Former member of Congress · last served 113th Congress
Melvin L. Watt
Melvin Watt was a Democratic U.S. representative from North Carolina, first elected to Congress in 1993, who voted with most Democrats on 94% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes.
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- YeaOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- NayOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.R. 3219 Free Market Royalty ActOct 15, 2013 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
- H.R. 1061 To extend the temporary suspension of duty on Direct Black 22.Apr 11, 2013 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- H.R. 1060 To suspend temporarily the duty on Acid Blue 225.Apr 11, 2013 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- H.R. 1059 To extend the temporary suspension of duty on Acid Orange 116.Apr 11, 2013 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
- H.R. 1058 To suspend temporarily the duty on Acid Black 194.Apr 11, 2013 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 1505 (108th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2127 Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the "Jim Richardson Post…Became law
- H.R. 6162 (111th) Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010Became law
- H.R. 4043 (110th) Preserving and Expanding Minority Depository Institutions ActPassed a chamber
- H.Res. 320 (111th) Honoring the Life and achievements of Dr. John Hope Franklin.Passed a chamber
- H.R. 5499 (107th) HOPE VI Program Reauthorization Act of 2002Passed a chamber
- H.R. 6701 (110th) Civil Rights Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008123 cosponsors
- H.R. 4197 (109th) Hurricane Katrina Recovery, Reclamation, Restoration, Reconstruction and Reunion Act of 200594 cosponsors
- H.R. 4961 (106th) Voting Rights Clarification Act of 200056 cosponsors
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Watt has won
Rep. Watt has won 11 U.S. House elections (1992–2012). Of the contested races, margins ran from 13.8 to 59.3 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has North Carolina’s 12th district done while Rep. Watt served?
2005 to 2011 in NC-12: typical household income was down 11% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 4.7 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 5.5 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in North Carolina’s 12th district during Watt’s time representing it (1993 to 2014). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. NC-12 was redrawn in 2012, 2016, 2022 and again in 2024, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2005 to 2011 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 1993 to 2014.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
113th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 21 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 21 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 21 | See the 21 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a committee report listed | 0 | None listed |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 113th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.