The National Research Council of the National Academies issued a report in October calling for policies to improve government openness with regard to scientific information. The report stressed that certain government policies developed after 9/11 overly restrict access to scientific information and thereby harm scientific progress and national security.

The fundamental issue addressed by the National Research Council in Science and Security in a Post 9/11 World is how to "bridge the legitimate concerns of the national security community with the need to maintain open and vibrant research universities." The report discusses a number of post-9/11 policies that have restricted access to potentially sensitive information and examines the rationale behind such efforts. The report notes, however, that "these concerns do not justify the use of extreme measures that could serve to significantly disrupt the openness that has characterized the U.S. scientific and technology enterprises."

One particularly important policy examined in the report is the creation of over 100 new Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) information categories. Most of the new SBU categories have been created by individual federal agencies without broader consideration, planning or approval from Congress. The explosion in these SBU categories, which are used to restrict access to government information, has resulted in the inability to adequately share information both within the federal government and with state and local governments. This problem of information sharing carries over into scientific research and data.

Stressing that the "success of U.S. science and engineering has been built on a system of information sharing and open communication," the report recommended comprehensive reform of the SBU information categories. "Research administrators … described the difficulty of anticipating and implementing the requirements for SBU information and recommended that SBU should be largely (if not fully) eliminated."

The National Research Council also cited a survey by the Association of American Universities and Council on Government Relations for examples of interference by government in scientific research. The survey of 20 institutions from 2003 to 2004 found 138 attempts by the government to restrict publication or to prevent foreign-domestic participation in research.

The National Research Council conducted the report at the behest of the House Committee on Science and Technology and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.