of claimant, shall be held upon not less than fifteen days' notice of the time and place thereof.

(b) Such hearings shall be open to the public unless otherwise requested by claimant and ordered by the Commission.

(c) Such hearings shall be conducted by the Commission, its designee or designees. Oral testimony and documentary evidence, including depositions that may have been taken as provided by statute and the rules of practices, may be offered in evidence on the claimant's behalf or by counsel for the Commission designated by it to represent the public interest opposed to the allowance of any unjust or unfounded claim or portion thereof; and either may cross-examine as to evidence offered through witnesses on behalf of the other. Objections to the admission of any such evidence shall be ruled upon by the presiding officer.

(d) The claimant shall be the moving party, and shall have the burden of proof on all issues involved in the determination of his or her claim.

(e) Hearings may be stenographically reported either at the request of the claimant or upon the discretion of the Commission. A claimant making such a request shall notify the Commission at least ten (10) days prior to the hearing date. When a stenographic record of a hearing is ordered at the claimant's request, the cost of such reporting and transcription may be charged to the claimant.

§ 531.7 Presettlement conference.

The Commission on its own motion or initiative, or upon the application of a claimant for good cause shown, may direct that a presettlement conference be held with respect to any issue involved in a claim.

601.2 Classification authority.

The Foundation does not have original classification authority under Executive Order 12958. In any instance where a Foundation employee develops information that appears to warrant classification because of its national security character, the material will be afforded protection and sent to the Division of Administrative Services (DAS). Upon determination that classification is warranted, DAS will submit such material to the agency that has appropriate subject matter interest and classification authority.

[47 FR 57284, Dec. 23, 1983, as amended at 61 FR 51021, Sept. 30, 1996]

$601.3 Security program.

The Director, Division of Administrative Services, is responsible for conducting a security program that ensures effective implementation of Executive Order 12958, to include:

(a) Maintaining active training and orientation programs for employees concerned with classified information or material.

(b) Encouraging Foundation personnel to challenge those classification decisions they believe to be improper.

(c) Issuing directives that ensure classified information is used, processed, stored, reproduced and transmitted only under conditions that will provide adequate protection and prevent access by unauthorized persons.

(d) Recommending to the Director appropriate administrative action to correct abuse or violation of any provision of these regulations, including notification by warning letters, formal reprimand, and to the extent permitted by law, suspension without pay and removal.

[47 FR 57284, Dec. 23, 1983, as amended at 61 FR 51021, Sept. 30, 1996]

§ 601.4 Classification Review Committee.

The Security Officer (Information) chairs the Foundation's Classification Review Committee which has authority to act on all suggestions and complaints with respect to the Foundation's administration of the regulations. The Assistant Directors and the Heads of other offices reporting to the Director serve as members of the Committee. All suggestions and complaints including those regarding overclassification, failure to classify, or delay in declassifying not otherwise resolved, shall be referred to the Committee for resolution. The Committee shall establish procedures to review and act within 30 days upon all appeals regarding requests for declassification. The Committee is authorized to overrule previous determinations in whole or in part when in its judgment, continued protection is no longer required. If the Committee determines that continued classification is required under the criteria of the Executive Order, it shall promptly so notify the requester and advise him that he may file an application for review with the Foundation. In addition, the Committee shall review all appeals of requests for records

under section 552 of title 5 U.S.C. (Freedom of Information Act) when the proposed denial is based on their continued classification under Executive Order 12958.

[47 FR 57284, Dec. 23, 1983, as amended at 61 FR 51021, Sept. 30, 1996]

8601.5 Derivative classification.

Distinct from "original" classification is the determination that information is in substance the same as information currently classified, because of incorporating, paraphrasing, restating or generating in new form information that is already classified, and marking the newly developed material consistent with the marking of the source information. Persons who only reproduce, extract, or summarize classified information, or who only apply classification markings derived from source material or as directed by a classification guide, need not possess original classification authority.

(a) If a person who applies derivative classification markings believes that the paraphrasing, restating, or summarizing of classified information has changed the level of or removed the basis for classification, that person must consult for a determination an appropriate official of the originating agency or office of origin who has the authority to upgrade, downgrade, or declassify the information.

(b) The person who applies derivative classification markings shall observe and respect original classification decisions; and carry forward to any newly created documents any assigned authorized markings. The declassification date or event that provides the longest period of classification shall be used for documents classified on the basis of multiple sources.

§ 601.6 Downgrading and declassification.

Executive Order 12958 prescribes a uniform system for classifying, declassifying, and safeguarding national security information.

(a) Information shall be declassified or downgraded as soon as national security considerations permit. The National Science Foundation shall coordinate their review of classified information with other agencies that have a di

rect interests in the subject matter. Information that continues to meet the classification requirements prescribed by Section 1.3 despite the passage of time will continue to be protected in accordance with Executive Order 12958.

(b) Foundation documents may be declassified or downgraded by the official who authorized the original classification, if that official is still serving in the same position; the originator's successor; a supervisory official of either; or officials delegated such authority in writing by the Director.

(c) The Director shall conduct internal systematic review programs for classified information originated by the Foundation contained in records determined by the Archivist to be permanently valuable but that have not been accessioned into the National Archives of the United States.

(d) The Archivist of the United States shall, in accordance with procedures and timeframes prescribed in the Information Security Oversight Office's directives implementing Executive Order 12958, systematically review for declassification or downgrading, classified records accessioned into the National Archives of the United States. Such information shall be reviewed by the Archivist for declassification or downgrading in accordance with systematic review guidelines that shall be provided by the head of the agency that originated the information, or in the case of foreign government information, by the Director of Information Security Oversight Office in consultation with interested agency heads.

[47 FR 57284, Dec. 23, 1983, as amended at 61 FR 51021, Sept. 30, 1996]

§ 601.7 Mandatory declassification review.

(a) The Division of Administrative Services is hereby designated as the office to which members of the public or Departments may direct requests for mandatory review for declassification under this provision. In the case of documents originally classified by the Foundation, this office shall, in turn, assign the request to the appropriate office for action within 60 days. In each instance, receipt of the request will be acknowledged in writing immediately