| Mel Watt | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 12th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | None (District Re-established After 1990 Census) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 26, 1945 Steele Creek, North Carolina |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Eulada Watt |
| Children | Brian Watt Jason Watt |
| Residence | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Yale University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
Melvin Luther (Mel) Watt (born August 26, 1945) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives. He has served North Carolina's 12th congressional district since 1993. An attorney from Charlotte, North Carolina, Watt previously served one term as a state Senator and served as campaign manager for former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt.
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Watt was born in Steele Creek, located in Mecklenburg County,[1] and is a graduate of York Road High School in Charlotte. He was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967[2] with a BS degree in Business Administration. In 1970, he received a JD degree from Yale University Law School[2] and was a published member of the Yale Law Journal.
Watt practiced law from 1970 to 1992, specializing in minority business and economic development law. He has been a partner in several small businesses.[2]
Watt was the campaign manager of Harvey Gantt's campaigns for Charlotte City Council, for Mayor of Charlotte and for the United States Senate. Watt served one term in the North Carolina Senate (1985–86).[3]
He was elected to the House in 1992 by defeating Barbara Gore Washington (R) and Curtis Wade Krumel (L).
He previously served on the Joint Economic Committee.
Watt was unanimously elected and served as the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (2005–2006).[3]
In 2003 Watt opposed efforts by the George W. Bush administration and Congressional Republicans to increase regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing", Mr. Watt said.[4] Watt said that "Brad Miller and I were at the forefront of that more than anybody else in America" in trying to prevent the financial crisis, despite the fact that Watt's stated position was against an increase and more oversight for high risk lending.[5]
The 12th district, in its original configuration, was criticized as a gerrymandered district. It was originally drawn in 1992 as a 64% black majority district stretching from Gastonia to Durham.[6] It was very long and thin as it followed Interstate 85 almost exactly.[7] The Wall Street Journal called the district "political pornography" and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor called the district's shape "bizarre" during the course of the eventual United States Supreme Court case involving the district, Shaw v. Reno. The district was thrown out as unconstitutional in 1996 and has been redrawn several times. Regardless of the district's configuration, Watt has had virtually no difficulty winning re-election in the always heavily Democratic district.
In 2004, Ralph Nader attended a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus, where he alleges that Congressman Watt twice uttered an "obscene racial epithet" towards him. It was alleged that Watt said: "You're just another arrogant white man — telling us what we can do — it's all about your ego — another f--king arrogant white man." Although Nader wrote a letter to the Caucus and to Watt asking for an apology, none was offered.[8]
In 2009, fellow congressman Ron Paul reported to Bloomberg that while Paul's bill HR 1207, which mandates an audit of the Federal Reserve, was in subcommittee, Watt had substantially altered the substance of the bill, a move which had "gutted" the bill's protections.[9] According to Bloomberg News, on October 20, 2009, "The bill, with 308 co-sponsors, has been stripped of provisions that would remove Fed exemptions from audits of transactions with foreign central banks, monetary policy deliberations, transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and communications between the Board, the reserve banks and staff, Paul said today." Paul said there is "nothing left" in the bill after Watt's actions.[9]
Paul responded when he and Alan Grayson of Florida passed a competing amendment hours before the bill cleared the House Financial Services Committee to restore the bill's original language and undo Watt's attempts to weaken its effects. Watt won support from Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts and the Congressional Black Caucus, both of which backed his amendment. Eight of the ten Black Caucus members on the committee voted against the Paul-Grayson amendment. Watt and Frank voted to inhibit the bill's approval. With pressure from the Congressional Black Caucus to delay consideration of the bill by the full House of Representatives, it is unclear when HR 1207 will face a final vote.[10]
The country's largest bank Bank of America is headquartered in Charlotte in Watt's congressional district and has threatened to leave. The Sunlight Foundation reported that 45% of Watt's campaign contributions for 2009 are from corporations in the real estate, insurance and finance industries, the seventh-highest percentage of any member of Congress.[11][12] Watt’s largest contributors included American Express, Wachovia, Bank of America and the American Bankers Association.
Congressman Watts ardently supports the Stop Online Piracy Act, stating that it is "beyond troubling to hear hyperbolic charges that this bill will open the floodgates to government censorship".[13] This is despite the fact that numerous individuals who have been highly influential in the development of the internet have openly stated that they are "...alarmed that Congress is so close to mandating censorship-compliance as a design requirement for new Internet innovations. This can only damage the security of the network, and give authoritarian governments more power over what their citizens can read and publish."[14]
Congressman Watts was formally investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics over a series of fundraising events he was involved in. On December 9, 2009 Watt held a fundraiser and soon after withdrew a proposal he had introduced to subject auto dealers to more stringent regulations. The fundraiser brought donors mainly from large finance companies such as Goldman Sachs.[15] Watt was later cleared of charges or wrongdoing.[16]
In what the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington called “disgraceful”[17], Watt introduced legislation to slash funding for the Office of Congressional Ethics.[18]
In 1992, Watt was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's newly created 12th Congressional District and became one of only two African American members elected to Congress from North Carolina in the 20th century, the other being Eva M. Clayton.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| New district | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 12th congressional district 1993–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Elijah Cummings |
Chairman of Congressional Black Caucus 2005–2007 |
Succeeded by Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Nydia Velázquez D-New York |
United States Representatives by seniority 93rd |
Succeeded by Lynn Woolsey D-California |
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