FAS

Public Input Sought on Classification Reform

06.25.09 | 1 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

At the request of the National Security Advisor, a public meeting has been scheduled for July 8 to solicit public comments and recommendations concerning proposed revisions to executive branch classification and declassification policies.  The meeting was announced in a June 23 Federal Register notice.

The Public Interest Declassification Board, which is hosting the July 8 meeting, will also launch a new blog next week to solicit public recommendations online.  The blog will sequentially consider four areas: declassification policy, creation of a National Declassification Center, classification policy, and technology challenges and opportunities.  Discussion of each topic will continue for three days, before moving to the next topic.

Meanwhile, an experimental and somewhat erratic White House process for gathering public input on transparency and openness has entered its third phase, intended to draft “constructive proposals” for advancing open government.

publications
See all publications
Environment
Press release
Position on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Proposal to Revoke the Endangerment Finding

Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed revoking its 2009 “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases pose a substantial threat to the public. The Federation of American Scientists stands in strong opposition.

07.30.25 | 2 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Terminal Patients Need Better Access to Drugs and Clinical Trial Information

Modernizing ClinicalTrials.gov will empower patients, oncologists, and others to better understand what trials are available, where they are available, and their up-to-date eligibility criteria, using standardized search categories to make them more easily discoverable.

07.30.25 | 18 min read
read more
Environment
Press release
Position on the Cool Corridors Act of 2025

The Federation of American Scientists supports H.R. 4420, the Cool Corridors Act of 2025, which would reauthorize the Healthy Streets program through 2030 and seeks to increase green and other shade infrastructure in high-heat areas. 

07.29.25 | 1 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
Blog
What’s Progress and What’s Not in the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan

The current lack of public trust in AI risks inhibiting innovation and adoption of AI systems, meaning new methods will not be discovered and new benefits won’t be felt. A failure to uphold high standards in the technology we deploy will also place our nation at a strategic disadvantage compared to our competitors.

07.28.25 | 6 min read
read more