“Federal agencies have a responsibility to provide clear and precise communication," said Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa. Charlie Neibergall / AP file photo
Consumer Bureau, HHS and Labor Top Ratings for Eliminating 'Bureaucratic Gibberish'
State Department won most improved, while Justice sunk to the clear-expression cellar.
In the annual sweepstakes to battle bureaucratese, the agencies rated most highly for plain writing in 2016 were the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Health and Human Services and Labor departments.
The fifth report card from the nonprofit Center for Plain Language, announced Tuesday to reporters by Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa., is based on compliance with the 2010 Plain Writing Act. This year, the State Department made the most improvement in clear expression. The Justice Department received the lowest grade, a C, in a competition in which agencies submitted their high-impact forms and instructions for evaluation.
“Some people think they need some kind of expert to understand what the government is up to, but when average folks run into this, it impedes the whole purpose of government,” Loebsack said. “Federal agencies have a responsibility to provide clear and precise communication, but for years we’ve been bogged down by bureaucratic gibberish.”
The quest to write more plainly “should be a huge wakeup call because it doesn’t take any more time and money,” added center board member and language consultant Joanne Locke. If agencies write plainly in the first place, “it saves money and they get a better response.”
A common pitfall for agency writers, she added, is “if they know a lot about an area, they want to share it. But the readers don’t need to know it all.” The target audience for a document usually needs to hear a recommended action, she said.
In grading the documents, the judges looked at use of language, white space and font, said Chip Crane, a center board member who did the lead analysis.
Under the act, agencies appoint coordinators who stay in touch with the center. Asked whether prospective staff or budget cuts under the Trump administration might slow progress, Crane said, “The center’s role won’t fall because we’re nonprofit volunteers. But we wonder that with any big change, it could slip from the front burner. So we encourage agencies to keep it in the forefront, and would hope any administration would want to communicate clearly.”