I think that Senator Isakson's aptly pointing out the terrible affliction... of suicide in the military attests to that.

We should not be outsourcing these jobs. Civil servants who decide to pursue a career assisting veterans lead to better services.

If the VA continues to outsource more and more activities, at some point, we are going to reach a point where the VA is a health insurance provider and not a health care provider.

Dodd-Frank imposes new regulations on derivatives.

Do you think, as suggested by Ms. Wilson, that applying Basel III to insurers would or could have a negative impact on the safety and soundness of these institutions?

There is across the political spectrum and across party lines broad agreement that providing traditional life and property and casualty insurance is different from banking.

Thank you, Senator Johanns.

Thank you for your leadership on this issue and sharing your ideas for legislation and advice for the Fed with the Subcommittee.

I recognize the concern that some have about opening up Dodd-Frank. But if there were ever to be a revision, this is the time and place.

If we move forward on legislation or the Fed makes this--follows the suggestions of this panel, would they still have the ample tools to regulate institutions in other ways?

We appreciate the leadership of Senators Brown, Johanns, and Collins on this important issue.

Thank you, Senator Tester.

I would frankly just refer you to Mr. Cohen's legal analysis, which I think is superb and I, you know, independently agree with.

S. 1369 would clarify that the Federal Reserve is not required to impose a bank regime on insurers by exempting insurers from the Collins Amendment.

I think that FSOC could direct the Fed to fix the problem as well.

I appreciate particularly Senator Johanns' efforts on this Committee with Senator Collins and others in fixing what we think is a very fixable issue.

The President's budget includes an important expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers without children.

President Kennedy, from the Presiding Officer's home State said, if I could paraphrase a bit: A nation reveals itself not only by the men and women it produces but also by the men and women it honors, the men and women it remembers. It is…

Thank you, Mr. President. It is good to see my long-time friend from Massachusetts in the Presiding Officer's chair. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for up to 15 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER…

I think that a quick--accelerating the rules that you and FDIC and OCC, without diluting those rules, is a really important not just substantive thing to do, but really important message to the financial community and to the public that…

So the baby boomers born in the 1940s are better off, taking into account age, than baby boomers born in 1958 or 1959?

Let us talk about that. The lowest-income worker is--I mean, some significant number of them have a negative net worth.

When I hear talk of raising the retirement age or raising the Medicare eligibility age, I think that all of us who do this for a living should be doing what the Pope has suggested and actually listening to people in situations like that.

The annuitized income of Social Security remains a safeguard of retirement security for working-class families.

I think this is probably for you, Ms. Oakley and Mr. Utkus, but any of the four of you can respond to it.