Plain Language Government?
On Monday, June 1, the White House issued the following press release in which Vice President Gore announces President Clinton's Executive Memorandum mandating that all government regulations be written or re-written in "plain" language. The results (like the Tax Code) should be interesting.
[Press Release] [President's Memorandum]
Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release June 1, 1998
VICE PRESIDENT GORE ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE MEMORANDUM MANDATING PLAIN LANGUAGE FOR ALL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
Washington, DC -- Vice President Gore unveiled an Executive Memorandum today directing that all new government regulations be written in plain language, making government writing clearer and easier for Americans to understand.
President Clinton signed the Executive Memorandum today to direct agencies to: (1) write any new document that tells the public how to get a benefit or comply with a requirement in plain language by October 1, 1998;(2) write all new government regulations in plain language by January 1, 1999; and, (3) revise all existing letters and notices into plain language by 2002.
"Today, with the President's Memorandum, plain language becomes the rule in the federal government, not the exception," said Vice President Gore, who appeared with Small Business Administrator Aida Alvarez at an event in downtown Washington D.C. to mark the opening of Small Business Week.
"Clarity helps advance understanding and understanding can help advance trust," the Vice President added. "And trust -- especially trust in the promise of our self-government -- is essential if we are to come together to solve the problems we face as a nation."
Many agencies have made great progress in rewriting their regulations into plain language, including the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA), and Americans have begun to make notice.
For instance, during a recent storm in California, an SBA loan applicant who had filed his own application by mail visited an SBA disaster office to confirm that he had filled out the form correctly. Because it was so clear and so easy, he was worried he had missed a page or filled out the wrong form.
The VBA has also simplified its language, prompting one customer to say after receiving a letter from the VBA, "this is how the government should write to its customers. I feel like I'm talking to a real person."
Under the Administration's efforts to reinvent government, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have eliminated over 200 outdated programs, 16,000 pages of regulations, and 640,000 pages of internal rules.
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And here is the actual Memorandum from the President of the United States:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release June 1, 1998
June 1, 1998
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Plain Language in Government Writing
The Vice President and I have made reinventing the Federal Government a top priority of my Administration. We are determined to make the Government more responsive, accessible, and understandable in its communications with the public.
The Federal Government's writing must be in plain language. By using plain language, we send a clear message about what the Government is doing, what it requires, and what services it offers. Plain language saves the Government and the private sector time, effort, and money.
Plain language requirements vary from one document to another, depending on the intended audience. Plain language documents have logical organization, easy-to-read design features, and use: common, everyday words, except for necessary technical terms; "you" and other pronouns; the active voice; and short sentences.
To ensure the use of plain language, I direct you to do the following:
By October 1, 1998, use plain language in all new documents, other than regulations, that explain how to obtain a benefit or service or how to comply with a requirement you administer or enforce. For example, these documents may include letters, forms, notices, and instructions. By January 1, 2002, all such documents created prior to October 1, 1998, must also be in plain language.
By January 1, 1999, use plain language in all proposed and final rulemaking documents published in the Federal Register, unless you proposed the rule before that date. You should consider rewriting existing regulations in plain language when you have the opportunity and resources to do so.
The National Partnership for Reinventing Government will issue guidance to help you comply with these directives and to explain more fully the elements of plain language. You should also use customer feedback and common sense to guide your plain language efforts.
I ask the independent agencies to comply with these directives.
This memorandum does not confer any right or benefit enforceable by law against the United States or its representatives. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget will publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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