Political Quotes

“I wish to take a few minutes this afternoon to explain why I will be opposing the nomination of Carol Galante and why I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the same. This nomination is not one of the many ``go along to get along'' nominations we do so often in the Senate; this is a nomination that will have a direct effect on our constituents' pocketbooks and it demands, I believe, our serious attention today. Carol Galante has been the Acting Assistant Secretary and Federal Housing Commissioner at the Department of Housing and Urban Development since July 2011. Therefore, this nomination vote, in a sense, will serve as a referendum of sorts on the current management of the Federal Housing Administration. Ms. Galante, in her role as Acting FHA Commissioner, has failed to take serious actions to shore up the solvency and prevent a taxpayer bailout of the Federal Housing Administration that we know as FHA. The latest actuarial report shows that FHA has a negative economic value, and a taxpayer bailout is most likely. Despite these warnings, FHA waited until April 2012 to raise additional premiums, and Secretary Donovan, the Secretary of HUD, has testified to the Senate Banking Committee that it will wait until next year to increase premiums by a meager 10 basis points despite having statutory authority to do more to protect the taxpayers. Ms. Galante has denied the true severity of the problems at the FHA.…”