How Bills Are Introduced
The first step in the process is to write a bill. Ideas for bills come from citizens, lobbyists or other representatives of interest groups, or the executive branch. The executive branch suggests roughly half of all bills passed. Bills may be drafted by legislators, their staffs, lawyers for a Senate or House committee, or a representative from an interest group, but only a member of Congress can actually introduce a bill. Lawmakers who sponsor a major bill usually find cosponsors to show that the bill has wide support.
To introduce a bill in the House, a member drops the bill into the hopper, a box near the clerk's desk. To introduce a bill in the Senate, the presiding officer must first recognize the senator, who then formally presents the bill.
As soon as a bill is introduced, it is given a title and number and then printed and distributed to lawmakers. (The first bill in a Senate session is S.1, and the first bill in the House is H.R.1.) These steps make up the first reading of the bill.
Using this information finish the sentence: Ideas for bills can come from __ and __. However, only __ can introduce a bill.