WATT, MELVIN L. (a Representative from North Carolina)

Amendments

Firearms: prohibit lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers (H.R. 1036), H2979, H2991 [9AP]

Flag—U.S.: constitutional amendment to prohibit desecration (H.J. Res. 4), H4837 [3JN]

Appointments

Conferee: H.R. 2622, National Consumer Credit Reporting System Improvement Act, H10515 [6NO]

Bills and resolutions cosponsored

African Americans: establish a memorial to slavery in the District of Columbia (see H.R. 196), H323 [5FE]

———establish special day to recognize the significant achievements and contributions of African-American scientists, mathematicians, and inventors (see H. Con. Res. 59), H1465 [27FE]

Alaska: provide additional protections for National Forest System lands (see H.R. 979), H1461 [27FE]

Animals: prohibit the intentional feeding of bears on Federal lands (see H.R. 1472), H5267 [11JN]

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: preserve the Arctic coastal plain as wilderness (see H.R. 770), H699 [13FE]

Armed Forces: expand Rest and Recuperation Leave program for members serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom to include travel and transportation to the members' permanent station or home (see H. Res. 387), H9215 [2OC]

———restore health care coverage to retired members of the uniformed services (see H.R. 58), H3052 [9AP]

———support members engaging in military action in Iraq (see H. Con. Res. 103), H2312 [25MR]

Army: close the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and establish a joint congressional task force to assess the education and training needs for Latin American military personnel (see H.R. 1258), H1900 [13MR]

Assault weapons: reauthorize ban on production of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (see H.R. 2038), H8906 [24SE]

Baltimore, MD: authorize assistance for the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum and Justice Learning Center (see H.R. 2424), H5265 [11JN]

Bankruptcy: revise banking and bankruptcy insolvency laws relative to termination and netting of financial contracts (see H.R. 2120), H4740 [22MY]

Birmingham, AL: anniversary of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing (see H. Res. 389), H10458 [5NO]

Blackwell, Lucien E.: tribute (see H. Res. 169), H2586 [1AP]

Briggs, Harry and Eliza: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 3287), H9380 [10OC]

Capital punishment: abolish under Federal law (see H.R. 2574), H5813 [24JN]

Capitol Building and Grounds: revise women's suffrage statue located in the Capitol rotunda to include a likeness of Sojourner Truth (see H.R. 601), H5663 [19JN]

Charities: nullify contracting exemption provisions of Executive order on the participation of faith-based organizations in the provision of social services (see H.R. 2605), H5928 [25JN]

Children and youth: enhance operation of the AMBER Alert communications plan to expedite the recovery of abducted children (see H.R. 412), H1954 [18MR]

———provide opportunities to improve the lives of all children and enable them to reach their fullest potential (see H.R. 936), H10340 [4NO]

China, People's Republic of: require Dept. of the Treasury report on exchange rate policies and impose additional tariffs on products based on the rate of currency exchange manipulation (see H.R. 3058), H8906 [24SE]

China, Republic of: negotiation of a free trade agreement (see H. Con. Res. 98), H3638 [1MY]

Civil rights: anniversary of March on Washington (see H. Res. 352), H7839 [3SE]

———provide equal access to opportunity in education, business, and employment and support affirmative action programs in securing such equal access (see H. Res. 32), H328 [7FE]

Colleges and universities: provide for fire sprinkler systems in public and private college and university housing and dormitories (see H.R. 1613), H3858 [8MY]

———tribute to Independent 529 Plan for assisting families in paying for tuition (see H. Res. 378), H9378 [8OC]

Colombia: eligibility of nationals for temporary protected status (see H.R. 2853), H11392 (see H.R. 2853), H11516 [18NO]

Columbia (space shuttle): award Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to crew (see H.R. 525), H1682 [6MR]

Commission To Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans: establish (see H.R. 40), H9282 [7OC]

Corrie, Rachel: tribute (see H. Con. Res. 111), H3454 [29AP]

Courts: restore judicial discretion in sentencing for certain Federal crimes and require a U.S. Sentencing Commission report on the incidence of downward departures (see H.R. 2213), H4734 [22MY]

———restore the Federal civil rights remedy for victims of gender-motivated violence (see H.R. 394), H8403 [22SE]

De Laine, Joseph A.: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 3287), H9380 [10OC]

Dept. of HHS: establish an Office of Men's Health (see H.R. 1734), H3302 [10AP]

———establish health empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately experience disparities in health status and health care (see H.R. 3588), H12307 [21NO]

Dept. of HUD: reauthorize the HOPE VI Program for revitalization of severely distressed public housing (see H.R. 1614), H2820 [3AP]

———reauthorize the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program (see H.R. 1981), H3682 [6MY]

Dept. of State: establish position of Iraqi Reconstruction Coordinator (see H. Res. 404), H9614 [16OC]

Dept. of Transportation: provide financial assistance for local rail line relocation projects (see H.R. 1815), H7086 [17JY]

Dept. of Veterans Affairs: suspend authority to increase drug copayment for treatment of non-service-connected disabilities and increase pension rates for certain surviving spouses (see H.R. 627), H2822 [3AP]

Discrimination: protect rights and condemn attacks on Arab Americans, American Muslims, South-Asian Americans, and Sikh Americans (see H. Res. 234), H6265 [26JN]

Diseases: extend issuance of special postage stamps to fund breast cancer research (see H.R. 1385), H9812 [21OC]

———increase public awareness of scleroderma (see H. Con. Res. 30), H11149 [12NO]

———prevent and cure diabetes and promote and improve the care of diabetic individuals within minority populations (see H.R. 1916), H9687 [17OC]

District of Columbia: provide full voting representation in Congress (see H.R. 1285), H4788 [2JN]

Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act: repeal sunset on expansion of the adoption credit and adoption assistance programs (see H.R. 1057), H1747 [11MR]

Economy: detrimental impact on U.S. economy of currency manipulation by foreign governments (see H. Con. Res. 285), H10341 [4NO]

Education: constitutional amendment on the right to a quality public education (see H.J. Res. 29), H2271 [20MR]

———establish a national teaching fellowship program to encourage individuals to enter, and remain, in the field of teaching at public schools (see H.R. 1805), H3352 [11AP]

———improve access to printed instructional materials used by blind or other print-disabled persons in elementary and secondary schools (see H.R. 490), H6603 [10JY]

———provide educational opportunities for all students in State public school systems (see H.R. 236), H134 [8JA]

Emancipation Proclamation: anniversary (see H. Con. Res. 36), H462 [12FE]

Employment: prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation (see H.R. 3285), H9376 [8OC]

Equal Justice Day: designate (see H. Con. Res. 223), H5815 [24JN]

Fayetteville, NC: tribute to Festival of Flight celebration of the centennial of the first controlled, powered flight (see H. Con. Res. 58), H1465 [27FE]

FBI Building, Washington, DC: designate (see H.R. 2524), H5661 [19JN]

FCC: encourage more extensive review and public comment before revising media ownership rules (see H. Res. 218), H4132 [14MY]

———invalidate ruling on media ownership rules (see H.R. 2462), H7086 [17JY]

———require compliance with Government regulations relative to media ownership rules (see H.R. 2212), H4734 [22MY]

Federal employees: ensure parity between the compensation of members of the Armed Forces and civilian employees (see H. Con. Res. 19), H2587 [1AP]

———increase the Government contribution for Federal employee health insurance (see H.R. 577), H1334 [25FE]

Federal Prison Industries, Inc.: eliminate Federal agency requirement to purchase products and require commercial competition for Federal contracts (see H.R. 1829), H3407 [12AP]

Financial institutions: exempt attorneys from privacy provisions of the law repealing restrictions on the affiliation of banks, securities firms, and insurance companies (see H.R. 781), H700 [13FE]

Firearms: improve the national instant criminal background check system (see H.R. 3237), H9213 [2OC]

———regulation of transfers at gun shows (see H.R. 260), H8403 [22SE]

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: exempt bookstores and libraries from orders requiring the production of any tangible things for certain foreign intelligence investigations (see H.R. 1157), H4255 [19MY]

Forest Service: protection of certain roadless areas (see H.R. 2369), H5044 [5JN]

Forests: eliminate commercial logging on public lands and facilitate the economic recovery and diversification of communities dependent on the Federal logging program (see H.R. 2169), H4367 [20MY]

FTC: regulation of unfair or deceptive practices by sports agents in the signing of contracts with student athletes (see H.R. 361), H706 [13FE]

General Charles Gabriel Post Office, Iron Station, NC: designate (see H.R. 1465), H2470 [27MR]

George Henry White Post Office Building, Tarboro, NC: designate (see H.R. 3353), H9811 [21OC]

Granville County, NC: allow State use of Oxford Research Station lands, improvements, equipment, and resource materials (see H.R. 2119), H4255 [19MY]

Haiti: express need to reengage Congress and the Administration regarding social conditions and need for poverty reduction (see H. Con. Res. 78), H4529 [21MY]

Hazardous substances: provide assistance for poison prevention and stabilize funding of regional poison control centers (see H.R. 1819), H9478 [15OC]

Health: constitutional amendment on the right to high quality health care (see H.J. Res. 30), H2271 [20MR]

———national policy to provide health care and reform insurance procedures (see H. Con. Res. 99), H4740 [22MY]

Height, Dorothy I.: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 1821), H3353 [11AP]

Higher Education Act: repeal provisions prohibiting persons convicted of drug offenses from receiving student financial assistance (see H.R. 685), H1334 [25FE]

History: acknowledge African descendants of the transatlantic slave trade, recognize injustices suffered, and work to improve the situation of Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (see H. Con. Res. 47), H1467 [27FE]

Immigration: adjust status of certain Montserrat nationals (see H.R. 603), H5664 [19JN]

Independent Commission on Intelligence About Iraq: establish (see H.R. 2625), H7787 [25JY]

Insurance: coverage of minimum hospital stays for mastectomies and lymph node removals relative to breast cancer (see H.R. 1886), H3570 [30AP]

———coverage of screening mammography (see H.R. 736), H1335 [25FE]

———prohibit use of genetic information in determining coverage or premiums (see H.R. 1910), H4740 [22MY]

Intelligence services: create an independent commission or select House committee to investigate U.S. intelligence relating to Operation Iraqi Freedom (see H. Res. 410), H9812 [21OC]

Iran: democracy efforts (see H. Res. 59), H706 [13FE]

Iraq: require disclosure of noncompetitive contracting for post-conflict reconstruction (see H.R. 1901), H4131 [14MY]

Jackson, Maynard H., Jr.: tribute (see H. Res. 303), H6263 [26JN]

Johnson, Shoshana N.: tribute (see H. Con. Res. 210), H5045 [5JN]

King, Martin Luther, Jr.: extend authority for construction of a memorial in the District of Columbia (see H.R. 1209), H4788 [2JN]

———mint coins in commemoration (see H.R. 589), H706 [13FE]

King, Martin Luther, Jr., and Coretta Scott: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 2680), H6464 [9JY]

Law enforcement: eliminate backlog of DNA samples collected from crime scenes and offenders and expand and improve the use of DNA collection and analysis in criminal investigations (see H.R. 3214), H9129 [1OC]

Law enforcement officers: adjust percentage differentials payable to Federal law enforcement officers in certain high-cost areas (see H.R. 466), H6707 [14JY]

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: anniversary (see H. Con. Res. 223), H5815 [24JN]

Liberia: provide support for ceasefire agreement between government and Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy and the Movement for Democracy of Liberia (see H. Con. Res. 240), H6707 [14JY]

Mandela, Nelson R.: tribute (see H. Con. Res. 256), H8084 [9SE]

Marshall, John: mint coins in commemoration (see H.R. 2768), H12921 [8DE]

Medicaid: extend certain modifications to disproportionate share hospital allotments (see H.R. 328), H1682 [6MR]

———increase Federal Medical Assistance Percentage to help States finance increases in enrollment (see H.R. 816), H701 [13FE]

———provide public access to quality medical imaging procedures and radiation therapy procedures (see H.R. 1214), H2939 [8AP]

Medicare: coverage of oral anticancer drugs (see H.R. 1288), H5267 [11JN]

———coverage of screening and diagnostic mammography services (see H.R. 817), H4205 [15MY]

———establish minimum geographic cost-of-practice index value for physicians' services (see H.R. 33), H706 [13FE]

———improve outpatient vision services (see H.R. 1902), H3634 [1MY]

———limit penalty for late enrollment (see H.R. 1321), H3053 [9AP]

Mental health: provide for equal insurance coverage of benefits unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits (see H.R. 953), H1812 [12MR]

———provide for research on, and services for individuals with, postpartum depression and psychosis (see H.R. 846), H703 [13FE]

Minorities: improve health of minority individuals (see H.R. 3459), H11360 [17NO]

———increase participation in international service (see H.R. 3152), H9812 [21OC]

Monuments and memorials: establish a memorial to the victims of terrorist attacks on the U.S. (see H.R. 911), H8175 [10SE]

National Affordable Housing Trust Fund: establish to provide decent, safe, and affordable housing for low-income families (see H.R. 1102), H1640 [5MR]

National Brain Injury Awareness Month: support (see H. Con. Res. 265), H9819 [24OC]

National Epilepsy Awareness Month: support goals and ideals (see H. Con. Res. 194), H10341 [4NO]

National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week: designate (see H. Res. 82), H705 [13FE]

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: authorize development of research centers focusing on environmental factors related to the etiology of breast cancer (see H.R. 1746), H4739 [22MY]

National Nanotechnology Research and Development Program: establish (see H.R. 766), H2132 [19MR]

Native Americans: acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (see H.R. 898), H2132 [19MR]

Patsy Takemoto Mink Post Office Building, Paia, HI: designate (see H.R. 2030), H3856 [8MY]

Peace Corps: authorizing appropriations (see H.R. 1145), H1680 [6MR]

Pearson, Levi: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 3287), H9380 [10OC]

Pensions: protect employee benefits in defined benefit plans and enforce age discrimination requirements that apply to conversion of pension plans to cash balance plans (see H.R. 1677), H4788 [2JN]

———provide special funding requirements for certain pension plans maintained by commercial passenger air carriers (see H.R. 2719), H9812 [21OC]

Public lands: designate certain national parks, wild and scenic rivers, and wilderness areas in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming (see H.R. 1105), H7169 [18JY]

Public safety officers: collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments (see H.R. 814), H5552 [18JN]

———ensure that officers who suffer a fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty shall be presumed to have died in the line of duty for purposes of survivor benefits (see H.R. 919), H1394 [26FE]

Roads and highways: amend length and weight limitations for vehicles operating on Federal-aid highways (see H.R. 2180), H4527 [21MY]

———increase minimum State allocations provided for use in carrying out certain highway programs (see H.R. 2208), H4734 [22MY]

Robinson, Jackie: award Congressional Gold Medal posthumously and designate a national day of recognition (see H.R. 1900), H3571 [30AP]

Rudolph, Wilma G.: award Congressional Gold Medal posthumously (see H.R. 2833), H10457 [5NO]

Schools: provide a model for school districts based on experience of the District of Columbia in establishing fully accountable public alternatives to traditional public schools (see H.R. 2669), H6604 [10JY]

Smithsonian Institution: establish National Museum of African American History and Culture (see H.R. 2205), H7170 [18JY]

Social Security: earnings test for blind individuals (see H.R. 173), H706 [13FE]

———permit qualifying States to use unspent State Children's Health Insurance Program allotments to expand health coverage under that program or for Medicaid expenditures (see H.R. 515), H7020 [16JY]

———restrict application of windfall elimination provisions to individuals whose benefits exceed certain levels (see H.R. 2011), H11392 (see H.R. 2011), H11515 [18NO]

SouthEast Crescent Authority: establish (see H.R. 141), H2132 [19MR]

Taiwan Relations Act: reaffirm U.S. commitment (see H. Con. Res. 117), H3684 [6MY]

Taxation: allow use of principal repayments to issue additional mortgages and modify price limitations under the mortgage revenue bond program and change income limit for housing credit program (see H.R. 284), H1516 [4MR]

———provide a tax credit for property owners who remove lead-based paint hazards (see H.R. 3107), H8380 [17SE]

———repeal foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income (FSC/ETI) tax program and replace with corporate rate deduction for domestic manufacturers (see H.R. 1769), H5408 [16JN]

Television: preserve localism, promote diversity in programming, encourage competition, and prevent excessive concentration of ownership of broadcast stations (see H.R. 2052), H7329 [22JY]

Unemployment: provide for a temporary enhanced unemployment benefits program (see H.R. 1652), H3975 [9MY]

Voting: allow voters to register at polling places on the date of an election, cast ballots at designated polling places prior to the date of an election, and obtain absentee ballots for any reason (see H.R. 1510), H8905 [24SE]

———constitutional amendment on the right to vote (see H.J. Res. 28), H2271 [20MR]

———secure the Federal voting rights of persons who have been released from incarceration (see H.R. 259), H8905 [24SE]

Water: authorize appropriations for State water pollution control revolving funds (see H.R. 20), H706 [13FE]

Women: constitutional amendment to ensure equal rights (see H.J. Res. 37), H1811 [12MR]

World War II: support Japanese-American, German-American, and Italian-American communities in increasing public awareness of events surrounding restriction and internment (see H. Res. 56), H1467 [27FE]

Bills and resolutions introduced

Dept. of HUD: reauthorize the HOPE VI Program for revitalization of severely distressed public housing (see H.R. 1077), H1515 [4MR]

Dept. of the Interior: study the suitability and feasibility of designating the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, in Greensboro, NC, as a unit of the National Park System (see H.R. 1869), H3452 [29AP]

Jim Richardson Post Office, Charlotte, NC: designate (see H.R. 1505), H2472 [27MR]

Motions

Firearms: prohibit lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers (H.R. 1036), H2997 [9AP]

Remarks

Appropriations: making supplemental appropriations for ongoing military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, H9370 [8OC]

———making supplemental appropriations for ongoing military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan (H.R. 3289), H9519 [16OC]

Armed Forces: support members engaging in military action in Iraq and President Bush for his efforts as Commander in Chief (H. Con. Res. 104), E599 [27MR]

Bankruptcy: amend laws (H.R. 975), H1996 [19MR]

Black History Month: observance, H446 [12FE]

Budget: setting forth the Federal budget for 2003-2013 (H. Con. Res. 95), H2164, H2210 [20MR]

Children and youth: enhance operation of the AMBER Alert communications plan to expedite the recovery of abducted children, H2408 [27MR]

———prevent child abduction (H.R. 1104), H2408 [27MR]

China, Republic of: observance of National Day, E1965 [2OC]

Courts: expand Federal diversity jurisdiction to allow consideration of certain interstate class actions and provide additional protections to plaintiff class members (H.R. 1115), H5287, H5288 [12JN]

Credit: prevent identity theft and improve resolution of credit disputes, accuracy of consumer records, and the use of, and consumer access to, credit information (H.R. 2622), H8129 [10SE]

Cubin, Representative: taking down of words, H2989 [9AP]

Diseases: expand assistance to countries seriously affected by HIV/AIDS through reductions in the Millennium Challenge Account, H7391 [23JY]

Federal Prison Industries, Inc.: eliminate Federal agency requirement to purchase products and require commercial competition for Federal contracts (H.R. 1829), H10483 [6NO]

———permit GAO study on effects of eliminating mandatory source requirements, H10483 [6NO]

Firearms: eliminate requirement that manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms must be convicted for illegal transfers prior to taking any civil action against them, H2982, H2984 [9AP]

———permit lawsuits against weapons distributors, dealers, importers and trade associations, H2991, H2993 [9AP]

———prohibit lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers (H.R. 1036), H2969, H2971, H2975, H2979, H2981, H2982, H2984, H2991, H2993 [9AP]

———prohibit lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers (H.R. 1036), consideration (H. Res. 181), H2947, H2948 [9AP]

———prohibit lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers (H.R. 1036), motion to recommit, H2997 [9AP]

———strike ``when used as intended'' from exceptions to prohibition on lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers, H2979, H2981 [9AP]

———treatment of pending lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers, H2947, H2997 [9AP]

Flag—U.S.: constitutional amendment to prohibit desecration (H.J. Res. 4), H4837, H4840, H4841 [3JN]

Foreign operations, export financing, and related programs: making appropriations (H.R. 2800), H7391 [23JY]

Health: national policy to provide health care and reform insurance procedures, H2210 [20MR]

———reduce the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system (H.R. 5), H1835 [13MR]

Height, Dorothy I.: award Congressional Gold Medal (H.R. 1821), H9412, H9414 [15OC]

Housing: encourage Congress to participate in and support activities to provide decent homes for people in the U.S. (S. Con. Res. 43), H5428 [17JN]

Iraq: cost of use of Armed Forces against Iraq and rebuilding efforts, H9370 [8OC]

Jim Richardson Post Office, Charlotte, NC: designate (H.R. 1505), H2446 [27MR]

Lexington, NC: anniversary, H9486 [16OC]

Rowan County, NC: anniversary, H3308 [11AP]

Science: prohibit the cloning of humans (H.R. 534), H1412 [27FE]

Taxation: extend the moratorium on the taxation of Internet and interactive computer service commerce (H.R. 49), H8296 [17SE]

———provide incentives for charitable contributions by individuals and businesses (H.R. 7), consideration (H. Res. 370), H8303 [17SE]

———rates, H2210 [20MR]

Tributes

Chambers, Kenneth, E2085 [17OC]