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Congressman Robert Matsui Dies at Age 63

By | Office of Rep. Robert Matsui
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, January 2, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC – The Honorable Robert T. Matsui (D-CA-05) died at 10:10 pm Saturday, January 1, 2005 at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Family surrounded the beloved Congressman from Sacramento for his final days as he battled a recent illness.

His wife, Doris; his son, Brian; his daughter-in-law, Amy; and his granddaughter Anna survive Matsui.

One of the most senior and highly respected Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Matsui was first elected to Congress in 1978. He has been overwhelmingly returned to office in every election since, most recently by over seventy-one percent to his 14th term.

“Bob wanted me to express his most profound gratitude to all of those he had the honor to serve and who made his life so extraordinary,” said Doris Matsui. “Thank you to his constituents, his friends, his staff, and his colleagues. Brian, Amy, Anna and I will forever be grateful.”

Matsui was the third ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, the Ranking Member on the Social Security Subcommittee, and was elected two years ago by his colleagues to serve as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - the National Party Committee responsible for electing Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In recent months, Matsui had been battling Myelodysplastic Disorder (MDS), a rare stem cell disorder that causes an inability of the bone marrow to produce blood products, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The disorder leaves the patient at a heightened susceptibility to illness and compromises the ability to fight illness when it occurs.

Matsui entered Bethesda Naval Hospital on December 24, 2004 with pneumonia, a complication that developed as a result of his prior illness.

The Matsui family and friends are establishing a charitable fund in memory of the Congressman and ask that all gifts be sent to The Matsui Foundation for Public Service, P.O. Box 1347, Sacramento, CA 95812.