“Quick fix for Congress: Speak English!”

In his new book “A Better Congress: Change the rules, change the results,” Joseph Gibson proposes a A Better Congress: Change the Rules, Change the Results: A Modest Proposal - Citizen's Guide to Legislative Reformnovel idea, why don’t members of Congress use plain English when they write legislation. “If bills were drafted in clearer language, perhaps more members would read and understand them. If the bills then became law, the public might understand them better as well. Of the 460 public laws passed during 2007-08, seventeen were technical corrections bills that fixed drafting mistakes in prior laws — that Congress needed to pass so many of these bills illustrates the problems that complexity introduces.”
. . .
Gibson has a bunch of other useful suggestions for improvement but given Congress’ tendency to make things more, not less, complicated, what are the odds they’ll take his advice? Perhaps as a Christmas gift each member should get his book as a stocking stuffer.

Quick fix for Congress: Speak English!” by Abby Wisse Schachter, New York Post, December 15, 2010

Echoes this suggestion from a reader:

“Makes a great gift for your representatives in Congress!”






For more than 40 years, TheCapitol.Net and its predecessor, Congressional Quarterly Executive Conferences, have been teaching professionals from government, military, business, and NGOs about the dynamics and operations of the legislative and executive branches and how to work with them.

Our custom on-site and online training, publications, and audio courses include congressional operations, legislative and budget process, communication and advocacy, media and public relations, testifying before Congress, research skills, legislative drafting, critical thinking and writing, and more.

TheCapitol.Net is on the GSA Schedule, MAS, for custom on-site and online training. GSA Contract GS02F0192X

TheCapitol.Net is now owned by the Sunwater Institute.

Teaching how Washington and Congress work ™

Select publications from TheCapitol.Net