The Position-taking Value of Bill Sponsorship in Congress

Abstract

What is the value of non—roll call position taking in Congress? The authors argue that non—roll call positions are used by interest groups to acquire information about the direction and intensity of legislators’ preferences. Legislators, in turn, use them to attract campaign contributions from potential donors. Examining bill sponsorship in the 103rd and 104th Congresses, the authors find a relationship between campaign contributions from labor and gun control political action committees and the positions House Democrats take through bill sponsorship. These results suggest that non—roll call position taking indeed matters.