Abstract
Cohesion has long been a topic of interest for those studying minorities in the U.S. Congress. Generally, it is thought that cohesion gives minorities an advantage in legislative bargaining, which ultimately helps them influence the legislative process. However, this only assumes absolute not relative cohesion. When minorities work more with each other they are less able to work with those outside their group. This makes legislative influence more difficult for minorities. By examining sponsorship-cosponsorship networks from the 97th-103rd Congresses, I show that cohesion actually hurts the ability of minorities to influence the legislative process. This affect is felt differently for minority “leaders” and “followers,” suggesting that cohesion benefits some more than others.