![\"seniorityInCongress\"](\"https:\/\/www.termlimits.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/seniorityInCongress-1.png\")
<\/p>\nBy Nick Tomboulides<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Nick Tomboulides | USTL<\/p>\n
This November marks 40 years since President Richard Nixon stood in front of America and said \u201cpeople have got to know if their president is a crook.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, Nixon was knee-deep in his own muck. But he was also making a great point: Don\u2019t Americans deserve to know any fact about our politicians that would keep them from doing the job they were elected to do?<\/p>\n
They could be compromised by corruption, sure. But it could also be something outside of their control, like aging and the onset of mental incapacity. While these are sensitive topics, we\u2019d be doing a disservice to democracy by not discussing them. People have got to know if their politicians are well.<\/p>\n
In early October, we learned that many members of Congress get prescriptions hand-delivered by Grubb\u2019s Pharmacy, the oldest dispensary in town.<\/p>\n
A cool perk that nobody else in America has? That\u2019s par for the course in Washington. But there\u2019s more to the story and it should alarm every American. Mike Kim, the owner of Grubb\u2019s, told STAT News<\/a> that he is routinely filling prescriptions for drugs that treat Alzheimer\u2019s disease. For members of Congress!<\/p>\n If pharmacists are shipping Alzheimer\u2019s medication to Capitol Hill, then some number of congressmen are medically unqualified to hold office. And we don\u2019t know which ones or how many. They could be back-benchers or they could be sitting at the upper tiers of leadership, making decisions of global significance. Since one\u2019s rank in Congress is based mostly on seniority, the oldest members have the most power. Terrifying.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first it\u2019s cool, and then you realize, I\u2019m filling some drugs that are for some pretty serious health problems as well. And these are the people that are running the country,\u201d Kim, the pharmacist, said. \u201cIt makes you kind of sit back and say, \u2018Wow, they\u2019re making the highest laws of the land and they might not even remember what happened yesterday.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n According to Kevin King of Quorum Analytics, the 115th Congress (2017-2018) is among the oldest in history<\/a>, with the average age of a representative at 57 and the average age of a senator at 61 \u2014 up from 49 and 57 respectively in 1981.<\/p>\n King reports that there are 44 congressional districts in which the age of the representative is more than double the median age of his or her constituents.<\/p>\n On the Senate side, 18 of the 33 senators running for re-election in 2018 will be 65 or older. Several of them \u2014 Diane Feinstein, Orrin Hatch and Bill Nelson \u2014 will be well into their 80s by the time they spend another six years in office.<\/p>\n David Laibson, a behavioral economist at Harvard University, reports that about half of all octogenarians cannot make major financial decisions due to dementia <\/a>and other cognitive impairments. There are 19 octogenarians in Congress.<\/p>\n Obviously, these trends don\u2019t necessarily mean Congress has a problem. Many people experience little-to-no loss in mental sharpness as they age. But there have been enough red flags lately to merit concern.<\/p>\n When Senator John McCain (R-AZ), 81, questioned ex-FBI Director James Comey at a hearing in June, McCain appeared confused and disconnected from reality<\/a>. McCain stumbled on his words, mixed up two separate investigations and at times referred to the ex-FBI Director as \u201cPresident Comey.\u201d<\/p>\n Six weeks later, McCain announced that he had been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor. After locating the chamber, Cochran cast the wrong vote on a bill and had to correct himself after an aide pointed out the error.<\/p>\n
\nLast week, the health of McCain\u2019s colleague Thad Cochran (R-MS), 79, also came under scrutiny. Reporter John Bresnahan of POLITICO documented that Cochran \u201cappeared frail and at times disoriented\u201d<\/a> during their hallway interview. Cochran \u201cat one point needed a staffer to remind him where the Senate chamber is located,\u201d despite having served in that chamber for the last 40 years.<\/p>\n