Edolphus Towns: “This is Sunshine Week, and this is sunshine legislation. This bill requires government documents to be in plain writing.…”

“This is Sunshine Week, and this is sunshine legislation. This bill requires government documents to be in plain writing. The bill defines plain writing as writing that the intended audience can readily understand and use because it is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices of plain writing. Requiring government documents to be written clearly will make it easier for Americans to understand government communications, and it will make the Federal Government more accountable. President Clinton issued a memo in 1998 directing the agencies to write documents in plain language. Twelve years have passed since that memo was written, and most agencies are still not taking the issue very seriously. But I think this legislation will let them know that this is something that we are not going to walk away from. It is important that they follow through.”