Doris Matsui

Doris Okada Matsui (born Doris Kazue Okada; 松井 佳寿恵, September 25, 1944) is an American politician, who has served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 7th congressional district since 2005.

The 7th is the most Democratic district in interior California; it and its predecessors have been in Democratic hands without interruption since 1953.

Doris Matsui was a volunteer on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign.

When he was elected, she served on his transition team.

After his inauguration, Matsui 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.

Before her time in Congress, Matsui worked as a government affairs consultant and served as Deputy Assistant to the President in the Administration, where she worked with President Clinton to create the first White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 1999.

She also served as a board member for several nonprofit organizations, including the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts, the National Park Foundation and the National Park Foundation.

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.

Clinton appointed Matsui to the board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in September 2000.

The district, numbered as the 5th from 2005 to 2013 and the 6th from 2013 to 2023, is based in Sacramento.

During her time in Congress, Matsui has been an advocate for healthcare reform, environmental protection, and technology innovation.

She is a member of the House Energy and Commerce committee, where she serves as ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

She has authored and co-sponsored several pieces of legislation, including the CHIPS for America Act, legislation that invested $52 billion to reassert American leadership in the strategically important semiconductor industry.

Matsui played a key role in crafting the Affordable Care Act and has led efforts to expand mental health care, telehealth and find cures for rare diseases.

Matsui has been a vocal advocate for disaster preparedness and response, and played a key role in securing over $3 billion in federal funding for the Sacramento region’s flood protection infrastructure.

She has secured major investments to rebuild Sacramento’s infrastructure – including funds for regional public transportation and the Sacramento International Airport.

She has also supported efforts to combat climate change and promote renewable energy.

Matsui currently serves as one of three House members appointed by the speaker of the House on the Smithsonian Board of Regents.

Later, she became a lobbyist in Washington, representing corporate clients until 2005, when she decided to run for Congress against a field of local Democrats.

Matsui's husband, Representative Bob Matsui, died from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome on January 1, 2005, two months after being elected to a 14th term in what was then the 5th district.

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 and was sworn in for the balance of her husband's term.

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 eight more times without serious difficulty.

Matsui voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

Matsui is pro-choice and received an endorsement from NARAL.

She supports federal health funding that includes abortion funding.

Matsui has advocated for access to reproductive health care 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.

On March 8, 2021, on the second anniversary of the U.S. women's national soccer team's pay discrimination lawsuit, Matsui and Rosa DeLauro introduced the Give Our Athletes Level Salaries (GOALS) Act, to ensure the U.S. women's national soccer team was "paid fair and equitable wages compared to the U.S. Men's team".

The GOALS Act threatens to cut federal funding for the 2026 World Cup if the U.S. Soccer Federation does not comply.

As Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Matsui has been recognized for her leadership on issues related to technology and innovation.