S.1217, the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act introduced by Senators Corker and Warner, represents an important bipartisan step in the debate on housing.

I guess what I would urge is that, working with Committee staff, you will agree, within a very, very short period of time, whatever Committee staff thinks is appropriate, that you actually get your specific comments, if we are going to…

We would also like to recognize the work of Senators Mark Warner and Bob Corker, and the Members of this Committee who have cosponsored their legislation.

Without those specific comments, language comments, we are not going to get there.

I hope that will be days or weeks in terms of getting your comments in specific language, because, you know, we have been back and forth on lots and lots of these iterations for some time now.

I would love to see more comments on that.

But then if they do this, we would have to still figure out a way for your role so that if this basket of securities would not just be limited to a certain--one particular geographic region.

I also to want speak to the judicial nomination, but I want to first respond as well to the Senator from Arizona. Let me first of all say there are few people in this body I have more respect for, and there are few people in this body who…

Ms. Millett served seven former Solicitors General from all ends of the political spectrum. In the letter I just referred to, her nomination is supported by Democrats such as Walter Dellinger as well as Republicans such as Ted Olson and…

We are encouraged by recent legislative activity that has revived this policy debate on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

I do think Mr. Swagel's comments that if the 10 percent mark has been a bit overshot...

I appreciate particularly the final comments of Mr. Canter about the flexibility in S.1217.

I realize that some of my colleagues have apprehensions about pursuing legislative recognition when an administrative route was established by Congress in 1978.

This bill would provide recognition by the United States of America to the Chickahominy Tribe, the Chickahominy Eastern Division Tribe, the Monacan Nation, the Nansemond Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe and the Upper Mattaponi Tribe.

The time has come for action. The time has come for movement of legislation. The time has come for discrimination to end and recognition to begin! The time for Lumbee recognition is now!

It is unfathomable that this tribe of 55,000 people has never been fully recognized by our government.

That question is a dagger in the heart of the good, decent, and honorable people who compose the Lumbee Tribe!

The record and the facts are crystal clear--the Lumbee Tribe exists as an Indian tribe and has done so over its long history.

Senate Bill 161 is essential to correcting this injustice and to allowing the Little Shell Tribe to proudly take its rightful place among the Indian tribes formally recognized by the United States government.

It may surprise members of the Committee that these tribes are not currently recognized.

I have been proud to co-sponsor various legislation seeking recognition for these Virginia tribes, including S. 1074.

I am a strong advocate of federal recognition for the Virginia Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Monacan, Nansemond, Rappahannock and Upper Mattaponi tribes.

We applaud Senators Corker and Warner for introducing the Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act of 2013.

I thank my colleague for his voice throughout this debate. He and I and a number of other colleagues realized early on this self-inflicted crisis of putting our workforce in jeopardy was bad policy, bad politics, and bad for our country. I…

I agree with the Senator from Maryland. I was in the private sector longer than the public sector, and I have run companies. I have never seen a management style which would say to the workforce, ``We are going to ask you to do more with…