Regulators should always seek to build an a margin of safety as there is always a risk that the theory underlying the regulatory regime falls short.

I thank the Subcommittee for the opportunity to testify today.

I hope that the smooth sailing and passage that you've had through this hearing continues on the floor.

I think we are confronting--I applaud your efforts to go forward prospectively, but we have a huge problem with what we have to deal with right now.

The Commercial Mortgage Securities Association (CMSA) is grateful to Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Bunning, and the Members of the Subcommittee.

Thank you, Chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing.

We heard that the Russians were ready to stand with President Obama on the stage in Pittsburgh along with President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Brown, but the Chinese were reluctant.

the point that I am trying to make is that, to the extent that there is some question about the authority that the President can exercise through his assistants and advisers, that is a limitation that pertains to the President himself.

to the extent that there are duties that are specifically given to an office by Congress, even if that office holder is an appointee of the President, it may very well be that there are authorities that belong to that office that the…

the extent to which the President can direct the exercise of statutory authority that is vested in someone else in the executive branch is one of the great questions of American constitutional law.

We all recognize the importance of the Federal judiciary in the proper functioning of our democracy and we all want to ensure that the courts have the resources they need to protect our liberties and administer justice.

One of our primary responsibilities here on the Senate Judiciary Committee... is to make sure the Federal judiciary has the tools and the resources it needs to perform its crucial role in our constitutional structure.

If we don't really, I think, turn the mortgage market, or build on the stability that you have helped provide...

If these results continue to be as Senator Menendez described, we will do more things legislatively, and hopefully they will be helpful.

I would think that the problem we would have is these funds would run out, not that there is no call on them.

We fought to ensure that if ordinary Americans who had done nothing wrong were going to pay for this stabilization effort, they would get to share in the benefits if companies became more profitable.

It might be sort of urban folklore, but it is a very powerful one.

We need to take action to restore Americans' confidence--and their financial security--by reforming a regulatory system that still contains far too many gaps, loopholes, and redundancies.