[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 17, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H1538-H1540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       PLAIN WRITING ACT OF 2010

  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 946) to enhance citizen access to Government information and 
services by establishing that Government documents issued to the public 
must be written clearly, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 946

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Plain Writing Act of 2010''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this Act is to improve the effectiveness and 
     accountability of Federal agencies to the public by promoting 
     clear Government communication that the public can understand 
     and use.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means an Executive agency, 
     as defined under section 105 of title 5, United States Code.
       (2) Covered document.--The term ``covered document''--
       (A) means any document that--
       (i) is relevant to obtaining any Federal Government benefit 
     or service or filing taxes;
       (ii) provides information about any Federal Government 
     benefit or service; or
       (iii) explains to the public how to comply with a 
     requirement the Federal Government administers or enforces;
       (B) includes (whether in paper or electronic form) a 
     letter, publication, form, notice, or instruction; and
       (C) does not include a regulation.
       (3) Plain writing.--The term ``plain writing'' means 
     writing that the intended audience can readily understand and 
     use because that writing is clear, concise, well-organized, 
     and follows other best practices of plain writing.

     SEC. 4. RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.

       (a) Preparation for Implementation of Plain Writing 
     Requirements.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 9 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the head of each agency shall--
       (A) designate 1 or more senior officials within the agency 
     to oversee the agency implementation of this Act;
       (B) communicate the requirements of this Act to the 
     employees of the agency;
       (C) train employees of the agency in plain writing;
       (D) establish a process for overseeing the ongoing 
     compliance of the agency with the requirements of this Act;
       (E) create and maintain a plain writing section of the 
     agency's website that is accessible from the homepage of the 
     agency's website; and
       (F) designate 1 or more agency points-of-contact to receive 
     and respond to public input on--
       (i) agency implementation of this Act; and
       (ii) the agency reports required under section 5.
       (2) Website.--The plain writing section described under 
     paragraph (1)(E) shall--
       (A) inform the public of agency compliance with the 
     requirements of this Act; and
       (B) provide a mechanism for the agency to receive and 
     respond to public input on--
       (i) agency implementation of this Act; and
       (ii) the agency reports required under section 5.
       (b) Requirement To Use Plain Writing in New Documents.--
     Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
     of this Act, each agency shall use plain writing in every 
     covered document of the agency that the agency issues or 
     substantially revises.
       (c) Guidance.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 6 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget shall develop and issue guidance on 
     implementing the requirements of this section. The Director 
     may designate a lead agency, and may use interagency working 
     groups to assist in developing and issuing the guidance.
       (2) Interim guidance.--Before the issuance of guidance 
     under paragraph (1), agencies may follow the guidance of--
       (A) the writing guidelines developed by the Plain Language 
     Action and Information Network; or
       (B) guidance provided by the head of the agency that is 
     consistent with the guidelines referred to in subparagraph 
     (A).

     SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

       (a) Initial Report.--Not later than 9 months after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency shall 
     publish on the plain writing section of the agency's website 
     a report that describes the agency plan for compliance with 
     the requirements of this Act.
       (b) Annual Compliance Report.--Not later than 18 months 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 
     thereafter, the head of each agency shall publish on the 
     plain writing section of the agency's website a report on 
     agency compliance with the requirements of this Act.

     SEC. 6. JUDICIAL REVIEW AND ENFORCEABILITY.

       (a) Judicial Review.--There shall be no judicial review of 
     compliance or noncompliance with any provision of this Act.
       (b) Enforceability.--No provision of this Act shall be 
     construed to create any right or benefit, substantive or 
     procedural, enforceable by any administrative or judicial 
     action.

     SEC. 7. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF PAYGO LEGISLATION FOR THIS ACT.

        The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Clay) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CLAY. In recognition of Sunshine Week, today we are considering 
H.R. 946, legislation aimed at making the government more open and 
accessible. H.R. 946, the Plain Language Act, was introduced by 
Representative Bruce Braley of Iowa. This bill requires agencies to use 
plain writing in government documents.
  The administration recently issued a directive on open government. 
One of the simple principles of the directive is that information 
should be accessible. This is the aim of this bill. This bill will make 
information more accessible by requiring agencies to write documents in 
a way that is clear and easily understood. We often focus on the need 
to make information available, but even if the information is 
available, it isn't useful unless it can be understood.
  AARP wrote a letter supporting this bill. And it says, ``the use of 
plain language in documents issued to the public will save the Federal 
Government

[[Page H1539]]

an enormous amount of time now spent helping citizens understand the 
correspondence they receive. It will also reduce errors in the public's 
response to the information the government sends out, as well as 
minimize complaints from frustrated citizens trying to decipher overly 
dense and nontransparent communications.''
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this worthy bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. Madam 
Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I want to join with my colleague from Missouri in 
supporting this bill. I really think that we need to see more bills 
like this. Plain language sounds so simple, but for so long the 
American people have been asking for Washington to do what it tells 
everyone else to do, and that is reform itself. You shouldn't have to 
hire a lawyer to be able to understand what the government is telling 
you or doing, and sadly that has been historically the fact. And I want 
to thank the author of this bill for bringing this forward.
  I hope that this is the beginning of the melting of the gridlock of 
always trying to not change the way Washington operates. I hope this is 
the beginning of saying, before we ask the private citizens to change 
the way they live their lifestyle, the way they act, before we start 
asking the private sector to reform their way of operation, we should 
lead through example by changing the way Washington operates and the 
way the Federal Government relates not just to its services but to its 
constituency. And I think this bill does that.
  I think one of the greatest frustrations that we find in the American 
people today is the fact that they feel that Washington is 
disconnected. And a bill like this points out how disconnected, that 
when we can't even send out notices to inform our citizens of what is 
going on, what they need to do, or what is possible--we can't even do 
it in plain language. We have to do it in a legalese that may sound 
good here in Washington, but it is not understood out in the real 
streets of America.
  So I ask my colleagues, again, to use this as an example of just the 
first of many. And so we can look at not just reforming how we 
communicate, but how we govern, how we represent, and how we tell the 
American people we really do finally care enough to change the way we 
are operating, and that for once, Washington is going to lead through 
example rather than edict.
  I would again compliment the author and the Representative of the 
majority for bringing this forward.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the chief sponsor of this 
legislation, my friend from Iowa, Representative Braley, as much time 
as he may consume.
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I thank my friend from Missouri for giving me 
time to speak on this bill. I thank my colleague from California for 
his impassioned support of this bill, because I believe this is the 
little-engine-that-could in terms of how we change the way that the 
Federal Government communicates with American citizens. And I think the 
people would find it surprising to know that somebody who spent his 
life practicing law would be introducing this bill. But the amazing 
thing is I was introduced to the concept of plain language in the Iowa 
Supreme Court's 1983 decision requiring all jury instructions to be 
written in plain language so that people could understand how their 
laws impact things.
  That's why this bill is so important, because it gives the government 
the responsibility to communicate effectively with the citizens that we 
serve.
  One of the things that is so amazing is that when you look at most 
government publications, you would think they were not written for 
their intended audience. And that is the basic premise of the plain 
language movement. It's when you write, you think about your intended 
audience and how you communicate effectively with them in words they 
can understand.

                              {time}  1400

  This bill requires the Federal Government to write documents, such as 
letters from the Social Security Administration, notices from the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, in simple, easy-to-understand language.
  When I first introduced this bill in the 110th Congress, I was 
pleased when it passed the House floor by a vote of 376-1. 
Unfortunately, it was never taken up by the Senate. I am hopeful and 
confident that this time around it will be considered by the Senate and 
signed into law so that the public will get the kind of government 
service they deserve.
  As my colleague has pointed out, a large array of organizations who 
deal with our constituents that are impacted by Federal policies 
support this movement. And I want to thank the Oversight and Government 
Reform chairman, my colleague, Ed Towns, and Ranking Member Darrell 
Issa for their support of this important bill and also thank Oversight 
Government Reform staffer Krista Boyd for all of her help in making 
this happen.
  Anyone who has done their own taxes knows the headache of trying to 
understand pages and pages of confusing forms and instructions. There 
is no reason why this bill can't eliminate Federal gobbledygook. And we 
can honor our friend and former colleague, Maury Maverick, Sr., who 
coined the phrased ``gobbledygook'' in describing bureaucratic language 
that is as hard to understand as the call of wild turkeys in his native 
Texas.
  I would also remind my colleagues that this plain language in 
government communications has been incorporated into the Senate-passed 
health care bill, it was incorporated into the House-passed health care 
bill, and it is important that we move forward from this point in 
changing the way that government speaks to its citizens.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Again, I would like to thank the author. And let me clarify: there 
are many of us who could explain what the turkeys are talking about in 
Texas, but I don't think it is appropriate on this floor.
  But I have to say that you are right, so much of this documentation 
is written where the public can't understand it. And, to be blunt about 
it, as somebody who has worked in government since I was 24, they don't 
want the public to understand. They purposely think that legalese and 
elite discussion and text is some way to be able to safeguard 
traditional government structures; and I think that this breaks down 
that, and I think you would agree.
  I will say this as a former mayor. If a city manager sent out a 
letter to a constituent of a mayor or city council member in the manner 
that the Federal Government sends it out, that city manager wouldn't be 
employed for very long. I think that is the same standard that we 
should hold for the Federal Government. If it isn't appropriate for our 
council members or mayors or our school district representatives to 
send out those kinds of information, to have that kind of relationship 
between the constituency and the taxpayer and the government, then, 
doggone it, it shouldn't be appropriate for the Federal Government to 
think that somehow we are so high and mighty that we can't break down 
and finally start using plain speech and straight talk. And I think 
that is what your bill starts with, and I think it is a step in the 
right direction. I just hope to see us follow through.
  And I will say this personally: my wife is a tax consultant, and I 
would love to see the day that we make the IRS and tax consultants 
obsolete so I can see more of my wife during certain times, put them 
both out of business. And maybe this is one step there.
  I yield to the gentleman from Iowa.
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. I think you have hit on a very important point 
and, that is, we don't realize how much time and money are wasted by 
people trying to figure out forms that they can't understand. They call 
Federal agencies, they go into phone trees where they go on hold and 
they wait and wait and wait. This can be small business owners. It can 
be elected officials at the level that you are talking about, because a 
lot of the policy we set intersects with local and State government 
agencies. And, because of that, by improving the quality of information 
we are providing at the outset, it is going to greatly reduce the 
demands on many Federal employees.

[[Page H1540]]

And that is another side effect of this legislation.
  I can't agree more with you that it is important to take this step 
now so that we can start to send a message that we are serious about 
improved transparency in our communications with our constituents, and 
I think that it is great that we are moving forward in a bipartisan 
step to do that.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Reclaiming my time, I would actually even ask the 
gentleman to take a look at the fact that it is sad that in the United 
States, that if you go to the translated interpretations of our 
government regs, they tend to be much more simply put and much easier 
to understand than the so-called English legalese that is being put out 
there. So I think the challenge is really one that is long and weighty, 
and so I thank you very much for it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.


                Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. DeGette). Members are gently reminded to 
address their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I would like to now yield 3 minutes to the 
distinguished chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform 
Committee, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns).
  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I would like to first thank the chair of 
the subcommittee, and of course the ranking member of the full 
committee, Congressman Issa, and of course Congressman Clay who chairs 
the subcommittee, and Congressman Bilbray who is the ranking member of 
the subcommittee, and Congressman Braley who was really responsible for 
us being here today to move this legislation forward.
  This is Sunshine Week, and this is sunshine legislation. This bill 
requires government documents to be in plain writing. The bill defines 
plain writing as writing that the intended audience can readily 
understand and use because it is clear, concise, well-organized, and 
follows other best practices of plain writing.
  Requiring government documents to be written clearly will make it 
easier for Americans to understand government communications, and it 
will make the Federal Government more accountable.
  President Clinton issued a memo in 1998 directing the agencies to 
write documents in plain language. Twelve years have passed since that 
memo was written, and most agencies are still not taking the issue very 
seriously. But I think this legislation will let them know that this is 
something that we are not going to walk away from. It is important that 
they follow through.
  In a letter supporting this bill, the American College of Physicians 
Foundation wrote: ``We frequently hear from our members that they have 
trouble understanding some government letters and forms. Our intent is 
to ensure that government documents created for consumers are clearly 
and plainly written.''
  H.R. 946 was amended during committee consideration to focus the 
scope of the bill on the type of documents that are most in need of 
attention. As amended, the bill requires agencies to use plain writing 
in documents that deal with the Federal benefits or services. This 
means, for example, that the Department of Health and Human Services 
will have to use plain writing when it issues instructions under the 
Medicare prescription drug program; and I think that is so important.
  The bill also requires the IRS to write tax documents in plain 
writing, and it requires agencies to use plain writing in documents 
that explain how to comply with the Federal requirements. This will 
make it easier for Americans, especially small businesses, to comply 
with the law.
  In a letter supporting H.R. 946, a group of small business 
organizations wrote: ``Small business owners strive to adhere to a vast 
array of Federal obligations but often have difficulty deciphering what 
is being required of them.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. TOWNS. The use of plain language is a commonsense approach to 
saving the Federal Government money, and small business owners time, 
effort, and money. This legislation makes good sense, it is good 
government, and I encourage my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I just want to use this instance to thank Chairman Towns. At a time 
when the American people are crying out for bipartisan effort, I think 
his leadership on a very critical committee, the Oversight Committee, 
has been stellar in a manner that the rest of America I think would 
love to see the rest of this town operate as well as your committee 
does, Mr. Chairman. And thank you very much for that bipartisan effort, 
including everyone in the process.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Again, I call on all of us to vote together to support this bill and 
to use it as a marker for more progress at clarifying and opening up 
the government process and allowing the average citizen to participate. 
And the only way to do that is for Washington to change the way we do 
business.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, in closing, let me first thank the gentleman 
from California for his comments and remarks about common sense and 
disclosure.
  The bill requires each agency to train its employees in plain writing 
and to report annually on the agency's efforts to comply with this act.
  Under this bill, each agency must devote a section of its Web site to 
its plain writing efforts. Agencies also must provide a way for members 
of the public to provide input. This will allow small businesses or 
other members of the public to highlight particular documents that are 
complex or confusing. This bill will make the government more 
transparent and efficient, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 946, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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