Committee assignments

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit
  • Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law
  • Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet (Ranking Member)

He previously served on the Joint Economic Committee.

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Black Caucus
  • (Watt was unanimously elected and served as the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus 2005–2006.)^[11]
• Congressional Progressive Caucus^[14]
• International Conservation Caucus^[15]

Legislative history

In 2010, Watt sponsored the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act.^[16] In 2011, Watt became a co-sponsor of Bill H.R.3261, otherwise known as the Stop Online Piracy Act.^[17] In 2013, Watts supported the Amash–Conyers Amendment, and was against the Innovation Act.

Nomination and confirmation

On May 1, 2013, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Watt to serve as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Almost immediately, the nomination drew criticism from Republicans, some of whom complained that no politician should lead the agency.^[18] Other Republican senators have argued that he lacks technical expertise on housing finance.^[19] Obama formally nominated Watt to the post on May 7, 2013.^[20]

In July 2013, the Senate Banking Committee advanced Watt's nomination on a party-line vote.^[19]

On October 28, 2013, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid motioned to invoke cloture on Watt's nomination, setting up a key test of whether his nomination could overcome procedural hurdles and move to a final up-or-down vote.^[21] The motion failed on October 31, with 56 votes in favor, shy of the 60 needed to pass.^[22]

After a series of procedural votes on December 10, 2013, the Senate voted 57–40 to invoke cloture on Watt's nomination, ending the Republican filibuster under the Senate's recently modified rules for cloture on executive branch nominees.^[23] Later that same day, the Senate confirmed Watt in a 57–41 vote.^[3]

Watt was investigated in July 2018 for sexually harassing an employee.^[24][25]

Accusation by Ralph Nader of use of "racial epithet"

In 2004, Ralph Nader attended a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus, at which Nader clashed with members of the caucus over his presidential bid. After the meeting, Nader alleged that 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 fucking arrogant white man." Although Nader (who is of Lebanese descent) wrote a letter to the Caucus and to Watt asking for an apology, none was offered.^[26]

Opposition to Federal Reserve auditing

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.^[27] 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.^[27]

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.^[28]

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.^[29][30] Watt's largest contributors included American Express, Wachovia, Bank of America and the American Bankers Association.^[31]

Support of SOPA

Congressman Watt 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".^[32]

Ethics investigation

Congressman Watt 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.^[33] Watt was later cleared of charges or wrongdoing.^[34]

In what the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) called "disgraceful",^[35] Watt introduced legislation to slash funding for the Office of Congressional Ethics.^[36]

Racial gerrymandering

In 1993, the design of his district was challenged as an instance of racial gerrymandering. The Supreme Court held in Shaw v. Reno that the unusual shape of the district required strict scrutiny of its racial purpose. Although it is rare for a law to survive strict scrutiny, the districting plan was upheld on remand as "narrowly tailored to further the state's compelling interest in complying with the Voting Rights Act".^[37]

Recent election results