Rep. Gordon To Retire
House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., announced Monday that he will not seek re-election to the House. He cited family reasons for deciding not to run in 2010 for a 14th term in the House.
"Turning 60 has led me to do some thinking about what's next. I have an eight-year-old daughter and a wonderful wife who has a very demanding job, and I am the only child of my 83-year-old mother Margaret," Gordon said. "They have made sacrifices to allow me to do what I love by serving Congress, and now it's my turn."
Among his accomplishments he cited during his nearly three years as chairman of the Science and Technology Committee is passage of the America Competes Act, signed into law in 2007. The law is aimed at improving U.S. competitiveness by authorizing increased investments in basic research, high-risk energy technology development, and science, technology, engineering and math education. He pledged to work to reauthorize the legislation in his last year in Congress.
Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Ill., is the next Democrat in line on the committee, and he said Monday that he plans to pursue the chairmanship of the panel in the 112th Congress, assuming Democrats maintain control of the House. He praised Gordon as "a very effective leader of the Science and Technology Committee, strongly advocating the important role of science for society, including a great emphasis on math and science education."
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