CEI Leads Coalition for the Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act

Dear Leader Thune:

We write to urge Senate passage of the Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act, S. 252 / H.R. 1515 during the final months of the 119^th Congress.

As you know, on August 6, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the bill unanimously, by an official vote of 10-0. This vote was a strong bipartisan endorsement for this regulatory transparency reform plan.

The GOOD Act addresses a fundamental gap in government transparency. The U.S. Code makes statutes publicly available, and the Code of Federal Regulations makes rules accessible. But there is no comparable government-wide inventory for agency guidance documents, policy statements, memoranda, circulars, bulletins, FAQs, and other sub-regulatory methods agencies use to guide policies. Yet these various documents often impose substantial mandates on regulated businesses and citizens, even when officially deemed non-binding.

The GOOD Act requires agencies to publish their guidance documents online, making them available through a single, searchable portal. It would also preserve access to rescinded guidance for archival purposes. Equally as important, the GOOD Act would codify core elements of President Trump’s first-term Executive Order 13891, “Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents,” making sure these reforms outlast the agenda of any particular administration. Regulatory transparency should not be at the discretion of the chief executive of any political party.

We respectfully urge you, as Senate Majority Leader, to build on this strong bipartisan momentum by making passage of the GOOD Act a priority and bringing S. 252 to the Senate floor. With the House having already acted and the Senate HSGAC Committee having now advanced the legislation with unanimous bipartisan support, we strongly urge the Senate to enact this invaluable transparency measure now, during this narrow window of opportunity.

Sincerely,

Clyde Wayne Crews Jr.
Fred L. Smith Jr. Fellow in Regulatory Studies
Competitive Enterprise Institute

James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
American Association of Senior Citizens

Dick Patten
President
American Business Defense Council

Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment

Tom Pyle
President
American Energy Alliance

The Honorable Michael Faulkender, Ph.D.
Co-Chair, American Prosperity; Chair, AI & Emerging Technology Policy
America First Policy Institute
Former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury

Brent Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer
Americans for Prosperity

Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform

James Carlson
Chairman
Boundary Line Foundation

Ryan Ellis
President
Center For a Free Economy

Jameson Taylor, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Government Renewal
AFA Action

Timothy Lee
Senior Vice President of Legal & Public Affairs
Center for Individual Freedom

Patrice Onwuka
Vice President for Economic Policy
Independent Women
Market Institute

Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty

Charles Sauer
President
Market Institute

Brandon Arnold
Executive Vice President
National Taxpayers Union

Joe Luppino-Esposito
Federal Policy Director
Pacific Legal Foundation

Daniel J. Erspamer
CEO
Pelican Institute

Eric Ventimiglia
Executive Director
Pinpoint Policy Institute

Jim Vokal
Chief Executive Officer
Platte Institute

Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette
Director of Advocacy
Project On Government Oversight

Paul J. Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation

Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

Patrick M. Brenner
President & CEO
Southwest Public Policy Institute

William Duncan
Constitutional Law Fellow
Sutherland Institute

Helder Toste
Government Affairs Liaison
The LIBRE Initiative

Frank Lasee
President
Truth in Energy and Climate

Tony Woodlief
Senior Executive Vice President,
Center for Practical Federalism
State Policy Network