[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 19099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE HON. MEL WATT FOR HIS SERVICE

  (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask our North 
Carolina colleagues to join me here, along with the dean of our 
delegation, Mr. Coble.
  Mr. Speaker, our colleague of many years, Mel Watt, has just cast his 
last vote in this body. Mel Watt, the Representative of the Twelfth 
Congressional District, from Charlotte, North Carolina, has just been 
confirmed by the Senate to be the Director of the Federal Housing 
Finance Agency, so he is going to leave us after today to take over 
that position.
  Howard Coble and I are the deans of our respective parties in the 
House delegation from North Carolina, and we both wanted the House to 
pause to pay tribute to Mel for his service and his dedication to this 
institution.
  I am happy at this point to yield to the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Coble), my colleague.
  Mr. COBLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished friend from North 
Carolina (Mr. Price). I appreciate that.
  You have already indicated where Mel is going to be going. I hope he 
won't ignore us when he meets us on the streets or in these Halls. I 
don't think he will.
  Mel and I have shared several counties in North Carolina for nearly 
two decades. We both sat as members of the House Judiciary Committee 
for also two decades.
  Mel, we wish you and your family best wishes.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I thank the gentleman.
  I want to make note of the fact that Mel's wife, Eulada, is in the 
gallery tonight. On behalf of my wife, Lisa, and myself, we have 
considered the Watts good friends, colleagues, shared many experiences 
together, and we are going to miss them both a great deal, although we 
take some solace in the thought that they are not going too far and 
that we will have chances to be together as Mel assumes this new role.

                              {time}  1845

  Mr. Speaker, Mel Watt is a legislator's legislator. We sometimes say 
that about colleagues. If there is any doubt about that, it would have 
been dispelled by what we just heard in the committee room this 
afternoon as colleague after colleague from the Judiciary and Financial 
Services Committees, from both sides of the aisle, paid tribute to this 
fine friend and colleague.
  There were many stories of collaboration, of disputes and fights that 
were nonetheless civil and respectful, of mentorship of younger 
Members. There is just no question that Mel has made his imprint on 
this institution. As a man of great intelligence and expertise, he is 
admirably qualified for the job he is about to assume, but also a 
mainstay of legislative work in the committees that he served on during 
his entire time here, Financial Services and Judiciary.
  We are going to miss him. I probably speak for others in the 
delegation; but, actually, I will just speak for myself. I know when 
the votes occur, the rollcall votes occur, that is a name I check, just 
like I used to check John Spratt's name. There are a few colleagues 
that one respects so much that you want to make sure you are not going 
too far astray when you cast those votes. I will miss Mel in that very 
practical way.
  We will not take much time here this evening. It is mainly a matter 
here, as the votes come to a close and Mel casts his last vote before 
this body, testifying to how highly we regard this colleague and 
honoring him for his service.

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