Civil and Human Rights Coalition Decries Filibuster of Mel Watt

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”,”serif”;}

WASHINGTON – Today, civil and human rights leaders spoke out after the Senate voted to filibuster Congressman Mel Watt’s nomination to be the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Their quotes are below:

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights:

“The same forces that disastrously shut down the government have struck again by denying a qualified sitting member of Congress a fair vote on the Senate floor. Today, many senators chose to kowtow to the Club for Growth and Heritage Action and undermine millions of struggling homeowners who want nothing more than a chance at financial stability. And as the most extreme elements of our country have hijacked the Senate, the American Bankers Association has undermined the nomination of this highly qualified nominee as a part of its war against every sensible regulation to protect consumers or the taxpayers’ bottom line.”

Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights:

“The Senate has not filibustered a sitting member of Congress since before the Civil War. And by denying a fair vote to a nominee with 40 years of experience in the housing sector is hyperpartisanship at its worse. Mel Watt is a sitting member of Congress with the support of the realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association, the homebuilders, consumer groups, and civil rights advocates; today’s filibuster came from the most broken Senate in modern history.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.