Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of
House Bills
Betsy Palmer
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
November 24, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS22477
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress
Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills
Sponsorship of a Bill
Representatives introduce bills in the House chamber by placing them in the clerk’s “hopper,” a
box at the rostrum, when the House is in session. The original signature of the sponsor must
appear on the measure when it is introduced. Cosponsors do not sign the bill; the sponsor need
only submit a list of names when the bill is dropped in the hopper. Cosponsors commonly ask the
sponsors to add their names to a bill to signal support for the measure.
Members typically sponsor bills they support. On occasion, a Representative may introduce a bill
as a courtesy, such as legislation proposed by the President or a senior Administration official. In
such a case, the sponsor may designate the bill as introduced “by request.” As House Rule XII
states, “When a bill or resolution is introduced ‘by request,’ those words shall be entered on the
Journal and printed in the Congressional Record.”
A sponsor may withdraw the measure he or she has placed in the hopper only until it receives a
number and is referred to committee. Once referred, neither the sponsor nor any cosponsor nor
any other Member may withdraw the bill, even by unanimous consent. The measure becomes the
property of the House, and the House may act on it even if the sponsor resigns from the House, or
dies.
Cosponsorship of a Bill
Representatives may cosponsor a bill either at the time of its introduction or subsequently.
Members whose names are submitted with a bill at the time of introduction are commonly
referred to as “original cosponsors.” Once a bill has been introduced, Members may add their
names as cosponsors until the bill has been reported from all the committees to which it is
referred (or been discharged from the committees).
The names of added cosponsors appear in the Congressional Record and in any subsequent prints
of the bill. Sponsors and cosponsors of bills and amendments may be found by searching the
Legislative Information System (LIS), CRS’s online legislative resource. House Rule XII
provides that a bill may be reprinted if 20 or more cosponsors have been added since the previous
printing, and the primary sponsor submits a written request for the Speaker to reprint the bill.
A cosponsor may also have his or her name removed from a bill until the last committee of
referral has reported it. For this purpose, either the cosponsor or the primary sponsor of the bill
must request unanimous consent on the House floor.
Rules governing the number of cosponsors permitted on a bill have changed over the years. From
1967 to 1979, House rules limited the number of cosponsors to 25 per bill, requiring the
introduction of identical bills when the number of cosponsors exceeded 25. Since 1979, an
unlimited number of cosponsors has been allowed. Private bills are prohibited from having
cosponsors.
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Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills
Gaining Cosponsors
Supporters of a bill often seek cosponsors in hope of demonstrating its popularity and improving
its chances for passage. One of the most common techniques for soliciting support for a bill is the
“Dear Colleague” letter, a mass mailing to selected or all Members. These letters are so called
after the salutation with which they begin.
No House rules or formal procedures govern “Dear Colleague” letters. They are, in effect, a
sponsor’s advertisement for a bill (or, sometimes, an amendment). Typically, the letters briefly
state the issue the bill addresses, its major components, and its policy importance, and include an
appeal to join as a cosponsor. Almost always, they carry the name and phone number of a staff
aide to contact. A new system for distributing “Dear Colleagues” through the Internet was
implemented in the 110th Congress. (See CRS Report RL34636, “Dear Colleague” Letters:
Current Practices, by Jacob R. Straus.)
Before a bill is formally introduced, a Member or an aide acting at his or her direction, who
wishes to become a cosponsor may contact the sponsoring Member’s office and request that his
or her name be added to the bill. A form listing cosponsors is kept, usually by a staff aide, and
submitted along with the bill at introduction. After the bill is introduced, a Member may also
contact the sponsor’s office and ask to be listed as a cosponsor. The sponsor decides when to
submit these additional cosponsors to the House Clerk for publication in the Congressional
Record.
Author Contact Information
Betsy Palmer
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
bpalmer@crs.loc.gov, 7-0381
Acknowledgments
This report was originally prepared by former CRS Specialist Richard C. Sachs. Please direct any inquiries
to the listed author.
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