We can't be alarmist, but we have to be very sort of tough minded about what potential problems exist there.

don't we need some more regular, systematic...review of the rules but consistent rules that are derived by joint rulemaking?

Well, given the institutional arrangements that are likely to stay in place and given the fact that in the future there might not be the same kind of meeting of minds and cooperative spirit that you both exhibit, there has to be, I think…

We want them to succeed. But, if they fail, then you're on to a new delivery system.

Based on that, and again, I want your comments, is that you cannot assure us that this problem would have been self-correcting given the market mechanism in place, is that a fair judgment?

I think that is very sound because I think we will anticipate for good reasons and sincere reasons there could be different perspectives, and there has to be an action-forcing device.

Let me just raise a point that I would like to make, or at least to put on the table...

But, it just strikes me that this is a cost to our land forces who are engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq, that some of the skills that they would need for non-counterinsurgency are not being exercised a lot.

We don't want to cut ourselves short on R&D, because we want to get it right.

This week the Senate is on the verge of making fundamental and urgently needed changes to reform Wall Street and protect consumers and investors.

I think it's a very sensible program and that we have to follow through.

We have to ensure it's the right path, because we won't get a restart opportunity.

I think the hearing has indicated that you gentlemen and the regulators have a lot of work to do, and we have got a lot of work to do.

I want to commend Senator Wicker and my colleagues for raising the issue of Secretary Gates's speech.

We are still left, I think, based on your testimony, with the conclusion that we are not quite sure what was the decisive precipitating course.

But I think this notion that we are going to let it the good will of the regulators does not work.

One could suggest that with all these good things happening in Spider and the self-correcting logics, had suddenly the government of Greece announced that it was suspending all of its payments, those things would have been, I think, might…

Well, I think we were all sort of--and I think Senator Corker was not only being his usual insightful and charming self, but the reality is had we started in this all fresh, there would be one agency dealing with these products that…

Markets Crash, Close, May Not Open, which might be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Like everything I learned in kindergarten, everything I learned in the Army.

yesterday we and the nation heard from Goldman Sachs executives indicating they had no regrets about the financial crisis, a crisis that has left 8.5 million people without jobs and stripped billions of dollars of retirement savings from…

the recent lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, against Goldman Sachs underscores that much still needs to be done to improve transparency and restore confidence in our financial system. Indeed, that is why we must have…

last month, my State was hit by the worst nonhurricane floods in the history of the State, at least in the last 200 years. Our Governor has preliminarily assessed the damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars, which is a significant…

I want to thank you all for just tremendous insights, and particularly something that Karen said about how so much of learning now is happening outside the school building.

I also want to thank Senator Leahy and Senator Sessions for their prompt attention to this nomination by the President of Jack McConnell to be Rhode Island's next U.S. District Court Judge.