[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H1269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MAIDEN SPEECH BY THE HONORABLE DORIS O. MATSUI

  (Ms. MATSUI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. MATSUI. Speaker Hastert, Leader Pelosi, Chairman Lewis and Mr. 
Stark, thank you very much and all the distinguished Members and 
friends here for welcoming me here today.
  As I look around this Chamber, I see so many of you who have been my 
friends throughout these years. And now today I have the honor of 
calling you my colleagues. The last time I was here in this Chamber was 
December 23. Obviously, the House was out of session then. But Bob was 
so excited because he was going to bring Anna on the floor to witness 
his swearing in for his 14th term. So that morning of the 23rd we 
decided to do a practice run, and we brought Anna here on the floor of 
this awe-inspiring Chamber to get her used to it. After that, we went 
back to his office and we just happened to take a picture of Anna 
sitting on her grandfather's lap behind a desk with the Capitol behind. 
The next day, Bob fell ill and was hospitalized. And he tried so hard 
to get well, because he wanted to be here with his colleagues and with 
Anna.
  As you all know, he loved this body. He loved coming to work here. 
And he loved all of you. But he did not win that battle. In the days 
since, I spent a lot of time talking with the people of Sacramento, and 
I have come to appreciate even more what Bob maintained all along, that 
his commitment to equality, his dedication to ensuring dignity to the 
elderly, his work to make Sacramento even a better place to live and 
work and to raise a family, and his driving desire to make America 
stronger for each successive generation, those things were not about 
him at all. They were about us. They were about our future.
  And so I take this oath today with a heart both heavy and hopeful 
that we can all work together to build that better future. The 
challenges facing the people of Sacramento did not end with my 
husband's service. I know that Bob made all of you aware, in some cases 
painfully aware, how important the issue of flood control is to 
Sacramento. For many, many years, probably a couple of decades, my 
husband bent your ears on that. You will not be surprised to hear that 
that pain in your ear is not going to go away until we get it done.
  This is truly the people's House, and that is why Bob loved it so. 
And I realize as I was talking and listening to the people of 
Sacramento how important it is to connect with the people. As I was 
talking with them in the grocery stores and the coffee shops, at the 
service stations, I heard from many people. Bob's high school teacher 
came up to me one day and said, Doris, please, please make sure that 
Social Security is secure. I ran into a young mother at the grocery 
store who stopped me as I was picking up a can of peas and said, Mrs. 
Matsui, I lost my husband a year ago, and I need those Social Security 
benefits for my son and myself.
  When I was in a coffee shop, a young man rolled over to me and said, 
Mrs. Matsui, I really need those disability benefits, because I don't 
want to have to depend on my parents. I talked to the hardware store 
owner and I listened really hard because he wants to provide health 
care benefits for his employees, but finds it to be very difficult.
  Social Security, health care, the war in Iraq, these are all local 
issues. We happen to talk about them here, but they are all local 
issues. And on these issues and so many more, I look forward to working 
with all of you to find common ground and achieve common good.
  I mentioned earlier the photo of Anna sitting on her grandfather's 
lap. One of our other family treasures is a photo of Brian here at age 
6 witnessing his father's first swearing in. He sat right there. He is 
sitting there now. He is sitting there with his own daughter, Anna. 
Seeing him there and seeing Anna is a reminder that despite tragedy and 
heartbreak, life indeed does go on. And I know that somewhere Bob is 
looking down and smiling, knowing that Anna was here on the floor 
having watched her grandmother being sworn in.
  Life does go on. And so it is with Bob's example and Anna's 
inspiration of future generations and with the hopes and dreams of the 
people of Sacramento, I take this honor and I have taken this oath to 
join you today as a colleague. And I truly, truly appreciate being 
here.
  Thank you so very much.

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