Congressional lawyers are struggling to fix AI-generated bills riddled with wrong terms and incorrect citations, according to a report from Politico. The House Office of Legislative Counsel is overwhelmed by the volume of proposals created by representatives using publicly available tools like ChatGPT and Claude to draft legislation. Officials say the lawyers spend more time reviewing and rewriting these drafts than they would if the work were done manually.
Sources told Politico that the algorithms struggle with nuance, often missing tiny details that have a massive effect on how a law is interpreted and enacted. Wade Ballou, who headed the office for almost 10 years until 2024, said the technology cannot distinguish between a tax credit, a tax deduction, a tax exclusion, or a grant. The tools also tend to be overly specific, classifying “state” as only the 50 states and excluding Washington, D.C., and tribal nations from federal programs. A lawyer familiar with the office added that the AI frequently cites previous statutes incorrectly, a fundamental error that could derail a bill.
This reliance on technology is creating a deeper issue for the legislative process itself. Congressional staffers are reportedly not learning the issues they are writing about as deeply as they used to because they defer to the AI. When the computer writes the proposal, the human does not have to “learn the issue as deeply,” which creates a disconnect between the text on the page and the policy goals it is meant to achieve. The errors are not just frustrating; they are actively confusing the people who have to interpret the text.
Internal Fixes and Hallucinations
To combat the influx of flawed proposals, the House Office of Legislative Counsel is deploying its own technology. The office established a working group to develop an internal tool called the “Comparative Print Suite.” Unlike general chatbots that can confidently present false information, this software is designed to catch mistakes before they leave the office. It returns an error if it cannot verify where changes in a proposal should be made, effectively preventing hallucinations from entering official draft bills.
The hope is that this internal system will help the lawyers manage the growing workload and ensure the final text is legally sound. Some lawmakers have suggested that Congress could leverage similar technology to allow members to submit AI-assisted drafts directly to the legislative portal, bypassing the need for manual review. The House Office of Legislative Counsel has not yet implemented this proposal, but discussions are ongoing. [1] Reddit Tests Video and Audio Post Versions offer a parallel look at how platforms are adapting to new media formats.
