U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie today issued the following statement:

�I am announcing today that I will resign as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 1st District of Hawaii. This is an extremely difficult decision for me, but I must do this to continue with the direction I�ve chosen for the future. Accordingly, I�ve concluded that I must resign my congressional seat and allow someone to be elected who will carry on the work of this office. The effective date of my resignation will be announced soon.�