WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03) and Congressman Jared Golden (D-ME) introduced two regulatory reform bills, the Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act and Guidance Clarity Act. 

“Guidance and rulemaking each have important but separate roles at agencies across the federal government. By law, guidance is merely a suggestion that is in no way enforceable. However, for over a decade, regulators have continually taken punitive actions against the American people who do not comply with their guidance. While the Trump Administration took very important steps to end that practice, it still threatens our job creators and economy today. These bills would clearly define the purpose and legal use of guidance and provide the utmost transparency between the federal government and the American people.”

Background: 
The Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act requires each government agency, in providing notice of a rule making, to include a link to a 100-word plain language summary of the proposed rule. Under this bill, plain language summaries must be made publicly available online to ensure all Americans have access and understanding of the regulations imposed on them. 

The Guidance Clarity Act requires all federal agencies to include a guidance clarity statement that states the guidance is not issued in accordance with the rule-making process and therefore is not legally binding.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has written a letter of support for both bills stating, “enacting these commonsense proposals would help small businesses with their regulatory compliance and help to prevent regulatory overreach.”