History and timeline

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plain language?</a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/" class=" usa-current current-parent">History and timeline</a> <ul class="usa-nav-submenu"> <li> <a href="/about/history/regulations/" class="">Regulations</a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/memo-guidelines/" class="">Guidelines for President Clinton’s memo</a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/american-bar-association/" class="">Adoption by the House of Delegates</a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/walters-v-reno/" class="">Walters v. Reno</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <a href="/about/get-involved/" class="">Get involved</a> </li> </ul> <a class="usa-nav-link current-parent" href="/about/"> <span>About</span> </a> </li> </ul> <div class="usa-nav-secondary"> <form action="/search/" class="usa-search usa-search-small"> <div role="search"> <label class="usa-sr-only" for="search-input">Search</label> <input id="search-input" placeholder="Search..." type="search" name="q"> <button type="submit"> <span class="usa-sr-only">Search</span> </button> </div> </form> </div> </div> </nav> </header> <div class="usa-overlay"></div> <div class="flex-auto"> <main id="main-content" class="usa-grid usa-content usa-layout-docs"> <aside class="usa-width-one-third usa-layout-docs-sidenav py3 sticky pr5 lg-show clearfix"> <h4 class="caps">In this section</h4> <ul class="usa-sidenav-list"> <li> <a href="/about/definitions/" class=" "> What is plain language? </a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/benefits/" class=" "> Why use plain language? </a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/" class="usa-current current-parent"> History and timeline </a> <ul class="usa-sidenav__sub-list"> <li> <a href="/about/history/regulations/" >Regulations</a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/memo-guidelines/" >Guidelines for President Clinton’s memo</a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/american-bar-association/" >Adoption by the House of Delegates</a> </li> <li> <a href="/about/history/walters-v-reno/" >Walters v. Reno</a> </li> </ul> </li> <li> <a href="/about/get-involved/" class=" "> Get involved </a> </li> </ul> </aside> <div class="usa-width-two-thirds usa-layout__docs-main-content clearfix"> <div class="breadcrumbs usa-text-small caps sans-serif lg-hide"> <a href="/about/" class="text-decoration-none">About</a> </div> <h1>History and timeline</h1> <p>This timeline is an abbreviated and updated version of <a href="/about/history/plain-language-in-the-government/">A History of Plain Language in the Government</a> by Joanne Locke. Additional plain language history is covered in <a href="https://www.plainlanguage.gov/media/Schriver%20Plain%20Language%20in%20US%20Gains%20Momentum%201940_2015%20Draft.pdf">Plain Language in the U.S. Gains Momentum</a> by Karen A. Schriver.</p> <h2 id="2010s">2010s</h2> <ul> <li> <p>President Obama signed the <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ274/content-detail.html">Plain Writing Act of 2010</a> into law on October 13, 2010.</p> </li> <li> <p>The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/inforeg/edocket_final_5-28-2010.pdf">Increasing Openness in the Rulemaking Process – Improving Electronic Dockets</a> on May 28, 2010</p> </li> <li> <p>President Obama issued <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/18/executive-order-13563-improving-regulation-and-regulatory-review">Executive Order 13563 - Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review</a> on January 18, 2011. The order states that our regulatory system must ensure that regulations are accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand.</p> </li> <li> <p>OMB issued <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2011/m11-15.pdf">Final Guidance on Implementing the Plain Writing Act</a> on April 13, 2011.</p> </li> </ul> <h2 id="2000s">2000s</h2> <ul> <li> <p>The Bush administration did not have a formal plain language initiative, however a mandate for communicating clearly with the public was part of the Strategic Plan in a number of federal departments and agencies. Many agencies had strong, active plain language programs in place.</p> </li> <li> <p>Arthur Levitt, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the time, was a champion of plain language and realized how critical it is for financial documents. The SEC’s <a href="https://www.sec.gov/reportspubs/investor-publications/newsextrahandbookhtm.html">Plain English Handbook</a> remains an excellent resource on plain language writing.</p> </li> <li> <p>OMB issued a policy directive about a <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2003/06/23/03-15798/office-of-federal-financial-management-policy-directive-on-financial-assistance-program">standard format for grant announcements</a> in 2003.</p> </li> <li> <p>The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued <a href="https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/plain_lang.pdf">an alert</a> stating that plain language is a public safety matter.</p> </li> </ul> <h2 id="1990s">1990s</h2> <ul> <li> <p><a href="http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/04485f8dcbd4e1ea882569520074e698/6e9ec23768fd7e8888256e5a00718998?OpenDocument">Walters v. Reno</a>, 145 F.3d 1032 (9th Cir. 1998). Court decision that forms issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service were so confusing and misleading that they violated a person’s due-process rights.</p> </li> <li> <p>PLAIN issued <a href="/about/history/memo-guidelines/">guidelines for implementing the presidential memos</a> in 1998.</p> </li> <li> <p>President Clinton issued a <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/WCPD-1998-06-08/pdf/WCPD-1998-06-08-Pg1010.pdf">Memorandum on Plain Language in Government Writing</a> in 1998.</p> </li> <li> <p>President Clinton signed two executive orders: <a href="https://www.archives.gov/files/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12866.pdf">E.O. 12866</a> in 1993 and <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1996-02-07/pdf/96-2755.pdf">E.O. 12988</a> in 1996.</p> </li> <li> <p>The <a href="/about/">Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN)</a> launched our original site in 1994 and started meeting regularly in 1995. This group remains at the center of the U.S. movement.</p> </li> <li> <p>Vice President Gore believed that plain language promotes trust in government, and said, “Plain Language is a civil right.” As the lead for the plain language initiative, he presented <a href="/examples/awards/">No Gobbledygook Awards</a> monthly to federal employees who took bureaucratic messages and turned them into plain language that citizens can understand.</p> </li> </ul> <h2 id="1980s">1980s</h2> <p>President Reagan rescinded President Carter’s Executive Orders, and there was limited progress in the government during the 1980s. It was an agency-by-agency decision whether or not to make plain, clear writing a priority. Some agencies did. For example, the Social Security Administration (SSA) made it a priority to communicate more clearly with the public, revising many of their notices into plain language.</p> <p>Lawyers started to become interested. Since most government agencies are well staffed with attorneys, it was an important step that they started to be convinced of the benefits of plain language. Professor Joseph Kimble of the Thomas Cooley Law School became an active advocate of plain legal writing and has published many articles on that subject. He also edits <em>The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing</em> and the “Plain Language” Column in the <em>Michigan Bar Journal</em>. That column began in 1984 and is the longest-running column on legal writing. PLAIN shares Professor Kimble’s articles with government attorneys.</p> <h2 id="1970s">1970s</h2> <p>For many of us in the government today, the current plain language movement had its start in the 1970s when the federal government encouraged regulation writers to be less bureaucratic.</p> <p>President Nixon created some early momentum when he decreed that the Federal Register be written in “layman’s terms.” In 1977, the Federal Communications Commission issued rules for Citizens Band Radios that were written as a series of short questions and answers, with personal pronouns, sentences in the active voice, and clear instructions. These regulations were probably the first to appear entirely in plain English.</p> <p>In 1978, President Carter issued Executive Orders intended to make government regulations “cost-effective and easy-to-understand by those who were required to comply with them.” A few federal agencies responded by publishing regulations that were more clearly written, although the efforts were sporadic.</p> <p>The Department of Education decided to fund a research and development contract to study the problems in public documents and get help for Federal agencies that wanted to implement plain language. The contract, called the Document Design Project, went to the not-for-profit American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC, in a consortium with Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a private firm, Siegel & Gale, in New York. The Document Design Project team helped many agencies write plain language regulations and other documents, including the Federal Communications Commission rules for Marine Radios, the Housing & Urban Development rules for the Privacy Act, and clearer forms and instructions for student financial assistance. One of the books from the Document Design Project, <a href="http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.amwa.org/resource/resmgr/ResourcePage_/Guidelines.For.Document.Desi.pdf">Guidelines for Document Designers</a>, served as a handbook for government writers for many years.</p> <h2 id="before-the-1970s">Before the 1970s</h2> <p>Interest in making government documents clear has a long, but checkered, history in the United States. After World War II, federal employees like Jim Minor advocated plain language in government documents. John O’Hayre, an employee of the Bureau of Land Management, wrote a book called <a href="https://archive.org/details/gobbledygookhasg3836ohay">Gobbledygook Has Gotta Go</a>.</p> </div> </main> </div> <footer class="usa-footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="usa-footer-primary-section usa-section bg-tan"> <div class="usa-grid"> <h2>Join the Plain Language Community of Practice</h2> <div class="usa-width-one-whole lg-flex items-center"> <p class="mb2 lg-mb0 lg-mr2">Learn about upcoming events and training, plus get support and answers to Plain Language questions.</p> <a class="usa-button usa-button-primary m0 nowrap" href="https://www.digitalgov.gov/communities/plain-language/">Join the Plain Language Community</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="usa-footer__secondary-section usa-section bg-tan-dark"> <div class="usa-grid"> <div class="usa-width-one-half h4"> <p> Help us improve this site on <a href="https://github.com/GSA/plainlanguage.gov"><i class="icon icon-github mr1" aria-hidden="true"></i>GitHub</a> </p> </div> <div class="usa-width-one-fourth md-mb3"> </div> <div class="usa-width-one-fourth"> <h4>Contact us</h4> <ul class="usa-unstyled-list h5"> <li><a href="mailto:info@plainlanguage.gov"><i class="icon icon-envelope mr1" aria-hidden="true"></i>Email us</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/plainlanguagegov-174397429237337/"><i class="icon icon-facebook mr1" aria-hidden="true"></i>Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://twitter.com/govplainlang/"><i class="icon icon-twitter mr1" aria-hidden="true"></i>Twitter</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="usa-identifier"> <div class="usa-grid"> <div class="usa-width-one-whole lg-flex items-center"> <div class="usa-identifier__container"> <div class="usa-identifier__logos"> <a href="https://www.gsa.gov" class="usa-identifier__logo"> <img class="usa-identifier__logo-img" src="/assets/img/icons/gsa-logo.png" alt="GSA"> </a> </div> <div class="usa-identifier__identity" aria-label="Agency description"> <p class="usa-identifier__identity-domain">plainlanguage.gov</p> <p class="usa-identifier__identity-disclaimer"> An official website of the <a class="usa-identifier__identity-disclaimer-link" href="https://www.gsa.gov">U.S. General Services Administration</a> </p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="usa-width-one-whole lg-flex items-center identifier-links"> <div class="usa-width-one-fourth"> <ul class="usa-identifier__required-links-list"> <li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item"> <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"> About GSA </a> </li> <li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item"> <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/website-information/accessibility-statement" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"> Accessibility statement </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="usa-width-one-fourth"> <ul class="usa-identifier__required-links-list"> <li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item"> <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/reference/freedom-of-information-act-foia" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"> FOIA requests </a> </li> <li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item"> <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/reference/civil-rights-programs/the-no-fear-act" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"> No FEAR Act data </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="usa-width-one-fourth"> <ul class="usa-identifier__required-links-list"> <li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item"> <a href="https://www.gsaig.gov/" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"> Office of the Inspector General </a> </li> <li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item"> <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/reference/reports/budget-performance" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"> Performance reports </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="usa-width-one-fourth"> <ul class="usa-identifier__required-links-list usa-unstyled-list"> <li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item"> <a href="https://www.plainlanguage.gov/privacy/" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"> Privacy policy </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="usa-width-one-whole"> <section class="usa-identifier__section usa-identifier__section--usagov" aria-label="U.S. government information and services"> <div class="usa-identifier__container"> <div class="usa-identifier__usagov-description"> Looking for U.S. government information and services? </div> <a href="https://www.usa.gov/" class="usa-link usa-link--external usa-identifier__identity-disclaimer-link"> Visit USA.gov </a> </div> </section> </div> </div> </div> </footer> <script src="/assets/js/build/bundle.js"></script> <script src="/assets/uswds/js/uswds.min.js"></script>  <script async type="text/javascript" src="https://dap.digitalgov.gov/Universal-Federated-Analytics-Min.js?agency=GSA&subagency=TTS" id="_fed_an_ua_tag"></script> </body> </html>

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History and timeline