Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, November 30, 1995                   TAG: 9511300062
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post|
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

REP. SCHROEDER SAYS SHE WON'T SEEK RE-ELECTION

Schroeder, an attorney who was first elected to the House when she was 32, said she never intended to stay in Congress permanently. ``I had said to myself I wasn't going to be here for life and life is ticking by,'' she told reporters. ``If I'm not going to be a lifer, this is the time I probably have to go break out of here.''

Schroeder said she had first considered retiring in 1994 and decided to leave over the Thanksgiving holiday. She said she had no plans for her future, and did not rule out seeking public office after 1996.

Her announcement brings to 14 the number of veteran House Democrats who have said they will not seek new terms next year; three of them are running for the Senate. In addition, two Democrats have resigned from Congress this year. Four House Republicans have announced their retirements.

Although she lost an opportunity to become a committee chairman when Republicans won control of the House last year, Schroeder said being in the minority did not play a part in her decision. ``I am not going out saying, `Oh, it changed and I don't like it','' she said. ``Of course it changed - it changes every day. But that's what I found exciting about it.''

Schroeder is known for her quick wit and sharp tongue. She has turned them against both adversaries - she is credited with tagging Ronald Reagan as the ``Teflon President'' - and colleagues, once telling Newsweek that ``everyone here checks their spines in the cloakrooms.''

In the House, Schroeder has been an ardent supporter of abortion rights and, from her seat on the House National Security Committee, has been a voice for expanding the combat role of women in the military, allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the armed forces and improving the lot of military families.

She also has been a champion of family issues. She was the lead sponsor of legislation guaranteeing workers unpaid leave for family medical emergencies, which George Bush vetoed and President Clinton signed into law, and has pressed for stronger child support enforcement.

Schroeder was chairman of former senator Gary Hart's abortive campaign for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. After that effort ended in May 1987, she considered running herself but eventually decided against it.

When Schroeder was elected to the House in 1972, it was her first political office. She had been a lawyer and she drew support from environmentalists and opponents of the Vietnam War.

``I've pretty much grown up in this place,'' she said Wednesday

After some close calls early on, Schroeder has won re-election comfortably. She expressed confidence that Democrats would hold her district

Keywords:
POLITICS