Fun Facts on the 111th Congress

Each session of Congress has its own unique makeup and characteristics. Check out some of the stats on the 111th Congress and impress your friends at Quizzo:

• Makeup of the U.S. House of Representatives
  110th Congress: 235 Democrats, 198 Republicans, 2 Vacancies
  111th Congress: 256 Democrats, 178 Republicans, 1 Vacancy



• Make up of the U.S. Senate
  110th Congress: 48 Democrats, 2 Independents, 49 Republicans, 1 Vacancy
  111th Congress: 55 Democrats, 2 Independents, 41 Republicans, 2 Disputed Seats
  
  
• While President-elect Barack Obama will be sworn in as one of the youngest presidents in our history, he'll be working with our nation's oldest Congress to date. The average age in the House of Representatives is 57, while the average age in the Senate is 63 - new records. However, while the average age in Congress may have gone up, there are still a bunch of new, younger faces in this year's group, including Jared Polis (CO-2), Glenn Nye (VA-2), and Tom Perriello (VA-5).



• Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao from Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District is the first U.S. House Representative of Vietnamese descent.



• A record number of women are serving in the new Congress: 95 (78 in the House, 17 in the Senate).



• The youngest member of the new Congress is Republican Representative Aaron Schock from Illinois' 18th Congressional District at 27 years old. The oldest is Democratic Senator Robert C. Byrd from West Virginia at 91 years old.



• The dominant declared profession of members in Congress is law, but it's hardly the only one. There's also: sixteen medical doctors, two veterinarians, an optometrist, four ministers, five Peace Corps volunteers, four sheriffs, a volunteer fireman, an FBI agent, three physicists, one microbiologist, a radio talk show host, a television reporter, five accountants, an astronaut, two professional musicians, a screenwriter, an NFL football player, three organic farmers, a ski instructor, a casino dealer, a waitress, a mortician, and a taxicab driver.



• Twelve Representatives and one Senator were born outside the United States. They hail from Cuba, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, Pakistan, Peru, Canada, Vietnam, and the Netherlands.

For more cool information on the new Congress, check out the report from Congressional Research Service.

The Freshman Class: House of Representatives Edition

Unlike the staggered six-year terms in the Senate, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election every two years. On November 4th, 54 new Representatives were voted into office.

Check out the list below for all of the new U.S. House Representatives in the 111th Congress and see if your rep is a newbie!

Alabama-2: Bobby Bright (D)
Alabama-5: Parker Griffith (D)
Arizona-1: Ann Kirkpatrick (D)
California-4: Tom McClintock (R)
California-52: Duncan D. Hunter (R)
Colorado-2: Jared Polis (D)
Colorado-4: Betsy Markey (D)
Colorado-6: Mike Coffman (R)
Connecticut-4: Jim Himes (D)
Florida-8: Alan Grayson (D)
Florida-15: Bill Posey (R)
Florida-16: Tom Rooney (R)
Florida-24: Suzanne Kosmas (D)
Idaho-1: Walt Minnick (D)
Illinois-11: Debbie Halvorson (D)
Illinois-18: Aaron Schock (R)
Kansas-2: Lynn Jenkins (R)
Kentucky-2: Brett Guthrie (R)
Louisiana-2: Anh "Joseph" Cao (R)
Louisiana-4: John C. Fleming (R)
Louisiana-6: Bill Cassidy (R)
Maine-1: Chellie Pingree (D)
Maryland-1: Frank Kratovil (D)
Michigan-7: Mark Schauer (D)
Michigan-9: Gary Peters (D)
Minnesota-3: Erik Paulsen (R)
Mississippi-3: Gregg Harper (R)
Missouri-9: Blaine Luetkemeyer (R)
Nevada-3: Dina Titus (D)
New Jersey-3: John Adler (D)
New Jersey-7: Leonard Lance (R)
New Mexico-1: Martin Heinrich (D)
New Mexico-2: Harry Teague (D)
New Mexico-3: Ben R. Luján (D)
New York-13: Michael McMahon (D)
New York-21: Paul Tonko (D)
New York-25: Dan Maffei (D)
New York-26: Chris Lee (R)
New York-29: Eric Massa (D)
North Carolina-8: Larry Kissell (D)
Ohio-1: Steve Driehaus (D)
Ohio-7: Steve Austria (R)
Ohio-15: Mary Jo Kilroy (D)
Ohio-16: John Boccieri (D)
Oregon-5: Kurt Schrader (D)
Pennsylvania-3: Kathy Dahlkemper (D)
Pennsylvania-5: Glenn Thompson (R)
Tennessee-1: Phil Roe (R)
Texas-22: Pete Olson (R)
Utah-3: Jason Chaffetz (R)
Virginia-2: Glenn Nye (D)
Virginia-5: Tom Perriello (D)
Virginia-11: Gerry Connolly (D)
Wyoming at-Large: Cynthia Lummis (R)

And even though the new Congress is only being sworn in today, there are already some vacancies that need to be filled:

Illinois-5
Rahm Emanuel, the Representative from Illinois' 5th District, resigned his seat effective January 2, 2009 in order to become President-elect Obama's Chief of Staff in the White House. A special election will be held on April 7, 2009 to fill the seat.

California-32
Hilda Solis, the Representative from California's 32nd District, is expected to resign her seat as she seeks confirmation as President-elect Obama's Secretary of Labor. A date for the special election to fill her seat has not been set.

The Freshman Class: Senate Edition

On November 4, 2008, thirty-five Senate races were held in elections across the country. While the majority of the seats were retained by incumbents, the following nine individuals were elected as new senators for the 111th Congress:

Mark Begich (D-Alaska)
Begich defeated embattled Republican incumbent Ted Stevens by 3,953 votes in an extremely tight contest that wasn't decided until all absentee ballots were counted on November 19.

Mark Udall (D-Colorado)
Udall bested GOP candidate Bob Schaffer by a 53%-43% margin to win the open Senate seat being vacated by Republican Wayne Allard.

Jim Risch (R-Idaho)
With GOP Senator Larry Craig's retirement, Risch handed Democrat Larry LaRocco a resounding defeat (58%-34%) for Idaho's open seat.

Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska)
Johanns won retiring Senator Chuck Hagel's seat over Democrat Scott Kleeb, 58%-40%.

Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire)
After a narrow loss for the same seat in 2002, Shaheen defeated Republican incumbent John Sununu by a 52%-45% margin.

Tom Udall (D-New Mexico)
Udall won retiring Republican Senator Pete Domenici's seat over GOP candidate Steve Pearce, 61%-39%.

Kay Hagan (D-North Carolina)
Hagan defeated incumbent Republican Elizabeth Dole 53%-44% in one of the most closely-watched and bitterly-contested Senate races in the country.

Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon)
Merkley bested moderate Republican incumbent Gordon Smith in a squeaker, 49%-46%.

Mark Warner (D-Virginia)
With Republican Senator John Warner's retirement, former Governor and Democrat Mark Warner easily defeated (65%-34%) GOP candidate Jim Gilmore for Virginia's open seat.

Yet to be decided: Minnesota's ridiculously close Senate race between incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman and Democratic candidate Al Franken. After a lengthy recount process that only ended this week, the Minnesota Canvassing Board on Monday certified Franken as the winner of the contest by a margin of just 225 votes, out of almost three million cast. However, a series of legal challenges by the Coleman campaign is likely to keep the race in limbo for at least the next several months. While Franken has claimed victory, he is unlikely to be seated as a senator until all legal issues have been settled.

Also to be resolved: the vacated or soon-to-be vacated Senate seats occupied by President-elect Obama (Illinois), Vice President-elect Joe Biden (Delaware), Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton (New York), and Secretary of the Interior nominee Ken Salazar (Colorado). Here's where we stand:

Colorado
Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has named Denver Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet to succeed Salazar as the U.S. Senator from Colorado. However, Bennet won't be sworn in until after Salazar's confirmation as Secretary of the Interior.

Delaware
While Joe Biden is being sworn in today for his 7th term as the U.S. Senator from Delaware, he will vacate his seat prior to the Inauguration in order to assume his role as Vice President. Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner has said she will appoint Biden's former chief-of-staff, Ted Kaufman, until a special election can be held in 2010. Kaufman is largely seen as a placeholder until Biden's son, Beau, can run for the seat after fulfilling his commitment with the National Guard in Iraq.

New York
With President-elect Obama tapping Senator Hillary Clinton as his choice for Secretary of State, several hopefuls have emerged in recent weeks for the soon-to-be vacated seat. United States Representatives Steve Israel and Carolyn Maloney are said to be in the mix for the position, but the favorite right now has to be Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy. New York Governor David Paterson will name his choice for the seat in the coming weeks.

Illinois
Perhaps no Senate seat has attracted as much attention as President-elect Barack Obama's. While he remains under a cloud of suspicion following allegations that he attempted to sell Obama's seat, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich last week appointed Roland Burris, a former Illinois Attorney General, to the seat. Given the allegations against Blagojevich, Senate Democrats have indicated that they will not seat his choice, and Burris will not be sworn in today. However, it is unclear at this point if the Senate has the constitutional authority to deny Burris of the seat. Stay tuned!

Say Hello to the 111th Congress

Today in Washington, members of the 111th Congress are being sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. The new session will feature a host of familiar faces, a number of new ones, and a few lingering questions still to be resolved. So, let's take a look at the incoming freshman class, some fun facts about the 111th Congress, and the issues and legislation most likely to be taken up in the coming weeks.

What You Need to Know: 01.06.09

Outline of a possible Gaza truce emerges
"The contours of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas are emerging, with diplomacy focusing on international guarantees, including foreign border monitors to oversee any agreement."

Panetta Chosen As CIA Director
"President-elect Barack Obama stunned the national intelligence community by selecting Clinton White House chief of staff Leon E. Panetta, a longtime Washington insider with little intelligence experience, to serve as the next head of the CIA.

The decision -- which was also met with wariness on Capitol Hill -- reflects a desire to change the intelligence power structure, officials close to the selection said yesterday. Obama has chosen retired Navy Adm. Dennis C. Blair as the director of national intelligence, a job he intends to reinforce as the "lead horse" on intelligence issues, an official close to the selection process said."

Obama Seeks Wide Support in Congress for Stimulus
"Two weeks before assuming power, President-elect Barack Obama took his economic recovery package to Capitol Hill on Monday and worked to build a bipartisan coalition to endorse his plan of tax cuts and new spending with an urgent appeal “to break the momentum of this recession.”

Mr. Obama, on his first full day in Washington since the election, held a series of face-to-face meetings with Democrats and Republicans as he began spending his political capital. He spoke of the nation’s economic condition in dark terms and urged Congress to pass the legislation within a month."

Secretary of Senate rejects Burris, aide says
"Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson has rejected Roland Burris' appointment to the Senate, an aide to the secretary told CNN.

Erickson rejected Burris' appointment because his certificate of appointment was missing the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, the aide said Monday."

Bush to create three Pacific marine sanctuaries
"President George W. Bush on Tuesday will designate three remote Pacific island areas as national monuments to protect them from energy extraction and commercial fishing in what will be the largest marine conservation effort in history."

Obama Will Attend D.C., Regional, Youth Balls
"The presidential inaugural committee today announced the full slate of official inaugural balls -- all of which the new president will attend-- and there's one in there for every American.

The slate includes a Neighborhood Ball for D.C. residents and other invitees, Home States balls for Obama (Hawaii and Illinois) and Biden (Pennsylvania and Delaware), and five regional balls for invitees from every other U.S. state and territory. Obama also will host two themed balls -- a Youth Ball for people aged 18 to 35, and a Commander-in-Chief's Ball for active duty and reserve military."

RTV Salutes: Senator Claiborne Pell

Last Thursday, Former Senator Claiborne Pell died at the age of 90 after a long bout with Parkinson's disease. If his name sounds familiar, it's not surprising: you may be a direct recipient of his greatest legislative accomplishment.

In 1972, Senator Pell was the primary advocate for the creation of the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, a federal program that provides low- and middle-income students with scholarships to pursue higher education. He was so key to the passage of the legislation that the program was re-named after him in 1980. Since their creation, Pell Grants have helped more than 50 million young people attend college.

A six-term United States Senator from Rhode Island, Pell also displayed a commitment to the protection of the arts during his time in office from 1961 until his retirement in 1997. He was a primary sponsor of the 1965 law that created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, programs that support artistic, cultural, educational, and research projects across the country.

So, this week, we're remembering Senator Pell for his tireless efforts to protect the interests of young people across America. He fought for our rights to education and opportunity, and we can only hope that a new generation of leaders in Washington will take up his cause.