Evaluating the Policy Impact of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

In this research, our general theoretical aim is to begin to examine how informal legislative organizations can impact the legislative process. There has been some research on the composition of these organizations but little work on their impact. Our focus is the Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) and its effect on foreign policy and human rights legislation in the U.S. Congress. Building upon our previous work on who joins and who participates in the Caucus and drawing upon John Kingdon?s theoretical arguments about the legislative process, we examine Caucus?s impact along three dimensions: the Caucus?s effect on the congressional agenda, its influence on congressional voting by its members, and its members? role in sponsoring and passing of human rights legislation (both bills and resolutions). Our data for these kinds of analyses are the activities of the CHRC and human rights legislation passed in the 107th and 108th Congress. We have already developed measures and collected data on the CHRC?s impact on the agenda and the voting process, and we have tracked a considerable portion of measures emanating from CHRC members and their legislative outcomes. Our results will allow us to draw substantive conclusions about the impact of the CHRC, and also to draw some theoretical conclusions about the role of these kinds of organizations in the legislative process. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]