NCJ Number
102163
Date Published
1984
Length
50 pages
Annotation
Testimony comments on the Federal Polygraph Limitation and Anti-censorship Act (H.R. 4681), which prohibits the use of prepublication review agreements and mandatory polygraph examinations.
Abstract
H.R. 4681 has been proposed to counteract National Security Decision Directive 84, promulgated by President Reagan on March 11, 1983, to address 'leaks' by authorizing the use of prepublication review of writings by persons who are or have been privy to national security secrets. The directive also advocates the use of the polygraph to ensure the integrity of employees with access to national security secrets. H.R. 4681 would allow voluntary polygraph use in specific investigations of criminal conduct. Senator Thomas Eagleton (Missouri) supports the bill, and Morton Halperin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, also supports the bill, arguing that prepublication review would chill public debate on national security matters. Allan Adler, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, supports the bill as a means of ensuring that prepublication review will not stifle freedom of speech and that the polygraph will not be misused to violate privacy rights. John Otto, executive assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, opposes the bill as a threat to the FBI's procedure for ensuring employee integrity and protecting classified information. Michael Tigar, law professor at the University of Texas, supports the bill.