For years I have been hearing about each new president planning to introduce bills in Congress. Unless I misread the Consitution, you have to be a senator or representative to introduce legislation. So what actually happens when they talk about the “president’s legislation”?
Is it just that he gets one of his stooges in Congress to introduce it for him?
Yes. Either the House or Senate leaders, and usually several stalwarts will hop onto any bill with a high profile.
If he can’t get at least a 50-50 chance for passage, he will have to lobby long before any thoughts of submitting.
This was the process that mired Clinton’s healthcare initiatives early on. If he could have submitted himself, he probably would have.
That’s it. The President just finds a congressman to sponsor it. In return, the congressman gets publicity - photos, press releases, public appearances, etc. with the President.
The funny thing is that the way such bills are presented in the news media, it almost sounds like the president himself is going to Congress to introduce it, since I never hear about the congressional stooge who actually submits it.
United States Constitution, Article II, section 3
Corwin & Peltason’s Understanding the Constitution says of this passage, “A great many bills, although formally introduced by congressmen, actually originate in the executive departments.”
In the larger context, anytime you hear a President, or someone campaigning to become President, assert that ‘my administration will __________’, where __________ = solve a problem with legislation, you can take that to mean: ‘my administration will try to lobby Congress to do what I want on this issue, but I have no control over what they actually do pass.’ I always laugh about such assertions.