Remembering former Rep. Pat Schroeder in Colorado and beyond

BY CAITLYN KIM CPR NEWS

Coloradans and people elsewhere are remembering former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, a trailblazer who paved the way for women’s rights in national and local politics. She died on Monday, March 13, at 82.

“Representative Schroeder was a one-of-a-kind leader and barrier breaker,” said Gov. Jared Polis in a statement. “Our daughter’s future and women across our country’s future are better thanks to her service.”

Schroeder was the rst woman to represent Colorado in Congress. She had a stroke recently and died at a hospital in Florida, where she had been living, according to her former press secretary, Andrea Camp.

Her legislative record included several bills that helped advance women’s rights, from the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

In the male-dominated halls of Congress, she was known for her quick wit and barbs. She coined the phrase “Te on President” for former President Ronald Regan, a moniker that still sticks for any politician who can avoid blame. When asked how, as a mother of two young children, she’d balance Congress and her family, she famously replied, “I have a brain and a uterus and I use both.”

Polis knew her since he was a kid and described Schroeder as a mentor.

“She championed family leave, healthcare and equal rights. She was known and loved for her incredible sharp wit,” Polis said in a post on his Facebook page. “Her passion, her love for country will be missed not only by those who knew her, but by our whole state and the entire nation. Farewell Pat, and thank you for being uniquely yourself.”

President Joe Biden said Schroeder “stood up for basic fairness, sensible policy, and women’s equal humanity.

“I saw rsthand Pat’s moral compass, legal mind, and political savvy when we worked together on the Violence Against Women Act,” Biden said in a statement. “She was the primary sponsor in the House; I led the charge in the Senate. Together, we got it done. With Pat as my partner, I never doubted that we would.”

Schroeder served as national cochair for then Colorado Sen. Gary Hart’s presidential run in 1987. Hart described her as a longtime dear friend and very e ective member of Congress.

“She was highly intelligent and took the responsibilities of public service seriously. e citizens of the rst Congressional District could not have had a better representative for those 24 years than Pat,” he said in a statement. “She left the House a better place than when she joined it.”