It is unacceptable that we came at all close to a government shutdown.

I am told, however, that Ginnie Mae's reserves are less than the 2 percent that traditionally has been held. Is that not a problem?

Thank you, Chairman Murray. You have been a strong and dedicated leader of this subcommittee.

It is fundamentally unfair for the Federal Government to award grants to States, only then to take them away.

So is HUD looking for offsets for those costs? $1.5 billion is a fair chunk of change.

I am interested, as a longtime Amtrak supporter, in better understanding how that would work.

It is an honor to serve with you, and I look forward to working with you as we consider HUD's fiscal year 2012 budget request.

One of the lessons that we have learned in the Homeland Security Committee is the importance of the partnership among all levels of government.

The problem is it saves money not for HUD but for the Medicaid program, for the corrections system, for State and local governments.

We simply must rein in our spending and get our financial house in order.

Now, thanks to a cooperative effort, we can begin the important work of upgrading the tracks.

I want to switch now to another issue that is a potential fiscal time bomb in HUD's budget.

I believe, however, that Senator Wyden is really looking at some sort of revenue bond.

I want to make sure you have the resources you need to protect our railways.

That makes sense, but that is not what this report seems to be saying is going on.

It should be an opportunity for the IG to identify program weaknesses, mismanagement, vulnerabilities, and should be welcomed by the Secretary.

I was originally a skeptic of the Housing First model because I felt that unless you made getting assistance for substance abuse problems, for example, a condition of getting into these apartments, it would not work.

It is extremely worrisome to learn of the incidents over the past couple of months regarding air traffic controllers who have behaved unprofessionally.

The transportation system is the lifeline for our country and our economy.

FHA is largely financed by proceeds from the mortgage insurance premiums paid by homeowners.

one of my primary concerns is the number of homeless Americans.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) faces many challenging responsibilities that include balancing the goal of strengthening responsible home ownership while minimizing the financial risk to FHA and the taxpayer and…

I appreciate your leadership at the Department of Transportation (DOT) and look forward to working together to promote fiscally responsible investments in our Nation's aging transportation infrastructure.

Several States have already rejected funding for which their States had been awarded.

Let me ask you both a basic question. It seems that in the last year, there has been an alarming increase in close calls in the air and on the ground.