Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for holding this hearing and quickly moving on the President's nominees. I also thank you for the markup of Wayne's nomination and of the important housing bills we will move today. I would like to welcome Wayne this afternoon, and not only thank him for his service to this committee, but also for his willingness to continue to answer the call to public service.
Obviously, we all know Wayne very well. Although his departure will be a great loss to the Banking Committee, he will be a great asset to the President at the Treasury Department.
You have been nominated for a big job. But I am more than confident that you are up to it. Your service to this committee speaks for itself. I believe the President could not have picked a better man for this job. You are well deserving. As I said in our meeting earlier this week, anyone who has worked for Phil Gramm as long as you have deserves something good.
I am also glad we are going to be marking up these small, but important housing bills. I am a proud cosponsor of S. 2239, the FHA Down Payment Simplification Act. I believe S. 2239 will help get more people into their own homes, a goal we all support. I will also support S. 1210 the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act.
I look forward to hearing from our good friend Wayne Abernathy and trust the committee will support his nomination and these important housing bills.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.