[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 14 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E93]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING HOPE MATSUI YASUI UPON HER RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 8, 2006

  Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to a distinguished 
woman who has faithfully served the State of California for over 38 
years. Hope Matsui Yasui retires this month from the State of 
California Employment Development Department. As her friends, family 
and colleagues gather to celebrate her decades of public service, I ask 
all of my colleagues to join me in saluting this outstanding citizen of 
Sacramento.
  Hope began her career of public service to the State of California in 
1962 with the California Department of Transportation, and then in 1967 
she continued her career with the State Employment Development 
Department. The majority of her years of public service were with the 
State Employment Development Department and the California Governor's 
Committee on Employment of Peoples with Disabilities.
  Hope successfully represented the California Governor's Committee on 
Employment of Peoples with Disabilities on a major California task 
force to work with the Social Security Administration to remove 
employer disincentives against hiring disabled people. While with the 
Committee, she was also an original co-founder of the California Model 
Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities. This well 
respected youth program led to the establishment of similar programs in 
over 30 States throughout the country.
  Throughout her many years of employment with the State of California, 
Hope has established herself as an excellent role model through her 
career of exemplary public and community service. She has developed an 
impeccable reputation within Sacramento and throughout the State, as 
she has promoted employment opportunity for people with disabilities 
and for all Californians.
  As a devoted public servant and community leader, she has shown 
compassion and understanding for those who are underprivileged in life. 
Her profound sense of understanding for those less fortunate was 
developed, in part, as a result of the injustices she faced at birth in 
a Japanese internment camp in Minidoka, Idaho amidst the turmoil of 
World War II.
  Hope has maintained her commitment to the people of California and 
has remained dedicated to her family. Therefore, I would like to 
congratulate Hope Matsui Yasui for her many successes and for her well 
deserved retirement.
  Mr. Speaker, as Hope Matsui Yasui's family, friends and colleagues 
gather to celebrate her career of service to Sacramento and to the 
State of California, I am truly privileged to congratulate one of 
Sacramento's most respectable citizens. The State of California has 
greatly benefited from having Hope Matsui Yasui's strong leadership and 
compassionate heart. Her dedication to people with disabilities and to 
the people of California has lasted a lifetime and has forever improved 
the lives of Californians with disabilities. I ask all of my colleagues 
to join with me today in wishing Hope continued success and happiness 
in all of her future endeavors, wherever her retirement may take her.

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