Press Statement on
Representative Robert Matsui
By Carol Berkowitz, M.D., FAAP, AAP President

"Pediatricians lost one of their legislative champions over the weekend with the death of Representative Robert T. Matsui (D-CA). He lived a life dedicated to serving the public in California and across the county, including children and adolescents. In 1991, Rep. Matsui introduced the first bill to comprehensively provide health care coverage to every child through age 21 and pregnant women. The legislation, "Children and Pregnant Women's Health Insurance Act", was modeled after a proposal from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP praised Rep. Matsui for having the vision to put children first - children who can't vote or contribute to campaigns. At the time, there were 12 million children who were uninsured. Rep. Matsui knew that health care reform should not be only about cost, but about guaranteeing access to quality care to all those who need it - by starting with the most needy, most vulnerable and least costly population. He always acted with such thoughtfulness and commitment. As a result of his work, we awarded him our Excellence in Public Service Award in 1992. Rep. Matsui continued to help children and their families over the years, including supporting the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Child Care Development Block Grant, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, and ensuring protections for children in Welfare Reform. Although we are mourning his death, we are truly thankful for his contributions. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Matsui family."

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.