Executive Order 9568—Providing for the Release of Scientific Information

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and Statutes, and as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and in order to provide for the release for publication by individuals or groups, in so far as it may be done without prejudice to the public interest of certain scientific and technical data now or hereafter withheld from public dissemination for the purpose of national military security, to the end that such information may be of maximum benefit to the public, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. For the purpose of determining what portion thereof should be released for publication and making appropriate recommendations therefor to the War and Navy Departments, the Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion (hereinafter referred to as the Director) is hereby authorized to review all scientific and technical information, which (1) has been, or may hereafter be developed by, or for, or with funds of any department or agency of the Government, and (2) is now, or may hereafter be classified as secret, confidential, restricted, or by other comparable designation, or otherwise withheld from the public for purposes of the national military security. This information is hereinafter referred to as scientific information. 2. All departments and agencies shall furnish the Director all information that he may request as essential to the performance of his duties under this order. Any provision of this order notwithstanding, there shall be excluded from the scope of this order any scientific information which the President shall declare to be in a closed field of information, except as the President shall subsequently remove any such information from the closed field. 3. In determining what scientific information may be released, and generally in the performance of his duties under this order, the Director shall proceed in the manner hereinafter outlined and in accordance with such procedures as may be adopted by him, utilizing such governmental and private agencies and personnel as he shall deem appropriate: (a) Should the Director desire to recommend the release for publication of any scientific information, he shall discuss such a proposed release with the department or agency which has classified it or otherwise withheld it from the public, and with other interested agencies. (b) Notwithstanding objection on the part of the agency which has classified or otherwise withheld information, the Director may recommend release of such information for publication to the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the navy, whichever shall have primary interest in such information, or to both the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy when they shall both have a substantial interest in such information. The decision of the Secretary of War or the Secretary of the Navy shall be final as to whether the national military security permits that the scientific information in question be released. (c) The procedure for removing security classifications in order to effectuate the release for publication of scientific information in pursuance hereof shall be determined by the Director. (d) When it shall be determined that any scientific information may properly be released for publication, the Director shall take such measures as may be appropriate to effectuate the release and publication of such scientific information. In connection with such release and publication, the Director may, in so far as practicable give, without creating substantive rights, appropriate recognition to the relative professional contribution to such information of those persons or groups of persons who perform for, or at the request of the Government, or with Government funds the research involved in the discovery or development of such information. 4. The Director is authorized, in consultation with the Department of State, to deal with duly accredited representatives of those foreign governments with which exchange of classified information has taken place, in order that similar policies and procedure will be observed so far as practicable by such Governments in dealing with the subject of the declassification and publication of scientific information. 5. To assist the Director in the performance of his duties hereunder, there is hereby established an interdepartmental board to be known as the Publication Board, which shall consist of the Director as Chairman, the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Labor, each of whom may designate an alternate to act in his stead. The Director may from time to time designate a member of the Board as Vice Chairman of the Board. The Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Director of the Office of War Information, the Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and the Chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics may designate one liaison officer each, who may attend the meetings and participate in the discussions of the Board. The function of the Board shall be to bring to the attention of the Director any information within the scope of this order and to advise with him concerning its release for publication. 6. To assist the Board or the Director in carrying out their respective duties, the Director may establish committees composed of civilian employees of the Government or of officers of the Army and Navy, or of both such civilians and officers. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, June 8, 1945