http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /701040480
January 4, 2007


WASHINGTON -- Here's how the new Congress breaks down in a number of categories:


Party affiliation

• House: 233 Democrats, 202 Republicans.
• Senate: 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, two independents.
Occupation

Many members of Congress are lawyers, former state legislators or former congressional staffers, but there are also six ministers, 11 medical doctors, an astronaut, a ski instructor and a riverboat captain.
Congress also includes former sheriffs, three former Cabinet secretaries and a former Border Patrol chief.
Age

• Average age of House members: 56.
• Average age of senators: 62.
• Youngest and oldest members of the House: Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., 31; Ralph Hall, R-Texas, 83.
• Youngest and oldest members of the Senate: John Sununu, R-N.H., 42; and Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., 89.
Minorities

• House: Forty-two blacks, 27 Hispanics, one American Indian, seven Asian-Americans.
• Senate: One black, three Hispanics, two Asian-Americans.
Religion

Most are Catholic or Protestant. There are 43 Jewish members, 15 Mormons, two Buddhists and a Muslim.
Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will use a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson during his ceremonial swearing-in Thursday.
The chief of the Library of Congress' rare book and special collections division, Mark Dimunation, will deliver the Quran to the Capitol and return it after the ceremony.
Some critics have argued that only a Bible should be used for the swearing-in. Last month, Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., warned that unless immigration is tightened, "many more Muslims" will be elected and follow Ellison's lead. Ellison was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college.
Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert said the new congressman "wants this to be a special day, and using Thomas Jefferson's Quran makes it even more special."
Siblings

Sen. Carl Levin and Rep. Sander Levin, both Democrats from Michigan; Reps. Loretta and Linda Sanchez, both Democrats from California; Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, both Republicans from Florida; Rep. John Salazar and Sen. Ken Salazar, both Democrats from Colorado.