There is established within the executive branch of the United States a board to be known as the “Public Interest Declassification Board” (in this subchapter referred to as the “Board”).

The Board shall report directly to the President or, upon designation by the President, the Vice President, the Attorney General, or other designee of the President. The other designee of the President under this paragraph may not be an agency head or official authorized to classify information under Executive Order 13526, or any successor order.

To advise the President, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and such other executive branch officials as the Board considers appropriate on the systematic, thorough, coordinated, and comprehensive identification, collection, review for declassification, and release to Congress, interested agencies, and the public of declassified records and materials (including donated historical materials) that are of archival value, including records and materials of extraordinary public interest.

To provide recommendations to the President for the identification, collection, and review for declassification of information of extraordinary public interest that does not undermine the national security of the United States, to be undertaken in accordance with a declassification program that has been established or may be established by the President by Executive order.

To advise the President, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and such other executive branch officials as the Board considers appropriate on policies deriving from the issuance by the President of Executive orders regarding the classification and declassification of national security information.

To review and make recommendations to the President in a timely manner with respect to any congressional request, made by the committee of jurisdiction or by a member of the committee of jurisdiction, to declassify certain records, to evaluate the proper classification of certain records, or to reconsider a declination to declassify specific records.

A vacancy in the Board shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

A member of the Board may be appointed to a new term on the Board upon the expiration of the member’s term on the Board, except that no member may serve more than three full terms on the Board.

Not later than 30 days after the date on which the term of a member of the Board ends, the appointing authority of the member shall submit to Congress a plan to appoint a successor.

The Director of the Information Security Oversight Office shall serve as the Executive Secretary of the Board.

Any employee of the Federal Government may be detailed to the Board, with the agreement of and without reimbursement to the detailing agency, and such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil, military, or foreign service status or privilege.

In addition to any employees detailed to the Board under paragraph (1), the Board may, subject to the availability of funds, hire not more than 12 staff members.

The members and staff of the Board shall, as a condition of appointment to or employment with the Board, hold appropriate security clearances for access to the classified records and materials to be reviewed by the Board or its staff, and shall follow the guidance and practices on security under applicable Executive orders and Presidential or agency directives.

The members of the Board, the Executive Secretary of the Board, and the members of the staff of the Board may not use any information acquired in the course of their official activities on the Board for nonofficial purposes.

For purposes of any law or regulation governing access to classified information that pertains to the national security of the United States, and subject to any limitations on access arising under section 3355d(b) of this title, and to facilitate the advisory functions of the Board under this subchapter, a member of the Board seeking access to a record or material under this subchapter shall be deemed for purposes of this subsection to have a need to know the contents of the record or material.

Each member of the Board shall receive compensation at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for positions at ES–1 of the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5 for each day such member is engaged in the actual performance of duties of the Board.

Members of the Board shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of the duties of the Board.

On behalf of the President, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs shall provide guidance on policy to the Board.

The Executive Secretary of the Board, under the direction of the Chairperson of the Board and the Board, and acting in consultation with the Archivist of the United States, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall prepare the annual budget of the Board.

The Board shall make available for public inspection records of its proceedings and reports prepared in the course of its activities under this subchapter to the extent such records and reports are not classified and would not be exempt from release under the provisions of section 552 of title 5.

In making records and reports available under paragraph (1), the Board shall coordinate the release of such records and reports with appropriate officials from agencies with expertise in classified information in order to ensure that such records and reports do not inadvertently contain classified information.