Melvin Watt

I understand. Let me go on ahead and make the second point, that is the slippery slope argument, because what I see happening is as soon as we put this majority requirement in here the next step down the road is going to be to jack this up…

Mr. Chairman, I was in a crime bill markup, so I will try not to take my 5 minutes. But I did want to come over and congratulate my colleague from North Carolina on this fine amendment that she has proposed to this bill, and to express my…

what is the problem with exempting these important things that my colleagues acknowledge systematically are important?

the 100-day dream has become a 100-day nightmare. The process by which this balanced budget amendment to the Constitution came to the floor of this House is the classic example. I serve on the Committee on the Judiciary out of which this…

I have not heard anybody come here who has not expressed a commitment to a balanced budget. But the American people should know that it is really the debt, the national debt that is the drag on us. So a balanced budget is not going to get…

Mr. Chairman, Harry Truman used to say, in an earlier and perhaps better era here in D.C., "The buck stops here." In today's Washington, D.C. your buck barely gets a chance to wipe its feet before it is back out the door in the form of…

I would simply want to inquire of the gentleman, if you support this or you do not support it, do you want to leave this question up in the air or do you want it resolved? Because if you want it resolved, then the only way too resolve it…

I first read it in the Washington Post and I had my doubts about it. Then I read it in the Farm Journal. This is a quote. ``We have to explain to people in advance what a balanced budget amendment is going to mean. I am for it, but you got…

on this anniversary of the landmark Roe versus Wade decision I want to express my disgust at the recent outbreaks of violence at our Nation's family planning clinics. Roe versus Wade affirmed that the women in this country have a right to…

in the Judiciary Committee a couple of weeks ago, we adopted a set of rules which provide that a hearing can be called only by the committee on 7 days' notice. We conducted a hearing that was not so called, and the chairman of that…

I would just say to the American people that gridlock is being replaced in this body by totalitarianism.

I intend to vote for this bill, but the American people should note that there is nobody who has gotten on the floor today who has not expressed some reservation about the content of this bill. The reason for that is the process by which…

if we believe in term limits on committee Chairs and limits on proxy voting, then we should vote for it. That is the majority way. That is the democratic way. However, I draw the line when Members start to diminish the value of my vote by…

Mr. Chairman, I would point out the inconsistency of my colleague's argument. Typically, he is the very person in this body who is talking against the delegation of authority that we should be exercising to the executive branch. There is…

Mr. Chairman, the effect of this amendment would be to strike the provision in the bill which provides for a death penalty for drug kingpins. I am an opponent of the death penalty, but that is not what this argument is about. I would say…

In conclusion I would simply say that we have a death penalty, we have added a number of additional death penalty provisions. There ought to, at least, be standards for evaluating when the death penalty will apply. If we do not have…

I have been on the Hill all day, and I have yet to see a black Member of Congress. And I just wanted to see and talk to one. It reminded me of the importance of minority representation again in this body, against the backdrop that Monday…

I stand here as one of two African-American Members of Congress from the State of North Carolina, the first African-American Members of Congress elected from the State of North Carolina in this century.

I stand here tonight in the shadow of a lot of history, part of which I have already alluded to, as only one of two black Representatives from North Carolina in this century. Recalling the shadow cast by George H. White, the last…

I rise in support of the Black Caucus budget. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the CBC's budget resolution. As a member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Development, I want to speak specifically about this budget's effect on…

I am delighted to be here and participate in the Black History Month celebration and take this opportunity to do something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I thought it would be fitting today to read some of the words of George H…

as an individual I condemn the statements which are the subject of this resolution. There may be no individual in this body who has spent a greater percentage of his life fighting racism and sexism in this country. I oppose this resolution…