Congress Diversity
By Gerry Shields
WASHINGTON — The new Congress to be sworn in Thursday will be the most diverse in the nation’s history — with the help of two new minority members from New York.
Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Queens) will be the first Asian-American to represent the state in Congress.
She will be one of five new Asian-Americans in the House in a Congress that will have 11 members of Asian Pacific heritage.
She also joins 24 new women in the House and Senate, bringing that total to its highest level, with 101.
“That makes me hopeful that the leadership will appreciate the diversity of our backgrounds,” said Meng, 37.
The biggest gains came among Latinos. Ten new Latinos were elected to Congress, increasing their caucus to 28.
Also, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) will be one of four new African-Americans in the House.
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