WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and, as Congress' only Holocaust survivor, a leading advocate for human rights, said Wednesday that he had been diagnosed with cancer and would not seek reelection in November.
Another California Democrat, Howard L. Berman, could succeed him as the committee's chairman.
Lantos, who turns 80 next month, is the latest in a wave of veteran lawmakers who have announced their departures from Congress. A number of them have been Republicans frustrated by their new role in the minority, but the Budapest, Hungary-born Lantos, a Capitol Hill fixture since 1981, said he was stepping down because of esophageal cancer.
"Routine medical tests have revealed that I have cancer of the esophagus," he said in a statement. "In view of this development and the treatment it will require, I will not seek reelection."
His spokeswoman, Lynne Weil, added: "He fully expects to complete his congressional term." Lantos, who was unavailable for comment Wednesday, has yet to begin treatment.
His retirement could set up a heated race in the heavily Democratic 12th Congressional District, which stretches from southwest San Francisco down the peninsula to take in much of San Mateo County. Among possible candidates for the Democratic nomination are former state Sen. Jackie Speier and state Sen. Leland Yee.
In a statement, Yee said he would take a "hard look at the challenges this district faces in filling the shoes of Congressman Lantos," but noted that the day of Lantos' announcement was "not the day to be thinking about future political office."
Speier said in a statement that she was saddened by the news, adding: "Congressman Lantos has overcome many hurdles in his life, and I hope and pray he'll overcome this one."
Berman, of Valley Village, is next in line in seniority to Lantos on the foreign affairs panel and is likely to become chairman if the Nov. 4 elections keep Democrats in control of the House.
He called Lantos "an important figure in the foreign policy debates, not only in Congress but as an international voice." Lantos' background and knowledge, Berman said, have "made his participation in any debate a unique one, and we're going to have that for another year, and that's good."
The panel's top Republican, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, described Lantos as "a man of enormous integrity, energy and substance, whose deepest convictions were born in epic struggles against tyranny, fascism and genocide."
