Taking Advantage of Disadvantages: The Legislative Effectiveness of Minority Members of Congress

Abstract

The recent rise in descriptive representation in Congress has led to a growing literature focused on how race and ethnicity influence congressional behavior. Still, an important question has yet to be addressed adequately within the congressional literature: are minority members of Congress (MCs) as effective at passing legislation as non-minority MCs? We analyze all non-minor bills introduced between the 101st and 105th Congresses and find that bills sponsored by minorities are at least as likely to pass as those sponsored by non-minorities. This finding runs against extant research that generally depicts minorities as disadvantaged members of the House of Representatives.

Keywords: US Congress, legislative politics, legislative effectiveness, Latino politics, race and ethnicity