- Watt is a former Congressional Black Caucus chairman;
- During his 20 years in Congress, Watt has held senior positions on the House Financial Services and House Judiciary Committees;
- Watt played a key role in passing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and has co-sponsored various versions of the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act;
- Watt has pressed for better access to mortgage loans for minority and low-income consumers. When his name surfaced last month as a potential nominee, the Wall Street Journal reported that he was known for “telling former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner two years ago that a position paper outlining options for the mortgage-finance system placed too much emphasis on renting,” and not enough on home ownership.
- Later that year, Watt voted against a bill that would have cut salaries for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives, arguing that it would have been “penalizing the wrong people” and would have risked the loss of qualified talent to other entities.
