Chairman Moore, thank you for holding today’s hearing, and I look forward to working with you and all the members of this subcommittee during the 111th Congress. 
 
I welcome today’s witnesses, and thank them for sharing their expertise with us today. 
 
I’m sorely disappointed that the Department of Treasury didn’t produce a witness for this hearing.  I believe, Mr. Chairman, that we are sending a letter to Secretary Geithner demanding an explanation of why a witness was not produced to testify at this hearing, and we would invite other colleagues to join us. 
 
Treasury has yet to answer critical questions about the trillions of taxpayer dollars being expended through TARP.  Showing up with no answers is unacceptable, which has been the case in Treasury’s most recent appearances before our Committee.  But not showing up at all is both disrespectful to the American people and an abandonment of duty.
 
It’s this lack of communication that has most angered the people who pay the bills – the American taxpayers.  Granted, there’s plenty of communication out there about the alleged misuse of TARP funds – lavish parties and corporate jets and expensive retreats.  But what do we hear of TARP funds that have been put to good use?  Not enough.   It’s no small wonder there’s a lack of confidence in the program.   
 
American taxpayers trusted federal leaders who asked them to front trillions of dollars to prop-up the financial and auto industries on the verge of collapse and homeowners facing foreclosure.  But they have questions that deserve answers. 
 
What’s the strategy?  Where has the money gone and is it working?  What benchmarks have been set to determine success or failure?  Are we throwing good American tax-dollars after bad in this TARP program? 
 
It’s five months since enactment of TARP, and we’re still waiting for answers.  We still need evidence that TARP excludes unscrupulous lenders and bad actors.  We still need to know that TARP funds aren’t being sent to the same folks who engaged in unsound lending practices that were the source of our problems from the beginning.  
 
I hope that today’s witnesses can help us better understand what mechanisms Treasury needs to put in place to weed out bad actors and not reward bad behavior.
 
But my constituents are sick and tired of bail-outs.  They’ve paid their mortgages on time.  They’ve saved and invested for the future.  They’ve worked hard and paid their bills and taxes.  Now they continue to see the federal money fly out the door and they want answers. 
 
Granted, we all understand that many people face foreclosure due to traditional reasons: loss of a job, death in the family, medical issues.  Some were the unfortunate victims of loose lending standards and predatory lending. 
 
But there are many homeowners who overextended themselves, can’t afford their home even with federal assistance, lied about their income on the loan application, flip properties for profit, or were part of a mortgage fraud ring. 
 
Is it fair to take money from all the other homeowners and taxpayers to help this latter group of homeowners?  I don’t think so -- it’s certainly not fair to all of those Americans who are working hard to make ends meet without a break or a bailout.
 
I hope that today’s witness can discuss ways that the Administration should follow through with its commitment: that TARP funds -- or any taxpayer funds -- be used solely for responsible homeowners.
 
And what’s the exit strategy?  I don’t know about everyone else in this room, but my constituents don’t want the federal government -- big brother -- owning, operating, and footing the bill for banks, auto companies, insurance companies and everything in between.  America is not pro-socialism; we’re pro-democracy and pro-free-market.  Additionally, our national debt is rising at an unprecedented rate, and we cannot afford to pass down this burden to future generations of Americans. 
 
With that, I conclude and look forward to hearing from our witnesses.