On July 1, 2020, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed John F. Tierney to a new three-year term on the Public Interest Declassification Board (Board). He previously was appointed by Minority Leader of the House of representatives, Nancy Pelosi on July 11, 2017, for a three-year term that was extended to June 29, 2021, in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. He resigned his position on the Board on June 30, 2020, to realign the House of Representatives appointments. His current three-year term will end on June 30, 2023.
As authorized by Congress, the Board consists of nine members, five appointed by the President, and one each by the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House, and by the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate. Mr. Tierney’s appointment by the Speaker now opens a vacancy appointment for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to fill.
Prior to joining the Board, Mr. Tierney served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from the State of Massachusetts, where he served on the House Intelligence Committee and chaired the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the Government Oversight and Reform Committee. In Congress, he participated in oversight of the Government Accountability Office’s annual assessment of the Department of Defense Weapons Selection Programs and reform of overall Defense spending. He currently serves as the Executive Director at the Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation, and The Council for a Livable World.