Democratic Rep. Bob Matsui Dies at Age 63. Legislator spent time in Internment Camp
Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 09:57AM
TheSpook
Democratic Rep. Robert T. Matsui of California, who spent time in an
internment camp for Japanese-Americans as an infant during World War II
and went on to serve 26 years in Congress, has died of complications
from a rare disease, his family said Sunday. Matsui, 63, died Saturday
night at the National Naval Medical Center in this Washington suburb.
Matsui juggled political and policy roles during more than a
quarter-century in Congress. He was the chairman of the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee for the past two years, in charge of
the unsuccessful effort to regain control of the House. He also was the
third-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee,
where he was his party's point man on Social Security legislation. [more]
Last Week he issued the following statement summarizing his objections to the Social Security pseudo-crisis:
"If the president is serious about reforming Social Security, he will
need to hear from everyone involved, not just those who favor
privatization. Today's economic conference was a photo-op, a meeting of
like minds and a missed opportunity for real debate about the future of
Social Security. We don't need any more privatization pep-rallies, we
need leadership. If the President insists on privatizing Social
Security, he needs to tell us how he's going to pay for the enormous
costs and how the benefit cuts imposed will affect future retirees."
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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