Race, Contact Effects, and Effective Lawmaking in Congressional Committee Hearings

Bibliographic Data

ID6340472
AuthorsJacob M Lollis (0000-0002-5917-0835, University of Virginia, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume78
Issue1
Pages102-119
Publication date2025-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Research Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1065-9129 • E-ISSN: 1938-274X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/10659129241289953
OpenAlexW4403128444
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited51

Though there is strong evidence that nonwhite lawmakers introduce more racially salient legislation than white lawmakers, it is less clear whether race is a significant predictor of other legislative behavior. Given mixed findings in existing research, lawmakers’ actions in committee offer a new test of how race shapes legislative behavior. I develop new, original measures identifying race references in more than 1.4 million congressional committee hearing statements. I find that nonwhite lawmakers discuss race more frequently than white lawmakers in hearings, though white lawmakers are more likely to mention race in racially diverse hearings due to contact effects. Using a novel measure of race-issue bills, I demonstrate that lawmakers’ race statements in hearings are linked to policy representation. These findings explain how racial diversity in legislatures affects legislative speech and policy representation

Lawmaking · Legislature · Political science · Race (biology · Race to the bottom · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Public Administration

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