Doris Okada Matsui ( ; born Doris Kazue Okada; , September 25, 1944) is a Japanese-American politician, who has served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California since 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, she has represented California's 5th, 6th, and 7th congressional districts.
During her time in Congress, Matsui has been an advocate for healthcare reform, environmental protection, and technology innovation. She has authored and co-sponsored several pieces of legislation, including the 21st Century Cures Act, which provides funding for medical research and innovation, and the Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act, which aims to simplify tax regulations for digital goods and services.
Matsui has been a vocal advocate for disaster preparedness and response, and played a key role in securing federal funding for the reconstruction of Sacramento's levees after devastating floods in 2006. She has also supported efforts to combat climate change and promote renewable energy.
Before her time in Congress, Matsui worked as a government affairs consultant and served as Deputy Assistant to the President in the Clinton Administration. She also served as a board member for several nonprofit organizations, including the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts, and the National Park Foundation.
Matsui co-chairs the Congressional High Tech Caucus and has been recognized for her leadership on issues related to technology and innovation.
Early life and career
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.
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.
Doris Matsui was a volunteer on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. When he was elected, Matsui served on his transition team. After his inauguration, she was appointed deputy special assistant to the president and deputy director of public liaison, working under Alexis Herman. One of her duties was to work with the Asian American community. She served in the White House from 1993 to 1998. Clinton appointed her to the board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in September 2000. Later, she became a lobbyist in Washington, representing corporate clients until 2005, when she returned to California to run for Congress against a field of local Democrats.
U.S. House of Representatives
Tenure
Matsui's husband, Representative Bob Matsui, died from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome on . On January 9, 2005, the day after his funeral, Matsui told supporters she was running for his open seat. In the special election on March 8, 2005, she garnered 68% of the vote. Press reports said that Matsui won the election before the polls opened, as most votes in the election were absentee ballots, which she won overwhelmingly. Matsui was elected to a full term in 2006 and has been reelected six more times without serious difficulty. The 6th is the most Democratic district in interior California; it and its predecessors have been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1953.
As of October 2021, Matsui had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.
Women's rights
Matsui is pro-choice and received an endorsement from NARAL. She supports federal health funding that includes abortion funding. She has a focus on preventing unwanted pregnancies altogether by funding contraception programs and making them readily available. She supports emergency contraceptive capabilities in hospitals for rape victims. Matsui opposes restricting minors from traveling across state borders for abortion procedures. She has voted to continue stem cell research. Matsui opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She called the decision "devastating" and said she was "deeply heartbroken and angered" by it.