7 - Comprehension Asymmetries in Legislative Process

Summary

Some federal legislation is unambiguously incomprehensible, even to the lawmakers sponsoring the bills. Yet this legislation passes through both houses of Congress anyway. Part of the reason involves the benefits of legislative incomprehensibility; if hardly anyone understands what a bill means or how it might work, the bill may actually be able to pass more easily since it is hard to identify substantive flaws. Party leaders who are under pressure to pass some legislation can strongarm rank-and-file members to toe the party line and vote in favor. This chapter identifies the significance of this incomprehensible law problem and closes by offering preliminary suggestions for reform.