Pat Schroeder Announces She’ll Retire At End Of Term Congresswoman, 55, Says It’s Time To Try Something New

Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., an icon of dwindling liberalism and currently the longest-serving woman in Congress, Wednesday said that this, her 12th term in the House of Representatives, would be her last.

Schroeder, 55, said her decision to retire at the end of 1996 was not the result of disgruntlement with congressional life or her open disdain for House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

“It’s really a matter of, are you going to be a career congresswoman, or are you going to do something else?” she said. “If I’m going to do anything else with my life, this is the time to do it.”

She said the Republican Party’s having taken control of Congress for the first time in her 24-year career was not an issue. In fact, she considered calling it quits at the end of her last term, when the Democrats were still in power.

“I thought about it very seriously a couple of years ago and decided not to do it in ‘94. And I’m really glad I didn’t, because I think they needed somebody to kind of carry the battle. Nobody had any idea there was going to be such an earthquake here. … With this whole reshaping of the Congress and the whole changeover, I think they needed some seasoned people around here to kind of help Democrats regain their legs.”

Sen. Hank Brown, R-Colo., who also is retiring at the end of the 104th Congress, reacted coolly to Schroeder’s announcement.

He said her departure marked “the passing of an age of Democrats who came to Washington in the early 1970s.”

Democratic Rep. David Skaggs was more generous.

“Colorado and the entire country are better off because we’ve had the benefit of 24 years of Pat Schroeder’s passion, dedication and hard work,” Skaggs said. “There will never be another like her in the House of Representatives.”

GOP Rep. Scott McInnis said that despite his deep philosophical differences with Schroeder, “there have been a lot of times we have worked together well on Colorado issues.”

He added that Colorado would take “a big hit” in losing Schroeder and Brown at the same time, as they are the state’s most experienced members of Congress.

There was no immediate comment from either the White House or Gingrich’s office.

Schroeder said she decided to make her announcement with 13 months yet to go in her term so that Denver Democrats would have time to field a candidate to replace her.

“This gives somebody adequate time,” she said. Also, “I think that seat in Denver is a Democratic seat and there’s no problem. Newt Gingrich is driving the constituents of the 1st Congressional District crazy… . And so I felt very comfortable saying, OK, I can do this.”

Unlike most recent congressional retirees, Schroeder said she would leave Capitol Hill with no bitterness or disenchantment with the institution.

“I’ve had a wonderful run here and had a great time here,” she said. “If there’s anything that truly upsets me about what’s happened here, it’s the money stuff… . This place has really become a coin-operated machine.”

Schroeder, who recently climbed to the top of the Capitol dome and unfurled a huge red banner that read “SOLD,” said, “the new guys came in and said, ‘we’re going to change everything, we’re going to get the lobbyists out of the lobby.’ What they forgot to tell you was that they were going to bring them into their office and let them write the legislation.”

However, she said, “that wouldn’t be the thing that drives me out.”

Asked what she would do after 1996, she said, “I just have no idea. I haven’t given it the kind of thought that I need to give it.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: OTHER RETIREMENTS Members of Congress who have announced they will not seek re-election.

House Democrats Anthony Beilenson, California. Jim Chapman, Texas. (running for Senate) Ronald Coleman, Texas. Cardiss Collins, Illinois. Dick Durbin, Illinois. (running for Senate) Andy Jacobs, Indiana. Harry Johnston, Florida. Sonny Montgomery, Mississippi. Pete Peterson, Florida. Jack Reed, Rhode Island. (running for Senate) Patricia Schroeder, Colorado. Gerry Studds, Massachusetts. Ray Thornton, Arkansas. Charlie Wilson, Texas.

House Republicans Steve Gunderson, Wisconsin. Mel Hancock, Missouri. Jan Meyers, Kansas. Carlos Moorhead, California.

House resignations Norm Mineta, Democrat, California. Mel Reynolds, Democrat, Illinois.

Senate Democrats Bill Bradley, New Jersey. James Exon, Nebraska. Howell Heflin, Alabama. Bennett Johnston, Louisiana. Sam Nunn, Georgia. Claiborne Pell, Rhode Island. David Pryor, Arkansas. Paul Simon, Illinois.

Senate Republicans Hank Brown, Colorado. Nancy Kassebaum, Kansas.

Senate resignation Bob Packwood, Republican, Oregon. - Associated Press

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Scripps-McClatchy Western Service