ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Transcripts of legislative bodies

So, you know how sometimes grown-ups have big meetings to talk about important stuff? Like, how your teacher has a meeting with the other teachers to figure out what to teach you next? Well, the same thing happens with people who make rules for our whole country.

These people are called legislators, and they talk and argue and vote on things called laws. But sometimes, it's hard to remember everything that was said in those meetings, especially if a lot of people are talking at once. That's where transcripts come in!

A transcript is like a very detailed record of everything that was said, like a really long note that someone takes during the meeting. Someone called a stenographer will write down every single word that was said during the meeting.

And why do we need these transcripts? Well, first of all, it helps us keep track of what was said during the meeting. If someone wants to know what was said about a particular law, they can read the transcript and find out. It's like a memory aid for grown-ups!

Transcripts are also important because they help keep everyone honest. If someone says something really important during the meeting, and then later they say they never said it, we can look at the transcript and see exactly what they said. That way, no one can lie about what happened during the meeting.

So to sum it up: when grown-ups have big meetings to talk about really important stuff, someone writes down everything that was said in a giant note called a transcript. The transcript helps us remember what was said and keeps everyone honest.