Teach Computer Science to Congress!

Congress: A body that likes to Legislate first, and hold hearings if it doesn't work out.

We can now place the blame for the upcoming DST 2007 mess squarely on Fred Upton and Edward Markey. I came across this clue

The blame for this fiasco lies squarely with Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican, and Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, for sponsoring the amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The amount of energy saved is miniscule at this time of year (unlike in summer with its longer days) and the disruption they have caused to computer systems and transportation schedules (especially airlines) is phenomenal.

This points to the very strong need for source control in Congress. We should apply the lessons of 60 years of computer science to the legislature. Read throughs should be manditory, for example. A bug tracking system to help minimize unintended consequences would also be quite helpful.