Congress is set up to pass laws. They’re not set up to remove old laws. Because of this, the U.S. Code (U.S.C.) has become a bloated mess that only benefits those looking to exploit loopholes or avoid responsibility by pointing at the letter of the law.

While it’s important to take the time to revise the U.S.C., we should also proactively stop it from becoming a mess again in the future.

All laws passed should have their success metrics (in business, we call these Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs) defined and included. There should also be a sunset period defined—a time during which, barring Congressional action, the law will be removed from the books.

After the defined period, a Congressional committee could hear testimony about how the law has met its KPIs and, if it’s still relevant and has achieved its goals, can decide to reenact it for another period of time. If it is no longer relevant, or if it has failed to achieve its defined goals, it should cease to be law.