Mike Johanns

To me, that is not a confidence builder. The average taxpayer is out there saying, are you kidding me?

These were significant errors that had real impacts, cost families real money, caused some families to lose their homes.

How much today would the taxpayers be on the hook for when it comes to Fannie and Freddie? Everything, right?

I have not run into a single person since I joined the Senate 3-plus years ago that came up to me and said, 'You know, Mike, thanks for your efforts back in Washington. I now have confidence in Fannie and Freddie.'

I worry about the costs to our economy and to our financial institutions of complying with rules and supervisions undertaken by the Bureau.

I cannot imagine how anybody could maintain under the circumstances that your appointment and your service is valid.

Now, $1.2 billion, I think by everybody's definition, especially somebody else's money, is a massive amount of money.

Doesn't that strike you as incredible?

Never in the history--never in the history--has client money ever gone missing.

Wouldn't there be some process or some person who had sufficient integrity in this organization to say, 'Oh, my Lord, clients' money is disappearing.'

This is the second time that you have appeared, before me at least, since MF Global hit the front pages.

If you have money from customers in this account and you have your own account over here or the company's account, you do not mix the two, and you do not appropriate money from customers to do your own risky trading.

It looks to me like you are trying to avoid the heat.

I think we have got to pay attention to what is happening out in our more rural States.

I have been sitting here...the amount of experience is remarkable, and it is encouraging because you face some tough problems.

Does that require a treaty change, the last step that you have just described? It does, does it not?

For Germany to embrace the idea of bailing out Greece, it would be like Nebraska with a balanced budget amendment and an obligation that we cannot borrow any more than $100,000 so we have no debt bailing out another State that spent wildly…

I think you are working hard. But I will bet when we look back 12 months from now and 24 months from now and 36 months from now, we are going to see little activity by the member countries to embrace anything near what we did with…

I did not support it.

I think this is a matter of urgency. We have to move forward.

I have to imagine, everybody on this panel is nervous.

We have about a $2 billion issue hanging out there.

Let me just thank all of you for being here today.

The 432-page Missouri River master manual needs to have additional emphasis placed on the top priority, and that priority is flood control.

This is a day for bipartisanship.