[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 118 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4709-H4711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GUIDANCE OUT OF DARKNESS ACT
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 890) to increase access to agency guidance documents, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 890
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Guidance Out Of Darkness
Act'' or the ``GOOD Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the
term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget.
(3) Guidance document.--
(A) In general.--The term ``guidance document''--
(i) means an agency statement of general applicability
(other than a rule that has the force and effect of law
promulgated in accordance with the notice and comment
procedures under section 553 of title 5, United States Code)
that--
(I) does not have the force and effect of law; and
(II) is designated by an agency official as setting forth--
(aa) a policy on a statutory, regulatory, or technical
issue; or
(bb) an interpretation of a statutory or regulatory issue;
and
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(ii) may include--
(I) a memorandum;
(II) a notice;
(III) a bulletin;
(IV) a directive;
(V) a news release;
(VI) a letter;
(VII) a blog post;
(VIII) a no-action letter;
(IX) a speech by an agency official; and
(X) any combination of the items described in subclauses
(I) through (IX).
(B) Rule of construction.--The term ``guidance document''--
(i) shall be construed broadly to effectuate the purpose
and intent of this Act; and
(ii) shall not be limited to the items described in
subparagraph (A)(ii).
SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS ON THE INTERNET.
(a) In General.--Subject to section 5, on the date on which
an agency issues a guidance document, the agency shall
publish the guidance document in accordance with the
requirements under section 4.
(b) Previously Issued Guidance Documents.--Subject to
section 5, not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, each agency shall publish, in
accordance with the requirements under section 4, any
guidance document issued by that agency that is in effect on
that date.
SEC. 4. SINGLE LOCATION.
(a) In General.--All guidance documents published under
section 3 by an agency shall be published in a single
location on an internet website designated by the Director
under subsection (d).
(b) Agency Internet Websites.--Each agency shall, for
guidance documents published by the agency under section 3,
publish a hyperlink on the internet website of the agency
that provides access to the guidance documents at the
location described in subsection (a).
(c) Organization.--
(1) In general.--The guidance documents described in
subsection (a) shall be--
(A) categorized as guidance documents; and
(B) further divided into subcategories as appropriate.
(2) Agency internet websites.--The hyperlinks described in
subsection (b) shall be prominently displayed on the internet
website of the agency.
(d) Designation.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall designate an
internet website on which guidance documents shall be
published under section 3.
SEC. 5. DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE
UNDER FOIA.
If a guidance document issued by an agency is a document
that is exempt from disclosure under section 552(b) of title
5, United States Code (commonly known as the ``Freedom of
Information Act''), or contains information that is exempt
from disclosure under that section, that document or
information, as the case may be, shall not be subject to the
requirements under this Act.
SEC. 6. RESCINDED GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS.
On the date on which a guidance document issued by an
agency is rescinded, or, in the case of a guidance document
that is rescinded pursuant to a court order, not later than
the date on which the order is entered, the agency shall, at
the location described in section 4(a)--
(1) maintain the rescinded guidance document; and
(2) indicate--
(A) that the guidance document is rescinded;
(B) if the guidance document was rescinded pursuant to a
court order, the case number of the case in which the order
was entered; and
(C) the date on which the guidance document was rescinded.
SEC. 7. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Validity of Guidance Documents.--Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to mean that noncompliance with any
provision of this Act affects or otherwise impacts the
validity of any guidance document.
(b) Congressional Review of Guidance Documents.--Nothing in
this Act shall be construed to affect or otherwise impact
whether a guidance document is subject to congressional
review under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 8. REPORT ON AGENCY COMPLIANCE.
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on
Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate a report on agency compliance with this
Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
South Carolina (Ms. Mace) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from South Carolina.
General Leave
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from South Carolina?
There was no objection.
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I call upon my colleagues to support H.R. 890, the
Guidance Out Of Darkness Act, or the GOOD Act.
This bill ensures agency guidance is transparent by requiring
agencies to publish legal and regulatory guidance documents online in a
single location.
Under current law, agencies are required to proactively disclose
statements of policy and interpretations, also commonly known as
guidance documents, which have been adopted by the agency and are not
published in the Federal Register. These regulatory guidance documents
represent agency statements intended to inform the public of how an
agency interprets laws and regulations.
Despite this existing publishing requirement, the law currently lacks
guidelines for how agencies must publish guidance documents. Federal
agencies have typically used a variety of methods to issue their
guidance documents, including websites, email, social media, and
newsletters. As you can imagine, tracking down guidance documents
across these different areas of publication is a very real burden.
H.R. 890 solves this problem by ensuring the central publishing of
all guidance documents. This will help the American public and
regulated organizations, especially small entities, better understand
agencies' views of their obligations under the law.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense,
bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 890. I thank the gentlewoman
for her leadership.
The bill is titled the Guidance Out Of Darkness Act, suggesting that
agency guidance documents are currently secreted away behind closed
doors, shrouded in mystery. This is a bit melodramatic, gothic, and not
exactly the reality.
Federal agencies are presently required to disclose any statement of
policy and interpretations that are not otherwise published in the
Federal Register, but it is true that there are not standardized
requirements now for how and where to publish these guidance documents.
The GOOD Act would establish such requirements, directing agencies to
publish them on a dedicated website of the agency. It would also
require the OMB Director to designate a single website where all such
guidance could be found.
This step to make agency guidance documents more organized and
accessible makes good sense.
I appreciate my colleagues for working to address a number of
concerns raised about the bill as originally drafted. For example, the
bill now includes an exception to publishing a guidance document if
that document is exempt from disclosure under FOIA, ensuring that the
bill does not result in sensitive information winding up in the hands
of our adversaries.
However, some valid concerns remain outstanding--chiefly, that the
bill's definition of ``guidance document'' may be overly broad to the
extent that it undermines the transparency the bill is meant to
advance.
I won't oppose this bill today because I appreciate its stated goal
of promoting transparency. I do ask our GOP colleagues to continue
working with us in good faith to thoroughly examine and address some
lingering concerns before it moves any further through the legislative
process.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Comer).
Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 890, the
Guidance Out Of Darkness Act, or the GOOD Act.
Regulatory guidance includes agency statements that, while not
intended to have the force and effect of law, establish agency policies
on statutory, regulatory, or technical issues. Since such guidance
communicates how an agency will administer a law and its programs, it
has a significant effect on regulated entities.
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Regulated entities and the public should know what agency guidance
says about the laws and programs that affect them. However, guidance
documents are not easy to find. They are not consistently posted on
agency websites.
This inconsistency burdens regulated entities. It especially burdens
small businesses that often lack the resources to hire compliance
experts. The problem is so bad that agency guidance documents are known
as ``regulatory dark matter.''
For a brief time, the prior administration brought needed sunshine to
this situation. Following the GOOD Act's passage by the House during
the 115th Congress, the prior administration voluntarily adopted the
bill's reforms through an October 2019 executive order after the Senate
failed to act.
Under the executive order, guidance was required to become fully
transparent online. Across the government, each agency was directed to
make available on its website a single searchable, indexed database
with links to all guidance documents in effect.
As a result, for the first time, members of the public could easily
find whatever agency guidance they needed online in one central
location. The order was in effect during 2019 and 2020 but has since
been rescinded.
Ever since, agencies have been pulling down their guidance web pages,
and guidance has once again fallen into darkness, increasing the
potential for agency abuse.
This is why we need to once again pass the GOOD Act in the House and
require agencies to publish their regulatory guidance in a single,
easily accessible location. The American public deserves nothing less
from their government.
I thank my committee colleague, Representative Ro Khanna, for
cosponsoring my legislation. I especially thank the ranking member for
working with my staff to strengthen the bill and helping us advance a
bipartisan bill here today.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this simple and
necessary transparency bill.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I am in favor of this legislation. I yield
back the balance of my time.
Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my House colleagues to support
this commonsense bill to make agency guidance documents more
transparent to the American public, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from South Carolina (Ms. Mace) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 890, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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