David Mayhew states that if it is assumed that Members of Congress are single-minded seekers of reelection, the then we would predict that Members of Congress would devote substantial resources to three basic activities: Advertising, credit claiming, and position taking. This brief will focus on credit claiming, specifically enacting legislation.
The American Legislative Branch is composed of two houses the first house is that of the Senate an the second is that of the House of Representatives. The composition of each House is outlined in the U.S. Constitution. Article I, section 3, clause 1 provides for two Senators from each State; Article I, section 2, clause 3 provides for proportional representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The seats in the House are apportioned based on state population according to the constitutionally mandated Census.
Currently the Distribution of seats in the House of Representatives is as follows:
- California: 53
- Florida: 27
- New York: 27
- Ohio: 16
- Texas: 36
- Virginia: 11
We made a comprehensive list of the 114th Congress measuring when each member assumed office.
| Total Bills Enacted into Law | |
| 104th Congress 1995-1996 | 334 |
| 105th Congress 1997-1998 | 403 |
| 106th Congress 1999-2000 | 604 |
| 107th Congress 2001-2002 | 383 |
| 108th Congress 2003-2004 | 504 |
| 109th Congress 2005-2006 | 483 |
| 110th Congress 2007-2008 | 456 |
| 111th Congress 2009-2010 | 385 |
| 112th Congress 2011-2012 | 284 |
| 113th Congress 2013-2014 | 296 |
| 114th Congress 2015-2016 | 139 |
This graph compared with the graph above provide the necessary data to test Mayhew’s theory.
