Congress is full of sick and geriatric lawmakers but they face no mandatory health, cognitive tests

WASHINGTON — A wave of tragic deaths, illnesses and absences in Congress is fueling calls for major reforms — such as basic fitness-for-office standards and transparency requirements for lawmakers who take medical leave.During the current term of Congress, there have been six deaths, numerous health scares, and sudden health-related disappearances of Sen.Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), 84, and Rep.

Tom Kean Jr.(R-NJ), 57, with minimal public explanation for weeks on end.

Members of Congress have access to on-demand healthcare through the Office of the Attending Physician, but they aren’t required to undergo annual physical exams or to disclose that information publicly.“I think it’s a good idea,” Rep.Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) told The Post about lawmakers getting annual physicals and sharing details with the public, though he was hesitant about whether that should be put into law.

“I mean, we’ve had this debate on the presidential stage for a long time now.”Although there’s no legal requirement to do so, presidents regularly get physical exams and share results with the public, though how much they share varies.Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) similarly called it a “good idea” for lawmakers to provide more disclosures about their health to the public, though he noted there hasn’t been a lot of discussion about doing that in the upper chamber behind the scenes.“This job is a very stressful job in which you are in many cases probably not eating the most healthy, nutritious diet and maybe in some cases don’t have time to exercise,” he said.“Some of these recent experiences shine a light on [the fact that] you need to be taking care of yourself in every way.”Capitol Hill was rocked this week by the shock death of Sen.

Lindsey Graham (R-SC), 71, due to heart problems, something that helped rekindle the debate about congressional transparency on lawmakers’ health.The calls for health transparency dovetail with popular demands for te...