I think we all know we need to invest in our infrastructure, but we've got to find a way to pay for them.

I look forward to hearing your plans to keep FHA solvent and off of the backs of the taxpayers.

I agree that leaders here in Washington, DC need to tighten our belts and work together to get our Nation's debt under control.

Those are issues we are dealing with in every program here, and we are trying to be sober about what we can realistically do.

At some point, we've got to come to grips with that.

The budget is not going to get any better, and we need to be able to show exactly what we are doing and why.

I will continue to fight for high-speed rail, but it is now time for the program to produce a compelling and rigorous plan to justify that support and future funding.

This shouldn't take more than 60 days. It really is unacceptable.

FHA has never received an appropriation to support its Insurance Fund, and I'm committed to making sure that it never does.

I think we need to understand what the consequences of this are, and that's been very helpful.

But the funding for that project, and many others like it, was left on the cutting-room floor by House Republicans in an effort to meet an arbitrary bottom line.

I was deeply concerned that the House Republican budget would eliminate funding for the highly competitive TIGER Discretionary Grant program.

Yes, you will have an opportunity to submit questions. Any member will. Thank you very much.

So we need to make some tough decisions here, and we will need your input as we do that.

Keeping enough balances in HTF has been an ongoing problem now for 3 years.

Madam Chairman, if my colleague, Senator Pryor, would indulge, just one last thing here.

This is less a debate about taming the deficit, which we all agree we need to be doing, but it really is a question of priorities.

Unfortunately, the spending plan recently passed by House Republicans takes our country in the wrong direction.

Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary, and thank you for your openness and continual communication with us on a lot of questions.

I have serious concerns about the current vacancies in both the FHA Commissioner and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Director positions.

it's about making hard choices to reduce the deficit--and putting in place much-needed reforms to hold ourselves to a high standard of performance.

We believe the deadline can and should be met.

This morning we are holding our first hearing of the year on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) budget for fiscal year 2012.

I believe winning the future starts at home--and with this budget of targeted investments and tough choices that I respectfully submit, we aim to prove it.

In the aftermath of the housing crisis, FHA has played a central role in ensuring that the Nation had a functioning mortgage market when the private market failed.