The New Congress by Numbers

[longknife]

More women. More minorities. Still not a reflection on American society.


Short piece @ The New Congress by Numbers - World - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com


Who will become Speaker and who will get the choice committee chairs?

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dem new Rebuplicans gonna raise our gas taxes...

Congress' newest class: 58 freshmen in House, 13 in Senate
January 5, 2015 — Congress' approval rating hovers around 15 percent, but there's one group of people excited about the institution: the newly elected lawmakers who are about to join its ranks.

The House will welcome 58 freshmen this coming week, including 43 Republicans and 15 Democrats, pushing the GOP majority to 246 members, the most since the Great Depression. In the Senate, 13 new lawmakers, all but one of them Republican, will be sworn in, flipping control of the chamber to the GOP with a 54-vote majority.

The incoming classes will bring new gender and racial diversity to Capitol Hill, with 104 women in the House and Senate and close to 100 black, Hispanic and Asian lawmakers. The newcomers include the youngest woman elected to Congress, 30-year-old Elise Stefanik of New York, and the first black Republican woman, Mia Love of Utah.

As the new members prepared to arrive on Capitol Hill, several said they brought hopes of curbing the often partisan atmosphere in Washington, showing the public that they really can govern and, just maybe, getting Congress' approval rating back up past 20 percent. "This election was not an endorsement of either party, it was a condemnation of, yes, the president's policies, but also of government dysfunction," said GOP Rep.-elect Carlos Curbelo, who defeated a Democratic incumbent in Florida. "I hope we can be different. ... I hope we focus on getting things done."

A few of the notable new arrivals:

THE MILENNIALS

See also:

Incoming Senate chairman: Gas tax increase on table
January 4, 2015 — The incoming chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee says raising the federal fuel taxes is among the options under consideration to replenish the dwindling Highway Trust Fund.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota says all options must be looked at to fill an enormous shortfall when the existing highway legislation expires in May. Gas and diesel taxes haven't risen since 1993, resulting in perennial shortfalls in the fund that pays for most road projects.

Several commissions have called for raising the taxes, but Congress has been reluctant. Instead lawmakers have dipped repeatedly into the general treasury to keep the trust fund solvent.

The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and the diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon. Thune spoke on "Fox News Sunday."

Incoming Senate chairman Gas tax increase on table CNS News