Reply #21: This article says they all usually do: [View All]

http://www.slate.com/id/2139273/?nav=navoa

The U.S. Capitol Police referred the case of Rep. Cynthia McKinney to the Department of Justice on Monday. The congresswoman allegedly struck an officer last week after he stopped her and requested her credentials. McKinney called the incident racial profiling and said the officers should recognize members of the House even if they're not wearing their official lapel pins: "It is true that at the time I was not wearing my pin. But many Members of Congress aren't wearing their pins today." How many members of Congress actually wear their official pins?

Most of them do—at least in the House. With 435 representatives walking around, it can be hard for staffers, lobbyists, and police officers to remember who's who. Even the members themselves sometimes rely on the pins to identify their colleagues. Each election cycle brings 30 or 40 (or even 87) new faces to the floor, and the pins help the veterans and the freshmen to get acquainted. The official Senate pin isn't as popular, since there's less turnover and fewer people to keep track of.

Each chamber has its own pin, and the designs change from year to year. In the House, the chair of the Administration Committee gets to choose the pin.* Some designs are more popular than others: Rep. Mark Foley told Roll Call he thought the newest design was "stunning. I didn't think much of the last pin and I didn't wear it often—it looked like it was trying to accomplish too much."

You don't have to wear your pin, but it's the best way to get past the security lines if the guards don't know your face. In the Roll Call article, Foley declared himself "not a big pin-wearer, I don't like to damage the suits." Cynthia McKinney has refused to wear her pin for more than 10 years.