Some data about the US Congress

- 131 members have served in the military, 102 in the House and 29 in the Senate (2006).

- There are 90 women, 42 blacks, 27 Hispanics, seven Asians and one Native American in the 110th Congress.

- The current salary for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $165,200 per year.

- Religious composition (2006):
• Catholic: 24.5%
• Baptist: 16.3
• Methodist: 6.8
• Lutheran: 4.6
• Presbyterian: 2.7
• Pentecostal/Charismatic: 2.1
• Mormon: 1.3
• Jewish: 1.3
• Muslim: 0.5
• Buddhist: 0.5
• No religion specified: 14.1
• Refused: 5.4
• Other: 19.9

- The average minimum net worth of members of the House of Representatives is $2.4 million, with a median net worth of $385,000; in the Senate, $8.9 million and a median of $1.1 million. At least 35% of members of Congress are millionaires. (2005 data)

- The richest member of congress is Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) with a net worth of $750 million (2005). Kerry was No. 391 on 2004's Forbes list. Here are the top 5:
2. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.)
3. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.)
4. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.)
5. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)


Sources:
Washington PostP
Detroit Free Press
Us Gov Info
OpenSecrets.org
The 50 richest members of congress