Sponsor ( legislative ) - wikipedia Sponsor ( legislative ) A sponsor or patron is a person, usually a legislator, who presents a bill or resolution for consideration. Those who support it are known as cosponsors or copatrons. U.S. Congress A sponsor in the United States Congress is the first member of the House or Senate to be listed among the potentially numerous lawmakers who introduce a bill for consideration. Committees are occasionally identified as sponsors of legislation as well. A sponsor is also sometimes called a `` primary sponsor. '' It should not be assumed that a bill 's sponsor actually drafted it. The bill may have been drafted by a staff member, by an interest group, or by others. In the Senate, multiple sponsorship of a bill is permitted. In contrast to a sponsor, a `` cosponsor '' is a senator or representative who adds his or her name as a supporter to the sponsor 's bill. An `` initial cosponsor '' or `` original cosponsor '' is a senator or representative who was listed as a cosponsor at the time of a bill 's introduction, rather than added as a cosponsor later on. A cosponsor added later is known as an `` additional cosponsor ''. Some bills have hundreds of cosponsors. External links Sponsor / Cosponsor Summaries from the Library of Congress : ( 2007 - 2008 ), ( 2005 - 2006 ), ( 2003 - 2004 ), ( 2001 - 2002 ), ( 1999 - 2000 ), ( 1997 - 1998 ), ( 1995 - 1996 ), ( 1993 - 1994 ), ( 1991 - 1992 ), ( 1989 - 1990 ), ( 1987 - 1988 ), ( 1985 - 1986 ), ( 1983 - 1984 ), ( 1981 - 1982 ), ( 1979 - 1980 ), ( 1977 - 1978 ), ( 1977 - 1978 ), and ( 1975 - 1976 ). Footnotes Jump up ^ `` Bills Introduced / Bills Referred / Sponsor ( CongressionalGlossary.com ) ''. hobnob blog. TheCapitol.net. Retrieved 3 May 2014. ^ Jump up to : Johnson, Charles. `` How Our Laws Are Made '', United States House of Representatives ( 2003 ). Jump up ^ Sagers. Chris. `` A Statute by Any Other ( Non-Acronomial ) Name Might Smell Less Like S.P. AM., or, The Congress of the United States Grows Increasingly D.U.M.B. '', Cleveland - Marshall Legal Studies Paper No. 08 - 151 ( 2008 ) : `` bills may also be drafted by constituents or interest groups, by state legislatures ( ' memorializing ' Congress to enact federal laws ), by administrative agencies, or by commissions appointed by the president or a cabinet member. '' Jump up ^ Fitch, Brad. `` Media Relations Handbook for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits, And Congress '' ( TheCapitol.Net 2004 ) : `` Some bills have hundreds of cosponsors, since members can easily add their support to any bill introduced and sometimes do it verbally without notifying staff. '' United States Congress House of Representatives Senate ( 114th ← 115th → 116th ) Lists of congressional lists Members and leaders Members Current By length of service Freshmen Youngest members Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Delegates Senate Current by seniority Dean of the Senate Former senators Living Earliest serving Earliest living Expelled or censured Classes Born outside the U.S. House Current by seniority Dean of the House Former representatives Living Oldest living Earliest serving Expelled, censured, and reprimanded Leaders Senate President ( list ) President pro tempore ( list ) Majority and minority leaders Assistant party leaders Democratic Caucus ( Chair Secretary Policy Committee Chair ) Republican Conference ( Chair Vice-Chair Policy Committee Chair ) House Speaker Leaders Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group Democratic Caucus Republican Conference Districts List Apportionment Caucuses, women and minorities Congressional caucus African Americans in the House Congressional Black Caucus African Americans in the Senate Asian Pacific American members Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Hispanic and Latino members Congressional Hispanic Caucus Congressional Hispanic Conference Jewish members LGBT members LGBT Equality Caucus Native American members Women in the House Congressional Caucus for Women 's Issues Women in the Senate Related By length of service historically Powers, privileges, procedure, committees, history, and media Powers Article I Copyright Commerce ( Dormant ) Contempt of Congress Declaration of war Impeachment Naturalization `` Necessary and Proper '' Power of enforcement Taxing / spending Privileges and benefits Salaries Franking Immunity Procedure Act of Congress ( list ) Appropriation bill Blue slip Budget resolution Censure Closed sessions House Senate Cloture Concurrent resolution Continuing resolution Dear colleague letter Discharge petition Engrossed bill Enrolled bill Expulsion Joint resolution Joint session ( list ) Lame - duck session Majority of the majority ( Hastert Rule ) Multiple referral Procedures ( House ) Quorum call Reconciliation Rider Saxbe fix Sponsorship Suspension of the rules Unanimous consent Veto Line - item veto Pocket veto Veto override Senate - specific Advice and consent Classes Executive communication Executive session Filibuster Jefferson 's Manual Senate Journal Morning business Nuclear option Presiding Officer Recess appointment Reconciliation Riddick 's Senate Procedure Senate hold Senatorial courtesy Seniority Standing Rules Tie - breaking votes Traditions Treaty Clause Committees Chairman and ranking member Of the Whole Conference Discharge petition Hearings Markup Oversight List ( Joint ) List ( House ) List ( Senate ) Select and special Standing Subcommittees Items Gavels Mace of the House Seal of the Senate History Biographical Directory Divided government House Gerrymandering Party control Senate Senate election disputes Senatorial memoirs Representative memoirs Media C - SPAN Congressional Quarterly The Hill Politico Roll Call Offices, employees, services, and the Capitol Complex Legislative offices Congressional staff Government Accountability Office ( Comptroller General ) Architect of the Capitol Capitol Police ( Capitol Police Board ) Capitol Guide Service ( Capitol Guide Board ) Congressional Budget Office ( CBO ) Compliance Library of Congress Government Publishing Office ( GPO ) Technology Assessment Offices Senate Curator Historical Library House Congressional Ethics Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Operations Interparliamentary Affairs Legislative Counsel Law Revision Counsel Library Employees Senate Secretary Chaplain Curator Inspector General Historian Librarian Pages Parliamentarian Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper House Chaplain Chief Administrative Officer Clerk Doorkeeper Floor Operations Floor Services Chief Historian Pages ( Page Board ) Parliamentarian Postmaster Reading Clerk Sergeant at Arms Library of Congress Congressional Research Service ( reports ) Copyright Office ( Register of Copyrights ) Law Library Poet Laureate THOMAS Adams Building Jefferson Building Madison Building Government Publishing Office Public Printer Congressional Pictorial Directory Congressional Record Official Congressional Directory United States Government Manual Serial Set Statutes at Large United States Code Capitol Brumidi Corridors Congressional Prayer Room Crypt Dome Statue of Freedom Rotunda Hall of Columns Statuary Hall Visitor Center The Apotheosis of Washington Statue of Freedom Declaration of Independence painting Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States Apotheosis of Democracy First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln Surrender of General Burgoyne Surrender of Lord Cornwallis Revolutionary War Door Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way Vice President 's Room Vice Presidential Bust Collection Office buildings Senate Dirksen Hart Mountains and Clouds Russell House Building Commission Cannon Ford Longworth O'Neill Rayburn Other facilities Botanic Garden Health and Fitness Facility House Recording Studio Senate chamber Old Senate Chamber Old Supreme Court Chamber Power Plant Webster Page Residence Subway Websites House of Representatives Senate Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sponsor_(legislative)&oldid=690454832 '' Categories : Terminology of the United States Congress Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 13 November 2015, at 13 : 29. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how many co sponsors can a bill have
Answer: hundreds of cosponsors