Essential Estrogen

Congressman Bruce Braley's hope that government documents be written in simple, easy-to-understand language is one step closer to becoming a reality.

The Plain Language in Government Communications Act, or HR 3548, was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by Braley last fall and overcame its first major hurdle when it was passed unanimously by the Subcommittee on Information Policy this week. The bill will now move to the full House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for consideration.

"The subcommittee's passage of the Plain Language Act is the first step in making government more accessible and accountable to American taxpayers," said Braley, a Democrat who represents Iowa's First District. "There's no reason why the federal government can't write their forms and other public documents in a way we can all understand."

The bill would require the federal government to write documents like tax returns, college-aid applications and Veterans Administration forms in plain language. Several before-and-after examples are available on the Plain Language website. A companion bill, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, is pending before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. While the measures have bipartisan support, it is anticipated that Republicans will push to expand the reach of the legislation to federal regulations as well as forms and documents. It's a move that Democrats would most likely embrace, giving the potential legislation even more chance of success.

"We feel optimistic about the future of the plain language bill in the Senate because there has been Senate interest in moving forward," Braley said. "It's like anything else though, finding floor time in the Senate is a precious commodity. Because there are so many of what I would refer to as big-ticket bills that are seeking floor time and because of the difficulty they have in getting the 60 votes needed to cut off debate, we have our work cut out for us. We will be working very hard with people of interest in the Senate and the committees of jurisdiction to make sure that once we get this passed in the House, we can get it passed in the Senate. But, right now, my focus is on the House. We have to do everything we can to develop support through the committee structure and then get it out on the floor for a vote."

Braley said he is "confident" the measure will pass if brought to the floor.

"[The bill] had very strong support from Republicans and Democrats in the subcommittee," he said.

While there might be some initial, up-front costs associated with re-writing the forms and documents, Braley said this bill will save taxpayers money.

"It has not been scored by the [Congressional Budget Office]," he said. "The whole purpose of the plain language bill is to reduce the cost to the federal government by making it so that people write these publications in language that brings fewer requests for assistance from U.S. citizens. That's the whole goal: To make it easier to understand, create less of a burden on the legislative agencies that are responsible for these programs. We will be working to see what, if any, additional costs there will be."