WASHINGTON—House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.), Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.), Subcommittee on Government Operations Ranking Member Jody Hice (R-Ga.), and Congressman Bob Good (R-Va.) this week introduced the Guidance Out Of Darkness (GOOD) Act, which requires agencies to publish their regulatory guidance on the Internet in a single, easily accessible location. This will dramatically increase the transparency of agency regulatory actions for all entities that need to comply—including small businesses, workers, and American households.
“The federal bureaucracy often operates in the shadows, especially when issuing regulatory guidance Americans are expected to follow. It’s unfair and burdensome to expect Americans to dig for and decipher which guidance applies to them, and they should not be penalized for missing guidance they didn’t know about or couldn’t easily access. The Guidance Out of Darkness Act rights this wrong by requiring federal agencies to centrally publish guidance in an easily accessible, online location. The American people deserve to know how laws and regulations govern their daily lives. The GOOD Act is a simple solution to shine a light on bureaucratic guidance to improve transparency and accountability,” said Ranking Member Comer.
“I am thankful for Ranking Member Comer’s leadership on the GOOD Act. This commonsense legislation has passed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by voice vote twice and passed the House in 2018. I hope that Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer and President Biden will support this non-controversial transparency measure,” said Senator Johnson.
FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon voiced support for the GOOD Act saying, “It's no secret that the regulatory state has grown exponentially in recent decades. It's also no surprise that the current Biden administration has sought to expand it further and to do so out of the public eye. We're grateful for leaders in Congress who recognize that it is their duty to exercise oversight of the executive branch, and creating transparency around agencies' so-called 'guidance' documents is critical to this end."To see the full press release from House Oversight and Reform Committee Republicans click here.