Melvin Watt

I submit the following items for inclusion in the Record regarding the House floor consideration of H.R. 4472 on March 8, 2006. March 7, 2006. Dear Representative Conyers: On behalf of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the…

I thank the gentleman, Mr. Davis, for yielding the time. I am honored to be an original cosponsor with my friend, Congressman Rogers from Alabama, of this legislation. Some people probably are wondering why this kind of interesting…

I yield 2 minutes and 10 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

I yield myself 1 minute. First of all, I am fully aware that it is a dangerous combination to be opposing both the chairman of the full Judiciary Committee and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), but I simply think this bill is…

I yield solely for a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson). (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

solely for the purpose of a unanimous consent request, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee.) (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

I am here as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and to talk about the bill before us. When I became Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus earlier this year, I encouraged my colleagues in the caucus to refocus their energies, and…

I rise to say to my colleagues, 15 minutes, an hour and 15 minutes, 15 days would not be enough time for us to tell you how bad this bill is and how devastating it will be in opening disparities that already exist wider and wider and…

solely for the purpose of seeking a unanimous consent request, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver). (Mr. CLEAVER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield solely for purposes of a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott). (Mr. SCOTT of Georgia asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield myself 1 minute just for the purpose of responding to this. I do not agree at all with my chair, as much as I respect him, that this codifies anything. What it does is that it codifies and reaffirms and acknowledges the state of…

I am really saddened today, and I am not sure whether I am more disappointed because of the mischaracterization of the amendments in the committee report or whether I am more saddened by the fact that the members of a committee on which I…

I rise in opposition to S. 5, the Class Action Fairness Act. Despite its name, this bill is anything but fair to the class action device that has provided redress to large numbers of American citizens who have been harmed by the same…

I am just so delighted today to be able to rise in a bipartisan and biracial coalition to honor four great Americans who contributed so much to us. I could talk about the fact that North Carolina A&T State University and Bennett…

since 9/11, numerous groups have found that, along with the imperative to enhance the flow of information necessary to detect, combat, and prevent future acts of terrorism, comes a parallel and increased imperative to protect the privacy…

I think if we were to ask either the Republican or the Democratic nominees for President and Vice President that are out there running, all of them will say, no, I do not like frivolous litigation. The problem here is that my colleagues…

on a number of occasions during the 12 years that I have been in this body, I have risen on this floor to chide my colleagues from the Committee on the Judiciary and my colleagues in the House for the arrogant and irresponsible belief that…

I do not understand the priorities that the Small Business Administration are using when they talk about not supporting a loan program that has generated 360,000 jobs in the last year. How could this administration, that has lost as many…

I voted for H.R. 2844, the expedited election procedure which provides that States should try to have expedited elections in the event of a catastrophe within 45 days. I voted for that measure because I thought it was better than nothing…

the artificial time frames and deadlines specified in H.R. 2844 could make it impossible to comply with many State and Federal laws. Consequently, it has the potential to cause serious violations of voting rights and civil rights. To…

I could not quite figure out what it was that the argument was that this bill was about job creation. Is the gentleman now saying that the production of hamburgers is a manufacturing job?

Number two, it quite often puts us in a position of thinking, well, this legislation is not serious and it is not going anywhere anyway, and as happened with the legislation that has been referred to on several occasions here, well, the…

I would rather have a redundant provision in the bill than to have an ambiguous or no provision in the bill.

I am just wondering whether we have the right manager's amendment, because I do not for the life of me see any of what the gentleman just described as being in the manager's amendment, or in the amendment that I have. Perhaps I have the…

I am not surprised, but I am extremely insulted, that this piece of crap, this bill, would be put on the same level that our civil rights laws in this country have been put on. Now, I am not surprised. I knew that was coming, because we…