Hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Crapo, Hearing on Nominations

Hearing

U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, delivered the following remarks at a nomination hearing for individuals nominated to the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Export-Import Bank.

The text of Chairman Crapo's remarks, as prepared, is below.

"This morning, the Committee will receive testimony from five nominees who have been selected to serve in key roles within the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Export-Import Bank.

"Going down the line, we have: Mitchell Silk, to be Assistant Secretary for International Markets at the Department of the Treasury; The Honorable Brian Montgomery, to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; David Woll, to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development; Jack Bobbitt, to be HUD Assistant Secretary for Administration; and Peter Coniglio, to be Inspector General of the EXIM Bank.

"Welcome to all of you, and thank you for your continued commitment to public service.

"I see friends and family behind you, and I welcome them here today as well.

"Mitchell Silk has served with distinction as Acting Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets since July and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs since 2017.

"He is a leading expert in Chinese law and finance, who is fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese, and spent fifteen years working in Greater China as a Partner with the law firm Allen & Overy.

"Since joining Treasury, Mr. Silk has been a key voice on trade negotiations, energy and infrastructure finance, export credit and financial services.

"Brian Montgomery is no stranger to this Committee, having served as Federal Housing Commissioner under Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump, and having testified before us on seven other occasions on matters relating to housing and housing finance.

"During his previous tenure at the helm of the Federal Housing Administration, he provided steadfast leadership through one of the most trying times that housing markets have ever seen.

"During his current tenure at FHA, he has overseen the return of FHA's insurance fund to its strongest financial position since Fiscal Year 2007, while continuing to provide affordable home ownership opportunities to tens of thousands of first-time homebuyers each year.

"Since January of this year, Mr. Montgomery has also served as Acting Deputy Secretary, charged with overall management of day-to-day operations of the Department.

"Once confirmed as permanent Deputy Secretary, the Department will continue to benefit from his deep institutional knowledge, expertise and dedication to making our housing programs work better.

"Since November 2018, David Woll has served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development, where he has overseen HUD's homeless assistance, disaster relief and block grant programs.

"He has dedicated his entire career to public service, including as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Deputy General Counsel at HUD, and Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor of New Jersey, where he served as the state's compliance director for Superstorm Sandy relief efforts.

"With direct experience both administering CPD programs and implementing them as a state partner, Mr. Woll is well-equipped to continue leading CPD forward.

"Jack Bobbitt currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing Operations at HUD, where he oversees procurement, human resources, facilities, communications and IT systems for the Office of Housing.

"He previously served as Special Assistant to Commissioner Montgomery during the Bush Administration and has also served in a variety of executive roles in the private sector, including both large corporations and start-up ventures.

"If confirmed, Mr. Bobbitt would combine his keen understanding of HUD operations with decades of private-sector experience as he oversees HUD facilities, procurement, staffing, training and performance management.

"Finally, Peter Coniglio would bring a wealth of relevant experience to the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank IG office, having served in the Office of Inspector General at the General Services Administration since 2006, in addition to other distinguished service within the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"In meetings with my office, Mr. Coniglio has committed to running a "fully functioning, independent, regular order' operation at the Ex-Im Office of Inspector General.

"In only a few months in office since their Senate confirmation, the new Ex-Im President Kimberly Reed and her colleagues on the board have already taken significant steps to bring greater transparency and accountability to the bank.

"This progress has not gone unnoticed by many of us on the committee.

"Having a new Senate-confirmed Inspector General in place will only serve to strengthen those efforts. "These nominees are highly distinguished and well-qualified to serve in the roles to which they have been nominated.

"I look forward to working with each of you in the months ahead to advance the aims of your agencies and to expand economic growth.

"Thank you once again for your willingness to serve and for appearing before our Committee today.

"I encourage my colleagues to expeditiously confirm all five of you so that you can quickly get to work for the American people."

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