watt. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i just want to thank the chair for convening us here, and i think i'll yield back my time and listen to the witnesses might be better than them listening to me. >> thank you. uncharacteristically brief -- [laughter] but definitely -- >> characteristically brief. >> oh, yes, i meant characteristically brief. suzanne delbini, distinguished member of the committee from washington state, is recognized now. >> thank you. i also want to thank the chair for calling this hearing together. i really appreciate it and appreciate all of you being here, taking the time today to give us your feedback, and like congress juan -- congressman watt, i want to be brief. i want to hear from you, so i yield back my time. >> thank you very much. the gentleman from new york, jerly nadler, chairman of the -- former chairman of the constitutional subcommittee, senior member of the judiciary committee in the house. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. chairman. i, too, will be uncharacteristically brief -

mr. watt has the experience and skill necessary to ensure that both are handled in a manner that will benefit our nation." it is time that we finally confirm a director for the fhfa to ensure stability and confidence on the housing market. congressman watt has the experience, intellect, and temperament to succeed as the director and there is no legitimate reason why congressman watt should not be confirmed. at a minimum, as a sitting member of congress, he deserves the courtesy of an up-or-down vote. i urge my colleagues to vote "yes" on the motion to invoke cloture so that we can proceed to an up-or-down vote on congressman watt's nomination. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: thanks, mr. president. mr. president, the majority leader says that it's time to cut off debate and vote on the president's nominees to fill three vacancies on the district of columbia court of appeals. i will not vote to end debate now because

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent to invoke cloture on the watt nomination. the vice president: the motion is entered. there will be order in the senate. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask -- madam president? the presiding officer: is noter from vermont. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask consent that there be -- madam president, i'll wait until the nomination is reported, then i'll -- the presiding officer: under the previous order, the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloavmencloture. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of patricia millett of virginia to be united states circuit judge for the district of columbia circuit signed by 17 senators. mr. leahy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i ask consent that there be two minutes equally divided in the usual foremalt. fore-- format. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: could we have order

that was despite the fact that mr. watt has served much of his career in the house on the financial services committee where he is one of the senior democrats on that panel. post to your blog up store data story at rollcall.com. biden opened to filibuster changes after blocked nomination. what is possible here? senate majority leader, harry reid's, options? >> guest: in the immediate term, senator reid told myself in a couple of other reporters just after the vote is that he is going to call up to whether d.c. circuit nominees for votes. there have been three vang can't see from that court currently. there are nominees that have now advanced through the judiciary committee for all three. it sounds like senator reid is going to call cloture votes, presumably out of all three of the nominees. and then, assuming that the republican objection remain over what they are calling for packing, although when the traditional sense, that is certainly not what it is because there are vacant seats. in any case, it looks like he's going t

mr. president, i rise today to speak about congressman mel watt. mr. sessions: mr. president, unkweurry. under the u.c. were we going to provide 30 minutes per side? was that the content of the unanimous consent request i made earlier? the presiding officer: the time until noon is equally divided in the usual form. mr. sessions: in the usual form. all right. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mrs. hagan: mr. president, i ask to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. hagan: thank you. mr. president, i rise today to speak about congressman mel watt, who is a champion for middle-class families in my home state of north carolina, and mel watt is the president's nominee to be the next director much our federal housing finance agency. congressman watt is a true north carolinian. he was born in north carolina. he attended the university of north carolina at chapel hill, and he has spent much of his distinguished career working for the people of north carolina. congressman watt is an outstanding choice to lead th

following the swearing-in, senators will take about on whether to go forward with the nomination of mr. watt and 60 those are necessary to do so. after eight hours would follow. the vote is expected to be close to the senate also turned to judicial nomination. patricia mallon from the d.c. circuit court of appeals. 60 those to be necessary to move ahead with the nomination. several republicans said the d.c. circuit courts workload is not justified the addition of another judge. and now, live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span 2. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal lord, thank you for the total access you have given us to approach your throne in prayer. today, equip our senators to do your will, helping them to grasp the wonder of your purposes.

mr. watt: and to express condolences to his family. for granted sometimes s new members coming in that there's a system in place to provide support and mentorship to new members. it's just not the way things operate. when i came to congress in 1993, major owens was already here. and he became one of the mentors and advisors and people who taught me the rules of how this institution operates, the rules of civility, respect, and honor and the rules by which we operate the floor of the house. i learned so much from him and over the years became a good, close friend of major wednesday and the members of his family. all of whom we join in grieving with on this occasion. so, i simply wanted to say how much respect i had for him and how much appreciation i had for the advice and mentorship he provided to me. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from wyoming seek recognition? >> i rise to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speak

watt nomination. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: first roll call vote will be at approximately 12:10 p.m. tomorrow on melvin l. watt. if floss further business to come before the senate, i ask come before the senate, i ask >> a firm believer what they call the unauthorized biography. now, unauthorized does not mean untrue. any that you are doing it without the cooperation and blessing of your subject. and i do believe it's a legitimate, wonderful way to cover history, especially public figures that have spent many, many years and millions of dollars creating their own image. and so, i think it is valuable sometimes to go behind that. so usually, i am the one who is trying to get behind that and tell you what is going on. >> host: david wise is sitting with me, a longtime intelligence author and written several books about intelligence gathering. you have a story in a recent edition of the smithsonian magazine, mole hunt, an accessory port of soviet spies, tips set up one of the most self-destructive investigations in fbi histor

nominations including north carolina democratic congressman mel watt to be the direct of the federal housing finance agency and patricia mr to be united states district judge for the district of columbia circuit. and now live to the senate floor here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, the giver of gifts, thank you for your unchanging promises that we can claim each day. you have promised to supply our needs and to work everything together for our good. bless our lawmakers. help them to seek not what they can get from you, but what your power can enable them to do for you. remind them that in prayer they do not so much hear a voice as acquire a voice. show them how to use that acquired voice to speak for the voiceless, may they even use their pain to put them in touch with the pain of others. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the r

mr. president, the presiding officer and others whs serve in this body have served in the house of representativesn with ata fine public servant byf the name of mel watt. i got to know mel watt when he was chairman of the congressional caucus.ress he would come over and visitisit with me every month or so. fine man. he's represented north r carolina's 12th congressional district since 1993. and as a senior member of the t house financial service committee, he understands the mistakes that led to the housino crisis. he also has proposed legislatiol to crack down on the worst abuses in mortgage lending and help pass the dodd-frank bill te prevent predatory lending. by any measure congressman watt is qualified to help struggling homeowners recover from the worst economic downturn in generations, and my republican colleagues should give him the up or down vote he deserves, not filibuster him. i know some republicans don't like dodd-frank. obviously, they didn't mind the abuses that took place that led to the crash of wall street. but he shouldn't be punished for that. so, mr. president, a time when a america faces difficult economic times at home and thre

mr. president, i want to close by quoting kierston watts from tacoma, washington.she works for the bonneville administration. she told the seattle times it is sad the government is playing games with people's likelihood. she said workers at her agency would still be coming in but she's worried about the others who won't be. she was thinking about how this shutdown will impact others. and i think speaker boehner and the tea party who according to representative stutsman are laser focused on what's in it for them could learn a lot from that approach. i say today to speaker boehner, open up the government. let everybody go back to work. stop hurting our economy. mr. president, all that requires is bringing the senate-passed continuing resolution up for a vote on the house floor so that democrats and republicans who want the government to reopen can pass it. once the government is open, we would be more than happy to sit down and work out our longer-term budget agreement. but we're not going to do it with our families and our workers and our small businesses being held

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the cloture vote on the watt nomination occur immediately following the swearing-in of senator-elect booker of new jersey tomorrow and the senate proceed to legislative session and a period of morning business for debate only with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, could we have order in the senate. the presiding officer: may we have order, please. the minority leader. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, we all know today is senator chiesa's last day in the senate, and while the senator's only been here four months, it's been an interesting few months, to say the least. he's found himself right in the middle of everything from the farm bill to the immigration bill to the debate over syria, to an october i'm sure he'll not soon forget. he's had to work out of a temporary office complete with vinyl siding and plastic chairs. he was here for less than an h

watt of north carolina to be director. mr. reid: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of melvin l. watt of north carolina to be director of the federal housing finance agency, signed by 18 senators as follows. reid of nevada, johnson of south dakota, begich, leahy, coons, heinrich, murray, sanders, shaheen, cardin, franken, brown, harkin, reed of rhode island, carper, whitehouse, nelson and schumer. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 327. the presiding officer: the