The USA Patriot Act for homeland security. The Dream Act for young undocumented immigrants who want to make a life in the United States.
Those bill names that make perfect acronyms are no coincidence. In fact, they're often rather tortured and used with increasing frequency in Congress since the early 2000s, according to an admitted “overly in-depth analysis†by Noah Veltman, a Web developer who is working at the BBC on a data journalism fellowship.
Take, for example, the No Field Act: None of Our Funds in the Interest or for the Exercise or Leisure of Detainees, on Mr. Veltman's list of “Sassiest Acronyms.†Sass is not necessarily politically effective: the 2013 bill to cut the defense budget by whatever amount had been designated for recreational facilities for Guantánamo Bay detainees in 2012 did not pass.
According to Mr. Veltman's study of “Congressional Acronym Abuse, 1973-2013,†Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York was the most acronym-prone legislator during that period, sponsoring 43 such bills. Safe was the most popular word, appearing 131 times.
Mr. Veltman's analysis also has a practical element: the Payback Act, Equality Act and the Pharmacy Act will each earn you 20 Scrabble points.
