[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S11062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO REPRESENTATIVE JAMES V. HANSEN

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I rise to pay tribute to my long-time 
friend and colleague, Representative James V. Hansen. After 22 years of 
dedicated service to his country and to the State of Utah, Jim has 
chosen to end his career as a Member of Congress and return home to 
Utah and to his grandchildren.
  I am pleased that Mr. Hansen will be able to enjoy his retirement, 
but we will miss him. Utah has never been better served by a Member of 
Congress. Just this year he was described by a national media source as 
one of the 10 most powerful Members of the House of Representatives. 
Considering the number of Members of that body, that is really saying 
something. Representative Hansen has had a very positive impact on our 
Nation, but his impact on Utah and Utahns is truly incalculable.
  Mr. Hansen was the first Representative from Utah to chair a full 
committee. Due in large part to the respect he earned among his 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle, he was appointed to chair the 
high-profile Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
  As some of my colleagues may know, Utah is made up of about 70 
percent public lands which includes national parks, Bureau of Land 
Management lands, national forests, national monuments, national 
wildlife refuges, and vast military holdings. As a very senior member 
of the House Armed Services Committee and the Chairman of the Committee 
on Natural Resources, Representative Hansen has the protector and 
promoter of so many of Utah's interests.
  Mr. Hansen's service to the public has spanned more that four 
decades. He spent the first 12 years of his public service career on 
the City Council of Farmington, UT. Following that, he served for four 
terms as a member of the Utah House of Representatives, including one 
term as the Speaker of the House. In 1980, Mr. Hansen was elected to 
Congress where he has served diligently until today.
  Mr. Hansen's honesty, hard work, and strong character have made him a 
lawmaker that we will never forget. I am one of many who will sorely 
miss his plain talking leadership and his wisdom on matters of public 
policy. On behalf of my colleagues in the Senate and the people of 
Utah, I would like to publicly thank Jim and his wonderful wife Ann for 
giving so much of themselves to their State and to their Nation.

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