Why do members of Congress introduce legislation? Outline the three broad categories and give an example of each.

What will be an ideal response?

The categories are personal, political, and policy. Personal means the member has a personal experience or reason for wanting the bill passed—such as having a mentally ill daughter and introducing a bill to fund mental illness programs. Political means introducing a bill for reelection or partisan reasons, such as sponsoring a labor bill to win the support of union workers in one’s district. Finally, policy means sponsoring a bill because it furthers policy ends the member cares about or that responds to a real-world problem, such as introducing an energy bill during a time when gasoline prices are on the rise.