Absolutely! Over the last seven years, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have made reinventing the Federal government a top priority of their administration, and one of our most important goals is to be more responsive, accessible, and understandable in our communications with the public.

To make sure we achieve this goal, on June 1, 1998, President Clinton sent a letter to the heads of all Federal agencies telling them that government writing must be in Plain Language: logically organized, presented in easy-to-read formats, using common words, pronouns, active voice, and short sentences. New forms, instructions, letters, and publications must now comply with these standards. And, the government is rewriting old publications to make them more "reader-friendly," too. Just look at these examples.

· The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires manufacturers of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to include a prominently-visible warning alerting drivers to the potential danger of the vehicle rolling over. The 20 year-old original was a 77-word, text-only, black-and-white label. In 1999, NHTSA redesigned this label to conform to the government's new Plain Language standards. The new label is a bright, multi-colored design that uses graphics and short phrases to get the driver's attention quickly. Focus groups who reviewed the change are confident that it will reduce rollover accidents, deaths, and injuries.