Bob Corker

If there had been a resolution mechanism in place, would that not have actually... reduced the risk to some degree?

I know much has been said about the bipartisanship. It truly has been that.

I hope that we will move through this in a thoughtful manner, and I certainly thank you for your testimony.

This $50 billion is gone once it is spent. I mean, it is not invested in something the taxpayers will get back.

I know my time is up, but it is further digging a hole for the GSEs to play the role they are playing in these mortgage modifications, isn't that correct?

I think that most of us realize that in a push to create affordable housing for everybody in America, we actually have created a big part of this problem because there was no equity.

I have tremendous empathy for people who especially have children and living in a home that have to vacate it because of foreclosure and loss of jobs.

I am under no illusion you are going to solve it. I think your efforts will improve.

You are basically saying that these entities, unless they offer other standard products, would not be able to be in business.

I think you may be the overall architect, if you will, of much of what has been put forth as it relates to regulatory changes.

This is an example of all examples of this Administration being Big Brother, and I think the American people are recoiling from this.

We have not had a hearing here on Fannie and Freddie in a year.

So in seeking a solution to the Fannie-Freddie dilemma that all of us find ourselves in, we need to figure out a way to deal still, though, with creating liquidity for you to keep this constant access to capital.

It is pretty evident to me that what they have laid out is they want to continue business as it has been over the last year.

So the regionals upstream from you that typically would have provided liquidity... those folks... that has gone away for you?

Is there a way for the Federal Government to be involved in hedging that risk for you and yet not taking ownership through these GSEs of the portfolios themselves?

I think the regulators--and we have had them into our office numbers of times--I think they are helping, as they always do, create self-fulfilling prophecy.

I certainly hope that you all will weigh in.

I almost imagined a couple of folks sitting around at the White House drinking Diet Cokes.

You decided--when I say God-like, I mean, a 363 bankruptcy is pretty much a God-like kind of thing.

Well, I guess what has troubled me about this is I know politics are not involved, although I would like to know who we call.

I do want to point out that you are fudging a little bit on the history side of this.

Oh, the President kept the plant open.

The Greatest Generation we all hailed. We have statues and tributes to the Greatest Generation.

You know, we had a guy named Mark Zandi up here who told us if we put $1 in these companies, we would end up between $75 and $125 billion.