Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts

Amy K. Matsui is Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts at the National Women’s Law Center. She works on economic issues affecting low- and moderate-income women and families, with special emphasis on federal and state tax policy and women’s retirement security. Her work with retirement savings policy and federal and state tax credits for working families comprises policy analysis, federal advocacy, and public education and outreach. She also directs the Center's advocacy efforts around federal judicial nominations and diversity in the federal judiciary. Ms. Matsui has worked at the Center since 2002. Prior to joining the Center, Ms. Matsui practiced commercial law in the private sector. She clerked for the Honorable Carolyn Dineen King, then-Chief Judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in 2000. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, and Stanford Law School.

Expert in: Tax Credits Outreach, Judicial Nominations, Family Tax Credits, Social Security, Supreme Court, Judges & the Courts, Social Security & Retirement
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My Take

Empty Your Piggy Banks, Kids – H.R. 3630 Would Make You, But Not Millionaires, Pay Up

Posted by Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts | Posted on: December 13, 2011 at 04:07 pm

The “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act” (H.R. 3630), introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R. Mich.), contains a very Scrooge-like pay-for to extend unemployment insurance benefits, payroll tax cuts, and doctors’ Medicare reimbursements: taking tax benefits away from low-income working families. H.R. 3630 would impose a new requirement for tax filers claiming the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. As suggested by its name, this credit is intended to help families meet the costs of raising children. The credit is refundable for low-income families with at least $3,000 in earnings.

Specifically, H.R. 3630 would prevent tax filers from claiming the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit without a Social Security Number. This means that the brunt of the cuts to this important tax benefit would fall upon immigrant families.

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Tags: Child Care, H.R. 3630, Taxes, Unemployment Insurance, Family Tax Credits, Unemployment, Poverty & Income Support | Add new comment

Tax Credits Outreach Resources – Spread the Word

Posted by Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts | Posted on: November 30, 2011 at 10:51 am

Each year we partner with advocates and community leaders across the country to conduct a public education campaign aimed at informing families about state and federal tax benefits for which they may be eligible. This year, the tax credits available to low- and moderate-income families are more valuable than ever.

With your help, families could receive:

  • Up to $5,751 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
  • Up to $1,000 per child from the federal Child Tax Credit.
  • Up to $2,100 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

And many states offer their own versions of these credits as well!

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Tags: Child Care, Family Support Programs, Tax Credits, Tax Credits Outreach, Family Tax Credits, Poverty & Income Support | Add new comment

Circuit Judge Confirmed; Only Eighth This Year. Really.

Posted by Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts | Posted on: November 29, 2011 at 11:06 am

Yesterday afternoon, the Senate voted to confirm Christopher Droney to a Connecticut-based seat on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Remarkably, Judge Droney is only the 8th appellate court judge confirmed by the Senate in 2011. Those members of the Senate determined to slow-walk judicial nominees are apparently determined to do so in every conceivable category. With 15 vacancies on the courts of appeal, you would think that all Senators would want to proceed to votes on the four other Court of Appeals nominees ready for a vote, out of, you know, a concern for the administration of justice. Apparently not.

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Tags: Connecticut, Courts, Judges, Senate, Take Action, Judicial Nominations, Judges & the Courts | Add new comment

Washington Post Editorial: Confirm Caitlin Halligan

Posted by Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts | Posted on: November 23, 2011 at 03:06 pm

Worth a pre-Thanksgiving read: Washington Post editorial urging confirmation of Caitlin Halligan, nominated to fill one of three vacant seats on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The editorial highlights Ms. Halligan's outstanding legal qualifications, extensive appellate experience gained during a noteworthy career encompassing both government service and private practice, and bipartisan support. I will add that she would be only the sixth woman to serve on this court in almost 120 years. Notwithstanding, as the Post noted, her nomination has been stalled since March. Bottom line: "Ms. Halligan has had a distinguished career and deserves to be confirmed."

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Tags: Judicial Nominations, Judges & the Courts | Add new comment

WATCH THE VIDEO: Reed v. Reed at 40: Equal Protection and Women’s Rights

Posted by Amy K. Matsui, Senior Counsel and Director of Women and the Courts | Posted on: November 21, 2011 at 03:36 pm

Reed v. Reed, the first case in which the Supreme Court applied the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution to strike down a law that discriminated on the basis of sex, was decided forty years ago this week.

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Tags: Reed v. Reed, Supreme Court, Judges & the Courts | 2 comments