Joyce’s LIBERTY Act would improve oversight of agency guidance process

U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) on May 31 offered a bipartisan bill that aims to shine a light on the Executive Branch’s rulemaking process in an effort to bring transparency to the federal agency guidance process and restore congressional oversight authority.

“In 2022, President Biden attempted to implement his costly student loan forgiveness plan through a guidance document, a deliberate choice to avoid congressional oversight and deny Americans the opportunity to weigh in on the proposal,” Rep. Joyce said. “At a time when Washington spending is out of control, this legislation will provide critical balance and oversight to the agency guidance process.”

While formal agency rules are subjected to congressional oversight and public scrutiny, the less well known “guidance document” is a tool that presidents may use to impose regulations without them being subjected to the formal notice and comment periods, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Joyce’s staff.

If enacted, the Limiting the Intrusive Bureaucracy and Empowering Regulatory Transparency for You (LIBERTY) Act, H.R. 3770, which Rep. Joyce sponsored alongside lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), would change this by subjecting economically significant guidance documents to the same level of scrutiny applied to formal rules, the summary says. 

“I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation to provide necessary checks and balances to prevent executive overreach and excessive spending,” said Rep. Joyce.

H.R. 3770, which has been endorsed by the Foundation for Government Accountability, is under consideration in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

“Our government is built on a balance of power, yet current law allows the president and the Executive Branch to unilaterally implement legislation that Congress passes without proper oversight,” said Rep. Golden. “This bipartisan bill would simply give Congress the oversight power needed to ensure that the bills passed by Congress are implemented as they were intended to be.”