STATEMENT OF DAVID O. COOKE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY (ADMINISTRATION), OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; ACCOMPANIED BY J. J. LIEBLING, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY (SECURITY POLICY), OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER; MAJ. GEN. J. J. CODY, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION SERVICES, DEFENSE SUPPLY AGENCY; AND ROBERT ANDREWS, GENERAL COUNSEL'S OFFICE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Mr. COOKE. Mr. Chairman, I also have with me an old friend of the subcommittee, Mr. Robert Andrews of the General Counsel's Office. Mr. Chairman, we welcome the opportunity to describe our progress in the Department of Defense in implementing Executive Order 11652. As you know, I have a short statement, accompanied by a detailed progress report and with your permission, sir, I would like to summarize the highlights of the short statement and request your indulgence in putting both the statement and the addendum in their entirety into the record.

Mr. MOORHEAD. Without objection, that will be done.

[Mr. Cooke's prepared statement, together with the addendum follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DAVID O. COOKE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (ADMINISTRATION), OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

INTRODUCTION

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, the Department

of Defense welcomes the opportunity to describe its progress in imple

menting Executive Order 11652.

As you requested, I am also prepared to discuss the bill, H. R. 12004, being considered here today. However, because the Department has furnished a report on this proposed legislation to the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations, I will not in my statement, cover the Department's position in line by line detail. Rather, I will comment on the principal features of the proposed bill which are of major concern to the Department. Concerning your request for information on the Defense Industrial Security Program, I have with me Major General Joseph J. Cody, Jr., Deputy Director, Contract Administration Services, Defense Supply Agency, who is prepared to present that information and respond to your questions.

Attached to the copies of my statement which have been provided to the Subcommittee, is a detailed progress report of the Department of Defense's implementation of Executive Order 11652 and its companion National Security Council Directive. With the

Chairman's permission, I ask that this addendum be entered in the

record together with my statement.

OBSERVATIONS

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At the outset, I would like to make a few observations which

I believe may give you a clearer understanding of the views I will express this morning on our progress and on the pending legislation. It is axiomatic that classification in the first instance requires the exercise of reasonable judgment by reasonable people. It is the decision made by the classifier which will determine how much classified information and material must be carried in inventories, how much of our manpower and dollars must be devoted to safeguarding and associated administration, and most importantly, how much information is made available to the public concerning the affairs of

government.

The Department of Defense, with its more than 3 million people employed in over 1100 major activities worldwide creates more classified information and material than all other Departments and Agencies of the Executive Branch combined. I would hasten to point out however, that this great volume of classified material derives from the mission of the Department, the worldwide disposition of its elements and the sensitivity of its national and international operations. Of greater importance to understanding however, is the fact that even this great

volume of classified material constitutes less than 5% of the total

official records created by the Department.

This percentage figure

is based on a recent sampling of Defense messages electrically transmitted worldwide annually. The figure may be somewhat higher when we

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consider all other documentation handled by the Department but we do not believe it to be much higher.

In other words, the overwhelming majority of the Department's official records are unclassified. The public now has access to these, unless they are withheld for reasons other than security classification specified in the Freedom of Information Act. As for knowledge of Defense operations, the public is provided, on a daily basis, with press releases and briefings, publications of rules and regulations affecting the general public, notices of contract awards, publication of articles by Defense authors in technical and scientific journals and wide dissemination of scientific and technical papers in the national and international communities. Other means of keeping the Congress and the public informed include Defense participation in symposiums and seminars, appearances before Congressional Committees and public speeches by Defense officials and the many responses to queries on Defense activities from your constituents.

We share the Congress' concern that information about Defense policies, practices, and operations be given the widest possible dissemination, subject only to the restraints imposed by national security. To improve on our record, we are continually striving to reduce classification in the first instance, eliminate over classification and accelerate downgrading and declassification.

BACKGROUND

From an examination of the legislation being considered by

the Subcommittee, the primary concern of the Congress appears to be over government actions which tend to inhibit the free flow of infor

mation between the Government and its citizens.

In the past, the system of security classification allowed too many papers to be classified for too long a time. To deal with this problem, a comprehensive study was initiated in January 1971 with a view to achieving a better balance between the two competing principles of informing the public and of preserving confidentiality. This study

culminated in the issuance of Executive Order 11652.

Executive Order 11652, which became effective on June 1, 1972, established within the Executive Branch, a new and progressive system for the classification and declassification of official information relating to the national security. The term "national security," as used in the Order and throughout this statement, encompasses both foreign

relations and national defense.

The Order and the implementing National Security Council Directive have been in operation for two years. They are well known

to you. I will mention only their most significant features: