Our competitive advantage in a global economy is a well-educated workforce.

I would like to submit for the record a letter from the Committee for Education Funding, which points out a lot of problems with the Ryan budget.

When you make a charge of discrimination against African-Americans or minorities anywhere, that is very explosive.

What we have here, the situation that the CFPB has placed our auto dealers in is no man's land.

I do hope that you will be able to do more, because we need a strong advocate. Our farmers are struggling with this issue.

how do you justify the EPA's proposed rule to extend, not limit, but to extend Federal jurisdiction so much beyond navigable waters that flies directly in the face of what Congress intended

I just urge you to help our farmers as much as you can on that.

The fact that we have expanded local and regional food system market opportunities allows smaller operators and producers access to farming, which is why we have seen a slight increase in people farming under the age of 35.

I want to give you some credit too, when we identified some problems with the protein and grain requirements, your agency did offer some flexibility.

I have a problem--who, then, is going to be able to offer the waivers that we have asked to be----

I would like to point out that this Administration doesn't have a problem changing and offering--on other legislation, but that is another----

we just cannot cut our way out of this deficit and our debt problem.

I am not asking that we do away with the dark pools. I am just simply saying that there should be an examination for a more fair competition within that.

In all events, Federal involvement should be targeted to areas in which that involvement would solve problems resulting from the legal and practical limitations of regulations by States.

the proper formulation for the debate at present is not whether insurance regulation should be State or Federal, but whether there are areas in which Federal involvement in regulation under the State-based system is warranted.

It seems to me that you have some safeguards in there.

Will your competition guarantee when the dust settles that all of the areas will be covered, rather than have great programs in one area and nothing in others?

this isn't a hearing. This is a sham, and not only is it a sham, it is a shameful sham of deceit.

There is no credibility on that side of the aisle when it comes to the financial stability of this country.

let's cut this out and let's move this country forward.

the amount of stability that you gave to the housing market, particularly for the lower income and middle income and sustainability deserves four stars, or five stars, not this.

I think it is important that the first question I want to ask is that by permitting the BDCs to invest all of these funds in financial firms instead of the nonfinancial small businesses, would not that divert capital from the small…

And would not this turning this on its head eliminate all of the provisions intended to protect preferred stock investors?

This is certainly a fascinating hearing.

So, as we do not have the FIA here to testify, can you explain to the Committee how this proposal accomplishes what the CFTC is aiming for in its proposed rule, without the cost that everyone here has testified to?