Mike Johanns

I appreciate your concern about expanding the evidentiary standard and potentially making it too broad.

Basically, what this bill would do would be to direct the VA to rate the different services of its medical centers with a straightforward, very easy to understand A to F grade.

I appreciate your efforts. We are way out of time here, and I don't want to impose on my colleagues.

I am a joint sponsor on this so I would certainly want to consult with Senator Wyden.

But just in terms of an ongoing relationship with this Committee and maybe even individual Senators, it would be very, very helpful to me to kind of understand how the current mess is being cleaned up and the progress there and whether…

Assure me that that is not happening, if you can.

It is going to be hard to build an economy that works.

I will do everything I can to give the President that authority, because I think it's enormously important.

I am absolutely mystified as to why the President of the United States wasn't here, the first day, to ask for trade promotion authority.

We can't vote on a trade agreement until it's submitted.

I don't understand why this Administration isn't asking for trade promotion authority.

We need to ensure that our trade policies support American jobs.

I'm interested in trying to see, from a very optimistic viewpoint, what we can do to help our small businesses and medium-sized businesses to increase their capacity to do business overseas.

I must admit, I am absolutely mystified as to why these three pending trade agreements have not come to the Senate and the House for debate and for a vote.

I have to tell you, and I will be very blunt with you, it is very damning.

I mean, the very things that TARP was designed to deal with, quite honestly, it appears to me this has been a failed program.

I am just going to guess you never would have called me the Friday before the President bought General Motors and said, 'You know, Mike, I have been talking about it. I want to put you into General Motors.'

It is extremely unlikely that the taxpayers are going to get a full return on their TARP investment.

Treasury's originally stated goal of increasing lending has not yet occurred.

I got an Inspector General's report that was this critical, we tried to act on it, and I hope you will because, quite honestly, it is very damning.

Somebody watching this hearing must be so frustrated, we can get billions out, we can buy General Motors overnight, but we cannot help a homeowner.

You are not seriously arguing that we are going to get our money back on the General Motors investment, are you?

The goal of preserving homeownership and promoting jobs and economic growth have not been met.

The risk of foreclosure continues to affect too many Americans.

It is time to bring that to our age, if you will.