Power Lets Lawmakers Prioritize Policy—Without Cutting Constituent Service

📊 A New Census of Constituent Requests (2007–2020):

A novel database of 611,239 legislator requests to a near-census of U.S. federal departments, agencies, and sub-agencies (2007–2020) is used to measure how changes in institutional power shape legislators’ behavior toward policy work and constituency service.

🧭 Research Design: Separating Shifting Priorities From Growing Capacity

The analysis distinguishes two countervailing effects of gaining institutional power: shifting priorities (greater focus on policy) and increased capacity (more ability to do both policy and casework). The research links institutional changes—such as becoming a committee chair—and turnover to observable request patterns across agencies.

🔎 Key Findings:

• As legislators gain institutional power (for example, becoming a committee chair), they increasingly prioritize policy-related requests.
• Despite that shift toward policy work, levels of constituency service (casework) are maintained rather than reduced.
• When a veteran legislator is replaced by a new legislator, the district experiences declines in both constituency service and policy work.
• These patterns suggest that increased capacity—accrued experience and institutional position—allows powerful, long-serving officials to pursue policy goals without sacrificing constituent service.

⚖️ Why It Matters:

Findings inform debates about term limits, legislator capacity, and institutional positions by challenging the notion that power leads officials to abandon constituents. Instead, power appears to create capacity that enables simultaneous investment in policy influence and constituent service, with implications for how turnover and experience shape constituent outcomes.