In December, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), now the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote to industry lobbyists asking them to identify existing regulations that they want to see repealed.

Soon enough we will find out which regulations lobbyists believe are complicating their clients’ ability to amass record profits (not so difficult that they are not succeeding, of course). Issa will release the industry responses – more than 150 of them – after Issa’s staff has analyzed them, The Hill reported yesterday.

This is welcome news. Industry lobbyists compile these regulatory hit lists all the time. They often serve as a manifesto for conservative lawmakers and other figures in the anti-regulatory crowd. It’s useful for those of us who believe that government has a responsibility to prevent crises like oil spills, foodborne illness outbreaks, and Wall Street collapses to know which public protections the other side will be attacking.

The decision to release the responses in also consistent with Issa’s rhetoric on transparency. The chairman has said he will make government transparency a high priority and increase openness in his own committee.

The value of ideological consistency was not lost on many public interest and good government groups, including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which wrote to Issa Jan. 7 requesting release of the industry responses. “Transparency and accountability in government rely heavily on knowing those groups and individuals that have provided input into the governmental decision-making process,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan wrote in the letter.