Retirement age: the painful realities of the oldest Congress in history

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. walks to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2008. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in history, returned to the chamber Thursday for an all-day series of votes on the federal budget. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

(By Jonathan Strong; The Daily Caller) - In terms of old geezers, this Congress is setting all kinds of records.

In February 2009, 83-year-old Rep. John Dingell, Michigan Democrat, became the longest-serving House member in history. In November, 92-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd, West Virginia Democrat, became the longest-serving member of Congress, period. And it’s not just those two. This is the oldest Congress measured by its average age since records have been kept.