Moulton, Meadows, Loebsack Introduce TL;DR Act

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA), Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), and Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) announced introduction of TL;DR - the “Too Long, Didn’t Read” Act. The TL;DR Act would direct the Office of Management and Budget to require agencies to place important action items at the beginning of communication with constituents, when they are allowed or required to complete an action item. The clearly marked section at the top will include the following pieces of information (to the extent practicable):

The action item;

If a response is required or optional;

The deadline, if applicable;

How to complete the action item; and

The agency’s contact information

“People seeking assistance from the government should not be tied up in bureaucracy and bogged down with confusing paperwork,” said Moulton. “It's past time we simplify the process of dealing with federal agencies and eliminate barriers to things like VA benefits and Medicare. Government bureaucracy should not be standing in the way of people receiving their benefits. This bipartisan effort will make it easier to contact federal agencies and follow through with any action items required. And it will make government more efficient."

"Any time we can take a step toward making our government more transparent and accountable to the voters, it's a good day,” said Meadows. “It'd be difficult to find a better place to start than by making agency guidelines easier to understand and fully digest, so that Americans can get a head start on understanding the rules and regulations for federal benefits they are working with. I'm proud to join my colleague Seth Moulton on this, and I thank him for his efforts."

The introduction of TL;DR comes at the close of Sunshine Week, “the annual nationwide celebration of access to public information.”

“Government has a responsibility to provide clear communication to the American people. It should be a top priority,” said Loebsack. “For years folks have been bogged down by bureaucratic gibberish and it is past time to more clearly communicate with the public. I am pleased to work in a bipartisan fashion to help simplify the way Americans interact with their government. By providing clear and concise information at the top of any correspondence to the public, the federal government is increasing transparency and acting to best serve the American people.”

To learn more about Congressman Seth Moulton visit https://moulton.house.gov or connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Medium.

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