Jeff Merkley

I must say, your answer is exactly the answer I have heard every time...

In Oregon, we recently had the shutdown of a company called Blue Heron. It has operated for the better part of a century, making paper. The point Blue Heron was making was that because of the pegging of the currency, the paper they tried…

I wonder if my colleague from Ohio would consider a bit of a discussion for a few minutes.

I think that the plans on compensation for market-making trades is very, very helpful because it creates a huge distinction between one business and the other.

Yes, that is one way of--one possibility of certainly taking the whole--saying refinance the whole thing regardless of the amount that you are underwater, and that is easier and simpler.

Is there any sense to using soft seconds for the balance that is underwater as a way to create loans that could re-enter the marketplace?

This is a big problem.

I would say, if there is one thing we learned, liar loans are unacceptable.

My point is that if you are going to do a substantial discount, why not give individual families who have suffered with so much difficulty in this economy the chance to be a homeowner first and take advantage of that discounted rate?

I guess one thing I would be interested in is whether there is a way in which homes could be offered, if you will, to homeowners for a month or some period of time at the level that they would otherwise be included in the investment…

What if we had a $2,500 tax credit per person, $5,000 per person, had to be matched dollar-for-dollar by the homeowner, to help people become homeowners right now, when the prices are low?

So we are spending all this money to help reduce the price of a house in the longer term.

Why not spend a little money in a matching grant program, not simply on a temporary basis...

I look at the fact that we subsidize homeownership through the home mortgage interest deduction, about $100 billion a year, roughly.

So you are picturing not just an option, but a negotiated purchase price arranged up front?

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The cloud of foreclosures, the five to eight million additional foreclosures is a huge problem for our economy.

A job is something that not only provides finances, but it feeds the soul.

I have a hard time thinking that FHFA on its own--I mean, my understanding is their current discussions at FHFA are to raise the 125 under HARP higher.

I wanted to ask a little bit about if anyone has a take on how the Boxer-Isakson bill differs from what the President is proposing.

Helping homeowners stay in their homes and decreasing the number of foreclosures is absolutely essential.

I can't tell you how many times people come up to me and say, here's where I'm at: I'm in my late 50s, early 60s. I'm just trying to figure out how to bridge the gap until I can be under Medicare because my health problems and my inability…

Explicit guarantee with firm regulatory standards avoids the challenges that Mr. Wallison was speaking to.

I am fascinated by this conversation because you all study the housing market and mortgages day in and day out, but you reach such dramatically different conclusions.

Not a single Oregon company has asked for that exemption.