There are two
main reasons why members of Congress would introduce legislation written in whole or in part by
interest groups. One reason has to do with time and expertise. The other has to do with trust
and political affinity.
The first reason that members of Congress would
submit such bills, rather than writing their own, is because they do not necessarily have the
time or the expertise to write the bills themselves. Members of Congress have limited time and
resources. They are typically members of a number of committees and subcommittees. They have
to participate in those groups activities as well as things like floor debates. They have to
consider large numbers of proposed bills every year. They have to engage in fund raising and
other election-related activities. They do have staff, but they do not have many staffers
compared to the amount of work there is to be done. In addition, members do not always have the
expertise and knowledge needed to put together a whole bill on a given subject. They may know a
little about the subject, but they are not thoroughly expert in it. Because they lack the time
and the knowledge to write the bills themselves, they submit bills that are written for
them.
The second reason has to do with trust and affinity. If a member of
Congress is conservative, for example, they are likely to trust the National Rifle Association
and they are likely to feel a connection to that organization. They might also be tied to it
through campaign donations that it provides to them. Because they trust the NRA, they will not
fear that it is writing a bill that they do not like. Because they feel connected to it and
they need its money, they might also feel obligated to introduce the bill.
In
general, then, members of Congress will do this because it saves them precious time and effort
and because they trust the interest groups and/or feel that they owe the groups some
loyalty.
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