Amy Klobuchar

Thank you so much, Chairman Dorgan, for chairing this, and to our witnesses.

We want to do it in a prudent way, and we want to do it quickly.

I have always believed that we need to restore stability in our financial markets, and you have been a leader with that.

American households now stand at owing 130 percent of their annual income in total debt.

We are trying to get here, instead of a short-term view of our economy and our business markets, we are trying to get a long-term view on trying to encourage responsible behavior.

And to do that, we have to get the best possible results for the American taxpayers at the lowest cost, and, to me, this means transparency and accountability.

That is quite a difference.

The unemployment rate of Veterans since the Gulf War is higher than the unemployment rate for people who have not served our country.

I think it is a big concern that we keep having that happen.

Our state now went, we lag about a month, but from the 8.2 percent down to 8.1 percent unemployment.

We will have them in a week or so. We have nine states now in double digits.

I heard just this week from a woman in Rice, Minnesota, who works to provide residential services for the disabled.

The companies seem to be--not in every sector, but some of these companies seem to be evening out, or actually seeing some improvement.

The tax credit was incredibly helpful, the $8000 tax credit; that is, as we reach the end of the year, that a lot of younger people or first-time home buyers were starting to buy.

We do know that profitable companies are more likely to hire than those that are faltering.

So we are at a 9.4 percent unemployment rate.

When you include the discouraged workers, what is the unemployment rate then?

I just wanted to say to the Chairman that I don't think it's uncomfortable to be talking about this.

So redistribute to you means 100 percent commitment that they will be sold?

They will all be redistributed. They will all be sold to other dealers, if that's--I don't want to get caught up by terminology.

But you are not--you can't commit that they will be sold, even though they bought, some at your urging?

I don't like to see our people suffer like they are.

Some of our dealers want more time and then some of our dealers feel that they should be able to stay in business because they are profitable.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. I just want to make clear that everyone here wants you to succeed.

And we have many dealers, of course, that invested $5 million that got the cars when you guys asked them to get the cars, and so they clearly feel that they haven't been treated fairly here.