Elizabeth Warren

I think this starts a new era in transparency and in helping those families that have been wronged.

I thought this was about transparency. That is what this is all about.

If someone believes that they have been illegally foreclosed against, will they still have a right under this settlement to bring a lawsuit against the bank?

I want to know on a bank-by-bank basis the number of families that were illegally foreclosed on.

I think you have probably all seen this one-page agreement that lists all of the things that the banks did wrong

The whole point of this review was to bring some justice, to give these families some compensation for what happened.

The public over and over seems to think that this institution and the regulators and the Senate and the House are more interested in protecting the banks than they are the public.

People want to know that their regulators are watching out for the American public, not for the banks.

So unless someone throws a rock through the window with this information tied to it, you will not release it, is that what you are saying?

Are you claiming that the information about illegal activity is privileged and confidential?

So I am hoping in this hearing to give you an opportunity to provide us with some greater clarity than you have thus far offered in our meetings and our correspondence.

The people who broke the law are the same people now who have determined who will be compensated from that law breaking.

Does it really identify the law breaking that went on and appropriately hold these banks accountable?

What I am asking for is a bank-by-bank analysis of how many families they illegally foreclosed on.

Over the last few months, Congressman Elijah Cummings and I have requested documents from your agencies regarding the basic data and the processes of the Independent Foreclosure Review.

I think I will stop there, Mr. Chairman, since it is clear that we do not have the information we need to determine the numbers on which the OCC has based--and the Fed--has based this settlement.

The particular instance we are talking about here involved four million families, and it involved people who lost their homes, whose lives were turned upside down.

Without transparency, we cannot have any confidence, either in your oversight or that the markets are functioning properly.

The number has to be based on at least some understanding of how often the banks engaged in illegal activity and how many homeowners got hurt.

But the question is not getting cash to them, $300. The question is getting the right amount of cash to the right people, the people who are the victims of illegal activities of the banks, is that right?

I had the distinct honor, though, of being able to introduce Gina McCarthy for her hearing to head up the Environmental Protection Agency.

You have provided little specific information on what the review actually found, such as the number of improper foreclosures, the amount and number of inflated fees, or the extent of abusive practices by each of the mortgage servicers.

The IRS is facing an 8 percent cut in its budget.

The idea of cutting enforcement for the IRS just seems to me not to be serious about collecting the money we need to run the government.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for your persistent and aggressive leadership in this area.