WASHINGTON – Following a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the mortgage crisis and the economy today at which Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) engaged in pointed exchanges with Treasury Secretary Paulson about the administration’s economic outlook, Senator Menendez released the following statement:

“I am concerned that, despite all the alarm bells we are hearing about the worsening mortgage crisis and economy, this administration continues to hit the snooze button. They continue to try to approach the problem with baby steps rather than tackling it with full force. This administration has hid its head in the sand and has downplayed economic problems, but Americans who are struggling to hang on to their homes, pay their health care bills and fill up a tank of gas are living the reality.

“This feels like a case of déjà vu – early last year when I raised the specter of a tsunami of foreclosures, the administration would neither agree with that assessment nor would they stand up and take action until it was too late. The stimulus package we passed should give a boost to the economy, but it won’t be nearly enough. There are measures related to housing, unemployment and energy prices that we should pass to give this economy another boost, and I’m hoping that the administration recognizes that before it’s too late once again.”