Comment from Mark White

Office of Personnel Management,I am writing as a concerned citizen to express my strong opposition to the proposed rule requiring federal employees to sign governmentwide nondisclosure agreements. While I understand the legitimate need to protect classified information and national security secrets, this proposal sweeps far too broadly by restricting disclosure of "internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material." These categories encompass precisely the information the public relies upon to hold government accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse.The proposed NDA fundamentally undermines the public's right to know how their government operates. Federal employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept public service, and existing statutes already protect classified information appropriately. By creating a mechanism that could punish employees for sharing unclassified but potentially embarrassing information, this rule appears designed to shield the administration from scrutiny rather than protect legitimate government secrets. I urge OPM to withdraw this proposal and preserve the transparency that American democracy requires.MarkPennsylvania