5 percent in Congress lack college degree

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WASHINGTON - Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, never completed a college degree, but he holds the same rank as other formally educated members of Congress.

The only credential that mattered was winning the election.

"They put their pants on the same way I put my pants on," said Ortiz, who went from shining shoes as a young boy to representing the 27th District in South Texas.

The 14-term representative is included in the 5 percent of members of Congress serving without a college degree, which is not required by the Constitution, but is often assumed.

According to the Congressional Research Service, 27 House members and one senator currently serve without a college degree. Two governors serve without degrees as well.

The 111th Congress is not an exception to history.

"So we always had a fairly well-educated Congress, but a much higher percentage of them today have college degrees," said Senate Historian Donald Ritchie.

Forty years ago, the 91st Congress included at least 45 representatives and nine senators without degrees, and 30 years ago, the 96th Congress had at least 48 representatives and seven senators without degrees.

The degreeless trend is decreasing and will likely continue, predicts Steven Taylor, professor of government at American University.

"College degree credentials are becoming so much more relevant by the second," Taylor said. "I would think generally you're not going to find a lot of young people who made it into one of the houses of U.S. Congress without a degree."

Senators must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for nine years and a resident of the state they are running in. House members must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years and a resident of the state they are running in.

Ritchie said that as more Americans seek higher education, members of Congress will reflect their educated constituencies.

From 1940 to 2007, the percentage of people age 25 and older with bachelor's degrees has increased from 4.6 percent to 28.7 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said the country's economy requires people to have more education nowadays.

The days of punching in and out of the local plant, buying a modest home and raising a family are no longer ideals of the American dream, King said.

King, who does not have a degree, ran a small construction business for 28 years in Western Iowa. King said he learned about many issues through his business that he might have overlooked if he had a degree.

"From finance, insurance, transportation issues, human resources, name a sector of a business, and if somebody went to work for a Fortune 500 company, they didn't see all that," King said.

Ortiz belonged to a migrant family. He dropped out of high school and joined the Army to help his mother support the family.

He developed an interest in law because a police officer protected him from bigger boys who stole his tips from shoe shining. He went from the military police to constable to county commissioner to sheriff and, finally, to House member.

"All I wanted to be, to be honest with you, was be in law enforcement," Ortiz said. "This came up, and I ran. And it was a tough race, but I won and I'm still here."

Congressional candidates without degrees make their way into office through alternative paths such as local politics, grassroots organizations, entertainment, military experience, family inheritance and business.

According to the Congressional Research Service, 169 House members and 57 senators hold law degrees; 83 House members and 17 senators hold master's degrees. The House and Senate also include 16 doctors, 268 former state legislators, six former Peace Corps members, five accountants, one former prison guard and three organic farmers.

According to King's Web site, 97 percent of jobs in Western Iowa are generated from small businesses. King represents the 5th District.

"My life experience is more reflective of the life experience of a lot of other Americans," King said. "The things that seem to be missing if you are a Rhodes Scholar or a Harvard lawyer would be the challenges that almost everybody else has to take on."

Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., who did not obtain a degree, became interested in politics through participation in the United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, a non-partisan leadership training and civic organization. His involvement in the local and state chapters steered him into local politics.

"It's a natural progression," said Hastings, who represents the 4th District.

Hastings said having a degree might have accelerated his advancement, but has not limited him.

"All of us in our own ways got elected to Congress because we convinced the majority of our constituents to vote for us," Hastings said. "We all bring certain advantages and outlooks to the Congress, and that's the way I look at it."

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)