▶ 0:20:31Chair Scott: I will call our hearing this morning to order and good morning to everyone and thank you for being here. I sound like I am hearing and echo.
▶ 0:20:40Sen. Warren: But it is good.
▶ 0:20:42Chair Scott: At the beginning it is really good but you can get tired of it. So. Are you going to get that straightened out? Good. Can you hear me ok? Good. Ok. I want to begin by welcoming each of our nominees and thanking you for your willingness to serve.
▶ 0:21:09Chair Scott: Public service is never easy, especially at a time when the democrats seem more focused on political gains and shutdown theatrics than on governing through regular order. As a matter of fact, the four of you will have one thing in common that will stop you from getting nearly a single democrat vote, you are not in -- you were nominated by donald j. Trump, plain and simple.
▶ 0:21:34Chair Scott: I hear qualifications enemy -- not your qualifications, amazing stories or quality -- or loyalty to the country. Only one thing stands in your way. Even though frankly, you, I think went through unanimous consent last time. Times have changed since you have been here. I thank you for your willingness to continue to serve.
▶ 0:22:00Chair Scott: Each of you has stepped forward at a critical moment for our country, and I appreciate your commitment to serving the american people. Today's hearing is more then confirming individuals to posts but making sure that the institutions that drive our economy, bolster our housing market and grow our global footprint are effective and focused on expanding opportunity for hard-working families across this remarkable nation.
▶ 0:22:29Chair Scott: The agencies represented today touch the daily lives of americans in ways that often go unseen, but are deeply felt. From the homes we buy, to the money we use, to the job supported by american exports, Mr. gormley and Mr. cassidy your leadership will be central to ensuring that our housing finance system remain stable, fair, and accessible. Millions of families dream of owning a home.
▶ 0:23:00Chair Scott: I know we did. And that dream must be rooted in sound policy that protects borrowers and taxpayers. I am hopeful that under your guidance, these agencies will strengthen access to affordable housing while maintaining fiscal responsibility that working families expect. Acting chairman hill, your role at the fdic is equally critical.
▶ 0:23:24Chair Scott: The deposit insurance fund is one of the bed rocks of confidence in our banking system. Safeguarding that fund and the trust of million of's -- millions of depositors requires accountability and good judgment and I look forward to hearing your perspective on regulatory reform efforts including reputational risk and returning the focus of bank exams to the core principles of safety and soundness. Mr.
▶ 0:23:51Chair Scott: Hollis, as director of the U.S. manned, you will oversee an institution fundamental to the integrity of our currency. Americans trust that when they hold a dollar, it represents strength and stability. Maintaining that confidence is essential to our economic leadership at home and abroad.
▶ 0:24:18Chair Scott: Together, these nominees represent an opportunity to restore trust in government institutions and deliver results that improve people's everyday lives. At the heart of this committee's work is a simple but powerful principle, every family deserves a fair shot at building a better life. That means, sound markets, they are rules, and leadership that puts people and not politics first.
▶ 0:24:48Chair Scott: I look forward to working with my colleagues to move these nominations forward, so that these nominees can get to work on behalf of the american people. Thank you for being with us today and I look forward to your testimony. Ranking member.
▶ 0:25:02Sen. Warren: Thank you and let us take stock of where we are today. The federal government has been shut down for 30 days because of president trump's refusal to negotiate so that millions of families do not lose their health care. As a candidate for president, donald trump promised to lower costs for american families on day one. It is now day 283, and the price of groceries is up. The price of utilities is up.
▶ 0:25:34Sen. Warren: The price of housing is up, and republicans are pushing the price of health care through the stratosphere. We should be focusing on the rising costs for american families. Instead we are meeting today to consider another slate of president trump's nominees, who I fear will do nothing more than rubberstamp trump's agenda. My concerns are not political. My concerns are substantive. Mr. gormley and Mr.
▶ 0:26:02Sen. Warren: Cassidy have been nominated to lead critical parts of the housing finance system, and at a time when the trump administration is proposing to upper end the housing finance market -- up end the mortgage -- the housing market we need mortgage creditors dedicated to the interest of homebuyers. In their current consent -- positions these two nominees have advanced policies that increase cost and dismantle protections for american families.
▶ 0:26:33Sen. Warren: Mr. hollis has been nominated to lead the mint, at a time when the president is cosplaying king and seeking to put his face on a one dollar coin. I have questions about these nominees' willingness to follow the law, and I will have extensive questions for the record for each of them. I have a very serious concern about Mr. hill. Mr.
▶ 0:27:00Sen. Warren: Hill, who has served as acting chairman of the fbi see since january -- fdic since january has been nominated to a full term. The job is to ensure the safety and soundness of the banking system and Mr. hill has done nothing but relax oversight of the giant banks, and we know where that leads. It puts taxpayers, the economy and the financial system at risk.
▶ 0:27:28Sen. Warren: I also have questions about his commitment to improving the fdic workplace culture. In 2023 public reporting shed light on serious allegations of long-standing sexual harassment, discrimination, and other misconduct spanning decades. And outside review validated many of these problems.
▶ 0:27:51Sen. Warren: When the former fdic chair first appeared in front of this committee last year, I was clear that it was his responsibility to fix this and called on him to implement all of the independent review's recommendations. Now, that is the responsibility of Mr. hill. Mr.
▶ 0:28:12Sen. Warren: Hill was a senior fdic executive from 2019 until 2020 two, serving under chairman delina mcwilliams prior to her sudden resignation amidst a department of justice inquiry. According to public records, this was a time when the toxic culture flourished. There is no record, not at of Mr.
▶ 0:28:37Sen. Warren: Hill or chairman mcwilliams addressing these pervasive issues before they came to light in 2023. 2024, under the biden administration the fbi -- the fbi seaboard made a series of efforts to improve culture including establishing a new office of professional conduct. The board, including Mr. hill was very active in monitoring the transformation efforts. Mr.
▶ 0:29:06Sen. Warren: Hill at that time called it a top priority of the board. But, Mr. hill has said little on the issue after becoming acting chair of the fdic. And, the fbi see has yet to root -- fdic has yet to respond to my questions. I expect answers before we vote on this nomination.
▶ 0:29:30Sen. Warren: The public deserves to know what progress has been made to improve fdic's culture and whether your interest is genuine or only exist as part of an effort to stymie the agency's work when there is a democrat as president. Now, there was supposed to be a fifth nominee in front of us today, president trump's nominee to be the first vice president and vice chair of the board.
▶ 0:30:02Sen. Warren: He withdrew his nomination to be the first vice president and the vice chair of its board after I raise concerns about his ties to a u.k. Sanctioned russian company. Let me be clear. Withdrawing the nomination is not enough. Mr. mcferrin should resign from his current position at acxiom. He simply should not be there. Thank you Mr. chairman and I yield back.
▶ 0:30:31Chair Scott: Thank you in before we go to the witnesses, and do five-minute comments, the chairman of the finance committee has a responsibility on the floor so I will give you two minutes to make an opening statement. >> thank you very much and I appreciate you breaking with the process to allow me to do this and I have to get back to the floor. Mr.
▶ 0:30:54Chair Scott: Chairman, it is my honor to be here today because travis hill, one of president trump's nominees to serve as the chair of the federal deposit insurance corporation worked for me and for this banking committee when I was the chair of the committee and did outstanding work in developing legislation that has been significantly critical for our banking industry. And, then when he went to the fdic, gave great advice and support.
▶ 0:31:23Chair Scott: Contrary to what the ranking member's comments were about him, he has been a strong and powerful leader in the banking and fdic world and has provided solid legislative leadership and now solid regulatory leadership. He has been at the fdic since 2018 where he served as deputy for the chairman to policy and senior advisor.
▶ 0:31:49Chair Scott: In this role -- in these roles he advised on dilatory and policy initiatives including the implementation of the economic growth act of 2018. In 2023 he was sworn in as a vice chairman after being confirmed unanimously by the senate. He provided steady leadership as the agency faced challenges related to the failure of silicon valley bank and the revelations of workplace misconduct. Beyond his professional qualifications he has well-liked and respected by his colleagues.
▶ 0:32:20Chair Scott: He has the experience and demeanor to continue driving change. President trump made an excellent choice in selecting him, and I look forward to supporting his nomination.
▶ 0:32:29Chair Scott: Thank you. I will now swear in the nominees. If you would please stand, rise and raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god?
▶ 0:32:54Chair Scott: Do you agree to appear and testify any -- before any duly testify community -- committee of the senate? You may sit down. Your written statements will make -- will be made part of the record entirely. Please keep your comments to five minutes. Mr. gormley, you are recognized.
▶ 0:33:14Mr. Gormley: Thank you chairman, ranking member and distinguished members of this committee. I am honored and grateful to be nominated by the president. I would also like to thank my family and friends, many of whom are in attendance today and I deeply appreciate it.
▶ 0:33:35Mr. Gormley: The government national mortgage association plays an unique role by guaranteeing the primate -- the timely payment of payments on mortgage-backed securities and these are made up of guaranteed loans such as the one from the federal housing administration, v.a. Loan guarantee program usda housing service and the service of public and indian housing.
▶ 0:33:58Mr. Gormley: It is backed by the full faith and credit of the united states protects investors from credit risk and attracts global capital which enables affordable homeownership and rental opportunities. Overseeing a portfolio of approximately 2.8 trillion dollars, the president provides leadership in overseeing the mission, overseeing policy development, risk management and operations to support stability and efficiency.
▶ 0:34:27Mr. Gormley: The president also plays a key role in outreach across the housing finance system including with government agencies, investors. Issuers and other important stakeholders. After graduating from boston college and receiving my law degree, I spent my entire professional career working on financial service issues with much of that experience working on government insured funding programs.
▶ 0:34:54Mr. Gormley: I currently serve as the executive vice president and chief operating officer where I am responsible for the day-to-day operations. In the first trump administration I served in several senior roles at the department of housing and urban development including as a deputy assistant secretary of single-family housing. We were able to make great strides in improving and making that program more efficient.
▶ 0:35:18Mr. Gormley: I have experience in the private sector serving on the executive team of a large mortgage servicer and I've a good understanding of the many challenges those companies face. Early in her -- earlier I served as counsel working on consumer financial compliance issues and have a thorough appreciation for the important roles of compliance and oversight.
▶ 0:35:40Mr. Gormley: If confirmed as president, I will draw on all of these experiences to ensure that the organization fulfills its mission of providing low-cost financing and ultimately making the american dream of homeownership more accessible and affordable for the american people. Thank you and I look forward to answering your questions.
▶ 0:35:58Chair Scott: Thank you. Mr. cassidy.
▶ 0:36:00Mr. Cassidy: Chairman scott, ranking member, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. It is the owner of a lifetime. If confirmed, I look forward to partnering with this committee to help more americans achieve the dream of homeownership. I want to thank president donald j.
▶ 0:36:23Mr. Cassidy: Trump for the confidence he has placed in me through this nomination and secretary turner for his steadfast support, friendship and leadership he brings to the mission. As the current principal documents -- deputy assistant principal secretary for housing I see the dedication and professionalism of the office of housing and the federal housing administration team. The progress we have made to date has been wonderful and I am humbled by the opportunity to continue that work should I be confirmed.
▶ 0:36:52Mr. Cassidy: I want to thank my mother, family, and friends for their constant encouragement and I am grateful that they could join me here today. I am proud to be a graduate of lasalle high school's motto continues to guide me.
▶ 0:37:06Mr. Cassidy: I am honored that the president james butler is here today to see the values that they instilled in me for serving others and I would like to thank my wife, grace and she has been my rock and supportive through every step of those transition from the private sector to public service. As might be up -- many members know public service is not a personal calling but a family sacrifice.
▶ 0:37:31Mr. Cassidy: She has embraced that with resilience on neighbor -- unwavering face and shared purpose. I am profoundly grateful for all she has done as we welcome the greatest blessing of all, are happy and healthy daughter. They remind me daily that behind every housing policy are real families like mine who deserve opportunity and stability. While our housing challenges are great I am confident that together we can meet this moment.
▶ 0:37:59Mr. Cassidy: I joined hud after spending my career in the private sector where I finance billions of dollars of working with members of multifamily senior and health care properties. That gave me a deep appreciation for the role that fha plays in supporting how -- housing and approach to credit. Fha is deeply personal to me. While in college I plan to rent an off-campus townhouse but the owner offered me a chance to buy it.
▶ 0:38:30Mr. Cassidy: With insured mortgage I became a homeowner in 20 years old and that experience gave me a first-hand understanding of the wealth building power of homeownership that is the kind of opportunity I want to expand for more americans. My late father would only -- would always tell me the only way to be successful in life is to help others. That lesson continues to guide me in this work. The chance to lead fha and the office of housing is truly the honor of my career.
▶ 0:38:58Mr. Cassidy: It allows me to serve my country by drawing on lessons I learned in my prior life and to work hand-in-hand with the lenders and policymakers that know the strengths and challenges of our programs. I fully recognize that there is plenty of both, and that is why I focused on making steady and meaningful progress to improve programs for americans who rely on the fha.
▶ 0:39:22Mr. Cassidy: My top priority is to streamline and modernize loan programs, remove unnecessary barriers so transactions move faster, costs fall and practitioners can build more homes. As one example within my first month, I initiated an express lane in our health care program for applications that meet strict underwriting criteria, this accelerates the review and approval timelines reducing processing times to weeks.
▶ 0:39:50Mr. Cassidy: In our single-family program we have implemented policy rescissions that will cut red tape of the programs and more effectively deliver on the priority to reduce the cost of homeownership for americans. The policies that we rescinded were unnecessary, burdensome and directly increase the cost of homeownership. At the same time our commitment to protecting the safety and soundness of the fha is ironclad. We have taken steps to mitigate risk and our capital ratio remains well above the congressionally mandated 2%.
▶ 0:40:22Mr. Cassidy: These are just a few examples with more work ahead. Serving as a dream job and thank you to secretary turner who is restoring the mission driven focus advancing self-sufficiency and revitalizing communities nationwide. We cannot do it alone. We'll progress depends on strong partnerships with congress, the housing sector and all stakeholders who make housing opportunity possible.
▶ 0:40:48Mr. Cassidy: I applaud this committee's bipartisan work on housing policy and your continued engagement. Together you can expect -- we can expand opportunity and help americans achieve the dream of homeownership. Thank you chairman scott, ranking member warren and members of the committee. I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:41:06Chair Scott: Mr. hollis.
▶ 0:41:07Mr. Hollis: Chairman, ranking member and distinguished members of the committee it is an honor to appear before you as you consider my nomination. I would like to thank president trump for the opportunity to serve our nation and I would also like to thank secretary bessent for his confidence in me.
▶ 0:41:29Mr. Hollis: I am grateful to the members and staff of this committee who have taken the time to meet with me and I appreciate these opportunities to discuss your priorities. If confirmed, I look forward to working together. I would like to thank my family, my daughter is here with me. She is in her senior year at the university of alabama where she has a straight a student. She has never made a b in her entire life. Also my son is here with me. He is also a straight a student.
▶ 0:41:59Mr. Hollis: And last month he was elected student body vice president. I am joined by my two brothers as well as friends and associates. One of my earliest and most visit -- vivid memories dates back to when I was seven years old and my grandmother gave me a coin that she had saved during the great depression. That left a lasting impression that quietly steered the course of my life. I keep the coin she gave me nearly half a century ago as a tribute to her.
▶ 0:42:32Mr. Hollis: I keep it in my pocket for every important milestone in my life. It is here with me today along with a catalog of coins that I made when I was only eight years old. Our nation's coinage is more than just metal and the coins encapsulate america's history. Every coin carries with it a thoughtfully crafted design rooted in our shared heritage. As a child I was joined -- drawn to these links between our past and present.
▶ 0:43:02Mr. Hollis: While our classmates would give reports on babe ruth or amelia earhart I would speak about david rittenhouse, the first director of the united states mint. From an early age, coins were never just money, they were tangible links to our nation's history and a childhood passion that grew into a lifelong pursuit. Over the past 30 years I have built a respective career in new ways -- and. -- neumastics.
▶ 0:43:35Mr. Hollis: I have publics -- published a book in a coinage and have shared the power of coins with audiences nationwide. My public service includes tent -- 12 years as a state representative and louisiana state legislature and I was elected in 2023 as one of eight elected members of the louisiana state board of education.
▶ 0:43:58Mr. Hollis: These have sharpened my ability to unify diverse voices, navigate complex systems and to deliver results within tight guidelines and timelines and as my background illustrates I have spent a lifetime preparing for the role of director of the united states mint. Throughout my career I have demonstrated the ability to build coalitions and also to inspire trust, and I will bring that same energy, optimism and leadership style to the next chapter.
▶ 0:44:27Mr. Hollis: If confirmed I am committed to guiding the united states mint, a multifaceted organization with responsibility expanding production, design, marketing and more. And to also strive for additional efficiencies. If confirmed I will work diligently so I can return to congress in the future and share an annual report that delivers a significant transfer to treasury.
▶ 0:44:51Mr. Hollis: As we approach america's 250th anniversary it is vital that we have a passionate bassett are for our circulating coinage and commemorative issues. My passion and experience that spans many decades has put me to energize audiences, share captivating stories behind our coinage and to promote new designs with enthusiasm and vision. If confirmed, I am confident that I could leave the united states mint through this exciting and vital time in our nation's history.
▶ 0:45:25Mr. Hollis: With decades of public service and a lifelong dedication I am or eight to bring my leadership to an institution as iconic and essential as a united states mint. If confirmed, I will be truly honored to serve. Thank you for your time and I look forward to answering your questions.
▶ 0:45:41Chair Scott: Thank you. Mr. hill.
▶ 0:45:43Mr. Hill: Thank you chairman, ranking member and members of the committee. It is an honor to have been nominated by president trump to serve as chairman of the board of directors of the federal deposit insurance corporation. Joining me this morning are my wife and children. My son is busy in preschool. I am also joined by my parents, who are visiting from new york. I am continually grateful for all of their support over the years.
▶ 0:46:15Mr. Hill: I have served as acting chairman for the past nine months and during this time we have been hard at work to improve many aspects of our regulatory and supervisory approach across a number of different areas, while continuing to fulfill our core mission of promotion. Promoting the safety and status of banks in the banking system.
▶ 0:46:33Mr. Hill: Our work concludes -- includes reforming supervision to focus on material financial risks and less on process and including our resident -- readiness to help large financial institutions and making large adjustments to our capital framework. Previously I served as vice chairman beginning in 2023. During my time the banking system experienced three of the largest bank failures in U.S. history, leaving us with many important lessons.
▶ 0:47:04Mr. Hill: The fdic considered several significant rulemakings and began efforts to remediate workforce culture issues which remain a key priority for the agency today. From 2018 until 2022i served as an advisor and as her deputy for policy. In this role I led numerous policymaking initiatives including a number of rulemakings and policy efforts in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
▶ 0:47:29Mr. Hill: Overall I have spent close to seven years at the fdic and developed a deep understanding of and appreciation for the agency, its workforce, its storied history and the important role that the fdic plays in our economy. Prior to joining the fdic I spent 5.5 years working as a staff member for this committee and I am grateful for senator crapo and former senators shall be for the opportunities and leadership.
▶ 0:47:59Mr. Hill: I was heavily involved in a number of legislative efforts including the economic growth, regulatory relief and consumer protection act which was signed into law by president trump in may, 2018 and guides many of our regulatory efforts today. Through my experience I developed a thorough understanding of our statutory and regulatory framework and an awareness of the difficult trade-offs that policymaking entails and a deep appreciation of the vital oversight role that congress plays.
▶ 0:48:30Mr. Hill: Over the course of my career, I have repeatedly observed the importance of a well tailored regulatory framework that strikes an appropriate balance between allowing banks to take risk to power economic growth and serve their communities while ensuring a safe, sound and resilient banking system. If confirmed, I look forward to working with members of this committee to make sure the fdic continues to fulfill its critical mission. I look forward to your questions.
▶ 0:48:56Chair Scott: Thank you very much for your opening statements and I will start with Mr. hill. When did you receive a unanimous vote?
▶ 0:49:09Mr. Hill: December 2022.
▶ 0:49:13Chair Scott: Three years ago. What changed? What have you done so poorly in the last three years that you go from a unanimous vote to now a very polarized and partisan reality? The answer is nothing changed with you, but a lot has changed in washington. The schumer shut down, the failure of the biden administration and the devastation of the employees that the fdic have to endure under leadership from the left.
▶ 0:49:44Chair Scott: So many things have changed. Unfortunately, you will be the victim of some of those changes. I would like to discuss the culture at the fdic, and what you have done to change the culture that you inherited.
▶ 0:49:59Mr. Hill: Thank you for the question and let me say at the outset that harassment of any kind is completely unacceptable. There is no tolerance for it at the fdic or any organization. Reforming a culture continues to be a top priority. There are a lot of things we have been doing throughout the year of 2025. I think the linchpin is accountability.
▶ 0:50:24Mr. Hill: In my view, the largest root cause of the problems was years of lack of accountability and when people were not held accountable for misconduct, not only did that mean that bad actors continue to misbehave and engage in misconduct, but people lost faith and confidence in the system. We have two new offices, the office of professional conduct and equal employment opportunity.
▶ 0:50:52Mr. Hill: They have been life and conducting investigations, ensuring discipline is imposed. That is the biggest piece of the cultural transformation efforts. There are a number of other things that we have been working on. We rolled out new anti-harassment training earlier this summer and we have new processes for intake of complaints for reporting and tracking.
▶ 0:51:14Mr. Hill: We have also made significant leadership changes across the agency and there been changes at the board level, but also the majority of our divisions and offices have new leaders from the past.
▶ 0:51:24Chair Scott: Thank you. What are you looking forward to accomplishing with joint rulemaking on unsafe and unsound practices.
▶ 0:51:34Mr. Hill: The core goal is to shift the focus of supervision so it is focused on core material financial risks rather than process. I think that stb is a great example -- svb had all lot of great financial problems but the criticisms were focused on process. In the fundamental goal is to reorient to -- reorient supervision.
▶ 0:52:03Chair Scott: Mr. cassidy you said something that was encouraging, surprising and frankly sad for homeowners. You became a homeowner at 23 euros old and 3 -- 23 years old and 3.5% down. My mother became a homeowner at 38 years old and today, once again 38 years old is the average first-time homebuyer. The ranking member and I have worked a lot on the issue of homeownership.
▶ 0:52:33Chair Scott: I would love to hear from you how you will work with this committee and private sector and housing stakeholders nationwide to expand access to affordable housing with 30 to 45 seconds?
▶ 0:52:48Mr. Cassidy: Thank you very much. I personally benefited from the fha and I was fortunately -- fortunate enough to get homeownership at a young age. For many americans that is out of reach. Housing is too expensive, and I am focused at the office of housing and the fha, working with our partners, lenders and homeowners to streamline these programs and make them more efficient and less costly.
▶ 0:53:16Mr. Cassidy: Since I started in april in april and the leadership of secretary turner we have been taking inventory not just of the hud programs but fha to figure out how we can get more americans into homes. As president trump took office a record 800,000 fha borrowers became homeowners, many for the first time.
▶ 0:53:36Mr. Cassidy: Fha serves a one point $5 trillion single-family portfolio, and it is really taking inventory of each fha program working with lenders, partners and with boots on the ground to make these programs more efficient. I look at -- I look forward to working with you and your staff on these initiatives.
▶ 0:53:55Chair Scott: I appreciate that and I have some questions for the record that you are aware of and I am running out of time. Mr. hollis, I will not have you the questions I had to -- designed to you. I will say congratulations on your success politically and your daughter never making a b, I'm sure that she will graduate cum laude, and I graduated thank the laude.
▶ 0:54:29Chair Scott: I was talking for the son who won the race for vice president for the student government.
▶ 0:54:34Sen. Warren: Mr. cham and I will take up what you said and that is what has changed since Mr. hill was unanimously approved by the banking committee. So, I want to talk about what has happened during that time he has been at the fdic. So acting chairman hill, you served as the fdic policy director from 2019 until 2022.
▶ 0:55:00Sen. Warren: During your tenure the fdic weakened key safeguards which led to the second, third, and fourth largest bank failures in american history. In addition to deregulation, another clear cause of the failures was weak supervision including an understaffed bank examiner workforce.
▶ 0:55:22Sen. Warren: After signature bank's failure, the fdic chi -- chief risk officer found "frequent vacancies and continuous turnover on the fdic's exam team for signature and more broadly, that an average of 40% of big bank exam positions and the fdic 's new york office have been vacant or filled by temporary staff in the years fought -- prior.
▶ 0:55:51Sen. Warren: The fdic inspector general cited similar staffing challenges in its review as one direct cause of the bank's collapse." so acting chairman hill, since she became acting chairman, have you increased or decreased the number of bank examiners at the fdic?
▶ 0:56:11Mr. Hill: I would disagree with the number -- with a number of the comments.
▶ 0:56:16Sen. Warren: I am just quoting the fdic's own inspector general that makes an independent evaluation. So have you increased or decreased the number of bank examiners?
▶ 0:56:28Mr. Hill: As part of our workforce reduction plan we did earlier we went through a thoughtful process and evaluated what the proper number.
▶ 0:56:37Sen. Warren: I am not asking for the process, increase or decrease?
▶ 0:56:41Mr. Hill: With respect to safety and soundness we generally preserved. So we did not make any changes.
▶ 0:56:49Sen. Warren: Increase or decrease the number of exam officers?
▶ 0:56:53Mr. Hill: The total number of examiners we made small decreases on the safety and soundness side.
▶ 0:56:59Sen. Warren: So the answer is decreased. In addition to that, in january, you rescinded at least 200 job officers too examiners. And then you reportedly cut the fdic workforce by 20%, 1250 positions in response to doge.
▶ 0:57:23Sen. Warren: You refused to provide this committee with a breakdown of the staff reductions when my office requested them last april. So, you do not get to come in here now and said we did not cut any people you would care about. If you do not cut about the people I cared about you should have told me that last april. You are not just cutting exam staff, that is bad enough. You are also weakening the regulatory safeguards again.
▶ 0:57:51Sen. Warren: You recently supported a proposal that would reduce the capital cushions at megabanks by 27% or $200 billion. And reduce their capacity to lend to businesses and households by over 2.5 trillion dollars. Do not take my word for it.
▶ 0:58:12Sen. Warren: The former fdic chair and the vice chair both republicans, said this rule would "make bank failures and risk of bailouts more likely, increasing risk to the deposit insurance fund as well as the banks and U.S.
▶ 0:58:37Sen. Warren: Acting chairman hill, do you agree with the former republican chair and republican vice chair of the fdic that this wall street giveaway would decrease lending to main street and increase the risk of bank failures, bailouts, and losses to the deposit insurance fund?
▶ 0:58:56Mr. Hill: I would strongly disagree. The capital impact in aggregate at the parent company is less than 2%. The intent behind it is to return the leverage ratio.
▶ 0:59:11Sen. Warren: This is a 27% reduction.
▶ 0:59:14Mr. Hill: Not at the parent company.
▶ 0:59:17Sen. Warren: Even if the fdic admitted that the rule could increase these risks, buried deep in the proposal of the agency it says "a reduction in required capital increases the size and likelihood of losses, shifting from shareholders to creditors" meaning depositors, " and the deposit insurance fund in the event of a failure.
▶ 0:59:47Sen. Warren: Such losses might lead to additional spillovers and costs." in other words, your own report, more bank failures and more taxpayer bailouts.
▶ 0:59:56Mr. Hill: That is one in a long list of considerations.
▶ 1:00:00Sen. Warren: You are also making it easier for criminals to exploit the financial system. Recent reporting revealed how the biggest banks helped enable jeffrey epstein's crimes. It was not until he was arrested in 2019 that j.p. Morgan finally reported nearly 5000 -- I am over time, suspicious transactions.
▶ 1:00:24Sen. Warren: I will do a question for the record to understand how you are taking away the tool to investigate the other jeffrey epstein's out there. Thank you and I apologize.
▶ 1:00:39Sen. Kennedy: Thank you Mr. chairman. Mr. paul hollis, I have known him for a long time. He is a favorite son in louisiana. He served honorably and admirably in our state legislature and he was on the board of elementary and secondary education. No more important job in my state.
▶ 1:01:06Sen. Kennedy: There is nobody in this country that knows more about coins and coinage and numismatics then paul. All of us in louisiana are so proud of him. Mr. hill.
▶ 1:01:22Sen. Kennedy: Did you read the 234 page gottlieb report about the sexual harassment and the bullying and the touching, and the sleeves and racial discrimination at -- sleeze, and racial discrimination under the fdic under president biden?
▶ 1:01:45Mr. Hill: I did.
▶ 1:01:47Sen. Kennedy: I will keep it clean because we have kids here. Did you read the part of the report where one young female employee said that her supervisor looked her in the eye and described her as being "like a grizzly -- grizzly bear with breats." but he did not use the term breasts. Did you read that?
▶ 1:02:11Mr. Hill: Yes.
▶ 1:02:13Sen. Kennedy: Did you read the part when one supervisor asked a female, a young female subordinates "does your husband blank you?
▶ 1:02:24Mr. Hill: I did.
▶ 1:02:26Sen. Kennedy: Did you read the part of the report where a young -- one young female employee said her supervisor sent her a text " text saying "get naked" bla nk.
▶ 1:02:40Mr. Hill: Yes.
▶ 1:02:42Sen. Kennedy: Did you read the part of the report where one female employee said that her supervisor at the fdic had been there for years sent her a picture of his private parts?
▶ 1:02:57Mr. Hill: Yes.
▶ 1:03:02Sen. Kennedy: Look, I could go on all day. And you know what I have heard back, and I have talked about this for a long time. You know what I've heard back from the fdic? Zero. Nothing. I have not heard from you.
▶ 1:03:22Sen. Kennedy: The last time I checked, 97 employees at your agency, if you are confirmed, reported repeated incidents of sexual assault, advances and unwanted touching. Name one other employee who reported another instance. 100 87 employees reported repeated instances of bullying and threats.
▶ 1:03:49Sen. Kennedy: 191 employees reported repeated incidents of racial discrimination. Did you repeat -- read the part of the report where a hispanic employee said his supervisor asked him to recite the pledge of allegiance to "prove that he was an american?" did you read that and did it make you proud?
▶ 1:04:10Mr. Hill: I did and it did not.
▶ 1:04:12Sen. Kennedy: You have been there since january, is that right?
▶ 1:04:17Mr. Hill: That is correct.
▶ 1:04:18Sen. Kennedy: I heard you talk about transparency and accountability and those are pretty words. I want a report within 30 days about what has been done. I want to know who has been fired and who has been prosecuted. I want to know who has been moved around with so-called a demotion, taking care of their brother-in-law. And got a bonus.
▶ 1:04:43Mr. Hill: We can certainly provide that.
▶ 1:04:46Sen. Kennedy: You better because I'm not sure I will vote for you. I have had enough of this. I have had enough of this. And if your name came up in front of me right now, I would not vote for you. It has nothing to do with your policy chops. But I have had enough. This is not an isolated incident. And I have talked about this repeatedly and heard nothing from you, Mr.
▶ 1:05:14Sen. Kennedy: Hill, or your agency. You know what I assume. I trust everybody, I believe in the adage trust in god but tie up your camel.
▶ 1:05:25Mr. Hill: We are fully committed to cleaning up the agency.
▶ 1:05:28Sen. Kennedy: You have 30 days or whatever you just said and I will stick with whatever I said to give me a report of what has happened to these people.
▶ 1:05:36Mr. Hill: We will do so.
▶ 1:05:38Sen. Kennedy: Otherwise, forget about my vote. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:05:44Chair Scott: Senator smith.
▶ 1:05:47Sen. Smith: Thank you Mr. chair and welcome to the committee. I will direct my questions to you, Mr. cassidy. I appreciate both the chair and ranking member talk about the importance of homeownership, and I am really proud of the bipartisan work we have done on this committee to address some of the underlying systemic challenges. So this is what I want to talk about.
▶ 1:06:18Sen. Smith: Yesterday I was talking to a group of young folks in my office, who were telling me how the idea and they are in their late 20's. The idea that they would be able to own their own home seems almost unreachable and completely out of reach. And that is the case in this country. This is a bipartisan failure, I would say.
▶ 1:06:39Sen. Smith: One of the things that we know through evidence is that attaining homeownership can really be supported in advance by housing counseling. We know that this works. It is really important for first-time homebuyers and extremely valuable for folks who are buying their first home, and maybe their parents did not own their own home. Housing counseling is helpful in making sure people understand what is affordable and how they go about it.
▶ 1:07:10Sen. Smith: My first question is earlier this month, the trump administration terminated as I understand it, 400 employees at hud. This had a few -- a huge impact at the housing of -- the employees of housing counseling. So I want to ask you about that.
▶ 1:07:32Sen. Smith: Can you tell us what this is about, and how do these kinds of layoffs or whatever you want to call it, actually supports what I would hope would be the shared goal towards expanding access to homeownership?
▶ 1:07:47Mr. Cassidy: Senator smith, thank you very much for the question. As you wisely noted, the average a vote -- age of homeownership has gone from mid 20's to 38. We are focused on putting more americans in homes and using the programs within the office of housing and the fha. You wreck -- referenced housing counseling.
▶ 1:08:10Mr. Cassidy: As you know, the reduction in force is under litigation so I am unable to discuss the exact details and I look forward to discussing with you when the time is right. What I can say is that under the leadership of secretary turner, we are working across not just hud but the fha to take inventory of the loan programs and to make our programs more efficient for the homeowners that we serve.
▶ 1:08:39Mr. Cassidy: I only have 2 --
▶ 1:08:41Sen. Smith: I only have two minutes so you will not talk to me about what the level of folks are that are in this jog -- job. But would you acknowledge that this housing counseling has helped over 850,000 households get access to homeownership?
▶ 1:09:00Mr. Cassidy: Housing counseling plays an important role. Since the beginning of the year, under the trump administration we have had 800,000 new homeowners utilize loan programs and many of which are first-time homeowners.
▶ 1:09:14Sen. Smith: Did you not zero out -- it wasn't your recommendation to zero out the budget? For counseling.
▶ 1:09:22Mr. Cassidy: We are focused on working with states and localities and local nonprofits who understand the issues within their community.
▶ 1:09:31Sen. Smith: But doesn't housing counseling already work with those nonprofits. The partnership between the hud counseling service and nonprofits are important and you are you suggesting it should all be outsourced to nonprofits and they can do it all, because that is not what I think.
▶ 1:09:47Mr. Cassidy: Senator, housing is very much a local issue. We believe that local leaders on the ground, nonprofits understand the issues at work in their jurisdictions and that is what we are focused on.
▶ 1:10:03Sen. Smith: So you think hud should not have a role and that the housing counseling probe -- services are useless and should not be done?
▶ 1:10:10Mr. Cassidy: Hud serves an important role with the office of housing counseling which will continue the statutory requirements and we are focused --
▶ 1:10:20Sen. Smith: Congress has passed laws about this.
▶ 1:10:25Mr. Cassidy: We are focused with working with local nonprofits that understand the housing issues and that work will continue.
▶ 1:10:32Sen. Smith: I will yield back, but it is hard for me to understand how the housing council and office can continue to do good work if there is nobody there to do the work, and when you are proposing to zero out the budget. It might be a figment of a -- of people's imaginations that the work will continue.
▶ 1:10:55Sen. Smith: I will point out that since congress has supported home counseling, I think it is completely inappropriate for hud to say for the trump hud department to say we are not doing it anymore. Thank you.
▶ 1:11:07Chair Scott: Senator chilton -- senator tillis.
▶ 1:11:13Sen. Tillis: , congratulations everyone and so I hope time -- I hope I have time to get your questions. I want to start with Mr. cassidy. I am going to be supporting your nomination and I hope to ask you a question about hud but it is in part because I think you have the right skills for the job but because you showed good judgment by hiring one of my staff who is in the back of the room right now. So thank you for being here today. Mr.
▶ 1:11:41Sen. Tillis: Hill on a serious note, I do not think senator kennedy gave you much opportunity to do anything but answer yes or no questions. You know, the fdic and you were here and you are walking these halls when they have politicized the fdic and forced mcwilliams out. Just think about all of the horrible things that I think are in some cases still in the agency that need to be cleaned up.
▶ 1:12:08Sen. Tillis: If you would like to take a few minutes to provide a more fulsome response to the questions I would like you to answer that.
▶ 1:12:14Mr. Hill: As I mentioned in response to the chairman earlier, we are doing a long list of things to ensure that you are seeing the cultural transformation through. Harassment is unacceptable at any form and the fdic or any place else. The linchpin is accountability and holding people who engage in misconduct accountable.
▶ 1:12:40Mr. Hill: We have two new offices that we have set up the office of protection all conduct and the office of equal employment opportunity which are responsible for investigating allegations and making sure that discipline is imposed if there is misconduct so it is really a seachange on the way that things had worked previously. And so those profit -- those offices are alive and running and investigations have been underway and there have been examples of discipline and people have been removed and suspended based on the nature of the conduct.
▶ 1:13:10Mr. Hill: There are a lot of other things like new training and processes for intake and tracking and things like that but I think accountability is the biggest piece of it.
▶ 1:13:18Sen. Tillis: I know that a lot of what is motivating senator kennedy is that we were so frustrated for all of the violations occurring in plain sight that I view you as part of the solution not part of the problem. Have you begun any sort of environmental or sensing surveys or sessions with staff to see if we are moving in the right direction?
▶ 1:13:49Sen. Tillis: Give me a little bit more feedback before I ask you a policy question or two.
▶ 1:13:53Mr. Hill: I have done a series of town halls. I have raised issues related to culture in many of those and have had many conversations in large groups and individual groups. We are working on doing a corporate wide survey. And I think we are working on what the timing of that will be. But the intent is that is something we do on a recurring basis to make sure we are getting the pulse of where the organization is.
▶ 1:14:20Sen. Tillis: Does the fdic have a code of conduct?
▶ 1:14:23Mr. Hill: We do.
▶ 1:14:25Sen. Tillis: I would like for the record if you could send that along. I have had a code of conduct in my office since I had one staff in the state legislature and I have it up here and it would be interesting to see if that is something else across the whole of government that we need to review and make every staff a test to every year. And if they violate it, they should be gone by the time the sun sets.
▶ 1:14:49Mr. Hill: I would be happy to share that.
▶ 1:14:51Sen. Tillis: Today I released a draft of ensuring fair access to banking act. Legislation that seeks to end financial institution related and regular initiated instances of politicizing banking. Can you give me an example of how previous regulators have weaponized the examination process and politicized banking? There is a lot of them so pick the best?
▶ 1:15:19Mr. Hill: I think operation chokepoint was the one most noteworthy from the obama administration where certain types of law-abiding businesses were targeted and the examination process was used in improper ways.
▶ 1:15:39Sen. Tillis: If you are confirmed, I intend to support your nomination. We would really like your help in reviewing the bill. Can I get your commitment, if you are confirmed, that we can get technical assistance and support from your agency to see how we can get this right and get support in this congress?
▶ 1:15:57Mr. Hill: Absolutely.
▶ 1:15:59Sen. Tillis: Mr. cassidy, I'm going to ask you a question. First off, I always say this with anybody, but I'm about to be cut off, so I will submit it for the record, but the first thing I hope you will list as a priority is looking at the regulatory impediments that people are begging for every day to increase the costs of affordable housing and dig a hole that we will never get ourselves out of until we recognize that it is a favoring
▶ 1:16:31Sen. Tillis: On affordable housing. If you can submit a response to the record, I.
▶ 1:16:35Mr. Cassidy: Absolutely.
▶ 1:16:43Senator: Mr. hollis, if I could start with you, are you familiar with the law passed in congress in 1866 that says the united states shall not print any currency or coin with the portrait or likeness of a living person?
▶ 1:17:04Mr. Hollis: Thank you for the question and I have baked for -- familiarity with it.
▶ 1:17:10Sen. Tillis: The reason I raise it is that the reason that was provided for passing that law at the time was to prevent currency from being used as a vehicle for personal aggrandizement or self honoring portraits of living officials, to avoid the appearance of a monarchy.
▶ 1:17:34Sen. Tillis: Another reason was to preserve the dignity, neutrality, and nonpolitical character of the U.S. currency by avoiding political figures who might be subject to change, controversial, or actively involved in public life. President trump is still actively involved in public life, is he not question mark
▶ 1:17:55Mr. Hollis: He is. >> are you aware of the reports that surfaced earlier this thaty thatt was considering making a one dollar coin with the likeness of donald trump?
▶ 1:18:10Mr. Hollis: I'm not at the mint, currently, but in social media passages I have seen links to articles, so I do also have vague familiarity with what you are referencing.
▶ 1:18:24Senator: I thought I saw the social media post confirming this truth. Did you see that?
▶ 1:18:30Mr. Hollis: I didn't.
▶ 1:18:34Senator: If true, it would clearly be in violation of this provision of law, do you agree?
▶ 1:18:38Mr. Hollis: I will assure you that in my 30 years as a professional in this, my 14 years in elected office, if confirmed we will bring that sort of character to the mint. I will also share with you that I will always be in compliance of the law.
▶ 1:19:01Senator: You won't participate in any coin in violation of the law?
▶ 1:19:04Mr. Hollis: I will consult with legal staff at the mint and you have my assurance that I will always be 100% in compliance with the law.
▶ 1:19:13Sen. Van Hollen: Reportedly on one side of the coin is donald trump's likeness and on the other is fight, fight, fight, which is exactly what is on the meme coin the president has used it to help enrich himself in office. Every time that meme coin is transacted, he and the trump family profit from it.
▶ 1:19:39Sen. Van Hollen: Would you agree it's inappropriate to print a coin for public use with fight, fight, fight on it, when that mirrors exactly the trump meme coin slogan?
▶ 1:19:50Mr. Hollis: While I appreciate the question, when it comes to opinions on something like that, I tend to be more ears than mouth, so before I share with you my opinion I would want to be more informed than I currently am, but I assure you I will speak with all of the appropriate people before making an appropriate decision.
▶ 1:20:10Sen. Van Hollen: It doesn't seem like coincidence that that fight slogan is on the coin that donald trump, the meme coin that he is selling and that his family is selling for profit and what is proposed on this other coin. It seems a clear that it is outrageous, it is illegal to put the president's likeness on an official coin and more outrageous that it corresponds to the mean coin that the president is profiting off of.
▶ 1:20:39Sen. Van Hollen: Seems to me to be pretty clear on its face. Let me ask you about the currency that we have been working for years to try to bring into existence, the harriet tubman $20 bill, something that you must've been involved in. If confirmed, would you ensure that the project stays on schedule while maintaining the highest standards for design and security?
▶ 1:21:01Mr. Hollis: I appreciate the question. I would refer you to those in the bureau of engraving and printing when it comes to anything dealing with currency. As you are aware, the mint only deals with the national coinage and metals.
▶ 1:21:15Sen. Van Hollen: I appreciate that. But you will be in that ecosystem, so whatever you can do to help push that forward, I appreciate it. Finally I will just say, Mr. cassidy, I was listening to your back and forth with senator smith. I have to say, many of us are extremely alarmed about the rifts that have been made at the department of housing. It does not make it more efficient.
▶ 1:21:43Sen. Van Hollen: It will slow down the fha loan process. A federal judge recently set these layoffs were done in political retribution because of the shutdown. That's really outrageous. I hope you will go back and reconsider those actions. Thank you, Mr. chairman.
▶ 1:22:01Chair Scott: Yes, sir. Senator moreno?
▶ 1:22:07Senator Moreno: I would like to start where the chair began an hour ago, speaking to the families. It's an enormous honor that your sons, husbands, fathers have been nominated to and nothing said in the hearing will take a that honor, so leave here with a big smile on your face and know that they have accomplished an incredible thing to get through this door and congratulations to all of you by being nominated by the president of the united states to serve.
▶ 1:22:35Senator Moreno: You are men of great integrity and should be proud of what you have achieved to date. This her hill, starting with you real quick on some quick cleanup , "the wall street journal" broke the story about what happened at the ftse, is that accurate?
▶ 1:22:51Mr. Hill: Yes.
▶ 1:22:53Sen. Moreno: November, 2020 three. Prior to that, and any member of the committee that was in charge, my predecessor, sherrod brown, did he say a word about anything that was happening at the fdic prior to the article?
▶ 1:23:12Mr. Hill: No.
▶ 1:23:13Sen. Moreno: Not one word, not one memo, not one letter was sent to the fbi see. And this had gone on for decades, well before you were there, correct? It wasn't until "the wall street journal" publishes an article and shames the majority in november of 23. It wasn't until may of 24th that he was even asked to resign. Is that accurate?
▶ 1:23:40Mr. Hill: Sounds correct.
▶ 1:23:42Sen. Moreno: May of 24, 6 months go by where they highlight this incredible abuse situation and democrats don't say a word. Until after the primaries. I find that little data point very interesting. Sherrod brown behaved like a scared animal around this election -- my election. It wasn't until after the primary that he suddenly became courageous.
▶ 1:24:10Sen. Moreno: Have you ever found someone who resigns from their job and then stays in the position?
▶ 1:24:15Mr. Hill: Certainly unusual.
▶ 1:24:17Sen. Moreno: We all understand it's insane. So, he resigns after being called on to resign. But then he stays on the job? State in the job until january. Never have I seen somebody stay at a job after being disgraced, called on to resign and still get a paycheck. I want to level set there. Were you personally accused in any way whatsoever?
▶ 1:24:43Sen. Moreno: Sen. moreno: absolutely not. Were you there for those 18 years?
▶ 1:24:49Mr. Hill: I was not.
▶ 1:24:50Sen. Moreno: It went on for 18 years, you are being criticized for that, only after 10 months? I'm moving on, it's stupid. Mr. cassidy, Mr. gormley, let's do some mythbusters, how's that sound? The ranking member said that housing costs are up. That's interesting, that was new information to me. Are you familiar with the national association of realtors? Familiar with the housing affordability index?
▶ 1:25:20Sen. Moreno: You understand that 100 means the median family income can afford a house? Are you aware that that's actually gone up 6.5 points since january? Meaning houses have become 6.5% more affordable since the beginning of the year? Are you aware of that? >> yes.
▶ 1:25:41Sen. Moreno: Break it down regionally. What do you think is happening here? In the midwest we have of affordability index of 135.6. The south has been afforded feet -- affordability index of 190 -- 100 point three. Northeast, 98.7. Southwest, under 75%. What do you think those communities have in common?
▶ 1:26:07Sen. Moreno: Meaning why do you think it's so unaffordable where you have blue state governors, blue state mayors, blue state counties versus republican run states, republican run counties. What do you think is going on there? Is it the policies of the local communities that have made housing unaffordable? How many hearings did we have here during the biden years about housing affordability when it went through terrible iterations?
▶ 1:26:35Sen. Moreno: I will break the news to everyone, never. Mr. cassidy, Mr. gormley, what do you -- do you have -- tell me which were true northstar is. What will you focus on in your jobs when it comes to housing?
▶ 1:26:49Mr. Gormley: Thank you for that question. We are focused on taking inventory programs to cut ban government or -- overreach that has driven up the costs of housing for everyday americans and look forward to working with you and your team on that initiative.
▶ 1:27:08Mr. Gormley: Thank you for the question. Ginnie mae will continue to serve as a conduit for global capital to enable affordable homeownership and rental opportunities and we will persevere to make that more efficient and attract more capital.
▶ 1:27:23Sen. Moreno: Can I ask that the housing affordability index numbers be put into the permanent record so that we can make certain that there is no political misinformation that is being shared publicly that says housing costs have increased when in reality it has become more affordable this year? As a fact? Can we put that into the record?
▶ 1:27:43Chair Scott: So ordered. Senator reed?
▶ 1:27:51Senator Reed: Thank you very much, Mr. chairman. First, Mr. hill, I have to recognize wesley and commend him on his behavior. Quitting is here -- whitney is here, I commend her on her behavior, watching from afar. Let me go ahead and open up a sort of major set of issues, Mr. hill.
▶ 1:28:21Senator Reed: The fbi c has proposed rules against the biggest wall street banks by cutting down leveraged capital requirements to make it more difficult for bank examiners to raise flat -- raise red flags when they spot risky activity. The fbi c has issued these proposals in the credit markets.
▶ 1:28:43Senator Reed: The sudden collapse of the auto parts maker, first brands, and subprime auto lender tricolor have created significant losses at some banks. In hindsight, the risks seemed obvious, but hindsight is always 20/20.
▶ 1:29:03Senator Reed: We are in a situation where we are lessening the safeguards, the guardrails, as we see these instances that, in another aspect, over 6% of subprime auto loans are in delinquency, which is significant, the highest on record. American credit card debt is very, very high.
▶ 1:29:30Senator Reed: So, I'm concerned that we could be on the verge of a substantial deterioration in lending standards. What is the risk of these events to the banking system? Are we going to be in a situation where we regret loosening the examination criteria and leverage acquirements on the banks?
▶ 1:29:56Mr. Hill: Thank you for the question, senator. On the question about economic and banking conditions, this is certainly something we are following very closely. Generally, conditions appear to be favorable. We have had strong gdp growth. Most of the metrics that we look at at the banking industry still appear strong. We just made it through most of bank earnings season and most banks exceeded expectations.
▶ 1:30:27Mr. Hill: We have seen several noteworthy bankruptcies. You mentioned a couple. Those appear to be idiosyncratic issues. We have had some allegations of fraud, double pledging collateral. Nonetheless, as the bank supervisor of resolution authority, we are still vigilant and paying very close attention to seeing if there are additional >> that could emerge.
▶ 1:30:48Mr. Hill: When it comes to our regulatory and supervisory approach, at a high level, what we are trying to achieve is modernizing the approach, being smarter about the approach, making sure we are striking the right balance between safety and soundness and economic growth. And, so, safety and soundness continues to be the core underpinning of everything that we do at the fbi c.
▶ 1:31:15Mr. Hill: With respect to the capital proposal, the decrease in capital at the parent company in aggregate is less than 2%. The intent there is to return the leveraged ratio to backstop on a more frequent basis. So, again, overall I still support rigorous capital standards, the system is still well-capitalized. As I said before, we will remain vigilant when it comes to banking conditions.
▶ 1:31:46Mr. Hill: And in terms of our overall approach, we are just trying to be smarter about things.
▶ 1:31:49Sen. Reed: You will have to be very vigilant. Prior to 2008, we have that sense of everything is fine and we are doing ok, and then suddenly it fell apart. We don't want to do that again. Mr. cassidy, first question, his brother here?
▶ 1:32:07Mr. Gormley: -- Mr. cassidy: yes, he is.
▶ 1:32:11Sen. Reed: Thank you, brother. Mr. cassidy and I are products of the christian brothers. Thank you. I have a real question, to. We spoke yesterday in our meeting about the 221 d4. It is not being used vigorously.
▶ 1:32:39Sen. Reed: 143 multifamily units, we are using that and fy 24. You're going to try to reinvigorate it. What regulatory changes can you take, and more importantly what statutory changes should congress take to energize this program?
▶ 1:32:56Mr. Cassidy: Thank you very much for the question, it was great to meet with you in your office yesterday. We both share an understanding and understanding of the -- and passion for the fha program that offers some of the best construction financing on the market, one of the few tools the federal government has to bring more housing online. The problem is, it takes too long. These deals can take 12 to 18 months to get finished. No loan should ever take that long. Especially when you are dealing with 200, 300 unit developments.
▶ 1:33:29Mr. Cassidy: Coming from the private sector, I have worked with these developers. I understand that the enemy of a good deal is time. We are looking at taking inventory of that program, speeding up processing times so that we can deliver financing to create more units, not just in the state of rhode island, but across the country.
▶ 1:33:48Chair Scott: Hate to cut you off, Mr. cassidy, but we are about one minute over.
▶ 1:33:54Sen. Reed: Thank you very much, Mr. cassidy. Thanks, brother.
▶ 1:33:59Chair Scott: Senator hagerty?
▶ 1:34:02Senator Hagerty: I would like to start with you, Mr. romney -- Mr. gormley. I'm sure that you understand the going back and forth of the silicon valley bank, back in the spring of 2023, at that point we want to ask you if there was significant deposit migration from regional banks of the largest banks. Was that the case?
▶ 1:34:26Mr. Hill: Senator, that was the case. The federal reserve data that showed weekly deposit flows showed that the week after the failure, there was a substantial outflow of deposits from midsized banks and inflows of deposits to the largest institutions. That was consistent with our supervisory experience and some of the additional papers that have come out from the federal reserve looking at the payment system and other data sources.
▶ 1:34:58Sen. Hagerty: Indeed, I was watching it with my staff carefully and the concerns were enormous. Hundreds of billions of dollars in deposits fled to the largest banks in america. You ask yourself, why is that? Why did that happen? It's because the biggest banks in america benefit from a perceived government guarantee that smaller institutions don't possess. Is that perception -- it's that perception that precipitated the type of run that we saw.
▶ 1:35:30Sen. Hagerty: This perception of too big to fail on depositor behavior poses a grave risk to regional and community banks and is yet another threat to the community banking system that has already lost 3600 institutions since 2010. A 45 percent decrease in the number of community banks in america since 2010.
▶ 1:35:48Sen. Hagerty: We don't need to do things to accelerate that even further, in my mind, because the banks that lend to small and medium-sized companies on the small and medium-sized banks, undertaking the credit scrutiny and doing the work. We have a system of incentives in place right now, unintended, I would say, precipitating the type of behavior that we saw in the wake of the silicon bank -- silicon valley bank failure to the tune of billions flowing out of regional banks and small banks into large banks.
▶ 1:36:20Sen. Hagerty: Strengthening the position of these banks, the regional banks, the community banks, I've introduced the main street depositor protection act alongside senator alsobrooks, expanding insurance coverage for non-interest-bearing transaction accounts like payroll and operating accounts. To be clear, it's not a wholesale increase in the deposit insurance limit.
▶ 1:36:41Sen. Hagerty: It's narrowly targeted only at non-interest-bearing accounts, accounts that are primarily used by small and medium-sized businesses to run payroll, manage operations. These are not savings account being held by high net worth depositors. These are the deposits that small companies use to run their businesses. We cannot see these flow from small banks to large banks if there is another scare.
▶ 1:37:08Sen. Hagerty: These are precisely the types of deposits that fled from small banks to large banks in march of 23. I've got a basic question for you. Could you explain how expanded coverage reduces the probability of default that would be caused by a run on these uninsured deposits?
▶ 1:37:24Mr. Hill: Thanks, senator. One of the big benefits of deposit insurance from a public policy perspective is that it takes away the incentive for the depositors to run. All else equal, expansion of the deposit insurance would create a funding base that's expanded where there is reduced incentive for depositors to run.
▶ 1:37:48Sen. Hagerty: Exactly right. You can lower fcic costs, the results of a run won't happen because of the expanded coverage. One last thing I would like to cover with you, Mr. hill, it gets back to your discussion with senator moreno and others that has to do with the fbi governance in the past. I know there has been a lot of focus on the toxic culture and environmental problems there.
▶ 1:38:15Sen. Hagerty: I think you will have a real challenge, should you be confirmed, to address all of that, but you seem to understand that challenge. Another issue there is basic competence. After I saw what happened that weekend when silicon valley bank failed and I saw the empty I see fail that auction under chairman greenberg and his sister -- deliver a disaster monday morning, it became clear to me that there was a competence issue there and I hope you will undertake a very thorough report on the failures that occurred
▶ 1:38:46Sen. Hagerty: When that fbi see failure to achieve a buyer that weekend -- what actually transpired that resulted in the tragedy that we saw that monday morning that banks should have reopened and did not. I encourage you to undertake that study and I would love to hear back from you once you determine the competency issues at the fbi c.
▶ 1:39:05Mr. Hill: Happy to do that, senator.
▶ 1:39:08Sen. Hagerty: I will submit the writer of my questions for the record.
▶ 1:39:12Sen. Warren: Senator cortez masto?
▶ 1:39:16Senator Cortez Masto: Let me start off by thanking the senators up for their work on expanding coverage for deposit insurance, I look forward to the final legislation. All the nominees, congratulations and welcome to your families, appreciate your being you and your willingness to serve. Mr. cassidy, I will start with you, but more importantly did your daughter make the trip?
▶ 1:39:45Mr. Cassidy: She didn't. I wanted to bring her, but my wife said that at seven months she was a little too young.
▶ 1:39:53Sen. Cortez Masto: I appreciate your wife's concerns. Let me talk about something that we discussed in our meeting. In nevada, housing costs have risen faster than inflation for homeowners. There is an affordable ute -- and portability issue and we spoke a bit about what we are doing in southern nevada around community land trusts. But I would like for you, if you are willing to, commit to working with my office to ensure that fha guaranteed mortgages support land trusts.
▶ 1:40:24Sen. Cortez Masto: Would you be willing to work with us to figure out that financing for our housing community land trusts?
▶ 1:40:29Mr. Cassidy: I absolutely look forward to working with you in your office. It was great to meet with you and your team yesterday. I think we both share a passion for affordable housing and it was great to discuss with you how much land is available in your state, your ideas about how we could utilize fha, specifically the 2214 d program to build more housing units that can serve the affordable needs of your state. So, I'm excited.
▶ 1:41:01Mr. Cassidy: If I'm confirmed, I'm excited to work with you and your team on those ideas.
▶ 1:41:04Sen. Cortez Masto: And we did talk about this, and I want to stress it again, the concerns over the loss of staff in these agencies like hud, and to put a finer point on it, not just hud nevada, but the department of the interior.
▶ 1:41:21Sen. Cortez Masto: The reason that some of our costs, we need that partnership between the two agencies working with us to lower those costs to help transfer that federal land in a reasonable manner to build affordable housing in nevada. We are down to one person in the hud office. Similarly in our blm offices, we are losing people.
▶ 1:41:53Sen. Cortez Masto: I am hopeful that with your voice we will make -- continue to make sure there is adequate staffing to address the needs of housing in nevada and across the country and in these agencies. Would you be willing to commit to that?
▶ 1:42:05Mr. Cassidy: Senator I look forward to working with your team to create efficiencies that hud, to take inventory of all of our programs with the goal of deregulating and streamlining so that we can better serve the americans that rely on our services.
▶ 1:42:22Sen. Cortez Masto: Thank you, thank you. Mr. hollis, for the record I wanted to make sure you are aware of this. With my republican colleagues I read the bill on the american women's quarters and bicentennial coins for next year. As a person who let the bill creating the celebratory coins in the senate, it was never my intention that whoever was the current president in 2026 would be featured on a circulating dollar coin that year.
▶ 1:42:53Sen. Cortez Masto: My understanding is, and I know it is not your determination, it is the secretary of the treasury , my understanding is they are trying to utilize the legislation I introduced to create that circulating dollar coin. It's not a commemorative coin, it's a circulating dollar coin. I hope that your voice is utilized, if appointed, to oppose that. Please, go ahead.
▶ 1:43:13Mr. Hollis: I appreciate the question. As I mentioned earlier, if confirmed for the director of the night -- U.S. mint, I will always seek legal counsel and am 100 percent committed to always following the law.
▶ 1:43:27Sen. Cortez Masto: Thank you, thank you. Mr. gormley, a term sheet for mortgage-backed securities 2.0 was published in november of 24. The h nbs 2.0 would resolve liquidity constraints and demonstrate the ginnie mae commitment to the reverse mortgage industry. The term sheet is now removed from the ginnie mae website.
▶ 1:43:53Sen. Cortez Masto: Do you, one, have any plans to implement the home equity conversion equity backed securities 2.0, and also I hope you restore it to the website.
▶ 1:44:03Mr. Gormley: Very quickly, on october second we publish request for information on the future of the reverse mortgage programs at hud. We are committed to, to taking a more thoughtful approach. We are hoping to solve some of the operational and financial issues that have plagued that program over the years.
▶ 1:44:29Sen. Warren: Look forward to working with you. Thank you.
▶ 1:44:33Chair Scott: Senator britt?
▶ 1:44:38Senator Britt: Yes, sir. Thank you all for being here and congratulations to you and your families and I appreciate your willingness to serve at the highest level and look forward to being able to ask russians today. You know, I find it interesting and certainly appreciate that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle seem to have a newfound concern about the culture at the fbi c.
▶ 1:45:05Senator Britt: Particularly since we had the previous chair, greenberg, who had leading roles at the agency for over 20 years. Just to remind everybody, he was the acting chairman from 2005 to 2006 and was the vice chair from 2005 to 2011 and was the acting chair from 2011 to 2012, the chairman from 2012 to 2018, a board member from 2018 to 2022, and from 23 to 25 he served as
▶ 1:45:37Senator Britt: The chairman. It is clear he had decision-making capability and influence and was specifically mentioned in the report, yet not one of my colleagues joined us and asking him to resign. In fact, we saw in his hearing, back in may of 24, the ranking member said that she believed his resignation would do nothing to improve the culture of the fbi see.
▶ 1:46:03Senator Britt: I appreciate that now that there is a concern about the culture, particularly people having worked there, I think it is obviously misplaced and certainly quite convenient. Mr. hill, I appreciate you talking with me about this in depth yesterday, talking to me about who is no longer there in about the process is being put in place. I appreciate your commitment to me to continue to appreciate the culture that the men and women at the ftse deserve.
▶ 1:46:35Senator Britt: I certainly look forward to watching your leadership in that regard. On a policy front, I would like to speak to your recent action in conjunction with the occ to address the shortcomings in the matters beating the process. With 10 of my colleagues for you at this issue, we discussed how it's become ineffective and inconsistent. We saw that with svb. We saw that in what occurred days before.
▶ 1:47:03Senator Britt: After that, if we are to have mechanisms like this in place, they should be used intentionally to solve for true financial stability risk. Not to be used as a subjective supervisory tool or a checkbox exercise.
▶ 1:47:21Senator Britt: Can you speak to the mra proposal that you all issued into the fdic goal of eliminating subjectivity and bringing accountability and integrity back to the federal banking supervision process?
▶ 1:47:34Mr. Hill: Thank you for the question and thank you for your leadership and support on this issue. The proposal that we issued, that would address two of the key tools that bank supervisors use, enforcement action under section eight of the fdi act and matters requiring attention.
▶ 1:48:01Mr. Hill: The general objective is to satisfy either of those buckets. They would essentially need to be directly tied to a material financial harm with loss or impact to capital or having a material impact arm the risk of the institution failing.
▶ 1:48:28Mr. Hill: The proposal would not prevent examiners from being able to take proactive steps, but the intent of it is to make sure that the things we are criticizing are things that are truly safety and soundness concerns. As you mentioned, ftb is a great demonstration of the problem, where supervisors have identified a list of weaknesses, most of which had nothing to do with the actual condition of the institution.
▶ 1:48:53Mr. Hill: The one criticism that was related to interest rate risks was focused on the process around the modeling, rather than focusing on the actual balance sheet. The objective in my mind is to shift that focus back towards true financial risks and away from the process around how banks manage it.
▶ 1:49:12Sen. Britt: I only have a few seconds left, but I want to talk about the cumulative impact of regulation on the smallest banks across the country. For far too long and the last administration no one looked at the cumulative impact or the trickle-down effect, whether it was basel three or others. I want a commitment from you to take a look at the smallest banks and the avenues for no relief there so that we can allow people to achieve in our country.
▶ 1:49:45Mr. Hill: I am fully committed to that and it underpins a lot of the work we are doing right now.
▶ 1:49:50Sen. Britt: Thank you.
▶ 1:49:51Chair Scott: Mr. warnock?
▶ 1:49:54Senator Warnock: Mr. cassidy, you are nominated to run the federal housing administration. Do you know the median age of first-time homebuyers in this country?
▶ 1:50:07Mr. Cassidy: Thank you for the question, great to see her to today. Yes, the median age has increased from the mid-20's to now 38. We have the office of federal housing administration really are focused on taking a hard look at that and encouraging more americans to join homeownership. As you know, home ownership creates upward mobility.
▶ 1:50:34Mr. Cassidy: We are focused on taking inventory of our various loan programs so that we can better serve the americans who rely on fha insured financing.
▶ 1:50:46Sen. Warnock: You agree with me that 38 is, trying to be not in politics here, 38 is a bit old? You agree with that?
▶ 1:50:58Mr. Cassidy: Absolutely. I was fortunate to enter homeownership at the young age of 20, utilizing an fha loan. That type of opportunity that we are focused on with secretary turner to bring two more americans across the country. I look forward to working with you and your staff on that Sen.
▶ 1:51:20Warnock: Sen. warnock:. Homeownership is indeed the american dream. I grew up in public housing. I know how it can feel it evasive or allusive to a lot of families. Because of good federal public policy, I'm a head start kid, pell grants, low interest student loans, I was able to get through college at a different time. I bought a home relatively young, not quite age 20.
▶ 1:51:50Warnock: What worries me is that this is slipping away. It's harder for the kids who grew up like I did, on king street in public housing, to make it. So, this is why the work of fha is so very important. And the products that you used it to people in their home ought to be available from both sides of the aisle.
▶ 1:52:20Warnock: What plans do you have to address this crisis for those who are not sitting on the 20% down payment. Which I wasn't also, by the way. What tools do you have? What is your plan to improve that situation?
▶ 1:52:38Mr. Cassidy: Thank you very much for that question and that concern. The fha program serves 8 million homeowners. 800,000 plus new homeowners have taken advantage of the fha loan program.
▶ 1:53:00Mr. Cassidy: Since I started in april, the principal deputy assistance secretary for housing at fha, we took inventory of the fha loan programs with the goal of streamlining the process, cutting out burdensome red tape that can lead to additional costs for homeowners. We have been working with lenders, stakeholders. We've heard from hud, we further concerns.
▶ 1:53:26Mr. Cassidy: The goal is efficiency and deregulation so that we can serve the millions of americans who rely on fha. As you mentioned, fha allows first-time homeowners to put down as little as 3.5%. That really is a crucial first step towards americans entering homeownership.
▶ 1:53:47Sen. Warnock: Would you support efforts of first-time first-generation homebuyers like my down payment towards equity act?
▶ 1:53:59Mr. Cassidy: Could you repeat that?
▶ 1:54:01Sen. Warnock: Would you support the proposed down payment towards equity act, lowering the barriers so that people can get into the marketplace?
▶ 1:54:10Mr. Cassidy: I think it's incredibly important that we utilize the fha loan programs with the safety and financial soundness as top priority. I look forward to hearing more about it and working with your office and hearing your concerns . Fha plays a very crucial role in the mortgage market.
▶ 1:54:30Sen. Warnock: We are clear about that, I'm moving you along because they give me a limited time and I appreciate that. Do you think that shortening time frames for families to purchase foreclosed homes will help or hurt families trying to buy a home?
▶ 1:54:44Mr. Cassidy: Thank you again for that question. Across fha, we are looking at the process of speeding up processing times.
▶ 1:54:54Sen. Warnock: You are aware of the policy that shortens the timeframe for families to purchase foreclosed properties? I think that increases the likelihood you will have more private investors buying homes, rather than folks trying to get in for the first time. This is a real problem. I live in atlanta, over 25% to 30% of single family homes are owned by private investors. Give me about just 20 seconds.
▶ 1:55:24Chair Scott: I already did.
▶ 1:55:25Sen. Warnock: Are you going to let him answer? Chair scott: shortly.
▶ 1:55:30Sen. Warnock: I'm done.
▶ 1:55:31Mr. Cassidy: Thank you for your question and your concern. We are working daily to create efficiencies across fha so that we can continue to serve more american homeowners.
▶ 1:55:43Sen. Warnock: If you didn't answer, but thank you very much.
▶ 1:55:46Chair Scott: Senator alsobrooks, you also have five minutes and 43 seconds.
▶ 1:55:53Senator Alsobrooks: Thank you so much, Mr. chair, ranking member warren, and thank you to our witnesses for your willingness to serve and thank you for being here today. I would be remiss if I didn't begin by acknowledging the pain inflicted on so many marylanders of my state right now. Marylanders who serve at the very agencies that you all have been nominated to lead because the government remains shut down.
▶ 1:56:19Senator Alsobrooks: The government remains shut down because this administration refuses to come to the table and negotiate a solution to fund the government and make sure that health care is affordable to the american public. But there are other important bipartisan issues I want to address today I will get to those, Mr. hill. I want to get to your thoughts on deposit insurance reform.
▶ 1:56:43Senator Alsobrooks: As you heard already, senator hagerty and I are working on a bill to increase stability for businesses in their customers by expanding the deposit insurance available for checking accounts. After the silicon valley bank collapse in 23, individuals and small businesses questioned the security of their deposits and many believe that they were only truly protected if they were housed at large banks that had the implicit backing of the federal government.
▶ 1:57:10Senator Alsobrooks: Our main street depositor protection act gives a certainty that up to $10 million in payroll accounts held in neighborhood banks and credit unions would be insured by the full faith and credit of the federal government in the event of a crisis. Mr. hill, I'm sure that you appreciate that the first question that everyone wants answered about changes to deposit insurance is who will pay for it. One of the critiques we have received again and again is that any deposit insurance increase would be costly for banks.
▶ 1:57:40Senator Alsobrooks: We have addressed this feedback head-on by lowering the coverage level and creating a 10 year transition time. I wonder if you might be able to explain to this committee how deposit insurance premiums are calculated and also answer whether or not they are based on bank insured liabilities or total liabilities.
▶ 1:57:59Mr. Hill: Thank you for the question, senator. As a general matter, the banks are assessed based on a formula. That formula is primarily based on total liability at a bank, the assessment base. The assessment base is multiplied by the assessment rate that is based on a risk-based scorecard that includes things like supervisory ratings, capital, things like that.
▶ 1:58:28Mr. Hill: For the large banks under that scorecard there is a element of insured deposits. If it was to go up, that piece of the formula would increase. Overall that has a very small impact on the assessments. So, the, that a, the major contributing factor is the bank total liability.
▶ 1:58:53So -- Senator Alsobrooks: So, it's safe to say that an increase in insured deposits wouldn't automatically raise the insurance costs for banks, correct?
▶ 1:59:02Mr. Hill: For small banks, 100 percent, and for large banks, it would be a very small increase.
▶ 1:59:09Sen. Alsobrooks: Thank you. As I noted earlier the revised bill creates a 10 year transition time for community banks during which they will not pay any new assessments to offset changes to the deposit insurance reserve ratio. As you know, crafting the right transition is an art, not a science. We want to strike the right balance.
▶ 1:59:30Sen. Alsobrooks: Would you also expect them to have to deposit as tell us what would happen to deposit insurance assessments on community banks after those 10 years?
▶ 1:59:40Mr. Hill: Thanks for the question. So, there's a lot of uncertainty around any predictions we might make in terms of the impact the legislation would have. First, because we don't have, we don't have data on how many uninsured deposits are above or below certain thresholds other than the 250,000.
▶ 2:00:02Mr. Hill: The other piece that we don't know is what kind of behavioral changes there might be in terms of funding moving from certain types of deposits to other types of deposits were from certain situations to others. That all being said, based on the estimates that our staff has produced, it is at least possible that we would not need to raise assessments in response to the legislation.
▶ 2:00:28Mr. Hill: The expectation again, based on the estimate subject to significant uncertainty, the estimate would be that the -- expectation would be that the reserve ratio over those 10 years would grow at a slower pace than it otherwise would, but it would decline, and if that is the case, I would think that there would be a justifiable argument not to raise assessments.
▶ 2:00:52Mr. Hill: I think that there are a lot of considerations that go into how we might respond as the steward of the dip, but I think that overall, expanding deposit insurance has a mixed impact on potential resolutions both for the reasons mentioned earlier by senator hagerty, but also post failure, expanding coverage increasing the costs of liquidation. So, the ceiling on the kind of potential costs goes up.
▶ 2:01:22Mr. Hill: But the flipside is that it can make the failed institution more attractive to potential bidders because insured deposits can have more franchise value. Again, I think that there are a lot of considerations on both sides of it, but I think that there is some justification that if the reserve ratio didn't decline, there would be justification for just leaving assessments where they are.
▶ 2:01:46Sen. Alsobrooks: Thank you.
▶ 2:01:48Chair Scott: Ranking member, closing comments?
▶ 2:01:51Sen. Warren: Thank you very much, Mr. chairman, for doing this today. I would like to talk for a minute about the concerns on housing affordability. The chairman and I have tried to be a good partner in working together to make housing more affordable in america. Mr. marino says, in fact, that housing has become more affordable. Let's take it that some of the facts.
▶ 2:02:20Sen. Warren: There is currently no community in the entire country where a minimum wage worker can afford the rent. The median home price in the united states has reached record highs under president trump this year. And americans just cannot afford to buy a home. In fact, the homeownership rate is already down nearly 1% compared with this same time last year.
▶ 2:02:47Sen. Warren: I think that most americans would be really surprised to hear that Mr. marino thinks that housing is now more affordable. And I am very glad to have worked with chairman scott to pass the bipartisan vote to housing act out of the senate and to have made a meaningful effort to tackle housing supply and costs, and that we are working together to get this bill signed into law. Housing is not affordable, Mr.
▶ 2:03:17Sen. Warren: Marino. We need to make it more affordable.
▶ 2:03:20Chair Scott: Well, thank you, ranking member. That concludes the question and answer portion of today's hearing. Before I go to my prepared remarks, I want to comment on the shutdown. It continues. Not because this administration failed to do its job. Frankly, this administration is ready to reopen government.
▶ 2:03:45Chair Scott: Frankly, it is the president of the united states who has found a way to keep women and children in the wic program funded, albeit temporarily. He found a way to pay our troops albeit temporarily because we remain in shutdown, our law enforcement officers, like those standing to your left and right right now, they go unpaid. Every single officer in the U.S. capital goes unpaid.
▶ 2:04:14Chair Scott: Our staff sitting behind us goes unpaid. Air traffic controllers today go unpaid. On saturday, the snap benefits food security for 42 million americans will cease. Not because the president of the united states refuses to do his job.
▶ 2:04:43Chair Scott: It is because my friends to the left refused to come back to the table and open this government. They did it 13 times under president biden, done it not at all this term under trump. I would like to thank the nominees for testifying today, thank you for your willingness to serve the country. Senators, all follow-on questions for the record must be submitted by noon tomorrow.
▶ 2:05:09Chair Scott: For witnesses, please respond by monday, november 3, 5 p.m., to the written questions you received in order to facilitate this community properly processing these nominations. With that, the hearing is adjourned.