HOUSE COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE'S REPORT ON H.R. 4681

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00338R000300400019-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 28, 2008
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: August 30, 1984
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2008/08/28: CIA-RDP86B00338R000300400019-7 (
OLL 84-3334
30 August 1984
STAT
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Security
Attn:
Chief, Administration Law Division
Office of General Counsel
Chairman, Security Committee
Intelligence Community Staff
STAT FROM:
Chief, Legislation Division
Office of Legislative Liaison
SUBJECT: House Committee on Post Office and Civil
Service's Report on H.R. 4681
1. Attached for your information and review is the
House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service's report
(Rept. 98-691) on H.R. 4681, the Federal Polygraph Limitation
and Anti-Censorship Act of 1984. Not unexpectedly, the
Committee concludes that the polygraph is an unreliable tool
except in the narrow context of specific investigations into
criminal conduct, and that lifelong prepublication review
requirements are deleterious to informed public debate about
Government policy. The Committee continues to support the
exemption provided in the bill for CIA and NSA, since the
polygraph and prepublication review programs in existence at
these agencies have been subject to vigorous oversight by other
committees of Congress.
2. On page 50 of the attached report, the Committee notes
that they have been under pressure to grant exemptions to other
agencies. In considering these requests, the Committee
rejected an "Intelligence Community" exemption and arguments
that employees of agencies which share and have access to the
same information as CIA and NSA should be subject to the same
security requirements. In the Committee's view,.this argument
begs the key question of why an agency's functions or mission
warrant the infringement upon individual employee rights caused
by prepublication review and polygraph examinations. While the
Committee states that they will listen to additional requests
for exemption based on this key question, agencies are advised
that they must meet "a high burden of proof" to justify further
exemption.
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 Approved For Release 2008/08/28: CIA-RDP86B00338R000300400019-7
3. As you know, H.R. 4681 has been sequentially referred
to both the House Armed Services Committee and HPSCI, both of
which have scheduled hearings in September on this bill. We
will have an opportunity in both of these settings to address
the findings and conclusions contained in the attached report.
Distribution:
Original - Addressee
1 - C/ALD/OGC
1 - C/SECOM
1 - D/OLL (w/o att)
1 - DD/OLL (w/o att)
1 - OLL Chrono
1 - LEG Subject (Polygraph &
Prepublication)
1 - SWH Signer
OLL:LEG:SWH:sm (30 August 1984)
Approved For Release 2008/08/28: CIA-RDP86B00338R000300400019-7