But Secretary Geithner basically says that any Federal guarantee should be priced according to the risk, without any political considerations.

the mortgage finance system should be, quote, "capitalized sufficiently to withstand losses on defaulting mortgages that would result if house prices declined by, say, 25 percent."

But it has not come yet, has it?

How do we bring back an appetite in the private market for mortgage-backed securities?

So you are not advocating here that you want a Government guarantee for everything in the real estate industry bills, are you?

We think we could do a lot better this time around.

I thought for a long time, before it was all abuse and misused, that securitization was good for America.

Opening statements, comments, or prepared statements of: Senator Shelby.

I do not believe there is any dispute that our housing finance system is broken.

Guarantees are perilous. Governments are not very good at doing them, not very good at designing them, not very good at pricing them, not very good at limiting the moral hazard risk that comes with them.

I think we are interested in providing opportunities for home ownership. It will not be for everybody.

Federal housing policies must be adequately assessed, and proper homework must be done before action is taken.