WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) on a letter to President Biden urging him to reverse his Executive Order that revoked federal agency requirements to post guidance documents in a searchable database. This follows up on a letter also sent by Senators Cramer, Johnson, and others to President Biden in February questioning the president’s removals of these transparency measures for agency guidance documents.
“Since February, a number of federal agencies have taken steps to eliminate public access to guidance documents in order to comply with your directive. We believe these actions run counter to the principles of an open, transparent government and the rule of law,” the senators wrote. “In the past, efforts to promote a more open and transparent government have been bipartisan, and we see no reason why they should not be today.”
The requirements were put in place under the Trump Administration and were modeled after bipartisan legislation the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has passed each of the last two sessions of Congress with broad bipartisan support. Senators Cramer and Johnsonreintroduced this bill in April.
Senators Cramer and Johnson are joined on the letter by Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Rob Portman (R-OH), Richard Burr (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Click here to read the letter.
This effort aligns with Senator Cramer’s strong record of working to improve transparency in the federal government. Last December, Senator Cramerpartnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to follow through on a Trump Administration Executive Order by rescinding flawed guidance on surplus water agreements and releasing subsequent instructions aimed at improving internal processes for reviewing requests for water supply withdrawals. Senator Cramer also used this guidance to improve Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regulations regarding Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) easement enforcement, which had infringed on North Dakotans’ property rights. Learn more here.