James Norton: “I would like to add my remarks to the glowing ones we have heard regarding the untimely passing of our dear colleague…”

“I would like to add my remarks to the glowing ones we have heard regarding the untimely passing of our dear colleague, Bob Matsui. To have known Bob Matsui is to be heartbroken by his death. I believe that our Republican colleagues would agree. Especially for Democrats, however, the loss is profoundly felt three times over. First, there was the man whose human dimensions of kindness, consideration, and friendly persuasion made him instantly likeable and one of the most admired and respected members across the political spectrum. Second, there was the successful party leader, who had just completed his term as a hugely successful chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. And third, there was the Democratic seer of social security whom we were depending upon to lead us through the coming crucial social security debate, one of the several subjects whose byzantine complexities Bob had mastered as third ranking on the Ways and Means Committee. Congress and the country could not afford to lose even one of these three Bob Matsuis. Now, sadly we have lost all three. As we mourn the loss of one of the country's most effective public servants, we celebrate our good fortune that Bob Matsui gave his life to public service.”