Mike Crapo

The real threat of default that the United States is facing is the debt crisis that we are facing.

I think Senator Schumer's comment about the blind man walking toward the cliff is even more appropriate with regard to the debt crisis.

Reforming our housing system is urgently needed and is a top priority for this Committee.

We must act now to reform the Government-sponsored enterprises and the larger housing market.

I welcome each of our witnesses today to this important hearing on the Federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

There seems to be more traction toward moving forward with housing reform than there has been at any point during the 5-year conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Given this circumstance, we must use this opportunity to concentrate on building consensus around ending the conservatorships while building a stable secondary market that brings back private capital and avoids repeating the mistakes of…

We need to get into them, and we need to get them resolved in some good ways.

I wish every single one of our Federal programs could operate in the same way.

Well, thank you. I can identify with that a little bit. In previous years, we have worked on trying to help our small communities deal with their water infrastructure systems...

Thank you. And moving to the statistics that you gave us, 56 percent of the grants, I believe it was, went to communities with less than 100,000 and 40 percent less than 10,000.

Are you sure that the factors that are utilized there are properly balanced between rural and urban issues?

I appreciate the fact that the EPA is aware of this issue with regard to the disadvantage that small communities face in competing for these grants.

Thank you very much.

I did not want our kids from Idaho to miss the opportunity to see some of beautiful Idaho as we have portrayed it in this hearing.

I am optimistic that we will see future success stories if we keep this program strong.

However, the Brownfields Program has been a very bright exception to that rule.

I know I went over in my time, Mr. Chairman.

Just following on the same question about sequestration, from an overall program perspective, Mr. Stanislaus, can you tell me how the current economic climate over the past few years has impacted the Brownfields Program?

There have been a lot of fights in Congress over the past few months and frankly over the past few years over what the role of the EPA should be.

Concerns about the solvency of the FHA have been building for quite some time.

This bill is intended to put the FHA in a better position to function as an actual insurance fund.

We should also be clear that the bill is not the last discussion this Committee will have on the reform of FHA.

The Federal Housing Administration, or FHA, has helped millions of Americans achieve the dream of owning a home.

The mandate of the EPA under the statute to protect our water and our air and our environment is one that is deeply appreciated by the people of Idaho.