our second speaker is damon silvers. he is the director of policy and special counsel at the afl-cio. he joined as general counsel in 1997. the treasury department's financial research advisory committee and the oversight board standing advisory group and he served as the oversight group for the troubled asset relief program. everybody knows it as part. >> important different. >> he was involved with that from 2008 until 2011. he also had an important role in analyzing and looking at the causes of the financial crisis. he worked for two different unions. our third speaker is kenneth noted. he is a professor of economics at the university north carolina greensboro. it's published extensively on the mortgage market. i would say he is the preeminent [inaudible] of the mortgage market from original in the. [inaudible] his co- editor and contributor to housing and mortgage market in historical perspective. both published by the university of chicago. he received his phd in economic history from the university of wisconsin at

our second speaker is damon silvers. damon is a director of policy and special counsel at the aflcio. he joined the aflcio as associate general counsel in 1997. he serves on a pro bono basis for the state of new york. he also served as deputy chair of the congressional oversight panel for the troubled asset -- is it -- >> relief. >> relief program. troubled asset relief program. it is t.a.r.p. originally it was going to be repurchased. >> important difference. >> from 2008 to 2011. so he also had an important role in analyzing and commenting on the causes of the financial crisis. before joining the aflcio, he worked for two different unions and also clerked for two judges on the delaware court of chancery. our third speaker is professor kenneth snowden. he is a professor of economics at the university of north carolina greensboro and also a research associate at the national bureau of economic research. he's published extensively on the u.s. financial mortgage market. his two most recent books, he is a co-author of "well

our second speaker is damon silvers. damon is a director of policy and special counsel at the aflcio. he joined the aflcio as associate general counsel in 1997. he serves on a pro bono basis for the state of new york. member of the investor advisory committee of the s.e.c. he also served as deputy chair of the congressional oversight panel for the troubled asset, is it -- >> relief. >> relief program. troubled asset relief program. it is t.a.r.p. originally it was going to be repurchased. >> important difference. >> from 2008 to 2011. so he also had an important role in analyzing and commenting on the causes of the financial crisis. before joining the aflcio, he worked for two different unions and also clerked for two judges on the delaware court of chancery. our third speaker is professor kenneth snowden. he is a professor of economics at the university of north carolina greensboro and also a research associate at the national bureau of economic research. he's published extensively on the u.s. financial mortgage market.

our second speaker is damon silvers. damon is a director of policy and special counsel at the aflcio. he joined the aflcio as associate general counsel in 1997. he serves on a pro bono basis for the state of new york. member of the investor advisory committee of the s.e.c. he also served as deputy chair of the congressional oversight panel for the troubled asset, is it -- >> relief. >> relief program. troubled asset relief program. it is t.a.r.p. originally it was going to be repurchased. >> important difference. >> from 2008 to 2011. so he also had an important role in analyzing and commenting on the causes of the financial crisis. before joining the aflcio, he worked for two different unions and also clerked for two judges on the delaware court of chancery. our third speaker is professor kenneth snowden. he is a professor of economics at the university of north carolina greensboro and also a research associate at the national bureau of economic research. he's published extensively on the u.s. financial mortgage market.

as you were told, i am damon silvers, the policy director, that's not really why i'm here. i was involved in the oversight as the deputy chair of this panel that had the mighty power of the pen which meant, in this case, we got to say things about the bailout but we didn't get to actually do anything. peter and i have been engaged on and often this argument since probably tarp began. peter has the edge on me because he has written a book and i haven't. let me begin by saying that i deeply disagree with the framing of the question. as you will see by the way i want to frame the question, there is a different way of looking at this than the question of, is the private sector at fault or is the public sector at fault. if you are engaged in public policymaking in washington, you quickly learn that there are no boundaries that are meaningful in many respects between the private and public sector. this was particularly true in the area of financial markets and financial making. to say was this just the private sector's fault or the public sector's fault is like saying which what

damon silvers who is director of policy and special accounts of the afl-cio. and ed mortimer, executive director of the transportation and infrastructure at the use of chamber of commerce. so as you can see we have a very good bipartisan split here today and we would really like to real conversation. this is an we hope, going to be a big issue. so let me, mayor cornett, let me go to you first. can you talk to us a little bit about what the conference priorities and what the mayor's priorities are going forward? what do you need, what do you care most about, what sort? >> our infrastructure needs are pretty broad. it is not only our nation's highways but the streets that assistance drive on every day. it is the water infrastructure that they rely on. it is the bridges that have some level of significant repair. brother than go into some of the predictable things that you generally have mayors is a but infrastructure, but they give you an anecdote or two that i think might help you understand the story and the problem that is out there. we hav have a large indus

damon silver, who is director of at theof special counsel afl-ci. and ed mortgagey mer at the u.s. chamber of commerce. you can see we have a very good bipartisan split here today. and we would really like to have a real conversation. this is -- this is, we hope, going to be a big issue. let me-mayor cornet, let me go to you first. as president of the u.s. conference of mayors, can you talk to us about what the conference priorities and what meyers priorities are going forward? what do you need, what do you care most about? what's worked? mayor cornet: our infrastructure needs are broad. it's not only our nation's highways but the streets that our citizens drive on every day. it is the matter infrastructure that they rely on, it is the bridges that have some level of ignature significant rebear. -- repair. let me give you an anecdote or two that might help you understand the story and problem that's out there. we have a large interstate that goes right through the heart of oklahoma city. we have three, actually. but the one i'm going to refer to is interstate 40, goes from californ

damon silvers, who is director of policy and special counsel at the afl-cio, and ed mortner, executive director of the transportation and infrastructure at the u.s. chamber of commerce. as you can see, we have a very good bipartisan split here today. and we would really like to have a real conversation. this is, we hope, going to be a big issue. now, mayor cornett, let me go to you first. as president of the u.s. mayors conferences, mayor, can you talk about what the conference's priorities are and the mayors' priorities are going forward. what do you need, what's worked? >> first, our infrastructure needs are pretty broad. it's not only our nation's highways but the streets that our citizens drive on every day. it is the water infrastructure that they rely on. it's the bridges that have some level of significant repair. you know, rather than go into some of the predictable things that you generally hear mayors say about infrastructure, let me give you an anecdote or two that i think might help you understand the story and the problem that's out there. we have a large interstate that g