Tim Geithner: “Home prices are still falling as foreclosures rise. And even credit-worthy borrowers are finding it harder to finance…”

If Congress were to legislate constraints on itself that was consistent with that deficit reduction path, that would be enormously helpful to sustaining the confidence in the United States and around the world that we are going to go back…

It is inconceivable that America would do that.

if Congress were to choose to try to defer everything... that would be very damaging to the interests of the country.

Again, our overall objective, and this has to be our shared objective, is to have the private markets, banks and investors, bear more of the risk in housing finance, not less of the risk.