Congressional Statistics

[W. Gray]

Statistics taken from various web sites.

Number of members of Congress since March 1789, when the Constitution took effect,
12,000

Longest serving member in Congress was Carl Hayden, Senator, Arizona, 56 years 319 days,
Robert Byrd, Senator, West Virginia, is nearing that Record

Number members of Congress since 1789 serving 50 years, 5
Daniel Inouye, senator, Hawaii, is nearing that mark

Number members of Congress since 1789 serving 40 years: 40

Current average age of house member is 56; average for senate is 62

Representatives make $169,300
Senators make $188,100
Speaker of the House makes $217,400

There are 75 female representatives currently serving
There are 17 female senators currently serving

Two sisters from California are currently serving representatives, Loretta Sanchez and Linda Sanchez

The first female to serve in Congress was in 1917

Youngest current senator was born in 1966 (Gillibrand, New York)

Oldest current senator was born in 1917 (Byrd, West Virginia)

Minimum age for senate is 30, citizen of US for nine years, and be resident of the state.
Minimum age for representative is 25, citizen of US for seven years, and be resident of the state.


Top five states with number of representatives
California, 53
Texas, 32
New York, 29
Florida, 19
Illinois, 19

Seven states have only one representative
Alaska
Delaware
Montana
North Dakota
South Dakota
Vermont
Wyoming

Current Congress has
39 African-Americans in house, 1 in senate
24 Hispanic-Americans in house, 3 in senate
6 Asian-Americans in house 1 in senate

The symbol of a donkey for the Democrats and the elephant for the Republicans was supposedly selected by one person, a political cartoonist for Harper's Weekly in 1874.

Congressional representatives first elected and still serving:
1950s, 1
1960s, 2
1970s, 16
1980s, 43

In 2009, 54 new representatives were elected


Senators first elected and still serving
1950s, 1
1960s, 2
1970s, 5
1980s, 16
1990s, 28
2000s, 48

In 2009, 14 with maybe Al Franken making 15

[Wilma]

Very interesting and confirms my suspicions.  Too many people have been in office too long.

[Diane Amberg]

Yup 

[Wilma]

Would you by any chance know what their pensions would be if they retired?

[W. Gray]

Everyone would get something different because it depends on several complicating factors including years of service, how much they invest toward retirement, etc.

All of those coming on line after 1983 would get Social Security.

That Social Security would be supplemented by any deposits they make to their retirement fund. If I remember correctly, they can make a contribution of up to a maximum ten percent of salary per year to their retirement fund and the government contributes up to five percent. The supplemental retirement fund draws interest and/or dividends but it depends on how they choose to invest in their supplemental fund. Those who invested in the stock market probably are not so lucky. Those who invested in government securities may fare better but they will realize only around three percent.

Those who were elected prior to 1983 and have 40 years would retire at a maximum 80 percent of their salary after contributing around 7 to 8 percent annually for retirement.

[Wilma]

A senator could retire with approximately $150,000 annual retirement?  But that wouldn't all be tax money, would it?  It would be the result of their federally sponsored investments.  They would'n't exactly have to watch their pennies.  Are there benefits, like medical, that they would have?

[W. Gray]

They also pay into medicare.

[Wilma]

So their medical benefits would be the same as mine.  Do they have any medical privileges from having been Congressmen?

[W. Gray]

Congress members get no medical privileges.

They get medical care based on the medical coverage they pay for.

The President is the only person who gets medical perks and he receives his from the armed forces as a result of his role as the commander-in-chief.