The Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy was a bipartisan statutory commission authorized by Public Law 103-236 Section 900 to investigate all matters related to classified information or security clearances. Daniel Patrick Moynihan served as chairman of this body, which marked the first such investigation since the Wright Commission issued its report in 1957.
The commission concluded that excessive secrecy creates significant consequences for the national interest when policymakers lack full information. They found that approximately 400,000 new secrets are created annually at the Top Secret level, defined by law as causing exceptionally grave damage to national security if revealed.
A major effect of the commission was the declassification of the Venona project, revealing Cold War espionage truths previously hidden from the American people. On the 29th of May 1946, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent a memorandum reporting an enormous Soviet espionage ring in Washington.
When the Secrecy Commission forced disclosure of documents, the secrets revealed the government's case against the Rosenbergs was even stronger than previously understood. Archives of the Cold War opened to show original cases against Soviet espionage received conclusive corroboration.
President Truman issued Executive Order 9835 in March 1947, establishing the Federal Employee Loyalty Program with uniform investigation standards. President Dwight D. Eisenhower superseded this program with Executive Order 10450 in April 1953, making each agency head responsible for ensuring employment consistency with national security interests.