Luis Gutiérrez

I have seen that readily here in the Congress of the United States. And it makes for great political points, but it doesn't resolve the problem.

This Congress and the Government of the United States has not shown the political will nor committed the requisite resources to enforce our immigration laws.

People die; a lot of people are dying because of our immigration system, exploited at work, children left behind.

I agree with Chairwoman Maloney's bill in terms of the content of we ultimately want to protect consumers.

I really think that we should--and hopefully in the legislation--look at making sure that when a consumer comes in, and he just wants a debit card, he gets one.

I hope that our commitment to ensuring access to affordable credit for all consumers is equally strong.

Consumers need access to key information about credit products in a concise and a simple manner.

This legislation is simply the wrong thing at the wrong time.

When Congresswoman Maloney introduced the Credit Card Protection Act Bill of Rights, I was very supportive of it, and continue to be very supportive of it.

I personally can't think of any one of your industries I haven't dealt with over my last 30 years since I have owned a home.

We need to ensure that we do not deny an informed consumer's choices that they may need to realize their American dream.

Where was the government in this certain area, in not promulgating those rules?

I think that's a very shameful action of the way government works.

Those who are shown to have taken advantage of vulnerable populations, by offering inappropriate products or charging unjustified fees, should be held fully accountable for their actions.

But it is somewhat because, as I remember my stay here, my short stay during the last 17 years here in Congress and on this committee, we have attempted to expand homeownership to the American public, but every time I evaluate the loans…

Chairman Gutierrez, you are clearly one of the leading voices in Washington who saw how destructive this break between consumer, industry, State, and Federal interests was becoming.

I would like to see other kinds of rules and regulations put into place.

I believe that any bill should treat artists in a fair and appropriate manner while acknowledging the fact that radio clearly provides artists with promotional value.

The American people are now your partners, and your partners have a right to know where their money went.

So I see Mr. Lewis and the gentleman from Citicorp raising their hands. The rest of you ought to adopt such a policy.

The issue is what dividends and bonuses did you pay or will you pay while you are holding taxpayer money?

It is a rather silly claim to say, well, we just used the depositors' money or the investors' money to pay the dividends and the bonuses...

Gentlemen, money is fungible; don't insult our intelligence.

What did you do with the money?

I would like for all of you to just kind of put in writing so that we could have it on the record.