Hansen speaks about Congressional issues
Congressman Jim Hansen spoke about current issues in congress and his retirement from office with Utah State University students Friday in the Taggart Student Center Sunburst Lounge. The event was sponsored by the College Republicans at USU.
Hansen said to the students, “To be a public figure is to be criticized. When I read the newspaper and the criticism I get, I have to ask myself ‘do I know this person?’ and if I don’t, I try to forget it. But if the person is a business partner then I need to worry.”
Hansen first spoke about the criticized Wilderness Act.
According to the act, wilderness areas should be roadless, but “we have not defined what roadless means. Are roads just interstates or highways, or are they state roads too?” Hansen said.
According to the act, a wilderness area must be at least 5,000 acres if a bill is going to be submitted.
“Our environmental community is submitting bills that ask for less than 5,000 acres, with a little bit of land here and there. We can’t have a little bit here and a little bit there,” Hansen said.
“If a bill is going to be submitted by the environmental community, they need to follow the law. I won’t look at a bill if it does not follow the law,” he said.
The next issue Hansen spoke about was America’s war on terrorism.
“Does America have the will to see this through? America has a different kind of fight on their hands, we don’t know who these terrorists are, and we don’t know where they are.”
As a member of the intelligence committee and the armed service committee, Hansen said, “They have the will and desire to kill you. If you go back and read what they write, they want to disrupt you.
“I know on Sept. 12 America had the will to fight this war, but now six months later, that will is dropping off. These terrorists are really the worst. Americans need to remind themselves the flip side to this war is to give up their lives,” he said.
Speaking about President Bush and his battle with terrorism Hansen said, “He is building the military and at the same time trying to pull the economy up. He has a lot on his hands and he has the determination to do what is right.”
Currently being discussed in Congress right now is the Energy Package. America is 57 percent dependent on foreign oil, “using a little from everywhere,” Hansen said.
“I hate being dependent on those who we cannot depend on,” he said.
In Alaska the criticism is there are polar bears Americans would be killing for oil. The average temperature in Alaska where the government wants to drill is negative 77 degrees, and “there are very few things in that part of Alaska,” Hansen said.
“If you took a briefcase and stuck it in the middle of a football field, that would be how much land we would use to drill oil,” he said.
When asked about the recent increase in tariffs for steel, he said, “I am waiting to see what comes out of legislation.”
Hansen believes the only thing holding up America right now is the “do nothing Senate.”
When asked if he is retiring because of the redistricting plan, he said, “I run the biggest committee in Congress, and with the redistricting plan I would have to spend a lot of time in Utah. I can’t spread myself that thin. The plan might have had some influence, but not all.”
Hansen said he thinks Utah has really good candidates running, and said he does not endorse anyone, even if people say otherwise.
“I just hope whoever wins is willing to stay a little while,” he said.
The reason why there is such good representation in Utah, Hansen said, is because the congressmen that represent Utah have been around for a long time.
Hansen is a Republican for the first district of Utah. Hansen has 10 months before he retires and then “I ride off into the sunset,” he said.
“I want to be a crossing guard. I think it’s an important job,” Hansen said.
At the conclusion of his term, Hansen will have served in the United States House of Representatives for 22 years.
Prior to that, he served in the Utah House for eight years, the last two as speaker of the house. Prior to that, he served 12 years on the Farmington City Council.
Hansen served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, and before becoming a congressman he was an independent insurance agent. Hansen is a graduate of the University of Utah.
The College Republicans is bringing Senator Bennett to USU later this spring he said, and they encourage students to come to the College Republicans meeting every other Wednesday at 8 p.m. in TSC, Room 335.