Order Code RS22555
December 15, 2006
Membership of the 110th Congress: A Profile
Mildred Amer
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
This report presents a profile of the membership of the 110th Congress. Statistical
information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party
affiliation, average age and length of service, occupation, religious affiliation, female
and minority Members, foreign-born Members, and military service.
Currently, in the House of Representatives, there are 237 Democrats (including four
Delegates), 203 Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner). The Senate has
49 Democrats, including two Independents, who have aligned themselves with the
Democrats, and 49 Republicans.
The average age of Members of both houses, at the convening of the 110th
Congress, is 57 years; of Representatives, 55.93 years; and of Senators, 61.73 years.
The overwhelming majority of Members has a college education. The dominant
professions of Members are public service/politics, business, and law. Protestants
collectively constitute the majority religious affiliation of Members. Roman Catholics
account for the largest single religious denomination, and numerous other affiliations
are represented.
The average length of service in the House, at the beginning of the Congress, is
about 10 years (5.07 terms); in the Senate, 12.82 years (slightly over two terms).
A record number of 90 women serve in the 110th Congress: 74 in the House, 16 in
the Senate. There are 42 black or African American Members in the House, including
two Delegates, and one black Senator. There are 30 Hispanic or Latino Members
serving: 26 in the House, including the Resident Commissioner, and three in the Senate.
Nine Members (six Representatives, one Delegate, and two Senators) are Asian, Indian
American (Asian), or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. There is one American
Indian (Native American), who serves in the House.
This report will be revised at the commencement of the 111th Congress.

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The 110th Congress: A Profile1
Congress is composed of 540 individuals from the 50 states, as well as the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.2 This
count assumes that no seat is temporarily vacant. The following is a profile of the 110th
Congress.
Party Breakdown
In the 110th Congress, the current party breakdown in the House is 237 Democrats
(including four Delegates) and 203 Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner).
The Senate has 49 Democrats; two Independents, who have aligned themselves with the
Democrats; and 49 Republicans.
Age
The average age of Members of the 110th Congress is possibly the oldest of any
Congress in U.S. history.3 The average age of Senators in the 110th Congress is 61.73
years, two years older than the average age of Senators in the 109th Congress.4 The
average age of Representatives is 55.93 years, one year older than for Members of the
109th Congress.5 The average age of both houses is 57 years.
The U.S. Constitution requires Representatives to be at least 25 years old when they
take office. The youngest Representative, as well as youngest Member of Congress, is
Patrick McHenry (R-NC), 31. The oldest Representative is Ralph Hall (R-TX), 83.
Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office. The youngest Senator
is Senator John Sununu (R-NH), who is 42 and a former Member of the House. The
1 For background information on earlier Congresses, please refer to CRS Report RS22207,
Membership of the 109th Congress: A Profile, by Mildred Amer; CRS Report RS21379,
Membership of the 108th Congress: A Profile, by Mildred Amer; CRS Report RS20760,
Membership of the 107th Congress: A Profile, by Mildred Amer; CRS Report RL30378, Black
Members of the United States Congress: 1789-2005, by Mildred Amer; CRS Report RL30261,
Women in the United States Congress: 1917-2006, by Mildred Amer; and CRS Report 97-398,
Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress, by Lorraine Tong.
2 This figure includes 100 Senators, 435 Representatives, four delegates (from the District of
Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), and one Resident
Commissioner (from Puerto Rico). Since 1789, 11,815 individuals (not including Delegates and
Resident Commissioners) have served in Congress: 9,920 only in the House, 1,250 only in the
Senate, and 645 in both houses.
3 The complete CRS records on the ages of Members of the House begin in 1907, the 60th
Congress.
4 “110th Congress: Statistically Speaking,” CQ Today, vol. 42, no. 146, Nov. 9, 2006, p. 76,
supplemented by CRS and staff at Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
5 Ibid.

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oldest Senator, as well as the oldest current Member of Congress, is Robert C. Byrd (D-
WV), 89.
Occupations6
In the 110th Congress, law is the dominant declared profession of Senators, followed
by public service/politics; for Representatives, public/service politics is first, followed by
business and law.7 A closer look at the prior occupations of Members of the 110th
Congress also shows:
! 11 medical doctors (including a psychiatrist), three dentists, three nurses,
two veterinarians, one psychologist, an optometrist, and one pharmacist;
! six ministers;
! 36 mayors, nine state governors, nine lieutenant governors (including two
Delegates), two state first ladies (one of whom was also the first lady of
the United States), and one territorial first lady;
! three former Cabinet secretaries, two former Secretaries of the Navy, a
vice admiral in the navy, a former Deputy Administrator in the
Department of Veterans’ Affairs, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State, a former Defense Department counter terrorism consultant, a
former ambassador, three state supreme court justices, and a federal
judge;
! 272 (233 in the House and 39 in the Senate) former state legislators;8
! 101 congressional staffers (including 10 congressional pages), 15 White
House staffers or fellows, several former executive branch employees,
and a former parliamentary aide in the British House of Commons;
! four sheriffs, a deputy sheriff, four police officers (including a Capitol
policeman), two state troopers, two probation officers, a volunteer
fireman, an FBI agent, and a former border patrol chief;
6 The professions described here are not necessarily the ones practiced by Members immediately
prior to entering Congress.
7 “110th Congress: Statistically Speaking,” p. 76. In the overwhelming majority of previous
Congresses, business has followed law as the dominant occupation of Members. In the 110th
Congress, 220 Members (162 Representatives, 58 Senators) list their occupation as law, 205
Members (174 Representatives, 31 Senators) list public service/politics, and 193 Members (166
Representatives, 27 Senators) list business. Eighty-eight Representatives and 14 Senators list
education as a profession. Members often list more than one profession when surveyed by
Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
8 National Conference of State Legislators, “Former State Legislators in the 110th Congress,”
internal report made available to CRS.

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! three chemists, two physicists, a biomedical engineer, and a
microbiologist;
! six Peace Corps volunteers;
! two radio talk show hosts, a radio broadcaster, a radio newscaster, a
television talk show host, and a television commentator;
! five accountants;
! a corporate pilot, and an astronaut;
! three professional musicians, a semi-professional musician, a
screenwriter, a major league baseball player, a major league football
player; and
! three carpenters, two vintners, two bank tellers, a furniture salesman, an
organic farmer, a ski instructor, an ironworker, an auto worker, a clothing
factory worker, a mortician, a waitress, a teamster member/dairy worker,
a paper mill worker, a cement plant worker, a meat cutter, a river boat
captain, a taxicab driver, a toll booth collector, a hotel clerk, a hotel
bellhop, a fruit orchard worker.
Education
As has been true in previous Congresses, most Members of the 110th Congress hold
university degrees.9 CRS research indicates some 399 Members of the House and 98
Senators hold bachelor’s degrees; 124 Members of the House and 19 Senators have
master’s degrees; 178 Members of the House and 58 Senators hold law degrees; 22
Members of the House have doctoral degrees; and 13 Members of the House and three
Senators hold medical degrees.10
In addition, there are four graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, three in the
House and one in the Senate; two Senators are graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy; one
Representative (a woman) is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy; five
Representatives and two Senators were Rhodes Scholars; two Representatives were
Fulbright Scholars, and one was a Marshall Scholar.
Congressional Service
The average length of service of Members of the House is about 10 years (5.07
terms). Representatives are elected for two-year terms. Representative John Dingell (D-
9 “110th Congress: Statistically Speaking,” p. 76., supplemented by CRS.
10 Nine Representatives, one Senator, and one Delegate have an M.D. degree; three
Representatives have a D.D.S. (doctor of dental surgery) degree; two Senators have a D.V.M.
(doctor of veterinary medicine) degree; and one Representative has an O.D. (doctor of optometry)
degree.

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MI), the dean of the House, has the longest consecutive service of any Member of the
110th Congress (51 years). He began serving on December 13, 1955.
The average length of service of Members of the Senate is 12.82 years (about two
terms). Senators are elected for six-year terms. Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), the
President Pro Tem of the Senate, has served longer (48 years) than any other Senator in
history.11 His service began on January 3, 1959. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) is the
current Republican Senator with the longest Senate service (38 years). He has been a
Member of the Senate since December 24, 1968.12
Religion13
Most Members of the 110th Congress cite a specific religious affiliation. Protestants
(Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and others) collectively constitute the
majority religious affiliation of Members. Roman Catholics, however, account for the
largest single religious denomination. Other affiliations include Greek Orthodox, Jewish,
Christian Scientist, Quaker, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(Mormon). There are also two Buddhists and one Muslim in the House. This is the first
time that members of these faiths have served in Congress.
Female and Minority Members
Female Members. More women, 90, serve in the 110th Congress than have in any
prior Congress. Seventy-four serve in the House and 16 in the Senate. Of the 74 women
in the House, 53 are Democrats, including three Delegates, and 21 are Republicans. Of
women serving in the Senate, 11 are Democrats and five are Republicans.
Black Members. There are 43 black or African American Members in the 110th
Congress, 42 in the House, one in the Senate. All are Democrats, including two
Delegates. This number equals that of black Members serving in the 109th Congress,
which was a record. Fourteen black or African American women, including two
Delegates, serve in the House. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is the first black male
Democrat to serve in the Senate.
Hispanic Members. There are 30 Hispanic or Latino Members of the 110th
Congress, the same number as in the 109th Congress, which had the largest number of
Hispanic Members in a single Congress.14 Twenty-seven serve in the House and three in
11 Note that 49 Sens. in the 110th Congress have previously served in the House.
12 For additional information, see CRS Report RL32648, Average Years of Service for Members
of the Senate and House of Representatives, First - 109th Congress, by Mildred Amer.
13 Congressional Quarterly, Inc., “Religions in the 110th,” CQ Today, vol. 42, no. 146, Nov. 9,
2006, p. 77.
14 This number includes three Members of the House who are of Portuguese decent and belong
to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Note, that until November 2006, a record number of 29
Hispanic Members (26 in the House; three in the Senate) served in the 109th Congress. On Nov.
13, 2006, Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) was sworn in to fill the vacancy caused when Rep. Robert
(continued...)

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the Senate. Of the Members of the House, 22 are Democrats, five are Republicans
(including the Resident Commissioner), and seven are women. The Hispanic Senators
include two Democrats and one Republican. All are male.
Two sets of Hispanic Members are brothers, and one set are sisters. Mario and
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Republicans from Florida, serve in the House. Ken Salazar (D-CO)
serves in the Senate, and his brother, John Salazar (D-CO), serves in the House. Linda
and Loretta Sanchez, Democrats from California, serve in the House.15
Asian Pacific Americans. Nine Members are of Asian or Native Hawaiian/other
Pacific Islander heritage. Seven serve in the House, six Democrats (including a Delegate)
and one Republican. Two, both Democrats, serve in the Senate. Of those serving in the
House, one is a Delegate, one is a black Member with Filipino heritage, and one is Indian
American (Asian).
American Indians. There is one American Indian (Native American) Member of
the 110th Congress, who is a Republican Member of the House.
Foreign Born16
Eleven Representatives and one Senator were born outside the United States. Their
places of birth include Cuba, Hungary, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, Pakistan, Canada, and the
Netherlands.
Military Service
According to the Military Officers Association of America, 131 Members of the
110th Congress have had some form of military service.17 The House has 102; the Senate
29. They have served in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf (1990-
1991), Iraq (2003-present), and Kosovo, as well as during times of peace. Some have
served in the Reserves and the National Guard. Several Members are still serving as
Reservists. As noted above, two Senators are former Secretaries of the Navy.
The number of veterans in the 110th Congress reflects part of the trend of a steady
decline in the number of Members who have served in the military. For example, 390
veterans served in the 93rd Congress (1973-1975); and 236 served in the 103rd (1993-
1995). This may be attributed in part to the end of the Selective Service System draft in
1973.

14 (...continued)
Menendez (D-NJ) resigned from the House in Jan. 2006 after he was appointed to the Senate.
Rep. Sires was also elected to the 110th Congress.
15 Note that brothers Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) also serve in the
110th Congress as well as Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and his son Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-
RI).
16 “Born Abroad,” CQ Today, July 1, 2005, p.10, supplemented by CRS.
17 Military Officers Association of America, unpublished data supplemented by CRS.

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