[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 59 (Thursday, April 10, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING DR. ANNETTA CHEEK ON HER RETIREMENT FROM THE CENTER FOR PLAIN 
                                LANGUAGE

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE L. BRALEY

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2014

  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dr. 
Annetta Cheek on her retirement as Chair of the Center for Plain 
Language. Annetta has been a tireless advocate for plain language. She 
spent 25 years as a Federal employee witnessing firsthand the 
government's failure to communicate effectively.
  While serving as a government employee, Dr. Cheek was the chair of 
PLAIN, a federal interagency plain language advocacy group. In her role 
as chair, Annetta administered the group's website, and taught courses 
on plain language to different government agencies. Annetta also spent 
four years as the chief plain language expert on Vice President Gore's 
National Partnership for Reinventing Government.
  In 2003, Annetta founded the Center for Plain Language, a non-profit 
organization dedicated to plain language advocacy. Annetta has served 
as Chair of the organization since 2003. In her role as Chair, Dr. 
Cheek has urged both the Federal Government and the private sector to 
communicate in a clear and understandable way.
  Dr. Cheek's biggest success was her work to pass the Plain Writing 
Act into law. I was honored to work with Annetta in writing this 
important legislation which requires government agencies to communicate 
in plain language. Thanks to her great work in getting the Plain 
Writing Act passed millions of Americans are now receiving easy-to-
understand communication from the Federal Government.
  I'm very proud of Annetta, and honored to call her a friend. I 
congratulate her on retirement, and wish her and Charles all the best 
in their future endeavors.

                          ____________________