Transcripts For CSPAN Morning Hour 20141119

Chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. The chair will alternate recognition between the parties. Each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and majority whip minority whip limited to five minutes but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11 50 a. M. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. Lumenauer, for five minutes. Mr. Blumenauer thank you, madam speaker. Today is rural toillet day. The concept make children giggle, some adults blush, and others want to change the subject. But the title is designed to address this serious subject directly. No one can afford to be squeamish, make jokes, or change the subject about the fundamental issue of adequate sanitation. Because 2. 5 billion people live without it. Causing about 700,000 premature deaths each year and its getting worse. We made some progress, but the number living without access has increased by 700 million people. There are now more people on earth with a cell phone than a toilet. The consequences of insufficient access to sanitation facilities and poor hygiene are severe. Countries where open defecation is more prevalent have the highest number of deaths of children under 5. High levels of under nutrition and poverty, and larger disparities between rich and poor. A story thats all too common in many countries found its way to the United States media recently, reporting on the horrific murder and rape of two young girls that could have been prevented in india if they didnt need to sneak out into the night to relieve themselves in an open field. Leaving them vulnerable to attack. A heartbreaking study linked to the root cause of indias malnutrition crisis is a lack of adequate sanitation. It found that many of the 162 million children under the age of 5 who were malnourished in india suffer less from a lack of food and more from poor sanitation. Those children who do survive are left with mental and physical burdens for their entire lives. The lack of adequate sanitation is a huge economic drain. The total Global Economic loss associated with inadequate water supply and sanitation is estimated to be over a quarter trillion dollars every year. This crisis that leaves women vulnerable, needlessly ends lives early, and undermines Economic Growth has solutions. Today at noon i will join my colleagues on the steps of the capitol and urge the house to pass h. R. 2901, the paul simon water for the world act before we adjourn for the year. This bill will strengthen and refine the implementation of the water for the poor act we passed earlier to ensure that wash programming helps leverage the impact of development assistance. But also ensures that our water, sanitation, and hygiene programs are targeted to help the worlds poorest. That they are more effective, with longterm, sustainable impacts. This Bipartisan Legislation with my friend ted poe has well over 100 cosponsors and is scheduled for a markup in the House Foreign Affairs committee tomorrow. This significant progress would not have been possible without the leadership of chairman royce and i thank him for it. Along with the many advocates who demonstrated why the United States must play a greater role to increase sustainable access to clean water and sanitation. If passed out of committee, which i certainly hope it will, i would urge the house leadership to bring this bill to the floor to a vote immediately when we come back in session in december. Thats because this cannot wait and its one of those rare bills we can all unite and support. Every day 14,000 children die needlessly because they lack access to clean Drinking Water and sanitation. Today, 152 million hours will be spent by girls and women to get water, often dirty water, for their families. Thats enough work hours to build 28 empire state buildings every day. By this time not spent working on income generating jobs, caring for family members, or securing an education. Ted poe, a republican, and i a democrat, who represents portlanda dont often agree on a lot. But we are an example how we can all come together because politics should stop at water. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. The clerk senate 2539, an act to amend the Public Health service act to reauthorize certain programs relating to traumatic brain injury and to trauma research. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Hompson, for five minutes. Mr. Thompson thank you, madam speaker. According to the Energy Administration information todays National Average price for retail gasoline is 2. 97. This is the lowest price since over a fouryear period beginning in october of 2010. Gasoline prices have decreased by roughly 21 in the last six months alone. One of the most prevalent factors in determining the price of gasoline at the pump is the interNational Average of the cost of a barrel of crude oil. Over the past week price of crude Oil Per Barrel has hovered between 77. 15 and 77. 85. These are the lowest per barrel prices since june of 2012, just over two years. In stark contrast to 145 per barrel in may of 2008. The Energy Information administration has projected the gasoline prices at the pump will continue to decline in december to somewhere around 2. 80, possibly even lower in 2015. Additionally u. S. Natural gas prices are roughly 4. 24 as production continues to flourish. This is all welcomed news for consumers, businesses, and the economy from more affordable transportation, to heating our homes, from the food we consume to American Manufacturing having lower costs. Therefore being more competitive globally. Lower energy costs are good for our economy overall. There are many factors as to why gasoline prices fluctuate. They include International Market trends and geopolitical events as well as weather and impacts upon Refining Capacity due to natural disasters. While a down economy has decreased annual command for gasoline as the Summer Travel season comes to an end, the price decreases for gasoline can largerly be attributed to an increase if domestic supply. At any other time in our history, given todays events, our gas prices would be pushing 4 a gallon. Especially with the ongoing recession, American Energy production has thankfully increased in recent years and gas prices have decreased. But while some in washington would like to credit the federal government with the increased supply, the truth is that the vast majority of this Domestic Production has occurred in spite of federal actions not because of them. The great majority of the production has occurred on private and stateowned lands and has been the result of technological enhancements that have made shale gas and oil reserves more attainable. Specifically, this increase in production stems from the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Pennsylvania, for example, is currently third in state production of natural gas. The commonwealth has produced 3. 2 trillion cubic feet in 2013 alone. Increased production has bolstered Domestic Energy supplies and directly led to historically low Natural Gas Prices across the u. S. This comes on the heels of all time high prices in 2008 of about 12. Production in pennsylvania has provided royalty payments to landowners while contributing significant funds to counties. Mr. Speaker, madam speaker, private and stayed owned lands have changed the face of Energy Production and affordability in our country. The federal government would stand to gain by following suit. This would open up new areas of federal lands both on shore and off shore for production of our natural resources. These resources belong to the people. There is no reason the administration should continue to play games with energy security. Over the last four years the house has made a priority of moving legislation that would increase our domestic Energy Production and supply. Just this past september, house passed h. R. 2, which was a combination 13 Energy Related bills, among them is the keystone x. L. Pipeline. Increasing amount of permitted on shore and offshore lands for development along with streamlining cumbersome Energy Permitting regulations. The bill sets timelines for agencies permitting decisions and provide for more pipelines and liquefies natural gas exports. Many of these actions can be taken by the executive branch, but the administration has not acted. As we have witnessed in recent years through the development of private lands, increasing our Domestic Energy supplies and encouraging american production will have a positive impact on Energy Prices here at home. Increased domestic Energy Production of oil and natural gas has eased the financial pain at the pump. This is also welcome as temperatures drop and the home heating season has begun. The bottom line is the government can do much more to influence Energy Prices for american consumers. The time for the administration to act is long overdue. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. Garamendi, for five minutes. I thank you, madam chair. I want today talk about an illness that affects every american family. Its an illness that is devastating. Its alzheimers. And related dimensiona. Its it dy men sha. Its the most expensive illness in America Today and will become even more expensive in the future. Today one out of 5 spent by medicare is spent treating alzheimers. Most expensive of all illnesses. As we look to the future, we are going to find that this disease, alzheimers, is going to grow to over 1. 5 trillion. Of cost by 2050. Partly due to the baby boomers and their growth in the demography of this nation. But also because of the extraordinary expense this illness brings to us. So this is the power curve that we are looking at. If youre concerned about the deficit, you need to be concerned about alzheimers. If youre concerned about the american family, you need to be concerned about alzheimers. Heres what we are looking at for what is the second biggest cost in the federal budget. Thats medicare and medicaid. Heres the growth that we are looking at over a period of the next 35 years. Om some 122 billion to over 880 billion. So as you look at the federal budget in the years ahead, if you look at medicare as you begin to think about the deficit that confronts this nation, this is where you need to look. Because this is where the big expenditure is going to be made. Its going to be in alzheimers and related illnesses to it. This is it. What can we do about this . Well, we could sit and fuss and fume. We could take care of our seniors. Or we can recognize the reality of what it means when we spend money. On research. When we spend money on getting ahead of the illnesses. These are the major illnesses that confront America Today. You can take a look here. Breast cancer, theres been a decrease in mortality. Prostate cancer, a decrease. Heart disease, 16 decrease. Stroke, a 23 . And of course hivaids, an extraordinary 42 decrease. In the deaths from these major illnesses. Oh, over here on the purple one, on the right, alzheimers. Decrease . No. Increase, 68 increase from 2000 to 2010. This is the reality of the most prevalent, most expensive, and the most devastating disease that confronts americans and really the rest of the world. What can we do about it . Well, take a look at this chart. Hmm. Alzheimers spending treatment versus research. Well, lets see. We are spending 150 billion on the treatment, this is medicare and medicaid, and research, oh, way down here. 566 million on research. So if you want to drive the deficit to even greater depths, treat but dont do research. However, if you want to solve this problem, we know how to do it. In fact, weve done it many, many times. If you take a look at cancer, were spending 5,418,000,000 on cancer research. Cancer deaths are down. H. I. V. , were spending 2,978,000,000 on hivaids. Hivaids deaths are down by 42 . Cardiovascular, 2 billion. Cardiovascular deaths, strokes and Heart Disease down. Alzheimers, 566 million. We know the answer. The question is whether were willing to put our money where we can solve the most devastating, the most prevalent and the most expensive of all illnesses. Change this little purple. Bring it back up, perhaps to 2 billion a year as which do with hivaids, cardiovascular and cancer. Spend the research money. Were close in many ways across this country with programs that are under way. Heres the specific ask that i make to this congress. Not 2 billion 200 million additional money in the appropriations that were doing today. 200 million. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Garamendi thank you for the time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Williams, for five minutes. Thank you, madam speaker. I rise today to recognize the tremendous work of the center for brain health at the university of texas at dallas and its brain performance institute. Not only do their programs and research benefit the public, they have a team that specifically focuses on serving active duty Service Members, veterans, military, spouses and caregivers. More than 2 1 2 million men and women have admirably worn the uniform to provide tect americas freedom since 9 11. Sadly, nearly 20 of them come back from iraq and afghanistan with ptsd or major depression. More than 250,000 Service Members have sustained a traumatic brain injury in the last decade. This ring that i wear is a sobering reminder that 22 Service Members or veterans commit suicide each and every day. Something has to be done to help these heroes battle their inner enemies and thats where the Brain Health Team comes in. The Brain Health Team is dedicated to creating public and private partnerships to not only eliminate the stigma often associated with ptsd or t. B. I. , but to provide access to that treatment. This team is retraining brain to build their resilience, regeneration and reverse losses and mental capacity, giving these men and women to overcome pursue a healthy and happy future. The institute has provided scientifically proven programs to more than 500 warriors in seven states, including my home state of texas. The institutes service to our troops is outstanding. They are the perfect example of americas commitment to take care of our warriors and their families, and im proud to recognize their good works. In god we trust. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Vela, for five minutes. Mr. Speaker, i rise to bring attention to the massacre of 43 students in mexico. Edmond burke said all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. On september 26, students from a Teacher Training College participated in a protest. According to media reports, the students were arrested by Police Forces and handed over to a criminal gang. Their burned bodies have reportedly been found discarded in a river. As the Washington Post reported yesterday, the demand to find the students and punish those responsible for their disappearance has broadened into a more diverse fury about corrupt politicians and their Drug Trafficking cronies. Mexican prosecutors have formally charged the mayor, jose luis ibarka in the disappearance of the students. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. In the last several months, three constituent families of mine have been touched by murder in northern mexico. I again call on the United States state department to ensure that the Mexican Government thoroughly investigate these atrocities and that those responsible be brought to justice and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The crises of human smuggling, drug smuggling do not begin or end of the border. Resolving these matters requires that we address issues of Economic Development and Cartel Violence in mexico and that we address the demand for narcotics in the United States, along with eliminating the presence of cartels in an estimate had had 1,000 u. S. Cities. The leaders of the state department in washington, d. C. , need to understand na this is one of the most pressing Foreign Policy issues confronting our nation. Otherwise, evil will indeed triumph. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Rost ross, for five minutes. Ms. Roslehtinen, for five minutes. Ms. Roslehtinen thank you, madam speaker. A strong israel means a strong United States, and a strong United States means a strong israel. And that is why i want to offer my condolences to the families of the israelis murdered by palestinian terrorists in jerusalem yesterday. The increase in these attacks is a grim reminder of the need for the United States now more than ever to stand side by side in support of israel and its right to defend itself and her citizens. I condemn these terror attacks, and i call on president obama and leaders of other responsible nations to do the same and to hold the palestinian leadership accountable for these actions. We must recognize the importance of u. S. Israel cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas, but particularly our cooperation on security and defense issues. In the past year, i have had the opportunity to not only see firsthand what our joint efforts have produced with the iron dome antimissile Defense System but also why this is such an important venture. Last august i led a congressional delegation trip to israel to discuss our bilateral relationship with Prime Minister netanyahu and other top ranking israeli officials. The one thing we heard repeatedly in almost every meeting was how thankful the israelis were for the United States congress continued support for the iron dome and other Defense Missile systems and our belief in israels need to maintain its qualitative military edge over its enemies. Iron dome has become known for its accuracy after its remarkable performance in 2012, especially in november of that year during operation pillar of defense when Hamas Terrorists red thousands of rockets indiscriminantly into israeli civilian populations. The sheer numbers were astounding and the rate of success is a testament to the u. S. Israeli cooperation. So when we arrived in israel in august of 2013, less than a year of pillar of defense, the last thing that Prime Minister netanyahu said to us was, thank you for iron dome. It truly saved countless innocent israeli lives. We visited a deployed iron dome battery in northern israel to see this remarkable piece of technology. We also met the incredible young men and women of the Israeli Defense forces who operate the iron dome batteries. It was impressive and inspiring to see how well these young people handled the weight of such an incredible burden but that is a testament to the jewish people and to israel. The next time i witness firsthand the importance of iron dome was just this past summer, madam speaker. We were in israel and in jordan to get a better understanding of the situation in the middle east. We had arrived in the region about two weeks after the news that hamas had kidnapped three israeli teens. We were in israel when the news came out that the body of these young boys had been found riddled with bullets. It was a moment of loss and despair for the entire nation and we agreed with them when we attended the funeral of the three teenagers. But israel had no time to grieve over its loss of these three because hamas had been engaged in rocket attacks against israel that began when the three boys were abducted and murdered. Their intensity increased as the search began and once israel found the bodies, hamas began firing rockets, hundreds of rockets into innocent israeli civilian populations. Among the constant barrage of the ts and warning sirens, iron dome successfully shot down rocket after rocket aimed at the israeli people over the course of the latest operation called protective edge. The performance of iron dome, madam speaker, shows how great both israeli and American Technology and expertise are and why it is vitally important that our two countries continue to Work Together on projects such as iron dome, david fling, arrow and many others. Congress recognizes the fact and that is why we continue to fund these Major Projects in a bipartisan manner because we understand that the threats that israel faces and we understand the importance of israels right to defend herself to ensure its continued existence. I authored and the house passed the u. S. Israel Strategic Partnership act, which bestows upon israel a unique status as a major strategic ally of the United States, and i hope that one day soon we will be able to pass this bill again in the new congress and send it to the president for his signature. Thank you, madam speaker, for the time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. Barrow, for five minutes. Mr. Barrow thank you, madam speaker. Madam speaker, i dont know if this will be the last time i address this house but i can think of no more appropriate subject on the occasion than to honor those who have worked with me in the last 10 years serving the people of the 12th district of georgia. I met thousands of people, both in georgia and washington, ill count as friends and colleagues for the rest of my life. But any member of congress can tell you that the key to a successful Congressional Office is to gather the best and brightest people to serve the people we represent. Im honored to have served with the staff who are known on capitol hill as among the hardest working and most effective. My staff have worked under some very difficult circumstances, facing what many called insurmountable odds and put in long hours to make sure that the 12th district of georgia received representation theyve never seen before. My success in this position is because of their dedication to this office. Id like to recognize the staff, some have left, but many are here until the end who have made all this possible. My chief of staff, ashley jones, has been the foundation of this operation. Ashley has been my most trusted advisor and assembled the team that delivered such outstanding results over the last 10 years. Her loyalty, counsel and friendship have meant the world to me and shes been an invaluable asset to the 12th district. Cynthia owens served as my director. Shes been the most respected member of my staff. Shes been my eyes and ears when ive been taken away of the district. Hill thomas is the most knowledgeable legislative director on capitol hill. He counseled me during my time together and folks in the 12th district know him as a tireless advocate on their behalf and his service will another be forgotten. These three are the foundation of the best staff on capitol hill. My Communications Director for the last three years, richard carbo. Jonathan, my senior legislative assistant. Jesse andrews, our senior legislative correspondent and scheduler. Vana, who served on a number of issues. Asa porter, our legislative correspondent. Our staff assistant and intern. Deme it trius mccoy. Beverly k. Harrington, who is dedicated to helping folks in our district to getting ben ets from the government. Matthew, a veteran himself, and a loyal staffer to this district has been my eyes and ears of all on issues for veterans. Id like to thank the former staffers. They may have left the team but never been very far. Roman, brandon, payton, jane, sten, luke, west, lauren aaron, mike, ris, doug moore, bennett golder, meredith wise, ann randy, heron johnson, christy, naji jackson, kathryn, ann watson, reggie, mike, charles, david bell, adam, and yvonne davis. Madam speaker, its been the honor of my life to have served alongside this team and for all of their hard work and dedication to me and to the people of georgias 12th district. I say thank you. With that i yield the floor. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Carter, for five minutes. Mr. Carter thank you, madam speaker. Madam speaker, last month in october i had a young lady, jessica, and her father come to my office and tell me a great story of survival. Im introducing legislation on behalf of this 13yearold, Jessica Huber of texas and has shown the real meaning of survival. We have grade examples every day in our Armed Services who are serving in harms way on our behalf of their strong art of survival. In jessicas case, on november 19, 2002, jessica was nearly killed after her mother, while under the influence of prescription drugs and illegal drugs, ran a red light and crashed. Jessicas father experienced a parents Worst Nightmare when doctors had given up hope that she would survive. Those doctors didnt know jessica. Like all texans, she doesnt just give up. She underwent multiple blood transfusions and surgeries. She endured painful rehab. There were many dark days for this brave young woman. Despite the extraordinary odds against her and all said the odds were against her, im glad to report that jessica is living a happy, healthy, and productive life in my district. Jessicas journey reminds us all of the nature of the human spirit that our basic desires to preserve and persevere in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and challenges. My legislation recognizes november 19 as survivors victory day and encourages all to honor the thousands who have been victims and more importantly survivors of traumatic crimes, illnesses, and misfortunes. I call on my colleagues to celebrate this survival and support this important bill. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until noon today. Watch the house live when they are back at noon eastern here on cspan. A programming note tonight on cspan2s book tv, well be live at new york city at the annual book awards with the announcements for winners of fiction, nonfiction and others. Thats at 8 50 eastern on cspan2. The nations chief housing regulator is testifying this morning on capitol hill. Fhfa director, mel watt, making his first appearance before Congress Since getting sworn in in january, talking about potential reforms to the housing system, as well as the future of mortgage lenders, fannie mae and freddie mac, and ways to improve home buyers considered as read i. They got under way about 20 minutes ago. Live coverage here on cspan. Some people heard that we were just doing this in a willynilly fashion and didnt hear the second part of the sentence, which was that there would be compensating factors taken into account. The reality is that down payment necessarily ot reliable indicator of whether omebody will pay a loan. It is a factor, but the best illustration i can give you is that there are probably 75 , 80 of the people whose mortgages are under water now are still paying their mortgage. They have no equity. Down payment is not the most reliable indicator of whether a borrower will repay a loan. If they have good credit, if they have housing counseling, if they have ongoing Housing Housing ost purchase counseling, and know how to be responsible homeowners, those perceived the increase risk we are going to be establishing a southwest mitigating factors. Absolutely. Would those include a higher guarantee fee to offset the risk of borrower equity . I dont know. We are working on the proposal. But understand that any loan that the g. S. E. s make that require less than a 20 down payment also requires mortgage insurance or some other compensating factor to mitigate against the increased risks. That will be true of these loans also. So you can be assured that we making credit available to people that we cannot reasonably predict with a high degree of certainty that they will be able and willing to pay the mortgage. Thats not what we are in the business to do. Thank you. My times up. I will probably submit some additional questions to you. One of them will be to just follow up to see that we get the details on this Risk Mitigation activity that youre going to well be happy to come over and brief you as soon as those details. But theyll be out there pretty vigorously in december. Thank you. Senator reed. Thank you, mr. Chairman. This being likely one of the last if not the last hearing, let me begin by thanking you and senator crapo for your thoughtful principaled and bipartisan leadership. Thank you very much. Director watt, the Housing Trust fund, the l magnet p. S. E. s have been suspended, and we have an Affordable Housing crisis. I dont have to tell that you. In june of this year i joined 32 of my colleagues writing a letter to you asking you to go ahead and begin paymenting back into the funds which i think would payments back into the funds which i think would go a long way to rejuvenate or help a bit in the issue of housing. Can you update us on that situation, what you intend to do . What you can do . Happy to do so, senator. I have indicated that before the end of this year we will address that issue directly. I think not only did we get a letter from you and a number of senators on the side of funding the Housing Trust fund, we also got letters from a number of senators on the opposite side walking strates that the line between safety and soundness and access to credit, thats the space in which we operate. We here is not a decision make or that we make at fhfa there is not balancing going on. And theres always a constituency on one side or the other. On the Housing Trust fund, there e specific statutory provisions that indicate when the contributions to the Housing Trust fund can be suspended. Those statutory provisions have not changed. They are the same statutory provisions. That doesnt mean that circumstances that triggered the termination may not have changed, and thats what we are evaluating at this point. We are doing it responsibly. We are going through the process. And when we do announce a decision, well we will announce it with the details of why we announced it on one side or the other. But you can expect an announcement of some kind or another, on one side or the other of that issue before the end of the year. Im confident of your skill and agility of balancing all these things and reaching the right side of the chasm. Good luck. I think a decision southeastern rather than later. I also point out that senator corker, a bill, further indication of support for the Housing Trust fund. I think the concept is something we agree. If you can find a way to fund it it would be helpful to thousands and thousands of people. Let me turn to another issue. Thats Stabilization Initiative which you have been very forcibly leading. In my state we have significant number of foreclosures. We also have significant unemployment situations still after years and years of recession. As you look at these pilot programs, the n. S. I. , would you be willing to factor in unemployment to give states other states not just suffering from housing problems but from employment problems . Well certainly look at it, senator, but unemployment is kind of beyond the control of the space in which we operate. The way we arrived at the target areas in which we would do the pilot programs is we actually went to the map and identified the places that had that were basically the hardest hit in terms of home valuation declines. The places that had the most houses still under water. A we have tried to craft program, the neighborhood Stabilization Initiative, to address those hardest hit areas and do it carefully, test some things in those areas, and then try to replicate the things that work in those areas. We started, obviously, detroit, probably the hardest hit place in the world, now unemployment was a component of that, obviously. But it was really what was driving our decision about putting them at the top was the number of loans and houses that were under water there. Thats something we can map we put it up on our website. Every community now knows the number of distressed houses. The number of loans that are substantially behind in payment. So those are the factors that are more related to housing that we have taken into account to this point. They can relate to unemployment and rerecognize that your state is among the highest unemployment situations. We will try to figure out everybody now wants us to bring neighborhood Stabilization Initiative to their city, their county, their state. Because its a very popular thing. It has more flexibility in the way we deal with borrowers. So i can understand why people want it. But we still have to do it responsibly and with the balance that ive talked about. I would unfortunately note that our housing statistics suggest, as unfortunate as our unemployment statistics, are serious. That you could find well certainly look carefully at it. Senator. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I, too, want to thank both of you for your leadership. Look forward to what the future holds for you. Im pretty certain i know what the future holds for crapo. Nd thank you to our staff. To the staff, i just want to thank all of you. I know the election creates uncertainties and i know some of you will stay with us and some of you move on. I really appreciate the way the two staffs work so hard together to master Housing Finance and produce a product that had a lot of bipartisan support. Thank you. To jack reed, my former staffer, michael, needs to get life, just emailed me to make sure that jack knew our support for the Housing Trust fund was part after compromise. In any event 3 to 5 billion. Director watt, thank you for being here. I appreciate the genuine time we have had in our offices to talk about fhfa and the two entities you oversee along with other responsibilities. I know we talked a lot about the common secure at thisization platform and i know youre moving towards creating that. One of the concerns we expressed in our meeting in the office was to ensure that as this platform was being treated, it was something that was created, it was something that was fulse for any entity. That it wasnt designed as part of some proprietary arrangement where only freddie and fannie benefited from t i think you maybe brought in a c. E. O. To head that up. I just wondered if you could give us assurances as to making sure that this common securitization platform is one that will be ubiquitous. Meaning it could be used by all enterprises that might enter the market over time. Thats certainly our intention, senator corker. At the same time to have designed a common securitization platform for the future state without knowing what that future , would going to be have been an extremely risky and ostly venture. So our feeling is that if we can design a system that works for the current, it will also work for the future. And we know what the current circumstances are. At the same time, every one of the modules that we are working on has a future component to it also. But understand that the taxpayers have at risk now about 5 trillion between fannie and freddie. When the securitization platform is there will have to be dealt with in some way, and our objective is to roll those things into a single security so that they will be marketable, right . Dont want to run out of time. I thank you for saying that. I just want to you reassure us, though, that what is not happening is a common securitization platform that is going to be used as a proprietary product. And not something that if we ended up moving ahead would not be useful. I can assure you of that. Just moving on to the single t. B. A. Market, which again i think is a very constructive step, as i understand it youre working with sit ma to create a single product which again would work very much well, it would work very well with a product that came out of this committee from the standpoint of, again, allowing all types of guarantors to be able to use this t. B. A. Market, is that correct . We absolutely are working closely with sitma. They are the most important player in the t. B. A. Market and for us to try to do this without close consultation with them i think would be irresponsible. As you look into the future, youre feeling with the responsibilities that you have been given, youre always really clear, i think, much of it coming from your background, that youre going to carry out your operations in keeping with the laws that congress produces. What is the biggest risk that you see into the future if congress doesnt take action on Housing Finance and deal with the current status that we now have whats the biggest risk to us as a nation, as taxpayers, as people who oversee the integrity of government . I think over time uncertainty about the future will more and more have greater and greater cost to us. I think really bringing certainty to the future of Housing Finance in this country because,ally important as i indicated in answers to some of the earlier questions, uncertainty in this area causes costs to go up. And those costs result in cost to borrowers. That has an impact on the economy because it slows down borrowers willingness to participate. And thats true whether its a seeking or a renter affordable rental housing. Thank you for your testimony. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the extra time. Thank you. Senator maze. Thank you senator menendez. Thank you, director watt. I appreciate your service. Im not surprised that the type of commitment you have and the way in which youve executed your responsibilities from our time in the house together. Proud of what youre doing. I sent a letter with senators from other affected states commending you for your decision to reconsider the guarantee fee surcharge your predecessor had attempted to put on homeowners in borrowers like my state of new jersey, as well as others. A surcharge that would have penalized mortgage borrowers in states where foreclosures are taking longer, even though that might be because of strong Consumer Protections or overloaded courts. That proposal raised a lot of concerns. It would increase costs for new borrowers in states already suffering from foreclosure backlogs and would disincentivize states from adopting stronger Consumer Protections despite the strong need we have seen in recent years for protections from foreclosure abuses. I think theres far more constructive and better targeted ways to address the issue on backlogs. I know that this is in the process. Can you give me an update on the status of your review . The Comment Period on both. P. s and mortgage insurance has exspishede. Expired. And we are now in the process of evaluating both of those things. They are connected to each other in some ways that is not always obvious to the public. And we are trying to sort through those connections and i would expect probably hopefully in the First Quarter of next year well bring greater clarity to that area. I hope that clarity doesnt come at the cost of Consumer Protections. And doesnt come at the cost in terms of there are better ways to deal with foreclosure backlog, we would be happy to share our views with you in that regard. Just tacking on more fees to people which is challenging. I should say that from my perspective those costs would not be about Consumer Protections. Longer costs to foreclosure timelines. What im saying is some of those longer foreclosure timelines are because there are stronger thats right. We are trying to sort through whats related to consumer and what really exposes us to greater risk. Result of consum i move to mortgage principle deduction for homeowners who are distressed or under water. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, leading to our recovery, consumer dead burdens have been one of the biggest factors holding back our economy. And high levels of mortgage and other debt have caused consumer to defer expenses and cutback on our spending which has Led Businesses to reduce investments and create fewer jobs which feeds a cycle that has slowed our recovery. Notwithstanding that, consumers have worked hard to reduce their debt. Often at a great cost. But there are still more than five million homes that are still under water with under water mortgages, including more than 12 in my state of new jersey. And despite the clear economic benefits, as exemplified by the fact that the private sector was doing this, your predecessor refused to allow mortgage principle reduction by the g. S. E. As a policy response. While certainly principal reduction would have had a greater impact if it had been allowed to be done yerl, there are still benefits to be gained from allowing it. So with the benefits fl of allowing principal reduction pretty clear to me to taxpayers, homeowners, and the economy, its hard to understand why it was not allowed. Especially in cases where its a positive net value over the alternative of foreclosure. Do you intend to visit your predecessors policy on Principal Mortgage reduction. Whats your views on that . We have not taken responsible principal reduction off the table as an option. We continue to look at whether there are ways to do it responsibly. Inning with the private ones, it has seldom been done across the board. As i indicated in response to an 75 to 80 of the people who have been under water continue to pay their mortgage. We are trying to find a way that we can get to the net present value as you indicated to be at but a gain. Loss and i think we are getting closer to trying to figure out what that connection is. I would tell you that this has perhaps been the most difficult issue that i have faced as director of the agency. Two final comments. I appreciate how youre coming at it. I also would say that to the extent that this is going to have any value to try to keep homeowners, responsible homeowners in their homes, that time is of the essence here. So i look forward to the cal cue calculus and what operational costs you are calculating in that regard. I want to make a case, i think my colleague, senator reed raised it, the affordable Housing Trust fund, it used to receive Fund Interesting the g. S. E. Revenues as a result of the law. It was tell pore rarely suspended temporarily suspended. And the reality is is that while we now see g. S. E. s once again Generating Positive profits to the point that they pay more to the treasury than they receive, we dont see the allocation going back. This is going to be critical, especially when i think about some of the g. S. E. Reforms that im hearing about and looked at. And how do we still meet the mandate of opportunity and duty to serve. The Affordable Trust fund is clearly an important part of that. Senator toomey. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, director watt. I want to say that i share a concern that was first raised by senator crapo about the danger that we slide back into some variation of the status quo prior to the financial crisis. Im concerned about the current overwhelming dominance of the mortgage mart by the g. S. E. s. I know that the fhfa has addressed this. As recently as earlier this year n both the conservative curveship, Strategic Plan and conservator ship scorecard. One of the goals mentioned in both is to reduce taxpayer risk through increasing the role of private capital in the mortgage market. Quite rightly so in my view. In its 2013 annual report, the fsoc said, and i quote, higher guarantee fees are expected to help facilitate increased participation by the private sector in mortgage markets. The counsel recommends that the fhfa continue these efforts in order to help bring more private capital back into the mortgage finance, end quote. Almost immediately upon being sworn into office, you suspended the planned increases. My question is do you disagree with the fsocs opinion that higher fees would help bring private capital into the market . Im not sure i disagree with it, but i cant tell you that i believe that that is the most important factor about bringing private capital into the market. We are trying to bring capital into the market through risk transfers, through providing attainty, and we are looking setting out a transparent and rational basis for setting gfees. Which is part of our ongoing process. They have a role in this process and we are trying to look at every single one of them in a responsible, deliberative way. You know, hat one, raising g fees is going to bring priv