how would menendez boxer bill remove those barriers? >> appreciate the question. so i can't speak to what the fha denies or doesn't deny. from a practicality perspective we have conversations with gs. on a regular basis. we've looked at the guidelines and understand how they operate. if i'm originating a loan, i have to fully underwrite income, assets, everything associated with it as i would with a normal loan. a servicer does not have to do that. there is no verification of income, no verification of assets. it's a very streamlined process. so it's faster for the servicer but there's also less risk. at the end of the day if we originate a loan and document income and assets and for some reason there's a mistake in that origination process the gse will put that loan back to us. when you take a look at the ltd -- gse on the risk. when you start looking at increasing loan risk to values above 25% you're going to see those loans, somebody under water will have a prior propensity to default. when that happens a person that has more risk such as a new originator today

as outlined in the menendez-boxer discussion draft would actually gave the gses money because of the reduced defaults once mortgage payments are lowered? >> all of our modeling suggests that there would be significant savings to the gses in terms of lower default rates. i think chris mayer here, professor at columbia, testified about specific numbers that he expected that exceeded $20 billion. our expectations of takeup are somewhat lower than his. but still, you're talking about substantial sums that could be saved from lower defaults. >> as a matter of fact, professor mayer at our subcommittee hearing that i chaired a few years ago estimated that the results in gse profits of as much as $23.7 billion. so whether it's your lower range or that range, the reality is you're talking about significant saving taxpayers money and reducing the size of any fiscal challenge in the future. the other question i have is, do you believe that the h.a.r.p. 2 policies, some implemented by gses, some implemented by services themselves, are reducing competition among banks and ultimately decreasing th

. >> i have one last question then shift over to the menendez and boxer legislation we've been talking about. given that a lot of the menendez-boxer proposal has been adopted or addressed through h.a.r.p. 2.0, how many additional homeowners fun, mr. secretary, how many additional homeowners do you estimate would be helped by the menendez-boxer legislation that aren't already being helped by h.a.r.p. 2.0? >> so these kind of predictions where you have a voluntary program as we just talked about are particularly hard to make. and so i'm not going to give you a specific number. what i will tell you is a range. at the very high end, christopher mayer who was here testifying before the committee thought that it would increase refinances by close to 12 million. our expectations are significantly lower than that. there's some who would estimate that it's as low as 1 million. we think that's probably too low. but somewhere in that range, i think it's fair to say millions of homeowners would be able to benefit through refinancing. there are 11 million homeowners who are what we call in the mone

applauds the menendez boxer legislation to not utilize the g fees to pay for. home ownership is inextricably linked to a healthy community and a healthy american economy. this is why the national association of realtors supports any and all efforts that support the ownership in investment and real estate and we so say. >> thank you. doctor, please begin. >> thank you, chairman johnson, senator shelby, corker, goob to be here. >> i'm chief economist at moody's and these are my views. i'm on the board of directors of ngic, a large mortgage insurer in the company. i'll make four points in my remarks. first, policy steps to facilitate more refinancing, i think, are among the most trait forward ways to help the housing market and the economy. both the economy and the housing market are making progress. we're moving in the right direction. but clearly conditions are still very weak and the risks are significant. the threat from europe, fiscal cliff, lots of threats to this very fragile recovery. i think it is important that policymakers continue, think about ways abo

how would the menendez-boxer bill remove those barriers? >> appreciate the question. i cannot speak to what the fhfa denies or does not deny but from a practicality perspective we have conversations with the gses on a regular basis and we looked at the guidelines. we understand how they operate so today i have to do a full underwrite on that transaction. i do fully underwrite an common assets and everything associated with it as they would with a normal loan. the same service or does not do that. there's no verification of income or verification of assets and it's a very streamlined process. there is also less risk because at the end of the day, if we originate loan and document incoming assets and for some reason there is a mistake in the origination process the gses will put that loan back to us. when you take a look at the ltp, when you start looking at at increasing loan-to-value above 125%, you will see that those loans, something goes bump in the night for somebody was underwater they will have a higher propensity to default them and that happens the person and

i do hope we're successful in having a markup on the menendez-boxer bill and hopefully it will happen soon. i know that in any big piece of legislation, 2,400 pages, there's going to be some good attributes. i know from my perspective as we get further and further in the rearview mirror, it's more and more evident to me that in many ways dodd-frank was a political response to a instead of real reform in many ways, and i do hope when this season is over and everybody talking about it being the best thing since sliced bread, will move on to exploring real reforms down the road. mr. tarullo, i do thank you for talking about capital. i think that's our best buffer against financial institutions having trouble, and i think that has been a contribution, and mr. gruenberg, i appreciate you coming in and talking today about orderly liquidation. i do think, mr. chairman, i don't know how many people have gone through the fdic-proposed rules on resolution, but the words liquidation are throughout title two. i know senator warner knows that well, and i think we found that it's anything but liqui

. >> one last question that shift to the menendez boxer legislation we've been talking about. given that a lot of the menendez boxer proposal has been adopted or addressed through t.a.r.p. 20, if you know mr. secretary, how many additional homeowners do you estimate would be held by the menendez boxer legislation that aren't already being hauled by h.a.r.p. 20? >> these predictions for you have a voluntary program as we just talked about are particularly hard to make. so i'm not going to give you a specific number. i will tell you range. at the very high-end, christopher mayer who was here testifying before the committee that it could increase refinances that close to 12 million. our expectations are significantly lower than now. there are some who would estimate it is as low as a million. we think that is probably too low, but somewhere in that range i think it is fair to say that millions of homeowners appealed to benefit your refinancing. as 11 million homeowners who will be called in the many could benefit from the refinance with gse loans that haven't refinanced. we don't

the proposal has been adopted -- menendez-boxer.any additional homeowners do you estimate would be helped by the menendez-boxer legislation that are not already being helped? >> these kinds of predictions where you have a voluntary program are particularly hard to make. i will not give the a specific number. i will tell you a range. at the high-end, christopher mayer thought it could increase refinances by close 12 million. our expectations are lower. some say as low as a million. we think that's probably too low. millions of home owner would be able to benefit. we do not think all of them under the criteria that were laid out -- >> how do you get them to do that? interest rates are at historic lows. the best thing anybody could do was to lower their house payments from 5.5% to 3.6%. that would put money in their pocket every month. they can refinance without penalty. >> they are not allowed to refinance. they may be above water on the first lien but have a second lien that makes it impossible for them to refinance. this would allow

menendez had, and it was a good hearing. i thought we had some good witnesses. for what it is worth, i think there are some redeeming qualities to the boxermenendez bill, also some things that i think certainly need to be changed. mr. chairman, what i am hearing -- i'm hearing rumors that some of these bills may go straight to the floor and not come through the committee. i think you can see by the committee attendance that people have come to think that not much is going to happen here a consequence. we haven't dealt with a technical corrections bill, which i think people on both sides would like to see happen. in the dodd-frank bill, we certainly haven't dealt with the gse. i am pleading with you today to please not let a bill that candidly could receive some bipartisan support go to the floor and turned to something that is certainly not that. i hope that the chairman will not let the rumors that we are hearing become a reality -- any of these bills going directly to the floor and not to the committee. i do want to get back to the secretary. i know you spent time on the ag settlement. i think one of the things that is coming out right

the proposal has been adopted -- menendez-boxer. how many additional homeowners do you estimate would be helped by the menendez-boxer legislation that are not already being helped? >> these kinds of predictions where you have a voluntary program are particularly hard to make. i will not give the a specific number. i will tell you a range. at the high-end, christopher mayer thought it could increase refinances by close 12 millioin. n. our expectations are lower. some say as low as a million. we think that's probably too low. owner would home be able to benefit. we do not think all of them under the criteria that were laid out -- >> how do you get them to do that? interest rates are at historic lows. the best thing anybody could do was to lower their house payments from 5.5% to 3.6%. that would put money in their pocket every month. they can refinance without penalty. >> they are not allowed to to refinance. they may be above water on the first lien but have a second lien that makes it impossible for them to refinance. this would allo

senators menendez and boxer very well a substantive bill that seeks to provide relief and assistance to responsible homeowners. and i hope we can work together to move it forward. >> mr. chairman, before you -- >> yes. >> -- close the hearing. what i said to senator corker as he was leaving -- unfortunately, he had to leave. just for the record, the question -- our legislation does not prevent data collection. it simply does not require it. and there's a fundamental difference. but i look forward to working with him and other members of the committee to get to where we want to be. >> this hearing is adjourned. >>> finishing up this senate banking committee hearing. by the way, you can find out more about this committee or any congressional committee in c-span's congressional directory. there's biographical and contact information for each member of congress along with district maps, committee assignments and more. information on cabinet members, supreme court justices and the nation's governors also included. get your copy for $12.95 plus shipping and handling. order at contraction s

we don't know from our book whether it is menendez or boxer who would take the job -- who would it be? >> i suspect it would be menendez. i do not think to >> i suspect it would be menendez. i do not think boxer wants to give up energy and public works. i doubt she would want to do that. i think kerry's chances of becoming secretary of state increased when susan rice kind of flubbed her media response to the attack in benghazi, and she was already not well liked on the hill among republicans. recently when i saw former senator chuck hagel say nice things about bob kerrey who was re-running in nebraska, i thought, what in it be an interesting choice for the president to make? someone who was a longtime member of the foreign relations committee and who is very smart and diplomatic, which obviously have to be for the job. that is just me speculating. but for what it is worth. >> i have a question. i continue to be just dumbfounded that senator mcconnell made the statement about his number one priority to be to deny obama a second term. not that he would think that, but he would say it. t

do you know concern we don't know from our book whether it would be menendez or boxer who would talk who would take the job. who would it be? >> i don't know. >> okay. [laughter] >> i suspect it would be menendez. i don't think boxer wants to give up the environment and public works committee. >> too much power. >> i find it hard to believe she would want to do that. but i've got to say, i think kerry's chances of becoming secretary of state increased when susan rice kind of flubbed her response, her media response, i should say, to the attack in benghazi. i mean, she was already not well liked on the hill amongst republicans. but i also recently when i saw chuck hagel, former senator chuck hagel saying nice things about bob kerrey who was rerunning in nebraska, i thought to myself,huh, wouldn't that be an interesting choice for the president to make? someone who was a longtime member of the foreign relations committee and who is very smart and diplomatic which, obviously, you have to be for that job. anyway, that's just me speculating, but for what it's worth. >> shout it out. other

we don't know from our book whether it is menendez or boxer who would take the job -- who would it be? >> i suspect it would be menendez. i do not think to >> i suspect it would be menendez. i do not think boxer wants to give up energy and public works. i doubt she would want to do that. i think kerry's chances of becoming secretary of state increased when susan rice kind of flubbed her media response to the attack in benghazi, and she was already not well liked on the hill among republicans. recently when i saw former senator chuck hagel say nice things about bob kerrey who was re-running in nebraska, i thought, what in it be an interesting choice for the president to make? someone who was a longtime member of the foreign relations committee and who is very smart and diplomatic, which obviously have to be for the job. that is just me speculating. but for what it is worth. >> i have a question. i continue to be just dumbfounded that senator mcconnell made the statement about his number one priority to be to deny obama a second term. not that he would think that, but he would say it. t

hearing in the housing and transportation subcommittee two weeks ago, senator menendez outlined legislation and senator boxer are working on to expand refinancing opportunity for the borrowers. i look forward te further discussion of that legislation and anio proposals today? >> as stated during our state of the housing market hearings on this topic, i share the concern that ongoing challenges and the housing market are acting as a drag on economic recovery. as we have heard many times in this committee, there isn't a silver bullet solution that will save the housing plarkt, but several options implemented together would provide stability to the market. i hope that this committee can work in a bipartisan fashion to find practical solutions to help overcome the barriers that are weighing down our housing recovery. with that, i'll turn to senator shelby. >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome again, secretary donovan. you've been up here a lot and we appreciate it. today the committee will consider ways to aid our troubled housing market by expanding refinancing opportunities. and while this topic is timely, i th

i do hope we are successful in having a markup on the menendez-boxer bill. i know that in any big piece of legislation, 2400 pages, there will be some good attributes. from my perspective, as we get further and further, it is more evident to me that in many ways, dodd-frank was a political response to -- instead of real reform in so many ways and i do hope that when this season is over, everybody talking about it being the best thing since sliced bread, we will move on to exploring some real reforms that are down the road. i do thank you for talking about capital. i do think that that is the best buffer against financial institutions having trouble and i think that has been a contribution. i appreciate your coming in and talking about orderly liquidation. i do think, mr. chairman, i do not know how many people have gone through the proposed rules on resolutions, but the words of liquidation are throughout title ii and senator warner knows that well. it is anything but liquidation. it is dealing with holding companies. these institutions will continue. again,

boxer. >> thank you so much. we're going to go senator menendez. please. >> thank you, madam chair and to all distinguished members of the conference. you know, we need to pass this bill quickly in order to generate and protect two to three million jobs. we need to pass this bill quickly to boost our economy in the short term and protect an essential asset for every business in america in the longer term. and from my perspective we also need a bill that will protect dedicated transit funding. by way of example, this is true for hundreds of millions of people across the country but new jersey transit hosts 250 million passenger trips each year and therefore it's essential to my state's economy but also true for many states throughout the country and we worked hard, i worked hard with senators johnson and shelby to develop a robust transit title. and that passed unanimously out of the banking committee and we'll work from text that in this conference. but we all know that the senate transportation bill by virtue of what happened both in committees an

in october, senators boxer, menendez, cardin and i sent a letter to the ambassador for the united states susan rice urging that the syrian government be referred to the international criminal court for possible indictment for war crimes. certainly, the evidence for such charges is overwhelming and continues to this day. assad has paid lip service to reforms like the sham constitutional referendum last sunday, and the document's most important changes included giant caveats that they would, in effect, maintain the status quo as it exists in syria. one example is assad's introduction of presidential term limits to two terms of seven years each, that the clock wouldn't start until assad's current term expires in 2013, giving him 14 more years in office, a total of 28 years? incomprehensible. secretary clinton described the referendum as a cynical ploy to say the least. on february 7, the senate unanimously passed a resolution strongly condemning the government of syria's brutal and unjustifiable use of force against civilians, including unarmed women and children, its violations of the fund

other purposes signed by 17, reid, harkin, bingaman, gillibrand, leahy, sanders, inouye, cardin, boxer, menendezcasey and mikulski. mr. reid: i have an at the desk at the language proposed to be stricken. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid proposes amendment 2810 to the amendment proposed to be stricken by amendment 2889. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid proposes amendment number 2811 to amendment number 2810. mr. reid: i have a motion to commit with instructions. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid moves to commit the bill s. 3457 to the committee on veterans' affairs with instructions to report back forthwith the following amendment numbered 2812. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding offi

boxer. going to go to senator menendez. >> we need to pass this bill quickly to generate and protect 3 million jobs. we need to pass this bill quickly to boost our economy in the short term and protect an essential asset for every business in america in the longer-term. we also need a bill that will protect dedicated transit funding. by way of example, this is true for hundreds of millions of people across the country. users the trans the hosts 250 million -- new jersey transit hosts 250 million transit passengers a year. we have worked hard with senators to develop a robust transit title that passed unanimously out of the banking committee. we will work to protect that in this conference. we know the senate transportation bill, by virtue of what happened in committee and on the floor, is supported by senate democrats, senate republicans, and house democrats. the only question is whether the house republican colleagues will also work in a constructive way to pass the bill. after years of work, we are on the cusp of giving our states, businesses, and workers they need to make infrastructure inv

conferees on the part of the senate: the clerk: senators boxer, baucus, rockefeller, durbin, johnson of south dakota, schumer, nelson of florida, menendez, inhofe, vitter, hatch, shell bi, hutchison, and hoeven. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 1925, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 32 -- motion to proceed to s. 1-9d 25, a bill to reauthorize the violence against women act of 1994. mrs. boxer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: mr. president, i am very pleased with just -- with what just happened at the desk for those who didn't follow it, the majority leader, senator reid, and senator mcconnell just basically named the conferees so that we can get moving with the house and settle our differences and move forward with a very important transportation bill. we all know how hard it's been on the construction industry. we all know that the housing crisis has made it very difficult for our construction workers to get work. we all know that at that same moment that we ha have this real problem

cosponsors of this legislation, including senator blumenthal, nor boxer, senator gillibrand, senator lautenberg, senator levin, senator menendezsenator mikulski, senator harry reid, senator stabenow and senator mark udall. i thank my cosponsors for joining me in this legislation. this legislation would make it clear that racial profiling will not be allowed in this country. racial profiling is un-american. it's against the values of our nation. it's contrary to the 14th amendment of the constitution which provides for equal protection under the law. it's counterproductive. it doesn't keep us safe. you're using valuable police resources in a way that is wasting those resources. it's sloppy police work. if you try to identify a problem by race rather than looking for good police work to identify the real perpetrator of a crime. it also creates a mistrust in the community that you're trying to protect. a community who you need to help you, cooperate with you as far as keeping a community safe. so for all those reasons, racial profiling should have no place in modern law enforcement. we need a national law. mr. president, i was im

boxer, for what you've done this morning and what you will do. and once again, i can only say to senator gillibrand, senator schumer, senator menendez, senator lautenberg and others, our prayers are with you and your constituents. you suffered grievously. thank you. >> senator, thank you so much, and we will work with you as we get this water bill to the floor. senator schumer, we are so honored to have you here as well and to be part of this record. so, please, you're recognized for ten minutes followed by senator menendez. >> thank you. first, madam chair, let me thank you so much for having this hearing, for your caring and compassion. as you mentioned, you were on the phone with us the minute sandy hit, and, you know, i feel so good about several things in this committee, many things. but the fact that you are chair of the committee and you are such a good legislator and so compassionate about these things gives us some hope. the fact that senator vitter has shown an active role in many areas and has been through this makes us feel good about it. and the fact that both senator gillibrand and senator lautenberg are on the committee as well as senato

again, thank you, chairwoman boxer for which he done this morning and what you will do. once again, i can only say to senator gillibrand, menendezsenator lott or 10 others, our prayers are with you and your constituents. >> senator, thank you so much good will work with the u.s. to get this to the floor. senator schumer, we are so honored to have you here as well and should be part of this record. so please can you recognize for 10 minutes followed by senator s. >> first, madam chair, let me thank you so much for having us here and, for your caring and compassion. .. a little bit of a knot in my stomach thinking about what just happened. and it is devastating. the first day after the storm i flew in a helicopter with the governor. you can see the breath of -- the breadth of the damage. so wide. there is some much. this island, l.i. as 7 million people. many of them live right on the south shore. breezy point to long beach, all the way of. and you saw how broad a was. and then with that -- the two weeks as recently as monday before we came down here we are touring the areas. and you see the depth of it. i was on staten island mon

boxer and i are working on now. again, thanks to all of you and i'm certainly all ears. >> thank you. i would if i could, senator menendez has a time crunch would you allow him? thank you. senator you have been such a champion for the people of new jersey so thank you for joining us this morning. we're happy to hear your opening remark. >> thank you for the opportunity and thank you for coming to new jersey with several of our colleagues and touring the devastation along the jersey shore. i want to thank senator vitter who is on his way to join us and you feel, the weather has deviated his flight. >> he has a wonderful tour of the airport. >> it looks better than what you would have seen in new jersey. so thank you for your effort. madame chair you and senator vitter are no strangers to natural disasters and you have been an important friend and all lie in understanding the lessons of katrina. this is the worst natural disaster that my state has ever faced. it took houses from their foundations, it changed the typography of the coastline, it devastated some of the most densely populated communities in the country, and it

boxer and i are working on now. again, thanks to all of you and i'm certainly all ears. >> thank you. i would if i could, senator menendez has a time crunch would you allow him? thank you. senator you have been such a champion for the people of new jersey so thank you for joining us this morning. we're happy to hear your opening remark. >> thank you for the opportunity and thank you for coming to new jersey with several of our colleagues and touring the devastation along the jersey shore. i want to thank senator vitter who is on his way to join us and you feel, the weather has deevevated his flight. >> he has a wonderful tour of the airport. >> it looks better than what you would have seen in new jersey. so thank you for your effort. madame chair you and senator vitter are no strangers to natural disasters and you have been an important friend and all lie in understanding the lessons of katrina. this is the worst natural disaster that my state has ever faced. it took houses from their found dations, it changed the typeography of the coastline, it devastated some of the most densely populated communities in the country, i

menendez-burr, 1782. coats 1517, brown 1819, blunt 1540, merkley 161563, portman 1763, kobe char 1718, shaheen 1678, portman 174 , corker 1810, carper 1670, hutchison 1658, alexander 1779, boxer 1816 and paul 1556. on thursday, march 8 at a time to be determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the republican leader the senate proceed to vote on the amendments in the order listed, following amendments be subject to a 60 affirmative throat threshold, vitter 1535, collins 1660, coburn 1738, knell bi-landrieu 1822, wyden 1815, mcconnell or designee side by side to stabenow 1812, stabenow 1812, demint 1589, menendez-burr 1782, that there be no other amendments in order to the bill other than the manager's package, no points of order or motions in order to any of these amendments other than the budget points of order and the applicable motions to waive. that it be in order for a manager's package considered and if approved by the energies and the two leaders, that the two managers are senators boxer and inhofe. and that be in order for a meergs package considered and if approved by the managers, and the two leaders the managers' package be agreed to, the bill be rea