S-252-119
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 565.
Sponsored by Ron Johnson (R-WI)
What it does
This bill would require all federal agencies to publish their guidance documents — including memos, bulletins, letters, blog posts, speeches, and no-action letters — on a single, centralized government website designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within 90 days of enactment. Agencies would have 180 days to post all currently active guidance documents, and would be required to post new ones on the day they are issued. When a guidance document is rescinded, agencies would be required to keep it on the site with a notation that it has been withdrawn, including the date and any relevant court order.
Who benefits
Businesses and individuals subject to federal regulation who would gain easier access to agency interpretations and policies that affect their legal obligations. Small businesses and sole proprietors with limited legal staff who currently struggle to track scattered agency guidance. Lawyers, compliance officers, and consultants who advise regulated entities. Journalists, researchers, and academics studying regulatory behavior. Advocacy organizations monitoring agency activity. Members of the public seeking to understand how agencies interpret the law.
Who is hurt
Federal agencies that would bear administrative costs of cataloguing, organizing, and maintaining a comprehensive public database of guidance documents, including legacy documents. The OMB, which would be responsible for designating and overseeing the centralized website. Agencies that have relied on informal or low-visibility guidance to implement policy may face increased public and legal scrutiny of those documents. Regulated entities that have benefited from selective awareness of favorable guidance could face competitors who discover and use the same guidance.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that federal agencies currently issue thousands of guidance documents — memos, letters, blog posts, and bulletins — that effectively shape how laws are enforced, yet these documents are scattered across hundreds of agency websites and are difficult for ordinary citizens and small businesses to find. They contend that this lack of transparency creates an uneven playing field where well-resourced entities with large legal teams can track agency guidance while smaller businesses and individuals cannot, and that publishing all guidance in one place is a basic accountability measure consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act's notice principles.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the bill's broad definition of "guidance document" — which includes speeches, blog posts, and news releases — could create confusion by implying that informal agency communications carry the same legal weight as formal policy statements, potentially generating unnecessary litigation over documents never intended as binding interpretations. They contend that the administrative burden of cataloguing decades of agency communications within 180 days could strain agency resources, and that the bill does not address the underlying problem of agencies using informal guidance to effectively make law without notice-and-comment rulemaking.
Constitutional context
This bill operates within Congress's authority to structure and oversee the executive branch under Article I and the Necessary and Proper Clause. No direct Commerce Clause or enumerated powers issue is raised. Post-Loper Bright (2024), increased public visibility of agency guidance documents could facilitate legal challenges, since courts now independently assess whether agency interpretations are consistent with statute rather than deferring to agencies.
Checks and balances
The executive branch (agencies and OMB) would gain a more visible and centralized platform for its interpretive positions, while Congress and the public would gain a stronger oversight tool; FOIA exemptions remain as a check on disclosure of sensitive information.
Historical precedent
Executive Order 13891 (2019) required agencies to publish guidance documents on their websites and established that unpublished guidance could not be used to bind the public; it was revoked by Executive Order 13992 (2021), making this bill an attempt to codify similar requirements in statute.