Legislative Testing

An Idea Whose Time has Come
Legislation Testing
by James Andrew Bridge

How many legislators could pass a test on the United States Constitution? On their own state Constitution? How many could pass a test on legislation they vote on?

Don't you think they should be able to? Or are we condemned to vote for politicians who are ignorant of our Constitution, and who don't give a damn about what their legislation will do to us and our children?

We all watched as the 111th Congress quadrupled the debt—after excoriating the previous President for his modest one—to a real number of $14 trillion, or $186,000 per household. We watched as the that Congress in concert with our President Obama stripped us of our basic liberty and called it Universal Health care, and we watched them do that to us on Christmas Eve, with every Republican locked out of the deliberations.

We watched a majority political party rape the Constitution and enslave us all in impossible debt in an expanding Federal Government that now recognizes no limits to its power, and scorns the Constitution. Every perpetrator has sworn to uphold, defend and protect Constitution and Country, and they have instead abuse us all, and have shown us great contempt and disregard.

I have come up with a set of ideas that will make it impossible, for a time, for our legislators to again savage our Constitution, and burden us with disastrous programs due to poorly studied legislation.

I propose six things to stem that tide or corruption.



1.CONSTITUTION TEST, FEDERAL AND STATE: Congress should seat no elected representative who cannot score a 95% on a test of the U.S. Constitution and of his/her own state Constitution.


2.MANDATORY DEFENSE OF CONSTITUTIONALITY: No legislation may come to the floor for discussion unless accompanied by a defense of its Constitutionality. Paul Ryan has already proposed this at the Federal level.

3.MANDATORY IMPACT STATEMENT: No legislation may come to the floor for discussion unless accompanied by a complete impact statement:
1.who it affects
1.who benefits, and why
2.who is harmed, and why
2.every person who crafts and drafts a bill MUST BE NAMED: aides, consultants, lobbyists. EVERYONE.

3.what are possible unintended consequences of it
the affected area of impact are duly apprised of the impacts and are made aware of said impact before legislation comes to a vote.

4.No one may vote on this legislation until they have passed a test on the impact statement, again, 95% correct or better.

4.MANDATORY COMMITTEE READING AND TEST OF COMPREHENSION: No Legislator may cast a vote on legislation that he has not read

1.legislation must be completely read and understood by a committee, and the CBO should prepare a test that covers all aspects of the legislation.
2.every legislator whose name is affixed to the bill in committee must pass a test at 95% or better that shows he or she understands the bill
3.the bill cannot come out of committee unless ALL the legislators on it have passed that test at that level

5.MANDATORY TEST BEFORE VOTE: No Legislator may cast a vote on legislation unless he has passed a review test of it at a minimum score of 95%

6.MANDATORY PUBLIC HEARINGS: No legislation may come to a vote until
1.the particulars are made known to the public
2.the scores of Legislators' tests are made public
3.the names of all who wrote or worked on the legislation have been made public, and their scores on the test of the legislations import and meaning


I know that these ideas are improvements that may well save Congress from itself, and save us from legislators. If you like them, own them, and pass them on! Every legislator in this country should be so bound and tested.

Blessing on you and yours, and God help our troubled nation.