Report: 526 million pages set for declassification remain secret

By The Associated Press

12.07.01

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WASHINGTON — About 526 million pages of secret government documents subject to automatic declassification laws have not been released, according to a government report issued yesterday.

The Information Security Oversight Office also found that the government dramatically slowed the declassification of secret documents during fiscal year 2000.

During that period, the government released 75 million pages of secret documents, down from 127 million pages during the previous 12 months. The fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

The report attributes the heightened secrecy to the growing number of government e-mails that contain sensitive information.

Steven Garfinkel, director of the security office, said the e-mails contained information that was once spoken over secure phone lines.

The report suggests that the Information Security Oversight Office continue to devise guidelines on how agencies should evaluate the e-mails.

Among the report's other findings:

• The CIA declassified 5 million pages in 2000 — a record high for the agency.
• The total annual estimated cost of protecting classified information in government and industry was $5.2 billion — an increase of $200 million.
• Almost 795 million pages have been declassified since 1995, when President Clinton signed an order that forces the government to declassify documents automatically after 25 years unless they pose a threat to national security.

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