That raises the question: what’s behind America’s ageing Congress? Forcing all the members and their staff to walk the halls of the Capitol isn’t helping, either, they argue: “Voting in the traditional method is not social distancing.”, “We in Congress are asking businesses, schools, and local governments to execute strong plans to ensure continuity of operations,” they write. Two members of Congress have already tested positive for the novel coronavirus. This problem bedeviled the Soviet Union in the early 1980s, when no less than three general secretaries of the Communist party – Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko – died in quick succession. Congress is decidedly older than the populace it represents: Although Americans may serve in the House beginning at age 25, only 10 percent of House members have been under the age of 40 in recent years.
This year, however, that may not be so true. Ohio Rep. Steven LaTourette told his colleagues, “We should not take a package put together by a bunch of sleep-deprived octogenarians on New Year’s Eve.” Are our legislators getting older? The dominant professions of Members are public service/politics, business, and law. It is true that wisdom is something that accrues with age and is indispensable to making political choices. The average American is more than 20 years younger than the person who represents him or her in the House. And you'll never see this message again.
One plausible reason: demographics. The median age of currently serving Senators is 66 years, 362 days. On the contrary, both houses are needed to authorize essential spending and approve requests for emergency authority by the president—or, alternatively, to reject or curtain attempts to exercise federal power. Yes. ", Byrd, who needs the assistance of two canes to walk but has had no serious health problem, replied, "My inability is zero except for a problem with my legs. "What is indisputable is that both parties are begging their incumbents to continue serving, regardless of age," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, wrote at the beginning of this election cycle. We must have lawmakers who look like the people they represent Also vital is the moral dimension: elderly leaders are making decisions for future generations that will have to deal with the consequences of these choices. Sens. Much has been written about how the disparity between the age of elected officials and their constituents is bad for democracy.

Alex Lowe, Kurt Wilberding, and Ana Rivas report for The Wall Street Journal with this interactive timeline and histograms. In 1869, the average age of members of Congress was just 45, far younger than any Congress of the 20th century. links for 2010-10-22 | KevinBondelli.com: Youth Vote, Technology, Politics.