AI Drafts Swamp House Counsel, Forcing 2nd Passes to Fix Bill Errors
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 17
AI Drafts Swamp House Counsel, Forcing 2nd Passes to Fix Bill Errors
1 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 17
Summary
House staffers and outside groups are increasingly using ChatGPT and Claude to draft bill text, leaving the Office of Legislative Counsel spending more time fixing AI-written language than drafting from scratch.
Errors arise because legislation hinges on fine legal distinctions — such as whether aid is a tax credit, deduction, exclusion or grant — and AI can also miscite statutes or define "state" in ways that exclude D.C. and tribal nations.
Four congressional staffers told POLITICO AI use is becoming routine in reviewing and drafting legislation, even as one staffer called the trend "absolutely terrifying" and said lawmakers are not fully confronting it.
Democrats on the House Administration Committee warned that overreliance on AI could distort members' policy intent and create unintended legal consequences, arguing responsibility for legislation cannot be outsourced to chatbots.
The pressure on the OLC highlights the role of its dozens of civil servants as a core quality-control check for Congress, with outside experts calling the office essential to making lawmaking function.