§2723 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must tell the House and Senate Armed Services Committees when a security or counterintelligence breach or leak of classified information about a U.S. defense operation, system, or technology is likely to cause serious harm to national security. Before sending the notice, the Secretary must consult with the Director of National Intelligence and the FBI as needed. The notice must be sent within 30 days after the Department of Defense decides the breach or leak happened. The Secretary and the committees must set up rules to protect any classified, intelligence-source-and-methods, or sensitive law enforcement information that is shared. This rule does not let the Department refuse to provide information to those committees by saying disclosure would be unauthorized. It also does not change other requirements to report intelligence activities to Congress, including section 501 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091).

Title 10, §2723

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a notification of each security or counterintelligence failure or compromise of classified information relating to any defense operation, system, or technology of the United States that the Secretary considers likely to cause significant harm or damage to the national security interests of the United States. The Secretary shall consult with the Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as appropriate, before submitting any such notification.

(b)Notification of a failure or compromise of classified information under subsection (a) shall be provided, in accordance with the procedures established pursuant to subsection (c), not later than 30 days after the date on which the Department of Defense determines that the failure or compromise has taken place.

(c)The Secretary of Defense and the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives shall each establish such procedures as may be necessary to protect from unauthorized disclosure classified information, information relating to intelligence sources and methods, and sensitive law enforcement information that is submitted to those committees pursuant to this section and that are otherwise necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

(d)(1)Nothing in this section shall be construed as authority to withhold any information from the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives on the grounds that providing the information to those committees would constitute the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, information relating to intelligence sources and methods, or sensitive law enforcement information.

(2)Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify or supersede any other requirement to report information on intelligence activities to the Congress, including the requirement under section 501 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2014—Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 113–291 substituted “(50 U.S.C. 3091)” for “(50 U.S.C. 413)”. 2009—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–84 repealed Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(12). See 2008 Amendment note below. 2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–181 and Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(12), amended subsec. (a) identically, substituting “Director of National Intelligence” for “Director of Central Intelligence”. Pub. L. 110–417, § 932(a)(12), was repealed by Pub. L. 111–84. See 2009 Amendment note above.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2009 Amendment Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title X, § 1073(c), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2474, provided in part that the amendment made by section 1073(c)(10) is effective as of Oct. 14, 2008, and as if included in Pub. L. 110–417 as enacted.

§2723 Notice to Congressional Committees of Certain Security and Counterintelligence Failures Within Defense Programs