I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, the most legitimate argument I have heard is we have a deficit and we have to deal with it. That is a fair and reasonable point to make. However, it is not a fair and reasonable approach…

This fact undermines the thesis that it was something about U.S. capital markets or the U.S. housing market in particular that was the primary cause of the bubble. It undermines that thesis.

it is not necessarily the lack of regulation, of a regulation that is there; it is the lack of enforcement of the regulation.

I have learned how to do that, because last year the Republicans offered what they said was the solution to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac problem in the conference. We did not accept it. And they said, this is a big mistake.

No, this wasn't hurried because of Chris Dodd; this was hurried because a whole range of people, beginning with Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke, the Bush appointees who initiated our efforts here, said you really need to get this done…

I was struck that the Republicans, oddly to me, criticized President Obama's Administration for not giving them more specific advice about how to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I was not aware that they were in the habit of waiting for…

For me, $160 million worth of legal fees, it certainly sounds unreasonable.

I appreciate the points you raised. I agree with pretty much everything you have said.

I would respectfully suggest that, going forward, we make a determination as to where we are going to draw the line.

So you don't think it is possible to split it out?

I get that. Maybe they could find a way to allow some sort of lien or some sort of surety or some other such activity again that may never be paid.

It certainly strikes me that, in theory, if these individuals acted badly, the company is a victim as much as anybody else.

But these case histories are not based on taxpayer dollars doing this. These case histories are on shareholders' dollars doing it, not taxpayer dollars.

Make the fight. If you lose, fine. But what if you are wrong and you win, and you get a judge who says, 'You know something? This is a little unusual.'

This is taxpayer dollars. This is not Enron. This is not WorldCom. We are not shareholders. We are taxpayers.

So much damage was caused by allowing an industry to take advantage of our families, and I state, 'take advantage of our families' who only wanted to have the American dream, and that is to own a home.

This hearing is important to the American taxpayers. It is important for us to understand the complexity of the problem caused by the fall of the housing market.

All the hand-wringing and bed-wetting is going on without remembering how the House stepped up on this. What did we get from the White House? We got a one-finger salute.

So with a $1 billion left you will clearly not be able to do--or less--you clearly will not be able to do what you are doing right this very minute, is that fair?

I think you are doing a great job. I think you have the right priorities, and you are the right man for this job, and I appreciate what you have done.

Mr. Speaker, like all major bills that we do here, there is good and bad in this bill. There are things I like and things I don't like. That is a normal circumstance here. But in the final analysis I think people have to ask themselves one…

I also want to thank the committee for putting this bill out. Lance Corporal Arredondo was a recipient of the Navy Cross with combat V and a Purple Heart. He was nominated for the Bronze Star, and he gave his life for this country on…

I am here to support this resolution. Very clearly, this resolution is simply intended to encourage the Government of the United States and other governments around world to continue pressing to make sure that the resolution that is on the…

Let me be clear: To me, this may not be the most important issue to most of my constituents. I know that. I realize that. Jobs are more important. The economy is more important. But America has always been and, I think, always should be…

I will tell you that this bill is one of the best bills I've ever been involved with in the 12 years I've been in Congress. Like any bill, it doesn't give me everything that I want. I don't think anybody would say that, including Mr…