personnel, and joint program performance measures in order to ensure efficient oversight and coordination of current initiatives and successfully facilitate ongoing efforts to build and develop the Information Sharing Environment.

State and major urban area Fusion Centers help fulfill key recommendations of the 9/11 Commission by providing critical links for information sharing between and across all levels of government. NSI operates in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major City Chiefs, Major County Sheriffs, and other state, local and tribal partners to gather, blend and analyze information gathered from local law enforcement about suspicious activity.

There are more than 100 different SBU markings and handling procedures currently in use across the federal government. The report recommends that all SBU markings be replaced with one, simplified set of markings—"CUI"—which will be standardized under the CUI Framework. Additional recommendations include simplifying the definition of CUI; clarifying that CUI markings have no bearing on releases either under the Freedom of Information Act or to Congress; and phasing in implementation of the expanded scope of the CUI Framework.

President Obama initiated the review on May 27 with a Presidential Memorandum directing Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder to lead a 90-day review of current procedures for categorizing and sharing SBU information. If implemented, the recommendations would revise the 2008 Presidential Memorandum that established the CUI Framework for handling and disseminating CUI information.

The Task Force, which involved senior representatives from 12 federal agencies, met with representatives both within and outside the information sharing environment; state, local and tribal partners; privacy and open government organizations; and members of Congress. The Task Force also analyzed previous studies of SBU and the efforts of the CUI Council.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-ag-1341.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Presidential Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information Releases Report and Recommendations

WASHINGTON— Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced two major steps in their efforts to implement reforms to enhance information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and safeguard sensitive information used by the government—designed to expand joint capabilities to protect the United States from terrorist activity, violent crime and other threats to the homeland.

The Presidential Interagency Task Force on Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), led by Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano, today released a report recommending a single, standardized framework for marking, safeguarding and disseminating sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information across the federal government. SBU information refers collectively to the various designations for documents and information that are sufficiently sensitive to warrant some level of protection but that do not meet the standards for classification.

Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano also announced the creation of dual Program Management Offices (PMOs) to coordinate support for state and local Fusion Centers and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI), housed within DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ), respectively, to work in partnership to enhance information sharing between federal, state, local and tribal agencies and the private sector. Coupled with the CUI framework, these new offices represent a significant milestone toward fully implementing information sharing reforms called for following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Our recommendations will allow the federal government to be more open and transparent while still meeting our first priority of keeping the American people safe,” said Attorney General Holder. “By streamlining and modernizing the system for designating, marking and handling sensitive information, we can achieve the appropriate balance between the public’s right to access information and the government’s imperative to maintain the security and privacy of all Americans.”

“Our review of policies and procedures for access to and sharing of sensitive but unclassified information across the U.S. Government revealed a need for a more open, standardized approach,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The task force recommendations, coupled with newly-dedicated federal-wide resources to support Fusion Centers, will improve information sharing, transparency and engagement with our partners in state and local law enforcement as we work together to combat terrorism, violent crime and other dangerous threats to the homeland.”

Both announcements reflect the Obama administration’s commitment to improving the ability of federal state, local and tribal governments as well as the private sector to gather, analyze, share and utilize information in order to protect communities from violent crime including terrorism, while protecting the privacy and civil rights of Americans.

There are more than 100 different SBU markings and handling procedures currently in use across the federal government. The report recommends that all SBU markings be replaced with one, simplified set of markings—”CUI”—which will be standardized under the CUI Framework. Additional recommendations include simplifying the definition of CUI; clarifying that CUI markings have no bearing on releases either under the Freedom of Information Act or to Congress; and phasing in implementation of the expanded scope of the CUI Framework.

President Obama initiated the review on May 27 with a Presidential Memorandum directing Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano to lead a 90-day review of current procedures for categorizing and sharing SBU information. If implemented, the recommendations would revise the 2008 Presidential Memorandum that established the CUI Framework for handling and disseminating CUI information.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov or www.justice.gov. The report can be found online at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/cui_task_force_rpt.pdf

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-nation-of-islam17-2009dec17,0,2859532.story

“Homeland Security rescinds Nation of Islam intelligence analysis”

SNIPPET: “The Department of Homeland Security withdraws a 2007 analysis after deciding it broke rules on information collection.”

By Sebastian Rotella
December 17, 2009

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/16/AR2009121604096.html

washingtonpost.com > Nation > National Security News

“Documents show DHS improperly spied on Nation of Islam in 2007”
By Spencer S. Hsu and Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, December 17, 2009

SNIPPET: “The intelligence gathering violated domestic spying rules because analysts took longer than 180 days to determine whether the U.S-based group or its American members posed a terrorist threat. Analysts also disseminated their report too broadly, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group.

The disclosure was included in hundreds of heavily redacted pages released by the Justice Department as part of long-standing FOIA lawsuits about the government’s policies on terrorist surveillance, detention and treatment since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It marks the latest case of inappropriate domestic spying under rules that were expanded after the terror attacks to give intelligence agencies more latitude.”

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blog:

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/199671

“Wolf Turns Up the Heat on Black Panther Case”
JENNIFER RUBIN - 12.17.2009 - 3:58 PM

SNIPPET: “Rep. Frank Wolf turned up the heat on the Justice Department yesterday, introducing a Resolution of Inquiry that recounts the degree to which the Justice Department has stonewalled on efforts to find out why a serious case of voter intimidation was dismissed. Wolf wants the attorney general to hand over to the House all information relating to the dismissal of the case United States v. New Black Panther Party, the egregious voter-intimidation case that was captured on videotape. “

Note: Contact Info and phone number removed by me.

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://wolf.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=34&parentid=6&sectiontree=6,34&itemid=1500

Wolf Continues to Push for Answers on Voter Intimidation Case
Thursday December 17, 2009

WOLF CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR ANSWERS ON VOTER INTIMIDATION CASE

Washington, D.C. - As part of his ongoing effort to get answers as to why the Justice Department dismissed a voter intimidation case in Philadelphia involving members of the New Black Panther Party, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) today announced that he has introduced a measure that would require the House Judiciary Committee to deal with the issue.

Wolf also announced that he had language inserted in the annual spending bill that funds the Justice Department requiring that its Office of Professional Responsibility provide the results of the investigation it is conducting surrounding the dismissal the case to the House Appropriations Committee. Wolf, the top Republican on the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee, and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, requested the investigation earlier this year.

Wolf introduced a Resolution of Inquiry on Wednesday and it has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Under House rules, committees must take action on resolutions of inquiry within 14 legislative days. Wolf’s resolution directs the U.S. attorney general to provide Congress will “all information” relating to the decision to dismiss the case. The committee must vote the resolution up or down.

Wolf has written the attorney general six times seeking answers and has yet to receive a response from him. He also has written DOJ’s inspector general seeking answers.

“I regret that Congress must resort to oversight resolutions as a means to receive information about the dismissal of this case, but the Congress and the American people have a right to know why this case was not prosecuted,” Wolf said in a statement introducing the measure.

Below is Wolf’s complete statement:

“I rise today to introduce a Resolution of Inquiry directing the attorney general to transmit to the House all information relating to the decision to dismiss an important voter intimidation case, United States v. New Black Panther Party. The case sought to enforce Voting Rights Act statutes against members of the New Black Panther Party that threatened Philadelphia voters — both verbally and physically — last year.

“This case was inexplicably dismissed earlier this year — over the ardent objections of the career attorneys overseeing the case as well as the department’s own appeal office.

“As ranking Republican member of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, I take oversight of the department very seriously.

“I also strongly support voting rights protections. In 1981, I was the only member — Republican or Democrat — of the Virginia delegation in the House to vote for the Voting Rights Act and was harshly criticized by the editorial page of the Richmond Times Dispatch, and when I supported its reauthorization in 2006, I was criticized again by editorial pages.

“Time and again over the last year, the department has stonewalled any effort to learn about the decision to dismiss this case. I have written Attorney General Holder on six occasions asking for an explanation for the dismissal of this case. To date, I have received no response from him.

“I wrote the DOJ inspector general to request a review of this decision. He deferred to the Office of Professional Responsibility - which reports directly to the attorney general. I have written the Office of Professional Responsibility seeking information on its investigation. The Office has refused to share any information.

“In fact, the only response I have received - from a legislative affairs staffer - was woefully incomplete and - in places - inaccurate.

“Two months ago, I met with House Judiciary Chairman Conyers to ask for his assistance in obtaining this information, but he has yet to take any action. This is a shameful failure to provide necessary congressional oversight.

“It is not only Congress that is being stonewalled by the attorney general. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has repeatedly sought this same information, in fulfillment of its statutory responsibility to ensure the enforcement of civil rights law.

“After being similarly rebuffed, the commission filed subpoenas with the department for this information as well as to interview the career attorneys that handled the case.

“However, we understand that the attorney general has instructed his department to ignore these subpoenas. The nation’s chief law enforcement officer is forcing these career attorneys to choose between complying with the law and complying with the attorney general’s obstruction.

“At least one of the attorneys has been compelled to obtain private counsel.

“I urge the House Judiciary Committee to report this resolution out favorably and to demand that the attorney general answer the questions surrounding this case. The career attorneys and Appellate Division within the department sought to demonstrate the federal government’s commitment to protecting voting rights by vigorously prosecuting any individual or group that seeks to undermine this right.

“This House must not turn a blind eye to the attorney general’s obstruction. He has an obligation to answer the legitimate questions of the House and the Civil Rights Commission. It is imperative that we protect the right of all Americans to vote — the sacrosanct and inalienable right of any democracy.”

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