In these United States, it’s all about the branding — even on Capitol Hill. Showing off your tax dollars at work, members of Congress have their staffs thumbing through the dictionary to devise clever acronyms to attach to otherwise nondescript bills.

Remember Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, the deficit-fighting bill? Or Sarbanes-Oxley, the corporate reform law? Bills named for lawmakers are pretty much passe. These days, an attention-getting acronym — the political equivalent of a vanity license plate — is in…

“You’d be surprised at how much taxpayer time is spent in offices coming up with clever names for bills,” said Michael Franc, a former congressional staff member.

Though some bills in the past did have acronyms, they rarely grabbed the public’s attention. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, or OBRA, for example, is remembered by few people other than Washington’s most die-hard number-crunchers.

Now, acronyms help explain what the bill is all about. They are proof that even bill names have become part of Washington’s all-consuming political spin.

“If it helps people remember your legislation, I think it serves a useful purpose,” said Sen. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.). “But I’m starting to think people are starting to spend more time coming up with a clever acronym than they are worrying about the substance and the impact of the legislation they write.”

Here’s the list of the 14 acro-licious bill names mentioned in this LA Times article; not all of these actually got passed, but they are for-real, no-joking monikers tacked onto legislation reviewed by Congress. I’m sure there’s a treasure trove of past, present and pending legislative acts beyond these:

CAN-SPAM - Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act

USA PATRIOT - Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act

It’s funny: I wasn’t aware that the names of such oft-cited laws like USA PATRIOT and CAN-SPAM were, in fact, acronyms. I guess I should have known, from the all-caps; but somehow, it didn’t throw me.

Sure, it’s ultimately silly. But I admit, there’s a certain artistry to it.