Date: 2005-01-04
Speaker: ZOE LOFGREN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself 5 minutes. We. have heard tonight so many of our colleagues speak of BOB and describe BOB in so many different ways. He was a great American. We are in mourning in this House. His constituents are in mourning. California is in mourning. and the Nation has lost a giant. BOB was a giant through and through. He grew up in Sacramento out in the valley. went to Cal Berkeley. went to law school at Hastings College of Law. He was the first Asian American to hold a leadership position in the House of Representatives. When I became the chairperson of the California Democratic .Delegation in the 108th Congress. and he had always been a mentor to me. he upped his mentorship of me at that time. It is something I have always been immensely grateful for. We have talked about his leadership on a variety of issues: Social Security. the reparations bills. and health care for children. The list goes on and on. But we are mourning him today as someone we knew also as a friend. Some in the papers have said he was mildmannered. and my thought was that the BOB I knew was tough as nails and focused. Yes. he was mildmannered. He was polite is what he was. but he never lost focus on what he was for. He loved his parents because they gave him a framework to understand the world. And it is important to understand that a great injustice was done to his family and to him. but he was never bitter about that because it allowed him to appreciate also the gift he was given. as so many of us were. of opportunity here in America. I believe that is really what fueled his passion here for the issues he fought for. the opportunity that others should have that was given to him. It was not just limited to his constituents. whom he loved dearly. but was for all Americans. I can recall several years ago a situation in Silicon Valley. He was very interested in technology. Entrepreneurs had been hit with a weird tax and had lost everything in the AMTISO disaster. These were Silicon Valley people. but BOB came from Sacramento and sat all day in San Jose to listen to their stories because he cared about them. whether they were his constituents or not. BOB was one of our most compassionate Members. one of our most focused Members. but I also want to talk about BOB the family person. I do not think there was ever a son as brilliant as Brian. if you listened to BOB. Nor was there a daughterinlaw as wonderful as Amy. and never a grandchild as creative and adorable as Anna. not to mention his wonderful spouse. Doris. Many of us have spouses. We love our spouses. but Doris had almost a unique relationship among spouses in the House because not only was she BOBs life partner. she was BOBs partner inpolitical life and in policy life. She stood up for the people of the Fifth District of California every bit as much as BOB MATSUI stood up for those people. We thank Doris for her many. inany years of service with BOB for those constituents and for Americans. Just a final word. BOB had said he was having a few health problems. I had no idea how serious they were. but certainly BOB MATSUI knew how serious they were. Even though BOB knew he was ill. he kept working for us. He was chair of the DCCC. not because he was on an ego trip. In fact. he did not want the job. we made him do it. He fought those fights because he believed that the ideals of the Democratic Party for Social Security. for a safety net. for education. for opportunity for hardworking people who play by the rules to get ahead. those were values that were core to him. And eVen though he put his own health at risk. he fought on for us. I want to thank Doris for allowing him to do that. It is a sacrifice that is immense. We all feel the loss today. I thank Doris. his wonderful son. Brian. Amy. his granddaughter. Anna. I think back on the many times we spent in California enjoying ourselves. He wa� a Cal graduate. but it did not stop him from being a Stanford fan as well. which I always appreciated. I loved BOB MATSUI. as did the entire delegation. We miss him a great deal. Other people will follow his steps. but no one will be able to fill them completely in our hearts. Mr. Speaker. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California .