Block the Pentagon's Proposal to Gut FOIA Oversight

As your constituent, I am writing to demand that you protect democratic transparency by blocking the Department of Defense's proposal to create a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption for "Controlled Unclassified Information" (CUI). The Pentagon is asking Congress for broad new authority to withhold unclassified records whenever it unilaterally determines they concern national defense "vulnerabilities." This is a dangerous expansion of secrecy at an agency that desperately needs public oversight. Why this proposal is harmful: - It weaponizes an administrative tag: CUI was created solely to standardize how sensitive unclassified records are handled internally, not to shield them from the public. As the National Archives confirmed, CUI does not override FOIA. Greg Williams at the Project on Government Oversight noted internal Pentagon guidance has long been "when in doubt, mark it as CUI." This proposal turns an already-abused label into a legal shield. - It hides failure and waste: Classified military secrets are already protected under existing FOIA exemptions. Giving the Pentagon sweeping authority over unclassified records allows officials to hide financial mismanagement, failed audits, contract price-gouging, and safety hazards. As Brett Max Kaufman of the ACLU put it: "The last thing the government needs is a new power to withhold information under the FOIA." - It worsens a broken system: The oldest active FOIA request at the Pentagon is 17 years old. Adding a vague new withholding standard will mean more arbitrary denials, delays, and costly litigation. - It overrides state law: Reporting indicates this proposal would also block state and local governments from releasing unclassified military records, overriding states' own public records laws in a clear act of federal overreach. Legislative actions I am urging you to take: 1. Strip CUI exemptions from defense bills: Refuse any language in the NDAA or defense appropriations that creates statutory FOIA exemptions for CUI. 2. Protect FOIA jurisdiction: Require any FOIA changes to go through the proper committees—House Oversight and Senate Judiciary—with public hearings. 3. Enforce the foreseeable harm standard: Reaffirm the 2016 FOIA Improvement Act by requiring the DOD to prove concrete, non-speculative national security harm before withholding any record. Taxpayers funding a nearly trillion-dollar defense budget deserve transparency, not blanket secrecy. Please oppose this DOD power grab.