When self-interest and market discipline break down, we hope that the safety net of regulators will guide us out of the storm.

The trillions of dollars in losses stand as witness to the many failures of risk management at these firms.

This financial crisis has demonstrated that, contrary to the presumption of many, financial institutions were unprepared and in many cases incapable of adequately assessing the risks that they were bearing on their books.

I couldn't agree with you more, which is why I'm baffled and concerned and stunned about the budget recommendation to underfund the Super Hornet.

I am grateful for your understanding of the stress our Armed Forces and their families are under.

Having listened to that, it is, I think, very insightful, and it seems to be a great approach.

We must continue to improve stability and defend our vital national interests in the broader Middle East and South Central Asia.

You know, making the diagnosis that you are ill and then not treating the patient is, you know, malpractice.

And it raises the question with respect to the Federal Reserve that if these documents are solely within the purview of the Federal Reserve, how is the broader financial community and the broader community and how is Congress to inform…

I would presume, and correct me, that those procedures, those appropriate procedures you described, were not being deployed very successfully at Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers.

I would hope it would be public.

it raises an issue, which is that in 2006, you had at least had serious concerns because of the stress testing that these firms could not handle or have systems in place to deal with the risk.

the fact that they did not have systems in place to adequately assess the risk, which I think is a fair conclusion of the report of the GAO.

Your Armed Forces stand as the most combat experienced in this Nation's history.

Let me talk to Mr. Cole. As the umbrella regulator of several large financial institutions, do you feel that you are responsible, the Federal Reserve is responsible for the overall capacity of that institution as an enterprise to evaluate…

you need to do more here, and that is one of the main tools that we have, is that type of horizontal review.

Transition obviously means change, but in this case, it also meant continuity in providing for the common defense.

I find this deeply troubling.