Whenever the Government reaches into my pocket--and I am a liberal, by the way, I don't mind this--that is a tax.

So you think we need more money for the Highway Trust Fund.

Is there anybody on the panel that disagrees with the statement that we need to put more money into our national infrastructure needs?

If we just did it straight up, either through a gas tax or a vehicle mile, or the 10 other proposals that are on the table, the long-term benefit to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to the taxpayers of Massachusetts, to the people of…

At the same time, I won't speak for my colleagues but I have heard it from numerous Members of Congress, including myself, I hear it all the time, particularly from small businesses, that they can't get access to the capital that they need.

I think the Home Loan Banks do an excellent job overall. And I just want to say thank you on behalf of my constituents and myself for what you have done.

You are telling me that it is not a result of the FHLB policy; it is a result of the market?

It is not that I see too much liquidity. I see too many people sitting by the sidelines.

I think those funds were being used for public purposes. And they have now been diverted to essentially private purposes by building up the capital of the banks.

So for me, regulations are about saying, 'Here is the line. Nobody can cross it. And therefore everybody is on an equal playing field.'

The fact is that I never said there was nothing in the bill that would restrain businesses.