Plain Writing Act

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to write "clear government communication that the public can understand and use." Specifically, we must use plain language in any document we produce that the public needs to understand in order to:

• obtain a federal government benefit or service we may offer; or
• comply with a requirement that we administer or enforce.

What are we doing about plain writing? Here at the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), we’re committed to writing its documents in plain language using the Federal Plain Language Guidelines. We’ve assigned two staff members to oversee our plain language efforts:

• Jeremy Wise, USITC designated senior official for plain writing
• Peg Hausman, USITC contact for plain writing

We’re training our employees and have strengthened our oversight process. We also work with the Plain Language Action and Information Network to improve our understanding of plain writing and to help other agencies with their plain writing efforts.

We’d like to have your help in complying with this law. Let us know if you have trouble understanding our documents or the pages on our website, or give us suggestions for making them clearer, by writing to us at plainwriting@usitc.gov.

Here is the annual report (PDF) on our progress and compliance with the Plain Writing Act.