Representation

• 2017/18 only 83/435 house members and 21/100 senators were female. This rose to 106, and 25 in 2018/19
• Congress is more religious than the US population as a whole with 87.8% of 118th congress stating they're christian compared to 63% of wider population
• 116th congress: 313/435 were white, 56 black, 44 hispanic, 15 asian and 4 Native American. 91 senators were white
• Further issues for representation lie in the balance between party and constituency interests. They can also be influenced by pressure groups, congressional caucuses and lobbyists. E.g. pharmaceutical companies have donated $2.5 billion to congress in last ten years, with 97% of senate and 90% of house receiving contributions