2024/10/04 by Jacob M. Lollis
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #Judicial and Constitutional Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/10659129241289953
openalex publication_date 2024/10/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
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.