Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945. Crs Report for Congress (February 17, 2012)

摘要

This report provides profiles of Senators and Representatives in selected Congresses since 1945. It includes data based on Representatives and Senators serving on the first day of the 79th, 82nd, 87th, 92nd, 97th, 102nd, and 107th 112th Congresses for several demographic characteristics, as well as the tenure of Member service in Congress. The characteristics discussed include age, including the oldest and youngest Members of the House and Senate; congressional service tenure; sex; previous occupation; race and ethnicity; education; religion; and military service. Following the written summaries of each characteristic, the report provides a number of tables that provide the detailed data by the category on which the summaries are based. All data tables appear in the Member Characteristics Data Tables section. In several categories, the report provides data on the U.S. population that may be comparable to data available on Members of Congress. A detailed discussion of the methods used to develop the data presented in the report, and efforts to provide comparison between Member characteristics and the American public, is provided in an Appendix. The disclosure of details of a Members race, education, previous occupation, or other characteristics appears to be voluntary, and no official, authoritative source has collected Member characteristic data in a consistent manner over time. Member data provided in this report are based on commercially collected information, and academic sources. Comparative data on the U.S. population are taken from the Census Bureau, and are supplemented by private sources.