50 U.S.C. § 3348 — Reports relating to certain special access

Page 823 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3348 fairs of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007. § 3346. Compilation and organization of pre- viously declassified records (a), (b) Omitted (c) Compilation and organization of records The Department of Defense may not be re- quired, when conducting a special search, to compile or organize records that have already been declassified and placed into the public do- main. (d) Special searches For the purpose of this section, the term ‘‘spe- cial search’’ means the response of the Depart- ment of Defense to any of the following: (1) A statutory requirement to conduct a de- classification review on a specified set of agen- cy records. (2) An Executive order to conduct a declas- sification review on a specified set of agency records. (3) An order from the President or an official with delegated authority from the President to conduct a declassification review on a spec- ified set of agency records. (Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title X, § 1075], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–280.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This section, referred to in subsec. (d), is section 1075 of H.R. 5408 of the 106th Congress, as introduced on Oct. 6, 2000, and as enacted into law by section 1 of Pub. L. 106–398, Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654. See Codification note below. CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified as a note under sec- tion 435 of this title prior to editorial reclassification as this section. Section is comprised of section 1075 of H.R. 5408 of the 106th Congress, as introduced on Oct. 6, 2000, and as en- acted into law by section 1 of Pub. L. 106–398, Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654. Subsec. (a) of section 1075 amended former section 230 of Title 10, Armed Forces and subsec. (b) of section 1075 was not classified to the Code. § 3347. Secrecy agreements used in intelligence activities Notwithstanding any other provision of law not specifically referencing this section, a non- disclosure policy form or agreement that is to be executed by a person connected with the con- duct of an intelligence or intelligence-related activity, other than an employee or officer of the United States Government, may contain provisions appropriate to the particular activity for which such document is to be used. Such form or agreement shall, at a minimum— (1) require that the person will not disclose any classified information received in the course of such activity unless specifically au- thorized to do so by the United States Govern- ment; and (2) provide that the form or agreement does not bar— (A) disclosures to Congress; or (B) disclosures to an authorized official of an executive agency that are deemed essen- tial to reporting a violation of United States law. (Pub. L. 104–93, title III, § 306, Jan. 6, 1996, 109 Stat. 966.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified as a note under sec- tion 435 of this title prior to editorial reclassification as this section. § 3348. Reports relating to certain special access programs and similar programs (a) In general (1) Not later than February 1 of each year, the head of each covered department or agency shall submit to the congressional oversight commit- tees a report on each special access program car- ried out in the department or agency. (2) Each such report shall set forth— (A) the total amount requested by the de- partment or agency for special access pro- grams within the budget submitted under sec- tion 1105 of title 31 for the fiscal year fol- lowing the fiscal year in which the report is submitted; and (B) for each program in such budget that is a special access program— (i) a brief description of the program; (ii) in the case of a procurement program, a brief discussion of the major milestones es- tablished for the program; (iii) the actual cost of the program for each fiscal year during which the program has been conducted before the fiscal year during which that budget is submitted; and (iv) the estimated total cost of the pro- gram and the estimated cost of the program for (I) the current fiscal year, (II) the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted, and (III) each of the four succeeding fiscal years during which the program is expected to be conducted. (b) Newly designated programs (1) Not later than February 1 of each year, the head of each covered department or agency shall submit to the congressional oversight commit- tees a report that, with respect to each new spe- cial access program of that department or agen- cy, provides— (A) notice of the designation of the program as a special access program; and (B) justification for such designation. (2) A report under paragraph (1) with respect to a program shall include— (A) the current estimate of the total pro- gram cost for the program; and (B) an identification, as applicable, of exist- ing programs or technologies that are similar to the technology, or that have a mission similar to the technology, or that have a mis- sion similar to the mission, of the program that is the subject of the notice. (3) In this subsection, the term ‘‘new special access program’’ means a special access program that has not previously been covered in a notice and justification under this subsection. (c) Revision in classification of programs (1) Whenever a change in the classification of a special access program of a covered depart- Page 824 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3348 ment or agency is planned to be made or when- ever classified information concerning a special access program of a covered department or agen- cy is to be declassified and made public, the head of the department or agency shall submit to the congressional oversight committees a re- port containing a description of the proposed change or the information to be declassified, the reasons for the proposed change or declassifica- tion, and notice of any public announcement planned to be made with respect to the proposed change or declassification. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), a re- port referred to in paragraph (1) shall be sub- mitted not less than 14 days before the date on which the proposed change, declassification, or public announcement is to occur. (3) If the head of the department or agency de- termines that because of exceptional cir- cumstances the requirement of paragraph (2) cannot be met with respect to a proposed change, declassification, or public announce- ment concerning a special access program of the department or agency, the head of the depart- ment or agency may submit the report required by paragraph (1) regarding the proposed change, declassification, or public announcement at any time before the proposed change, declassifica- tion, or public announcement is made and shall include in the report an explanation of the ex- ceptional circumstances. (d) Revision of criteria for designating programs Whenever there is a modification or termi- nation of the policy and criteria used for desig- nating a program of a covered department or agency as a special access program, the head of the department or agency shall promptly notify the congressional oversight committees of such modification or termination. Any such notifica- tion shall contain the reasons for the modifica- tion or termination and, in the case of a modi- fication, the provisions of the policy as modi- fied. (e) Waiver of reporting requirement (1) The head of a covered department or agen- cy may waive any requirement under subsection (a), (b), or (c) that certain information be in- cluded in a report under that subsection if the head of the department or agency determines that inclusion of that information in the report would adversely affect the national security. Any such waiver shall be made on a case-by-case basis. (2) If the head of a department or agency exer- cises the authority provided under paragraph (1), the head of the department or agency shall provide the information described in that sub- section with respect to the special access pro- gram concerned, and the justification for the waiver, to the congressional oversight commit- tees. (f) Initiation of programs A special access program may not be initiated by a covered department or agency until— (1) the congressional oversight committees are notified of the program; and (2) a period of 30 days elapses after such noti- fication is received. (g) Definitions For purposes of this section: (1) Congressional oversight committees The term ‘‘congressional oversight commit- tees’’ means— (A) congressional leadership and author- izing and appropriations congressional com- mittees with jurisdiction or shared jurisdic- tion over a department or agency; (B) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and (C) the Committee on Oversight and Gov- ernment Reform of the House of Representa- tives. (2) Covered department or agency (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the term ‘‘covered department or agency’’ means any department or agency of the Fed- eral Government that carries out a special ac- cess program. (B) Such term does not include— (i) the Department of Defense (which is re- quired to submit reports on special access programs under section 119 of title 10); (ii) the National Nuclear Security Admin- istration (which is required to submit re- ports on special access programs under sec- tion 2426 of this title); or (iii) an agency in the Intelligence Commu- nity (as defined in section 3003(4) of this title). (3) Special access program The term ‘‘special access program’’ means any program that, under the authority of Ex- ecutive Order 12356 (or any successor Execu- tive order), is established by the head of a de- partment or agency whom the President has designated in the Federal Register as an origi- nal ‘‘secret’’ or ‘‘top secret’’ classification au- thority that imposes ‘‘need-to-know’’ controls or access controls beyond those controls nor- mally required (by regulations applicable to such department or agency) for access to in- formation classified as ‘‘confidential’’, ‘‘se- cret’’, or ‘‘top secret’’. (Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title XI, § 1152, Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1758; Pub. L. 106–65, div. C, title XXXII, § 3294(e)(2), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 970; Pub. L. 115–390, title I, § 103, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5177.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Executive Order 12356, referred to in subsec. (g)(3), is Ex. Ord. No. 12356, Apr. 2, 1982, 47 F.R. 14874, 15557, which prescribed a uniform system for classifying, de- classifying, and safeguarding national security infor- mation, and which was formerly set out as a note under section 435 (now section 3161) of this title, was revoked by Ex. Ord. No. 12958, § 6.1(d), Apr. 17, 1995, 60 F.R. 19843. CODIFICATION Section 103 of Pub. L. 115–390, which directed amend- ment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (50 U.S.C. 3348), was executed to this section, which is section 1152 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Pub. L. 103–160), to reflect the probable intent of Congress. See 2018 Amendment notes below. Section was formerly classified as a note under sec- tion 435 of this title prior to editorial reclassification as this section. Page 825 TITLE 50—WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE § 3348a AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsecs. (a) to (e). Pub. L. 115–390, § 103(1), sub- stituted ‘‘the congressional oversight committees’’ for ‘‘Congress’’ wherever appearing. See Codification note above. Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 115–390, § 103(2), substituted ‘‘congressional oversight committees’’ for ‘‘appropriate oversight committees’’. See Codification note above. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 115–390, § 103(3), added par. (1) and redesignated former pars. (1) and (2) as (2) and (3), re- spectively. See Codification note above. 1999—Subsec. (g)(1)(B)(ii). Pub. L. 106–65 amended cl. (ii) generally. Prior to amendment, cl. (ii) read as fol- lows: ‘‘the Department of Energy, with respect to spe- cial access programs carried out under the atomic en- ergy defense activities of that department (for which the Secretary of Energy is required to submit reports under section 2122a of title 42); or’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Sixteenth Con- gress, Jan. 9, 2019. Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representa- tives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eight- eenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1999 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 106–65 effective Mar. 1, 2000, see section 3299 of Pub. L. 106–65, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2401 of this title. § 3348a. Congressional oversight of sensitive pro- grams not covered by other provisions of law (a) Reports required (1) In general Not later than February 1 of each year, the head of each covered element shall submit to congressional leadership a report on each cov- ered program carried out by that covered ele- ment. (2) Contents Each such report shall set forth— (A) the total amount requested by the cov- ered element for covered programs within the budget submitted under section 1105 of title 31 for the fiscal year following the fis- cal year in which the report is submitted; and (B) for each program in such budget that is a covered program— (i) a brief description of the program; (ii) in the case of a procurement pro- gram, a brief discussion of the major mile- stones established for the program; (iii) the actual cost of the program for each fiscal year during which the program has been conducted before the fiscal year during which that budget is submitted; and (iv) the estimated total cost of the pro- gram and the estimated cost of the pro- gram for— (I) the current fiscal year; (II) the fiscal year for which the budg- et is submitted; and (III) each of the four succeeding fiscal years during which the program is ex- pected to be conducted. (b) Newly designated programs (1) In general Not later than February 1 of each year, the head of each covered element shall submit to congressional leadership a report that, with respect to each new covered program of that covered element, provides— (A) notice of the designation of the pro- gram as a special access program; and (B) justification for such designation. (2) Contents A report under paragraph (1) with respect to a program shall include— (A) the current estimate of the total pro- gram cost for the program; and (B) an identification, as applicable, of ex- isting programs or technologies that are similar to the technology, or that have a mission similar to the technology, or that have a mission similar to the mission, of the program that is the subject of the notice. (3) New covered program defined In this subsection, the term ‘‘new covered program’’ means a covered program that has not previously been covered in a notice and justification under this subsection. (c) Revision in classification of programs (1) In general Whenever a change in the classification of a covered program of a covered element is planned to be made or whenever classified in- formation concerning a covered program of a covered element is to be declassified and made public, the head of the covered element shall submit to congressional leadership a report containing a description of the proposed change or the information to be declassified, the reasons for the proposed change or declas- sification, and notice of any public announce- ment planned to be made with respect to the proposed change or declassification. (2) Period for submittal Except as provided in paragraph (3), a report referred to in paragraph (1) shall be submitted not less than 14 days before the date on which the proposed change, declassification, or pub- lic announcement is to occur. (3) Exception If the head of the covered element deter- mines that because of exceptional cir- cumstances the requirement of paragraph (2) cannot be met with respect to a proposed change, declassification, or public announce- ment concerning a covered program of the covered element, the head of the department or agency may submit the report required by paragraph (1) regarding the proposed change, declassification, or public announcement at any time before the proposed change, declas- sification, or public announcement is made and shall include in the report an explanation of the exceptional circumstances. (d) Revision of criteria for designating programs Whenever there is a modification or termi- nation of the policy and criteria used for desig- nating a program of a covered element as a cov-