Objectives Marginalization of minority issues from the congressional agenda is widely recognized as a hurdle to the functional representation of African Americans and Latinos. This article examines whether the descriptive representation of minorities in positions of influence helps to address this marginalization. Methods Logistic regression analysis of over 27,000 hearings held in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1979 and 2008 examines whether congressional hearings addressing minority interest issues were more likely to occur under Latino and African‐American committee and subcommittee chairs. Results Findings reveal hearings chaired by Latinos and African Americans were more likely to address civil rights, social welfare, and housing issues. Conclusion These findings confirm that descriptive representation in positions with influence over committee agendas facilitates institutional attention to minority issues, and suggests that the acquisition of institutional power by black and Latino representatives is critical to the functional representation of minority interests.