Evaluating Asian American Representation through Bill Sponsors and Cosponsors from 1999 to 2009

Abstract

Do representatives react to small yet emerging minority groups? Racial and ethnic representation scholarship finds that descriptive representation leads to better substantive representation. Furthermore, the subconstituency politics theory states that elected officials represent only politically active numerical minorities. Asian Americans, a relatively small ethnic minority group in the United States, suffer from poor descriptive representation and participate at lower rates than African Americans and Latinos. Does this mean that Asian Americans are not represented in Congress? Using bill sponsorships and cosponsorships from the 106th to 110th Congresses, I find that legislators with a large number of Asian American constituents sponsor or cosponsor more bills for Asian American issues on symbolic legislation, while only Democrats sponsor or cosponsor more bills for Asian Americans on domestic policy. Furthermore, I also find that Asian American legislators are more likely than non-Asian American legislators to sponsor or co-sponsor coethnic legislation.