Former U.S. Representative

Melvin L. WattNo longer serving

District NC‑12 Party Democratic In office 1993–2014

141 bills introduced

Across 7 Congresses, most in the 112th at 57. In the 113th, 21 — 8 more than the median representative, who filed 13. Of the 141, 2 became law. Volume is not influence: the great majority of bills, from every member, never get a vote.

Bills introduced, against the typical representative 107th to 113th

median for the chamber, that Congress

Cosponsored

1,397

Signed on to someone else's bill

Recorded votes

11,755

Roll calls tied to a bill, nominations aside

Their work

Drawn from the 141 bills this member introduced: the subjects the record assigns them, and the members who most often sign on.

Subjects

Foreign Trade and International Finance 127
Tariffs 102
Tariff 25
Commerce 10
Dyes and dyeing 7
Finance and Financial Sector 6
Housing and Community Development 5
Commemorations 4

Bills carry several subjects each, so these add up to more than 141.

Most frequent cosponsors

Times each has cosponsored a bill this member introduced.

Biography

A Representative from North Carolina. Born in Steele Creek, Mecklenburg County, N. C. , August 26, 1945. York Road High School, Charlotte, N. C. , 1963. B. S. , University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C. , 1967. J. D. , Yale University School of Law, New Haven, Conn. , 1970. Lawyer, private practice. Member of the North Carolina state senate, 1985-1987. Elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the ten succeeding Congresses until his resignation on January 6, 2014 (January 3, 1993-January 6, 2014). Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 2014-2019.

Votes

How this member answered on every recorded vote tied to a bill, newest first — including the procedural motions on it, such as cloture. Votes on nominations are not listed, because they are not attached to a bill.

Bill	Question	Voted	Date
HRES 441	On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree	Nay	Dec 12, 2013
HJRES 59	On Motion to Recede and Concur in the Senate Amendment with Amendment	No	Dec 12, 2013
HRES 438	On Agreeing to the Resolution	Nay	Dec 12, 2013
HRES 438	On Ordering the Previous Question	Nay	Dec 12, 2013
HR 1992	On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended	Not Voting	Dec 11, 2013
HR 3212	On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended	Not Voting	Dec 11, 2013
S 1471	On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass	Not Voting	Dec 11, 2013
HR 2319	On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended	Not Voting	Dec 11, 2013

Bill	Title	Status	Latest action
HR 3219	Free Market Royalty Act	Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.	Oct 15, 2013
HR 1061	To extend the temporary suspension of duty on Direct Black 22.	Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.	Apr 11, 2013
HR 1060	To suspend temporarily the duty on Acid Blue 225.	Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.	Apr 11, 2013
HR 1059	To extend the temporary suspension of duty on Acid Orange 116.	Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.	Apr 11, 2013
HR 1058	To suspend temporarily the duty on Acid Black 194.	Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.	Apr 11, 2013
HR 1057	To suspend temporarily the duty on Reactive Blue 21.	Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.	Apr 11, 2013
HR 1056	To extend the temporary suspension of duty on Acid Black 132.	Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.	Apr 11, 2013
HR 1055	To suspend temporarily the duty on Disperse Violet 57.	Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.	Apr 11, 2013

Cosponsored bills

Bills introduced by others that this member signed on to.

Bill	Title	Status	Signed on
HR 808	Steel Revitalization Act of 2001	Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.	Mar 13, 2001
HR 786	To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the provisions prohibiting persons convicted of drug offenses from receiving student financial assistance.	Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.	Mar 8, 2001
HR 665	Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2001	Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.	Mar 8, 2001
HR 631	Project Apollo Commemorative Coin Act of 2001	Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy, Technology and Economic Growth.	Mar 8, 2001
HCONRES 34	Expressing the sense of the Congress that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued in honor of Ava Gardner.	Referred to the House Committee on Government Reform.	Mar 8, 2001
HR 912	Innocence Protection Act of 2001	Subcommittee Hearings Held.	Mar 7, 2001
HR 821	To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1030 South Church Street in Asheboro, North Carolina, as the "W. Joe Trogdon Post Office Building".	Became Public Law No: 107-32.	Mar 7, 2001
HR 839	Teaching Fellows Act of 2001	Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.	Mar 1, 2001

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Party, state and chamber are those of this member's most recent term. Bills and cosponsorships are held from the 107th Congress onwards and recorded votes from the 101st, so a member who served before those points will show fewer than they filed, or none. Committee seats are held for the current Congress only, which is why they are shown for sitting members and left out for everyone else rather than reported as zero. Vote counts cover roll calls tied to a bill; the chambers also vote on procedure and nominations, which are not listed here. Office, telephone and website are not shown for a member who has left, because the ones on file were theirs while serving. Records come from Congress.gov and the Biographical Directory of Congress.