The current pending caseload is about 850,000.

Asylum claims are individual; they are very much fact-specific.

The backlog, essentially, or the caseload, essentially, almost tripled between 2008 and 2017.

We have seen an increase in asylum claims. They have doubled in the past couple of years.

It is a combination of factors.

we believe VTC is an efficient and effective way of hearing cases.

The number-one need, as it has been, as the President has outlined, as this committee is aware, is more immigration judges, increased immigration judges.

I do agree with you, Chairwoman Waters, that this hearing is a long time in coming, and is necessary.

The system is broken. While the credit scoring system provides us with a foundation, and it allows millions of Americans to access credit quickly and efficiently, the credit reporting system is in need of major repair.

What I would say is, I think what was interesting about the first panel is no one seemed concerned in the panel that the Fair Credit Reporting Act was outdated or in need of updating.

So, in short, no one benefits from the backlog and that is why we have taken such significant steps to try to address it.

I consider Representative Perlmutter to be a person of goodwill, a serious legislator who wants to fix problems.

I want to thank Chairwoman Waters for hosting and bringing us together to talk about a really important issue for our country.

You mention innovation is a key part of the solution set for homelessness.

In my opinion, we are putting the cart before the horse by addressing this issue here in the Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions Subcommittee before the drug is descheduled.

For the last 6 years, I have fought alongside my colleagues on this committee to ensure all legal businesses in the United States have access to financial services.

Before I begin, I would like congratulate Mr. Meeks on his role as our chairman of this subcommittee.

So, going back to this, do you think that this legislation as it is currently written resolves those issues for you to engage in this?

It is difficult to see how we flipped this conversation to, in essence, mandate institutions to do something that is in conflict with the Federal law.

We need to have wider inputs, not a limited, one-panel conversation, in order to move to a markup that will come to a good result.

Operation Choke Point focused on reputational risk, State-regulated products, also federally recognized as lawful.

There is a lot to be resolved, a lot of questions, including the reputational risk question.

But, still, until we solve this problem, one is too many.

I do think it is important that we highlight the need for a more concerted effort to combat homelessness.

Today we are discussing an issue that we can all agree must be addressed.