Strength in numbers: The forces of constituency size, legislator identity, and institutional position on veterans’ representation

Objective: Veterans are overrepresented in Congress, yet few studies focus on how veteran-related outcomes are related to the veteran status of individual legislators and the size of veterans within a district. Methods: Using a novel data set spanning from 2005 to 2017, I assess three measures of substantive representation: placement on a relevant committee, legislative effort, and communication efforts. Results: Veterans in Congress are not more likely to get a seat on the Veterans Affairs Committee than non-veterans, but the share of veterans in a constituency is related to committee placement. Though veterans tend to introduce more bills and talk about veterans’ issues more often, the share of veterans within a constituency is also positively related to efforts focused on veterans. Conclusion: Veterans in Congress and size of veterans’ constituencies impact different features of representational politics. Legislators from areas with greater shares of veterans, regardless of their own veteran status tend to get sets on the Veteran Affairs Committee, introduce more veterans’ legislation, and talk about veterans in communications.