Legislative Ignorance Quotes
Writing during World War II:
Referring to a new, complex tax bill that Congress had just passed:
At the time, most members never read the bills they voted on, though some tended to read earlier versions. The bills were very long—sometimes as long as 2000 pages. Usually a few members of Congress worked with Congressional Staffs and lobbyists to finalize bills. It was believed that the lobbyists were the only people who read the entire bills in all their versions.
the largest economic and banking reform in decades The Dodd-Frank reform legislation was very complicated. It was extensively debated including attacks against provisions that were not even in the bill (See {632833}.) Few of the supporters and fewer of the opponents understood the bill. Many members on both sides had not even read the entire bill. It passed.
