A new congress always presents challenges and opportunities for promoting better understanding of demographic research and its importance to policy makers. The 105th Congress is no exception.
The 105th Congress, which opened for business January 7, is the first consecutive Republicancontrolled Congress since the 1920's. There has been high turnover, and consequently, large freshman classes once again in the House and Senate. Perhaps the most telling sign of the GOP's rise to majority is the number of business people, who outnumber lawyers in the House for the first time since the "Congressional Quarterly" (one of the major D.C.-based publications) began tracking demographics on Members. Business people and bankers in the House have increased from 118 in the 95th Congress to 181 in the 105th, while during the same period, the number of lawyers declined from 222 to 172. The 105th Congress also includes 74 educators, 1 entertainer, 3 professional sports stars, 14 governors, 11 doctors, 6 Peace Corps volunteers and 1 member of the clergy. As has been true in previous Congresses, the members of the 105th Congress are well educated. There are at least 393 Representatives and 93 Senators with bachelor degrees, 112 Representatives and 17 Senators with master degrees, 178 Representatives and 53 Senators with law degrees, 19 Representatives and 3 Senators with doctoral degrees and 11 Representatives and 2 Senators with medical degrees.
In addition, there are 3 Rhodes Scholars in the Senate and 1 in the House. The House also claims 1 Marshall Scholar. The current party breakdown is 227 Republicans, 207 Democrats and 1 Independent in the House and 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats in the Senate. The average length of service of Senators in the 105th Congress is ten years. In the House, the average length of service is eight years, or four terms. More than half of the House (53%, or 232 members) have arrived since 1992 withoutprior service. Forty Senators are new to the chamber in that period. Of the fifteen new Senators, eightare former members of the House: Robert Torricelli (DNJ); Wayne Allard (RCO); Richard Durbin (DIL); Sam Brownback (RKS); Tim Hutchinson (RAR); Tim Johnson (DSD); Jack Reed (DRI) and Pat Roberts (RKS). The influx brings the number of Senators who first served in the House to forty- nine. While many firsttermers are new to Congress, they are not new to public office. Overall, 67% of all House and 59% of House Freshmen members have held another public office. The average age in the House is 52; in the Senate, the mean age is 58.
A record number of women and Hispanics are serving in the 105th Congress. There are 62 women Members, 53 in the House, 9 in the Senate. There are 21 Hispanic Members, all in the House. There are 40 Black Members; 39 in the House and 1 in the Senate. There are seven members of Asian/Pacific Island ethnicity. There are eight members of the House, excluding Delegates, who were born outside of the United States. Places of birth include Cuba, Germany, Hungary, South Korea, Kenya, Japan and the Netherlands. No current Senators were born outside of the U.S.
Military background has declined steadily in recent Congresses. In the 101st Congress (19891991), 70 Senators and 216 House Members cited military service. Currently, 138 Representatives and 48 Senators have had some form of military service.
Almost all Members of the House are married (366), and most have children (377). Eightyeight of the Senators are married and 95 have children.
There is no better way for members of congress to learn about demographic research than through a constituent. Please contact the Public Affairs office for guidance on how to set up such meetings. We can be reached at 202.483.5158 (phone); 202.328.3937 (fax), or via email at 102735.376@compuserve.com.