InfoD-Cafe: Plain Language Bill Passes U.S. House!

[Karen Schriver]

Hi all,

Exciting news. Some of you may know that the Center for Plain  
Language and other groups have been lobbying the U.S. government to  
clean up its act regarding the many documents we citizens must deal  
with that do not meet our needs  (e.g., IRS forms, medicare  
information, medicaid forms, welfare information, home mortgage loan  
information, student loan information; the genres go on and on and  
they affect the lives of millions of people). The good news is that  
slowly but surely a plain language bill has been underway.

Here's the process. To get a bill passed, the idea for the bill must  
first be introduced. Then it goes to a subcommittee for  
consideration. Next to the House. Then finally onto the Senate where  
it can be enacted into law. On February 28, 2008 the Plain Language  
bill passed the first hurdle, getting out of subcommittee. And last  
night April 14, 2008, it was passed by the House (376 yea to 1  
nea)!!! This legislation (if passed by the Senate, the next hurdle)  
will be a fine example of the potential power of information design  
for social action and democracy. We will not give up even if the  
Senate turns the bill down. If it fails, however, we will need to  
start all over again when the next administration takes over. But we  
are up for the fight. We've come a long way and this is a great day  
for all of us who appreciate the value of good writing and design and  
its impact on society. Here are some details:

Name of Bill:
Plain Language in Government Communications Act of 2007 (Introduced  
in House by Bruce Braley, Iowa)

Who:
110th CONGRESS, 1st Session

Bill Number:
H. R. 3548

Bill Language:
To enhance citizen access to Government information and services by  
establishing plain language as the standard style for Government  
documents issued to the public, and for other purposes.

Here are the results:

• 376 Yea

• 1 Nay (Jeff Flake -- from Arizona. Well his name is flake.  
Apparently (but not confirmed) Jeff Flake is from the 6th  
Congressional District of Arizona.  That area is the southeast part  
of the Phoenix metropolitan area.  It does NOT include Tempe -- the  
location of Arizona State University...)

• 54 Not Voting

Here is further info and the votes according to the role call. If you  
live in the U.S. see if your local representatives are on in the  
list! And if not, ask why not?

The Senate is next. If you live in the U.S. or are a U.S. citizen, I  
hope you'll consider writing or calling your senator, asking to vote  
"YES" on H.R. 3548, the Plain Language in Government Communications  
Act."

We understand that different modes of communicating with the  
government may be assigned different points, with email 1 pt., phone  
call 5 pts., and letter 10 pts. So letters are best.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll185.xml

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:1:./temp/~c11074Mbji::

If these links do not work, go to http://thomas.loc.gov and search  
for HR 3548

Should you, your students, or your organization wish to see the  
testimony that various people gave leading up to this vote, which  
show DRAMATICALLY the value of good writing and ethical content,  
please have them watch these YouTube videos listed below. These  
videos excerpt the highlights of congressional testimony and I'm sure  
you'll agree how rare it is to see public officials talk about  
writing so persuasively. The videos are a tad slow at first, but give  
them a minute or two to get warmed up. See especially Mr. Bruce  
Braley (Representative from Iowa), Annetta Cheek (Chair, Center for  
Plain Language), and Christopher Cox (Chair, Securities and Exchange  
Commission).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJGEPQK3mKg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Annetta+Cheek&search_type=

karen


Karen Schriver, PhD
KSA Communication Design & Research, Inc.
Member of Board, Center for Plain Language
33 Potomac Street
Oakmont, PA 15139
412.828.8791
kschriver at earthlink.net
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