The Breakdown: Is Congress Also Just Too Old?

Preface: The anti-retirement impulse

"You have to go to work. You have to be functioning on a regular basis. I could think of nothing worse than not having things to do that matter to people. And as much as I love to play golf, yuck! I couldn't imagine."

How entrenched is the Senate?

• Not as much as you might think. While many senators have had prior careers in politics, about three-quarters have served three terms or less, and nearly half of those are still serving their first term. Even so, it's the oldest Senate on record.

• 25% have served more than three terms in the Senate

• 35%
  of senators are in their first term, the newest being Scott Brown, R-Mass.
• 40%
  of senators are in their second or third term

But it's still the oldest Senate on record

• 38%
  of the Senate is eligible for Social Security retirement benefits (age 67 or older)
• 0
  the number of
  senators under 40;
  just nine senators are under 50
• 61
  the median age for senators; the youngest is 40, and the oldest is Robert Byrd, at 92

Why do they stay so long, anyway?

• More experience means more power; many of the longest-serving members of Congress hold key committee or leadership positions, which in turn gives them a good way to sell their incumbency when re-election time comes. Specter banked on this experience to keep his job, (unsuccessfully) pitching a "Delivering for Pennsylvania" campaign near the end of his primary campaign against Joe Sestak.

• Good perk of TENURE Many of the longest-serving members of the Senate hold powerful committee assignments. Daniel Inouye, 86, chairs the Committee on Appropriations. Next-longest-serving member Patrick Leahy (a fairly youthful 70) chairs the Judiciary Committee.
• Better perk of tenureRobert Byrd, Congress' oldest member, is the president pro tempore of the Senate, which means he's third in line for the presidency should something happen to Obama. What Byrd, who is in poor health, would do in the Oval Office is another question.

How about the lower chamber?

• The house skews younger and less incumbent. A little more than half of all congressmen haven't made a career of their time in Congress (yet), and its median age dips a little lower than the Senate's. But not by much: The current House is the oldest on record, too.

• 14% have served more than 20 years in the House

• 32.6%
  of House members have served 10 to 20 years
• 39.7%
  of House members have served two to 10 years in the chamber
• 13.7%
  of House members are first timers; Bill Owens, D-N.Y., is the newest

The House's age range

• 20%
  of members of the House are above the retirement age for Social Security benefits (67 or older)
• 4.5%
  of congressmen are under the age of 40; just three of those are too young to run for president (under 35)
• 56
  the average age for a congressman in the House; the youngest member is 28 and the oldest is 83

The issues an aged Congress faces

• Robert Byrd is really old. For some congressmen, senility can become a major problem, and Byrd's fitness for office has become an issue at more than one junction. In December (during the midst of the health care vote), Republican Sen. Tom Coburn suggested on the floor that "what the American people ought to pray is that somebody can't make the vote," a statement many thought was directed at Byrd. (Coburn's people denied this.) It wouldn't have been the first vote Byrd's missed for health reasons.

• 2%
  the percentage of votes Byrd has missed throughout his career
• 43%
  the percentage of votes Byrd has missed during the current Congress
  

• » Can Senators vote in absentia?: No. In fact, this became an issue in 2007, when late Rep. Julia Carson reportedly had staffers and other members submit votes for her. She died of cancer while in office.

Specter's loss: A referendum on incumbency, and age?

"It's no surprise that people wanted change. When I went to Congress just a few years ago, after 31 years in the wonderful United States Navy, I found too many career politicians are a bit too concerned about keeping their jobs, rather than serving the public and rather than helping the people."