WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, made the surprise announcement Tuesday that he will not seek re-election this year, ending his congressional career after 22 years.
It comes as Hansen, 69, achieved a pinnacle of power during his now-final term, serving as chairman of the full House Resources Committee. He is the only House member from Utah to ever chair a full committee.
"After a lot of thought, I feel it is time to move on, and I will not stand for election in 2002," Hansen said in a written statement. He announced his decision by faxing a press release to the news media, after calling other leaders in the morning.
Hansen's decision, of course, will lead to a wide-open battle to succeed him in the 1st House District, which he has represented since 1980 when he defeated then-incumbent Rep. Gunn McKay, D-Utah.
In a telephone interview, Hansen said a desire to spend more time with his family was his main reason to retire, but he also has recently had some health problems and was unhappy with the Legislature's redrawing of his district's boundaries.
"I will have served 22 years at the end of this term. I will be 70 in August. I would like to do some things with my family and grandkids. My wife has been supportive and long-suffering, and I'd like to give her more attention. I feel there should be life after Congress," Hansen said.
Hansen acknowledged he has had some health problems, including recent hospitalization to remove cancerous growths on his ears. "I also have real severe headaches. They've run every test imaginable on those," he said.
About redrawing his district boundaries, he said, "I wasn't at all happy with it, but it wasn't the main reason (for his decision). . . . They talk about what happened to (Rep.) Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and how bad that is, but they did much worse to me, but I know I could still win."
He said, "I'm just getting a little older. . . . I get so doggone tired of flying. I have 4 million miles on Delta airlines, and a half-million on United and about as much on Continental."
Hansen also said, "I feel we have served the people well. . . . In this final year of my service in the Congress, I fully intend to give my all and not let up until the end of my term at the end of 2002. I feel we can accomplish many good things for Utah and America during this last year of service."
Hansen's Republican colleagues said they were sad to see him choose to retire, especially because he is currently the only committee chairman in Congress from Utah.
"This is a great loss to the State of Utah, and I expect that the Resources Committee will be the busiest committee in Congress this year" as Hansen pushes his final agenda, said Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, who is also a member of that committee.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he and others had tried to persuade Hansen into running at least one more time. "We hate to see him retire because of how much he means to all of Utah. We all owe him a great debt," Hatch said.
He added, "We have never had a better congressman in the 1st District . . . But being a chairman is tough. It wears you down."
Hansen found himself in the spotlight through the years investigating scandals as a member of the ethics committee, in the middle of wilderness and public lands fights as a Resources Committee member, and in national defense fights as a member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees.
Hansen was a prominent member of the ethics committee, technically called the Select Committee Standards of Official Conduct, as it investigated former House Speaker Jim Wright, who resigned amid scandal.
Hansen was later drafted to return as chairman of the ethics committee after a partisan meltdown among its members during investigations into former Speaker Newt Gingrich. Both parties, at the time, said they trusted Hansen to handle any investigations fairly and impartially.
Hansen said Tuesday that he considers among his greatest achievements "saving the environment from the environmentalists." He often sparred with them about Utah wilderness, although he sponsored the 1984 Utah Wilderness Act that created wilderness in U.S. Forest areas.
Hansen said among his other favorite achievements were helping to protect Hill Air Force Base against closure; pushing a bill that lifted the old national speed limit of 55 miles per hour; and helping this year to pass President Bush's energy bill in the House.
Few gave Hansen any real shot of passing that bill — which included a call to allow oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — but it did pass.
"I think I have done a good job for Utah, and I hope others think so, too," Hansen said.
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