Congress Classroom · student handout

Cosponsors and coalitions

Name Period

From 2013 to 2024, bills with at least one cosponsor from the other party became law 4.8% of the time. Bills whose cosponsors all came from the sponsor's party: 0.9%.

Words this lesson uses

Sponsor. The one legislator who introduced the measure. Only a legislator can, though the idea can come from anyone.

Cosponsor. A legislator who asks to add their name in support. There is no limit, and cosponsoring is not a vote.

Markup. The meeting where a committee goes through a measure and changes its text before deciding whether to send it on.

Reported out of committee. The committee filed its report, which is what actually sends the measure to the full chamber. The vote to do it is not enough on its own.

Passed a chamber. The full House or Senate agreed to the measure. It still needs the other chamber and a signature.

Public law. A bill that completed every step and was signed, or passed over a veto. It gets a number like 118-23: the Congress, then its order within it.

Signing on

  • Original cosponsors are listed on the day the bill is introduced.
  • Later cosponsors can be added after that. In the House, until the committee reports the bill, or until the floor vote if it skips committee. In the Senate, by asking on the floor or handing a signed form to the cloakroom.
  • Sponsors recruit them, often with a "Dear Colleague" letter sent to other offices: here is the problem, here is what the bill does, will you join?
  • In the House, a bill its committee has not reported that keeps 290 cosponsors for 25 legislative days can go on the Consensus Calendar, and the Speaker must bring up at least one bill from that calendar in each week the House meets. Very few bills ever get there.

What the record shows

Who signed onBillsPassed their own chamberBecame law
At least one cosponsor from the other party33,946 (44%)13.4%4.8%
Cosponsors from the sponsor's party only27,474 (36%)3.5%0.9%
No cosponsors at all15,447 (20%)3.8%1.2%

Does a cosponsor from the other party cause a bill to move? Write your answer.

Two bills, two cosponsor lists

H.R. 3159, Food Date Labeling Act of 2023 (from How a bill starts)

  • 42 cosponsors in all. From the other party: 5, 1 of them original.
  • Record after introduction: referred to committees and subcommittees. Nothing else. Its record.

H.R. 5646, Stop Campus Hazing Act (its record)

MonthCosponsors from the other party who signed on
Sep 20232 (1 original)
Oct 20232
Nov 20233
Feb 20241
Mar 20241
Apr 20241
May 20241
Jun 20241
Jul 20242
Sep 20246 (the month the committee acted)
In all20 of 58 cosponsors
DateWhat the record says
Sep 21, 2023Introduced; referred to Education and Workforce
Sep 11, 2024Committee markup; approved 28 to 2
Sep 24, 2024Passed the House, under suspension, by voice vote
Dec 11, 2024Passed the Senate by unanimous consent
Dec 23, 2024Became Public Law 118-173

The month the committee acted, day by day: the markup was on Sep 11, 2024. Cosponsors from the other party signed on Sep 10, 2024 (1), Sep 16, 2024 (4), Sep 18, 2024 (1). That is 1 before the markup and 5 after it.

  • H.R. 3159 had 42 cosponsors. H.R. 5646 had 58. Is the difference in the total, or in who?
  • 6 cosponsors from the other party joined H.R. 5646 in the month the committee acted. The days tell you which came first. Do they tell you why? Did the support bring the markup, or the markup bring the support? What would you need to know?

Read the list

  1. How many cosponsors does it have? How many are from the sponsor's party, and how many from the other?
  2. How many were original cosponsors? When did the most recent one sign on?
  3. Put the cross-party cosponsors' dates next to the bill's actions. Did new support come before or after the bill moved, or has it not moved?
  4. If you were the sponsor, which legislator from the other party would you ask to sign on next, and why? Think about committees and states, not personalities.

Exit ticket

A bill has 50 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Using the table, is it better placed than a bill with no cosponsors at all? One sentence.

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