Opening Statements of Committee Members

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank all of our nominees for testifying today and I would like to thank you for holding this hearing and this markup in such an expeditious fashion.

I think President Bush has once again demonstrated that he will continue to ask outstanding people to serve in his administration. I hope that the committee will report the nominations we are going to vote on today and the nominees who are testifying today to the Senate floor quickly.

All four nominees have very impressive credentials. Alphonso Jackson has been the head of 3 housing authorities, as well as the president of a public utility and served on two national commissions. Richard Hauser has been a Deputy White House Counsel, has worked at the Department of Justice and was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation. John Wiecher was an Assistant Secretary at HUD and worked for OMB. Romolo Bernardi is the Mayor of Syracuse, New York and was the City Auditor.

We are very fortunate that these fine nominees have chosen to serve the public at HUD. Their diverse backgrounds and unique experiences will help fulfill HUD's mission. We are lucky to have them.

Once again, I urge all of my colleagues to support these worthy nominees.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.