I know you said in response to a question from Senator Lieberman that this was one of many items and that it was not that specific, that it was vague reporting.

I have a lot of reservations about the establishment of a White House cyber security czar because it makes it far more difficult for Members of Congress to exercise our oversight responsibilities.

I would argue that the credit default swaps were more like an insurance product.

The CFTC has been woefully understaffed.

I share the concerns that this agency is both underfunded, as you and Senator Lieberman's panel determined last year.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

This doesn't make much sense to me.

The Fed frankly has its hands full.

What is the status of efforts to establish an economic stimulus lending program, a secondary market guarantee authority for pools of SBA 504 program first-lien mortgages, and SBA secondary market lending authority to make loans to…

It troubles me that banks have received billions of dollars without having to demonstrate that they've increased lending.

Does this budget have support for the development of small business clusters?

I don't see, on the grassroots level, the benefits of putting billions of dollars into financial institutions.

Senator Collins has been working with this group for some time.

Just a week ago Maine's fuel dealers were in my office saying that they believe excessive speculation by noncommercial players is once again driving up the cost of oil.

it is just infuriating to me that they are cutting off credit to small businesses that, in many cases or in most cases, are paying on time.

Just two final questions from me. Senator Levin and I have introduced a bill that would repeal the language that prohibits the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from regulating derivatives.

But initially, the upfront cost is more to do construction. Correct?

As we all know, small businesses are the backbone of our economy.

I think when Bear Stearns failed, its leverage ratio was an astonishing 30:1.

We need a system where just because a product is new does not mean that it falls into a regulatory black hole.

I think not only about the dollars that we're going to bring in directly, but also about the deterrent effect.

Are you looking, as part of your reforms, on combining the OTS with the OCC? That's what my bill does. And needless to say, I think it's a brilliant idea and needs to be done.

I just want to associate myself with the chairman's last question to express concern about the need for more enforcement and education to deal with these scams.

What our hearings demonstrated was that speculation in the commodities markets by noncommercial investors... has grown enormously from 2003 to 2008.

I know that in my State, I've seen thousands of individuals who have seen their retirement nest eggs shrink.