I just don't want anybody to walk away with the idea that somehow HUD or any other agency that I am aware of is full of people, all of whom want to commit nefarious, terrible actions.

I personally think that, for instance, most of the people on Wall Street who did bad things all got off.

I know that for me, one of my biggest problems was my police officers.

I just want to point out for the record that no one has ever given me a '10' on anything.

I could give him higher than a 10 because I think that is the best thing he could have done.

What would you give them as a grade?

What is unthinkable is a hurricane going directly into New Orleans, or what is unthinkable is really strong hurricanes hitting the New York City and New Jersey areas.

I would just say briefly that, as I mentioned in my testimony, seeing predisaster mitigation withering away seems to me to be the wrong message.

I owe it to the families and business owners living in those communities, and we owe it to all Americans, to create a flood insurance program that is stable, fair, accessible, and cost-effective.

To create a more stable and cost-effective program, we need to allow the private market to enter the space instead of inhibiting its ability to do so.

It cannot continue to be a program that exposes taxpayers to endless risk, and it doesn't have to be.