West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, who celebrated his 90th birthday in 2007, is the oldest member of Congress, but still short of the record set by South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, who retired in 2003 at the age of 100. Byrd entered the House of Representatives in 1952 and was elected to the Senate in 1958. He currently chairs the Appropriations Committee, which oversees all spending legislation. (© AP Images)