{ "id": "R41545", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R41545", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2023", "retrieved": "2023-02-14T04:03:55.918484", "id": "R41545_18_2023-01-17", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2023-01-17_R41545_3c7bad2aa9ad55a95abcec407acd3d35f0188d97.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R41545/18", "sha1": "3c7bad2aa9ad55a95abcec407acd3d35f0188d97" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2023-01-17_R41545_3c7bad2aa9ad55a95abcec407acd3d35f0188d97.html" } ], "date": "2023-01-17", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R41545", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2023", "retrieved": "2023-02-14T04:03:55.917808", "id": "R41545_17_2021-01-05", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2021-01-05_R41545_868161a84cbae55aa852c89030054e191c0c25da.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R41545/17", "sha1": "868161a84cbae55aa852c89030054e191c0c25da" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2021-01-05_R41545_868161a84cbae55aa852c89030054e191c0c25da.html" } ], "date": "2021-01-05", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R41545", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 589438, "date": "2019-01-03", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T20:14:19.140450", "title": "Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2019", "summary": "The average service tenure of Members of the Senate and House of Representatives has varied substantially since 1789. This report presents data on Member tenure over time, analyzes factors that affect average tenure in any given Congress, and examines historical patterns of congressional service, including the distribution of years served in each Congress, and the cross-chamber experience of Representatives and Senators. \nDuring much of the 19th century, the average tenure of Representatives and Senators remained relatively steady, with incoming Representatives generally averaging between two and three years of prior service in most Congresses, and the Senators averaging between three and five years. Beginning in the late 19th and through much of the 20th century, average tenure for Members in both chambers steadily increased. Senators\u2019 average years of prior service has increased from just under five years during the early 1880s to approximately 10 years in the most recent Congress. Similarly, the average tenure of Representatives has increased from approximately three years during the early 1880s to approximately nine years in the most recent Congress.\nThe average years of service for Members of the 116th Congress, as of January 3, 2019, when the Congress convened, was 8.6 years for the House and 10.1 years for the Senate. In comparison, the average years of service for Members of the 115th Congress, as of January 3, 2017, when the Congress convened, was 9.4 years for the House and 10.1 years for the Senate. \nThis report analyzes two factors that influence variation over time in the average years of service for Members of Congress: the decision of sitting Members whether or not to seek election to the next Congress, and the success rate of Members who do seek reelection. Observed increases in the proportion of Members seeking reelection and decreases in the proportion of Members defeated for reelection align with previous scholarly assessments of congressional history, which conclude that during the early history of Congress, turnover in membership was frequent and resignations were commonplace, and that during the 20th century, congressional careers lengthened as turnover decreased and Congress became more professionalized.\nThe report also examines two further issues related to Member tenure, including the distribution of Member service over time, as well as Members\u2019 cross-chamber experience. Although the average service tenure of Members has increased since Congress\u2019s early years, a substantial portion of Representatives and Senators in recent Congresses have served for six years or less in their respective chambers. With respect to cross-chamber experience, while a small proportion of Representatives historically have had previous Senate experience, a sizable percentage of Senators throughout congressional history have had previous House experience.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41545", "sha1": "5aea3fad5cbf06aafef346dfb11e531860bf70df", "filename": "files/20190103_R41545_5aea3fad5cbf06aafef346dfb11e531860bf70df.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41545_files&id=/3.png": "files/20190103_R41545_images_7eee5c577bf845a47163839954576205c465ea3a.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41545_files&id=/1.png": "files/20190103_R41545_images_b8b3db3b62561c75c1829969f2a0dfe4120397ec.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41545_files&id=/0.png": "files/20190103_R41545_images_2efe9f9bebeba5aa88256ff973138bc564334e1d.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41545_files&id=/4.png": "files/20190103_R41545_images_589b8c5af4e3ca1c97929aed01646f9d8b8c49e3.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41545_files&id=/5.png": "files/20190103_R41545_images_63804b48bb88dd9ef4805a96959667e3a0d2bc0c.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41545_files&id=/6.png": "files/20190103_R41545_images_85dd9766622ca9f8ba681cec71b9998fb4ad65a1.png", "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R41545_files&id=/2.png": "files/20190103_R41545_images_34d6a6f63c2c1cca989d9b70e4a320d1749bb6a5.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41545", "sha1": "0c6ee7f2bbd17bd981c98e6e19697cc01b1000b9", "filename": "files/20190103_R41545_0c6ee7f2bbd17bd981c98e6e19697cc01b1000b9.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 457998, "date": "2017-01-03", "retrieved": "2017-01-06T19:14:29.186769", "title": "Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2017", "summary": "The average service tenure of Members of the Senate and House of Representatives has varied substantially since 1789. This report presents data on Member tenure and a historical analysis of tenure trends. \nDuring the 19th century, the average service of Representatives and Senators remained roughly constant, with little or no change over time; the average years of service was slightly higher for the first half of the century than during the second. During the late 19th and through the 20th century, the average years of service for Senators steadily increased, from an average of just under five years in the early 1880s to an average of just over 13 years in recent Congresses. Similarly, the average years of service of Representatives increased from just over four years in the first two Congresses of the 20th century to an average of approximately 10 years in the three most recent Congresses.\nThe average years of service for Members of the 115th Congress, as of January 3, 2017, when the Congress convened, was 9.4 years for the House and 10.1 years for the Senate. The average years of service for Members of the 114th Congress, as of January 6, 2015, when the Congress convened, was 8.8 years for the House and 9.7 years for the Senate. The average years of service for Members of the 113th Congress, as of January 3, 2013, when the Congress convened, was 9.1 years for the House and 10.2 years for the Senate.\nTwo underlying factors appear to influence variation over time in the average years of service for Members of Congress: the decision of sitting Members whether or not to seek election to the next Congress, and the success rate of Members who seek election to the next Congress. In addition, short-term variation in average service is affected by the individual service tenures of Members who do not return for the following Congress.\nObserved increases in the proportion of Members seeking re-election and decreases in the proportion of Members defeated for re-election conform with previous scholarly assessments of congressional history, which largely conclude that during the early history of Congress, turnover in membership was frequent and resignations were commonplace, and that during the 20th century, congressional careers lengthened as turnover decreased and Congress became more professionalized.\nThe report also examines two further issues related to Member tenure. First, the distribution of Member service that underlies the aggregate chamber averages is examined. Although the average service tenure of Members has increased, more than half of Representatives and Senators in recent Congresses have served eight years or less. Second, the report analyzes historical trends in the percentage of Members who have served in both chambers. While only a small and declining proportion of Representatives have historically had previous Senate experience, throughout history a sizeable percentage of Senators have previously served in the House.\nFor information on the number of freshmen elected to Congress, refer to CRS Report R41283, First-Term Members of the House of Representatives and Senate, 64th-114th Congresses, by Jennifer E. Manning and R. Eric Petersen \nThis report will be updated at the beginning of each Congress.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41545", "sha1": "e9296161f018d958dbea711d8a5b614085f4a9d9", "filename": "files/20170103_R41545_e9296161f018d958dbea711d8a5b614085f4a9d9.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41545", "sha1": "68dab2d3a44882883eeda9ec2bb36675fe1470ab", "filename": "files/20170103_R41545_68dab2d3a44882883eeda9ec2bb36675fe1470ab.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 436928, "date": "2015-01-03", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:44:14.288191", "title": "Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2015", "summary": "The average service tenure of Members of the Senate and House of Representatives has varied substantially since 1789. This report presents data on Member tenure and a historical analysis of tenure trends. \nDuring the 19th century, the average service of Representatives and Senators remained roughly constant, with little or no change over time; the average years of service was slightly higher for the first half of the century than during the second. During the late 19th and through the 20th century, the average years of service for Senators steadily increased, from an average of just under five years in the early 1880s to an average of just over 13 years in recent Congresses. Similarly, the average years of service of Representatives increased from just over four years in the first two Congresses of the 20th century to an average of approximately 10 years in the three most recent Congresses.\nThe average years of service for Members of the 114th Congress, as of January 6, 2015, when the Congress convened, was 8.8 years for the House and 9.7 years for the Senate. The average years of service for Members of the 113th Congress, as of January 3, 2013, when the Congress convened, was 9.1 years for the House and 10.2 years for the Senate. The average years of service for Members of the 112th Congress, as of January 5, 2011, when the Congress convened, was 9.8 years for the House and 11.4 years for the Senate. \nTwo underlying factors appear to influence variation over time in the average years of service for Members of Congress: the decision of sitting Members whether or not to seek election to the next Congress, and the success rate of Members who seek election to the next Congress. In addition, short-term variation in average service is affected by the individual service tenures of Members who do not return for the following Congress.\nObserved increases in the proportion of Members seeking re-election and decreases in the proportion of Members defeated for re-election conform with previous scholarly assessments of congressional history, which largely conclude that during the early history of Congress, turnover in membership was frequent and resignations were commonplace, and that during the 20th century, congressional careers lengthened as turnover decreased and Congress became more professionalized.\nThe report also examines two further issues related to Member tenure. First, the distribution of Member service that underlies the aggregate chamber averages is examined. Although the average service tenure of Members has increased, more than half of Representatives and Senators in recent Congresses have served eight years or less. Second, the report analyzes historical trends in the percentage of Members who have served in both chambers. While only a small and declining proportion of Representatives have historically had previous Senate experience, throughout history a sizeable percentage of Senators have previously served in the House.\nFor information on the number of freshmen elected to Congress, refer to CRS Report R41283, First-Term Members of the House of Representatives and Senate, 64th - 113th Congresses, by Jennifer E. Manning and R. Eric Petersen.\nThis report will be updated at the beginning of each Congress.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41545", "sha1": "4d3824c7a7921a844708611c79048bcb4c173637", "filename": "files/20150103_R41545_4d3824c7a7921a844708611c79048bcb4c173637.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41545", "sha1": "b5b51de6e0f45368eb114e32399a36bea2cb12f0", "filename": "files/20150103_R41545_b5b51de6e0f45368eb114e32399a36bea2cb12f0.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc491067/", "id": "R41545_2010Jan07", "date": "2011-01-07", "retrieved": "2015-01-27T19:40:46", "title": "Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2011", "summary": "The average service tenure of members of the Senate and House of Representatives has varied substantially since 1789. This report presents data on member tenure and a historical analysis of tenure trends.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110107_R41545_888220ca5cf27d933192e8a6d5a378a2256cb895.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110107_R41545_888220ca5cf27d933192e8a6d5a378a2256cb895.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congress", "name": "Congress" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Members of Congress", "name": "Members of Congress" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Congressional terms of office", "name": "Congressional terms of office" } ] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Economic Policy" ] }