This post by Coby Logen (a pseudonym), who blogs on government website matters at .govWatch and has worked to improve government websites for the past five years, is syndicated here with permission.Thanks Coby!
Senator Bennett from Utah is single-handedly quashing the most commonsense, bi-partisan bill this year–a requirement that the U.S. government write clear, concise, and intelligible English. And he is doing so based on a misreading of the bill.
This post was written by Coby Logen (a pseudonym), who blogs on government website matters at .govWatch and has worked to improve government websites for the past five years. He has a Master’s degree in usability.
We all know that government documents can be hard to understand. Tax forms and legalese befuddle the best of us. Finally, Congress is poised to pass good legislation to outlaw government gobbledygook.
The Plain Language in Government Communications Act of 2007 (HR3548/S2291) will require government agencies to write many future documents in plain language: language that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. Specifically, it mandates plain language for new government documents related to: Read it all..