Rand Paul Introduced Three Bills Last Week That Would Dramatically Change the Way Congress Passes Laws

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced three pieces of legislation last week aimed at significantly changing the way Congress passes laws.

The bills, S.1663, Write the Laws Act, S.1664, One Subject at a Time Act and S.1665, Read the Bills Act, would require Congress to write legislation more clearly and actually read the bills before passing them.

"When I ran for office, I promised that if elected, I would increase transparency and accessibility in the U.S. Senate.," Paul said in a press release. "I am proud today to introduce legislation that would require Congress to operate with more accountability to the American people."

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

"Too often in Congress, legislation is shoved through without hearings, amendments or debate," he continued. "Elected officials are rarely given an adequate amount of time to read the bills in full, and unlike Rep. Nancy Pelosi, I believe we must read the bills before passing them into law."

According to Paul, the country has been hit with negative "direct" consequences as a result of straying "from the salutary practice of full, verbatim readings of each bill before final passage."

"Imposed upon the people of the United States excessively long bills, largely written by an unelected bureaucracy, resulting in generally incomprehensible, cumbersome, oppressive, and burdensome laws, containing hidden provisions for special interests," Paul's Read the Bills Act declares.

Paul's other two bills would also have serious ramifications on Congress.

The Kentucky senator's One Subject at a Time Act says it would "end the practice of including more than one subject in a single bill," while his Write the Laws Act aims to "end the unconstitutional delegation of legislative power" away from the legislative body.

"If we are to answer to the American people, it is imperative we pay close attention to how legislation is written and the subject matter it pertains to," Paul said. "These three bills will do just that."

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