Jeff Merkley

I think it is important to recognize that we are not just looking at the jobs we create by building and maintaining the infrastructure, but the jobs that we sustain and maintain through the low cost transportation opportunities that the…

I can hardly go to a town hall and not have someone speak about the challenges to the community from the recertification process.

By the Corps' own data, Oregon has nearly 200 communities and 24 counties with levees that will need recertification.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and thank you all for your testimony today to highlight the importance of these projects.

I will just close with this comment, and that is that the perspective presented by major banks before this Committee was that they are suspending the dual track for loans that they carry, but they are being forced by Fannie and Freddie not…

We all like things to be efficient and move quickly, get resolution for people, clarity for people.

OK. So let me lay it out this way, then. If the four largest banks have reserves for repurchase of about $10 billion...

The current foreclosure crisis has been difficult and unprecedented, and we are far from done.

I encourage every possible effort to try to make this modification track work better because it is an abysmal failure in terms of national policy right now and our economy and our families are going to--are suffering and will continue to…

It is important to have national standards, but it is also important to have one regulatory agency that takes this on as its job with an eye to protecting consumers.

I think all the Members of this Committee have constituents who are in the modification process.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and I will follow up on your questions related to the put-back with our folks, Mr. Edwards and Mr. Bisenius from Fannie and Freddie.

I am completely dissatisfied. We will continue the conversation.

So essentially, you say when there is recognition that a modification cannot be completed, then we need to push through to foreclosure.

Thank you for noting that.

And that would not be because the number of folks falling into foreclosure action is declining, so to what do you attribute that?

So often, we are coming into the story down the road when it has exploded.

OK. So, ballpark, can you tell me between the two institutions or for your institution how many more repurchase--are we talking a billion dollars a month or are we talking about a billion dollars every 6 months?

The situation is that often when folks seek a modification, they are told by the servicer, you need to be delinquent before you start this.

I wish there was, in fact, a rule in place that said the foreclosure track will not be pursued until the modification is completed.

Because of those existing agreements, what you are describing has little practical effect because Fannie and Freddie are telling those servicers to continue with the foreclosure process.

We are much more worried about this than I think perhaps Treasury is, based on your testimony.

That does not seem to be working in a way that we want it to.

I think it is important that you flagged it in your testimony and that we continue to pay attention to it in a Congressional oversight fashion.

Thank you for your leadership on Dodd-Frank, a huge effort to try to stabilize our financial sector.