Here Come the Freshmen: Congress' Newest Class

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' approval rating hovers around 15 percent, but there's one group of people excited about the institution: newly elected lawmakers.

The House will welcome 58 freshmen this week, including 43 Republicans and 15 Democrats, pushing the GOP majority to 246 members, the most since the Depression.

In the Senate, 13 new lawmakers, all but one of them Republican, will be sworn in, flipping control to the GOP.

The incoming classes will bring new gender and racial diversity to Capitol Hill, with 104 women in the House and Senate and close to 100 black, Hispanic and Asian lawmakers.

The newcomers include the youngest woman elected to Congress and the first black Republican woman.

There are hopes of curbing the often partisan atmosphere and showing the public they really can govern.

(Story by: Erica Werner, The Associated Press)