I think it was unfair to characterize this as it was characterized.

It is important for our small businessmen and women to have a seat at the table.

These people are hurting. The President came to Elkhart, wanted to help. This is one way we can provide real relief for these people right now, so I would like to work with you to make that happen.

I can't begin to tell you how delighted I am at the prospect of your taking the helm at the SBA.

If people simply don't believe the information they are receiving, if they think they are buying instruments that are AAA-rated and they turn out to be anything but that, what are they to do going forward in terms of making decisions?

it is tied in some cases to short-term performance, which then comes back to haunt us

There was a decoupling. There was short-term decisionmaking as opposed to long-term decisionmaking and a decoupling of risk and the consequences of running those risks, which perverts the kind of decisions that are made.

I would encourage you in this direction. I mean, a big part of what we are trying to do now is to reinstall confidence in a whole number of ways.

what risks does the Department of Defense face by continuing to rely so heavily on the supplemental process?

risk taking reveals itself over the longer run, and so the compensation decisions need to be tied to that longer-run perspective

I have great personal respect, admiration and confidence, David Hayes.

I have high confidence that if confirmed David will be a strong partner to our friend and former colleague, Secretary Salazar.