Matsui, Doris, 1944-

MATSUI, Doris, (wife of Robert Matsui), a Representative from California; born in Poston, La Paz County, Arizona, September 25, 1944; B.A., University of California, Berkeley, Calif., 1966; staff, transition team for President-elect William J. Clinton, 1992-1993; deputy assistant, Office of the Public Liaison, President William J. Clinton administration, 1993-1998; professional advocate; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Ninth Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of her husband, United States Representative Robert Matsui, and reelected to the eight succeeding Congresses (March 8, 2005-present).

<p>Congresswoman Doris Matsui has represented the city of Sacramento and its surrounding areas since 2005. As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, she serves on the Health, Environment and Climate Change, and Consumer Protection and Commerce subcommittees and is the Vice Chair on the Communications and Technology subcommittee. She is committed to strengthening Sacramento’s flood protection, ensuring quality, affordable health care for all, promoting a clean energy economy, and creating a vibrant region where families can live, work, and play.</p>

<p>Sitting at the confluence of two rivers, the Sacramento area has one of the highest flood risks in the country. Congresswoman Matsui is a stalwart champion for increased flood protection, levee improvements, keeping flood insurance rates affordable, and rebuilding smarter and more resiliently in the face of a changing climate. She was at the forefront of the effort to build the Joint Federal Project at Folsom Dam by working to secure $1 billion for this critical project that became the model of cooperation and efficiency. In addition, she worked rigorously to federally authorize the Natomas Levee Project. More recently, the Congresswoman was instrumental in securing $1.8 billion last year to help strengthen the Sacramento region’s levees and raise Folsom Dam. She also fights to preserve the region’s water rights. With climate change being a primary cause of more intense and unpredictable weather patterns her role in securing funding for flood control and infrastructure projects is even more critical.</p>

<p>Congresswoman Matsui passionately works to increase public transportation options in Sacramento. She is engaged in the planning and execution of an intermodal transportation center in downtown Sacramento and secured federal funds to extend Sacramento’s light rail system, including helping to provide critical federal resources to link Sacramento and West Sacramento. She also helped secure passage in the U.S. House of autonomous vehicle technology in the 115th Congress and plans to continue to lead in the effort to safely deploy intelligent and automated transportation technologies that will transform how we conduct business, transact and travel.</p>

<p>Doris Okada Matsui (/ˌmætˈsuːi/; born Doris Kazue Okada; September 25, 1944) is an American politician from the Democratic Party, serving since 2005 in the House of Representatives. She represents California's 6th congressional district (until 2013 numbered the 5th district), covering the city of Sacramento and its suburbs. Following the death of her husband Bob Matsui on January 1, 2005, she was elected as his replacement and took the oath of office on March 10, 2005. As of May 2021, Matsui is the only current member of Congress who is an example of widow's succession as well as the most recent example.</p>

<p>Matsui was born Doris Okada in the Poston War Relocation Center internment camp in Poston, Arizona, and grew up in Dinuba, in California's Central Valley. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a B.A. in psychology, she met her husband. They had one child, Brian.</p>

<p>Matsui was a housewife and socialite and was active in the group "Lawyers' Wives", now called the Legal Auxiliary of Sacramento, while her husband was a local attorney and served on the Sacramento City Council before his election to congress in 1979. The Matsuis moved to Washington, D.C., shortly thereafter, where they raised their son.</p>