Why can the lawmaking process be so time-consuming?

Answer 1

Since the premise of the new U.S. government was to be 'of the people, by the people, and for the people ...' the Framers of the Constitution wanted to be sure the voice of 'the people' would be heard before most governmental action could be taken. They provided for public debate in Congress before bills could be passed, veto power of the president, and interpretation of laws by the judiciary. Further, they required that any change to the Constitution itself must be ratified by 3/4 of the states' legislatures before going into effect.

The point was to prevent one man or small group of men from abusing their positions for their own advantage at the expense of the general population or the public good. It was hoped that by slowing down the process of government, it would be less likely that this could happen because more people would be involved in the process and reasonable and honest people would prevail.

Answer 2

Either...

The Supreme Court must review all proposed bills before Congress can vote on them.

The president can interrupt the work of Congress at any time to focus on another issue.

The bills go through committees of Congress members who carefully study each new idea.

or

The Constitution places a time minimum for Congress to consider all new bills before voting.

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Answer 3

By requiring several groups of people to look at it, it helps prevent bad laws from being put in place when no one is looking. Everyone gets a chance to look at a bill, consider it and weigh it from different viewpoints before deciding if it should become law.