[Deathwatch] Bob Matsui, California Democratic congressman, 63

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Congressman dies of rare disease
Rep. Bob Matsui went from internment camp to Congress
Sunday, January 2, 2005 Posted: 1:25 PM EST (1825 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/01/02/obit.matsui.ap/index.html

BETHESDA, Maryland (AP) -- Democratic Rep. Bob 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
a 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 party's 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.

In a statement announcing Matsui's death, his office disclosed that the
congressman was diagnosed several months ago with Milo Dysplastic
Disorder, a rare stem cell disorder that reduces the body's ability to
produce red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Victims of
the disease are left more susceptible to other illnesses, with less
ability to fight them off.

The statement said Matsui entered the hospital on December 24 with
pneumonia.

Matsui was recently re-elected with ease to his 14th term in Congress.
His death will trigger a special election for a new representative in
his Sacramento-area district.

Matsui was born in 1941. The following year, his family was among the
Japanese-Americans forced into internment camps during World War II.
Decades later, he helped pass legislation which apologized for the
internment policy and provided compensation for survivors.

Matsui first won election to his seat in Congress in 1978. He generally
supported Democratic legislation, but his support for global trade
legislation put him at odds with members of his party on some
high-profile measures.

As senior Democrat on the subcommittee on Social Security, Matsui gave
every impression during the final few weeks of his life of being eager
to lead the opposition to President Bush's plans to establish personal
retirement accounts as part of a general overhaul of the program.

"With the passing of Bob Matsui, our country has lost a great leader
and America's seniors have lost their best friend in Congress," House
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Californian, said in a
statement.