President Bush Meets with Representatives of ... (2008-10-2)

President Bush Meets with Representatives of American Businesses on the Economic Rescue Package

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank the job creators who have joined me here today to talk about the state of the economy and the need for the House of Representatives to pass the bill that passed the Senate last night with an overwhelming bipartisan majority.

Our discussion today centered around credit. I know there's a lot of discussions in the newspapers and on TV about the credit freeze. Well, let me tell you what this means. It means that if you're running a small company and you need to make payroll¹, or you need to make sure you got inventory² to be able to sell a product, or you want to expand so you can hire somebody, you need to have credit. You need to be able to have money on a regular basis from your local banker.

 And the problem is, because people are worried about their future, they're worried the government won't act, credit is frozen. People aren't lending money from bank to bank or they're not lending money to our medium- and small-sized businesses.

And that means people's jobs are in jeopardy³. And the bill that's before the House of Representatives tomorrow is a bill that has got the best chance of providing liquidity⁴, providing credit, providing money so small businesses and medium-sized businesses can function.

A lot of people are watching the House of Representatives now to determine whether or not they will be able to act positively⁵ on a bill that has been improved. People say, what do you mean by that? Well, the insurance for the FDIC goes up to $250,000. That's an improvement to the legislation -- not only for banks but for credit unions, as well.

And so I'm talking to people who are, you know, who come from the heartland, that understand what's taking place in our economy today; people who understand that the House of Representatives needs to pass this piece of legislation.

And I want to thank you all for going up and telling these members of Congress what's on your mind and how this affects your businesses at home, and how it affects the communities in which you live. This thing -- this issue has gone way beyond New York and Wall Street. This is an issue that's affecting hardworking people. They're worried about their savings⁶, they're worried about their jobs, they're worried about their houses, they're worried about their small businesses. And the House of Representatives must listen to these voices and get this bill passed so we can get about the business of restoring confidence.

Thank you very much.

1 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

2 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

3 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

4 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

5 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。