The public should be allowed to request records belonging to the National Security Council like they do for other agencies, according to one Republican lawmaker.
Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., has introduced an amendment to the House’s National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2017 that would make all National Security Council records created after the bill is passed subject to a Freedom of Information Act request, in the latest attack against the advisory board that critics say has grown too large.
The National Security Council responded to FOIA requests under previous administrations up until 1996, when a court case exempted the advisory board from participation in the transparency program.
“The increasing micromanagement from the White House directly reduces the amount of oversight that Congress can have and undermines the authority of the Department of Defense,” Walorski said in a statement when she previously introduced the plan as a standalone bill. “This legislation is critical for this and future administrations and serves as a public reminder that presidents cannot avoid public scrutiny or accountability by consolidating authority in the White House.”
The amendment will be debated when the bill, which passed committee in April, reaches the full House floor this month.
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is trying to cap the size of the president’s advisory council “well below the current 400,” staff told reporters last month. If it increases beyond that size, it would lose its distinction as an advisory body and become subject to congressional oversight, including approval of its leader by lawmakers, under his proposal.
The move is in response to criticisms that the large advisory board micromanages the military and Pentagon.
The White House pushed back against the plan to cut staff, saying that the move would reduce the NSC staff to less than the number of aides on the Senate Armed Services Committee and hamper the next administration’s ability to form a foreign policy team.
“Apparently, these lawmakers feel that they should have more national security staffers than the president of the United States,” a senior administration official told the Washington Examiner.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said last month that the Senate bill will likely also include a provision to cap the size of the National Security Council.
