I did a group report in 10th grade (2ish years ago) about policy in Iraq. We spoke to FCNL (Friends League on National Legislation) and The Heritage Foundation. Both said most congressmen didn't even bother to read the whole USAPATRIOT act (it was 250ish pages), and cast their vote based soley on the abstract, which was something along the lines of "giving the government the appropriate tools to combat terrorism in the US", but never actually listed the tools. Kind of interesting, and it also pissed me off that the people running the country completely don't care about everything they pass into law.