NSBA President Testifies in Favor of Plain Language Legislation

Feb 26, 2008

Contact:
Molly Brogan
202-552-2904
press@nsba.biz

Washington, D.C. — National Small Business Association President Todd McCracken will testify today before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Technology on the need for plain-language in all federal documents. In a recent NSBA poll, 93 percent of respondents reported having trouble understanding a letter, form, notice, or instructions they received from the federal government.

“In these economically-uncertain times, Congress must do everything in its power to prevent any unnecessary barriers to entrepreneurship,” stated McCracken. “Every hour and dollar wasted trying to decipher complex federal documents is time and money not being reinvested into the economy.”

Without massive staffs of lawyers and accountants, small-business owners are alone in their struggle to understand confusing and arcane federal lingo. The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy estimates that companies with fewer than 20 employees pay more than $7,600 per employee to comply with federal regulations each year whereas large firms pay about 45 percent ($2,400) less per employee.

NSBA has endorsed the Plain Language in Government Communications Act of 2007 (H.R. 3548), introduced by Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) with the support 32 bipartisan cosponsors. The legislation would mandate plain-language in all federally-written letters, forms, notices, or instructions.

McCracken lauded the legislation and urged Congress to continue addressing this ongoing problem. “While this is a solid first-step, the small-business community overwhelmingly supports—97 percent—requiring all federal regulations to be written in easy-to-understand, plain language.”


Click here to read the full testimony.

Since 1937, NSBA has advocated on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. Reaching more than 150,000 small businesses, NSBA is proud to be the first national small-business advocacy organization in the United States. To find out more about the importance of the small-business community, please visit NSBA’s Small Business: 70 Million Strong…And Voting campaign at www.nsba.biz/vote.