1. Before the bill - how plain language got started in the US federal government
2. The bills – how we are battling to get Congress to pass a bill requiring the government to write in plain language
3. Promoting plain language in a public agency
1. The art of the possible –
moving a federal government
to plain language
Dr. Annetta L. Cheek
Lisbon | 12 October 2010
2. Presentation Outline
1. Before the bill - how plain language got
started in the US federal government
2. The bills – how we are battling to get
Congress to pass a bill requiring the
government to write in plain language
3. Promoting plain language in a public agency
4. How it all started
• In the early 90s, some federal employees
started pushing for plain language
• In 1994, they held their first “Plain English
Workshop” – focusing on clear
regulations
• The group started meeting regularly, and
still meets monthly in Washington, DC.
It’s now called PLAIN
6. How PLAIN supports plain language
• Holds monthly meetings on plain language topics
• Offers free half day training to any federal agency –
has training at least 8000 employees in these courses
• Developed the “Federal Plain Language Guidelines”
for agencies to use -
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/guidelines/rea
der-friendly.cfm
7.
8. Clinton Administration Initiatives
• The Clinton Administration, 1992 through
2000, was a highpoint in plain language in the
government
• Many agencies were very active in plain
language
– the Securities and Exchange Commission
– Veterans Affairs
– the Social Security Administration
– Health and Human Services
9. • Clinton issued a presidential memo in 1998
that PLAIN helped write -
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/whatisPL/gov
mandates/memo.cfm
10.
11. Clinton Administration Initiatives -2
• Vice President Gore started an awards program – the
no-gobbledygook awards
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/award_win
ning/nogobbledygook.cfm
• The awards attracted a lot of press attention
• They built enthusiasm among federal employees
15. 2. Battling for a bill
Since plain language seemed to have stalled in
the Bush administration, plain language
advocates decided they would try to get
Congress to pass a law requiring the
government to communicate more clearly.
16. How US Congress works
• In most cases, to get a bill through Congress,
you need to get the same bill introduced in
and passed by both chambers – the House
and the Senate
• That means we needed two sponsors and two
bills
17. How do you get a bill introduced?
To have any hope of success on Capitol
Hill, you need either—
• Lots of money, OR
• Time,
• Persistence, and
• Contacts.
25. We visited and called and visited
and called for 4 months:
26. We finally found someone interested in a bill--
Bruce Braley, Freshman Democrat from
Iowa, and a trial attorney
27. And a few months later
• We also found a Senate sponsor – Daniel
Akaka, from Hawaii.
28.
29. Writing the bill
• Once we had sponsors, we could think about
writing a draft that they might introduce
• We started by defining our ideal bill
30. The best of all possible bills
• Addresses regulations
• Addresses documents written for the public
• Includes key elements of plain language
• Requires government-wide guidance
• Requires agency training
• Requires agency lead official
• Has specific targets for agency efforts
• Requires agency reporting on progress
31. Politics is the art of the possible.
Otto Von Bismarck, remark, Aug. 11, 1867
32. What was in the 2007 bills
• Regulations
• Documents written for the public
• Key elements of plain language
• Government-wide guidance
• Agency training
• Agency lead official
• Specific targets for agency effort
• Agency reporting on progress
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33. • You have to be flexible. You aren’t
going to get everything you want
• We really wanted to cover regulations,
but we lost that in discussions with an
important House committee that had to
approve the bill
34. • And you have to be ready to provide
possible solutions to problems
• For example, the legislator drafters inserted
in an early version a requirement that each
agency write its own guidance—a terrible
solution
• So we were ready for the next version . . .
35. • We had a guidance document on
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/ for years,
buried on a page entitled “guidance”
• So we changed its name to “Federal plain
language guidelines” and put a link on the
homepage
• And the bill’s drafters accepted it as an
official set of guidelines
36.
37. Once the bills were introduced
• We started making more calls and having
more meetings, trying to get co-sponsors,
targeting members who might be particularly
helpful in getting the bills passed.
38. • We also asked for letters of support for the
bill from important organizations, like
– the National Small Business Association,
– American Association of Retired Persons (a huge
and powerful group),
– Disabled American Veterans
– Consumers Union
39.
40. What happened to the 2007 bills
• The House bill, introduced first, passed
376 to 1—a huge victory.
• The Senate bill was introduced later.
Senator Bennett of Utah put a hold on
the bill, which halted all movement.
• We ran out of time to solve this
problem.
• So we were back to square 1.
41. In 2009
• Both sponsors from 2007 introduced
similar bills early in the session
• The House bill passed, 386 to 1
• And then, . . .
I’ll tell you about that later.
42. What do the bills do?
Here’s what the current bills say (this is
somewhat different from what they said when
they were first introduced).
43. 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.
44. Definitions
Writing that is clear, concise, well-
organized, and follows other best
practices of plain writing appropriate
toward the subject or field and intended
audience.
45. This is not the definition we wanted, and it’s
not even well written. But this was a place we
had to compromise to get the bill out.
46. Agency responsibilities
Within one year of the Act, use plain
language in any new or substantially revised
document covered by the Act.
Within 9 months of the Act:
• Designate one or more senior officials within
the agency to oversee the agency’s
implementation of this Act;
47. • Communicate the requirements of this Act to
employees;
• Train employees in plain writing;
• Establish a process for overseeing ongoing
compliance with the requirements of this Act;
• Designate one or more agency points-of-contact to
receive and respond to public input on
– the agency’s implementation of the Act and
– the agency’s reports required under the Act.
48. • Create and maintain a plain writing website, within
the domain of the agency’s homepage, to:
– Inform the public of the agency’s compliance with the
requirements of this Act; and
– Provide a mechanism for the agency to receive and
respond to public input.
49. Reports
• Agencies must post an annual report on
their websites reporting how the agency is
doing implementing the act.
• There is no way to ensure compliance,
beyond the ability of the public to comment
on agency reports and to complain to
Congress if they don’t think the agency is
doing well.
50. Guidance
• Within 6 months of the Act, the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget must develop
guidance on implementing the requirements of the
Act. The Director may designate a lead agency, and
may use interagency working groups to assist in
developing and issuing the guidance.
• Until then, agencies are to use the Federal Plain
Language Guidelines to guide their work.
51. Where are we now?
• In March, the House bill passed, 386 to 33.
• Once again, Bennett of Utah put a hold on the
Senate bill.
• In mid-September, after much hard work, we got
Bennett to lift the hold.
52. What’s next?
• Still have to get the Senate bill to a floor vote
• Then the House has to vote on it again, since getting
Bennett to lift his hold required some changes, and
for a bill to become law both chambers must pass
the same version
• So, will we get a law this year . . .
53.
54. And if we don’t succeed this year
• We’ll try again in the next Congress
55. And if we do succeed this year
• We’ll be back next year, trying to get one that
addresses regulations
56. 3. Promoting plain language in a public
agency
• Moving a large agency toward a plain style of
communication is difficult.
• You are trying to change the organization’s
culture to one where the needs of the reader
come first.
• You can’t make this happen overnight – you
need a campaign plan and a sustained effort.
57. Gather evidence
Find trouble spots in your organization where
there is pain caused by poor communication:
• too many forms filled out incorrectly
• too many calls or letters asking for clarification
• too few people responding to requests on
time or correctly
• not enough funds collected
• too many violations
58. • Find some plain language case study that is as
similar as possible to your situation – start by
looking at “Writing for Dollars . . .”
http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/kimble
/dollars.htm
Watch for a new and expanded version of
“Writing for Dollars . . .” in the next year.
59.
60. • Find some good before and after examples –
try looking in
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/inde
x.cfm
• You can create your own before and after
examples, using your own material
• Ask people which version they would rather
read – the before or the after
61. Find a champion
• Find someone as high in the organization as
possible who likes the idea of improving
communication
• Find out if anyone is a member of Clarity or
Plain International – not likely, but possible
• Find a manager who is having pain because of
a communication problem
• Show them your case studies and examples
62. Do a pilot project
• Even if you can’t find a champion, find some
manager who will let you redo a document
that’s causing problems because it’s unclear
• The more pain the document is causing the
organization, the better for you
63. • Test the document with users – 4 or 5 people
going over the document with you can
highlight trouble spots
• Ask them (one person at a time) to explain
short sections of the document to you – if
they can’t, there’s a problem
64. • Also evaluate the response to the document
before and after you revise it
• This can be simple – you can keep track of
– error rates on forms
– funds collected
– response rate
– calls asking questions
– other relevant statistics
65. Start a plain language group
• Find other employees who are concerned
about clear communication
• Meet regularly to hear presentations, develop
tools, write examples
• Develop a group website to post news,
examples, successes
66. Start an awards program
• Give awards for best original documents and
best rewrites
• Get a sponsor – as high in the organization as
possible
• But you if you can’t find a sponsor, have the
plain language group do it
67. Start a training program
• Offer short training programs free to your
organization’s staff
• Do document workshops, where people can
bring in their problem documents and get
advice on rewriting them
• Do brown bag lunches where people help
each other with short passages that are giving
them trouble
68. Have reasonable expectations
• Your agency won’t change overnight
• Remember, you are changing the culture of
your organization — from one that rarely
considers the needs of the reader, to one that
always puts the reader’s needs first
• Look for a series of small successes — aim for
continuous improvement — not rapid change.
69. Remember
• There are other people out there in other
organizations fighting the same battles
• The battle is worth it – it will pay off in better
customer service and an improved bottom
line
70. Dr. Annetta L. Cheek
Chair, Center for Plain Language
annettalcheek@gmail.com
