by CKR
Brian Baird, a Democratic representative from Washington State, observes that most members of Congress did not read the appropriations bill, and some nasty stuff, like Congressional access to everyone's tax return, almost got through.
A favorite trick is for special interests to give Congressional aides little bits and pieces to slip into a must-pass bill at the last minute. It's largely pork, but other things manage to get in.
The stuff is given to aides because the representatives and Senators themselves need to maintain plausible deniability, and sometimes that's even true, with the aides effectively doing the legislating.
It's a dirty system, and Baird must understand that. He just didn't give us the whole story.