Christians will make up 87% of voting members in the Senate and House of Representatives, combined, in the 119th Congress. That’s down from 88% in the last session and 92% a decade ago, but still far exceeding the Christian share of all U.S. adults (62%).
Republicans will kick off the 119th Congress with the smallest margin of control in the U.S. House of Representatives in modern history.
Four states that Republican Donald Trump carried in this month’s presidential election also elected Democratic senators.
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Members of Congress today are less likely to be immigrants, especially compared with other periods of history when surges of new arrivals occurred, a new analysis by the Pew Research Center finds.
Legislative productivity may be on an upswing, as lawmakers enacted more bills before their August break than either of the two preceding Congresses.
Survey Report The new Republican-led Congress is drawing harsh reviews from the public – including most Republicans. Just 23% of Americans say congressional Republicans are keeping the promises they made during last fall’s campaign, while 65% say they are not. Nearly four-in-ten (37%) say the new Congress has accomplished less than they expected, while 4% […]
Though crude oil continues to be the nation’s single biggest import, energy exports have risen sharply. Exports of some metals and agricultural products also have grown rapidly.
Survey Report The 2016 presidential campaign has gotten off to a slow start with voters. A majority of registered voters (58%) say they have given at least some thought to candidates who may run for president in 2016, but that is 10 points lower than at a comparable point in the 2008 campaign – the […]
Women now make up 20% of Congress, a record high. But women have more representation in most countries’ national legislatures.
Almost one-in-five members of the House and Senate are a racial or ethnic minority, making the 114th Congress the most diverse in history. However, Congress remains disproportionately white when compared with the U.S. population, which has grown increasingly diverse in recent decades.
Some political observers predict that Obama will be using his veto pen a lot more in his last two years in office than he did in the first six. Recent history indicates that presidents do veto more bills when both houses of Congress are controlled by the opposing party.
Trade is shaping up as a major issue on the 2015 legislative agenda, with Congressional leaders and Obama suggesting bilateral cooperation on U.S. trade agendas. Indeed, a Pew Research Center survey suggests such bipartisan efforts also could find public support.
Seven ordained ministers hold seats in the new Congress – one more than the number in the very first U.S. Congress (1789-1791).[1. Figures for the number of clergy serving in the first Congress come from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.] But because Congress was a much smaller body in the late 18th century than […]
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