texas republican jeb hensarling worries that recommendations such as more stress testing, more monitoring and more disclosure could require more of taxpayers money. the new gm is breaking ranks... and going on the offensive... unveiling its new product line up for the next 2 years.... something that usually doesn't happen well before the auto shows... it's gm's first announcement since restructuring... as the company tries to get people excited about its cars.. and industry experts say this time gm just may be abl to accomplish that. "the volt is becoming very real very fast." focusing on small cars.. cross overs... and fuel efficiency... is the new game plan for general motors... this week - gm touted 6 new models... that are on sale now.. or will be by the end of the year... they inclue: the buick lacrosse sedan... cadillac srx... and sts wagon...chevy camero.. chevy equinox and gmc terrain. from now until 2011 - gm will have a *total of 25 new car models... including 5 from cadillac... 10 from buick and gmc... and 10 from chevy... industry insiders say this new lineup has a good chance

we'll talk about that with congressman greg meeks, republican congressman judd hensarling. some eye popping budget figures.  >>> i'm looking forward to being a foot soldier in this undertaking. this time we will not fail. >> senator ted kennedy back in march at a health care summit. the senator was a champion of this issue on capitol hill. now health care reform, of course, as you know at this crossroads joining us with their perspective. congressman meeks and hensarling, members of the budget committees and congressional oversight panel. gentlemen, good morning to you both. it's tough to hear that sound. he did see himself playing a role. some are asking this morning, is there a way his memory can play a role in the weeks to come? >> i think his memory definitely will. this is his life's mission. as he said, we will not fail. i think president obama said that last week, that we will pass a health care reform bill. and i would hope this would cause individuals, especially on the senate side, as well as the house, to sit down like never before to try to make sure we pass a

. >> now, there is a dissenter on the panel, texas republican congressman jeff hensarling believes this report is almost a defacto stalking post perhaps targeting smaller banks. we did make several calls to get a response from the community pankers association today. those calls and e-mails were not returned. >> thank you, hampton. let's talk more about whether or not small banks should get a helping hand. joining us is cassandra teroy and stephen hagan buckle, managing partner at tara cap partners. also on the board of a small bank, landmark bank in ft. lauderdale. stephen, you're on the board of a small bank. do you need a handout? >> no, we don't. i think getting into banking was made too easy when we started landmark bank 11 years ago, you only needed $5 million and someone with a banking background. i think today the challenge is that a lot of these smaller community banks took on very risky loans. the reason we don't need any helping hand is because we did not do any developer or builder loans or any residential loans. and as a result of that, we're the second most profitable bank

hensarling: i thank the gentleman for yielding. cash for clunkers, mr. speaker.bviously it's a popular program. it's a clever title. it pays people several thousand dollars to trade in their old cars if they buy new cars. and, yes, yes, mr. speaker, people are hurting in the auto industry. there's no doubt about it. but i would also note that the taxpayers are hurting. $80 billion to chrysler and g.m., and the auto industry, the auto industry does not have a monopoly on hard times in this economy. recently one of the largest poultry producers in america, pilgrim's pride, just a few miles outside of my congressional district, they had to declare chapter 11. maybe we should have a cash for cluckers program and pay people to eat chicken. then after that we can have a program to pay people to buy tv's and then a program to pay people to buy lumber. it would pass the test. it has a clever title. it would help a large industry. it would put free money in the hands of consumers, but this is not, this is not a humorous affair, mr. speaker. and it's not humorous because t

hensarling of texas for two minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman.nk you for calling this hearing. obviously very important issues for us to consider. there is no doubt each of us know what a critical role the insurance industry plays in our economy today. however, i am not sold on the believe that anyone insurance company is necessarily an agent of systemic risk to the entire economy. and if i did believe that, it and i can think of no greater self fulfilling prophecy and to designate a firm and a systemically risky. then it becomes systemically risky and we know what happens after that. $173 billion of taxpayer money later, aig essentially become a conduit for transferring of taxpayer wealth to counterparties, some which include foreign entities. congress has to be very, very careful about introducing moral hazard into the equation even more than it already exists. we simply cannot enshrine a too big to fail bailout policy. there is a huge difference between the government walking in and bailing out an individual institution, and having emergency p

republican, the big government here right now is certainly possible, and i think what congressman hensarling trying to say is look, you're putting your hands in places maybe they ought not be. and i think their hope is they are in the minority, so pretty large minority in the house. they might have a huge say in it but their hope is they at least keep that in mind that you need to keep private industry private. >> lawmakers also explored the idea of improving oversight of the insurance industry as part of this regulatory overhaul. how does that fit into it? >> it's going to be tough. it is an industry that i think for years people have said something needs to be done. were not really sure what. there's been a lot of proposals. most of the big national firms are hoping for an optional federal charter type thing where they would be able to be regulated on a national basis instead of just a state-by-state basis as the industry currently is. obviously come with aig issues, it is a monster and sure which has been the poster child for things gone wrong over the last couple of years. the impetus is