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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Do veterans make up a greater percentage of Congress than of the general population?

By Austin Tannenbaum
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YES

The veteran population is 10 percentage points higher in Congress than in the general population.

According to the Congressional Research Service, as of January 2021, Congress had 75 veterans in the House and 16 in the Senate, for a total of 91. These figures suggest veterans make up 17% of the 535-member Congress.

In contrast, in 2018, the latest year with available data, veterans made up about 7% of the adult population.

Despite being higher than in the general population, veteran representation in Congress has been declining since the mid-1970s, when nearly three-fourths of lawmakers had served in the military, according to Military Times. The Military Officers Association of America cites the end of the draft as one reason for the drop.

Veteran representation within the general population has also decreased, from 18% in 1980 to 7% in 2018.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Congressional Research Service Membership of the 117th Congress: A Profile
US Census Census Bureau Releases New Report on Veterans
Military Times Veterans in the 116th Congress, by the numbers
Military Officers Association of America Veterans in the 117th Congress, by the Numbers
Pew Research The changing face of America’s veteran population
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.