美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Auntie Maxine' Waters Gets Ready To Take On The Banks As House Panel Chair

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California is one of President Trump¹'s fiercest critics. She has repeatedly called for his impeachment². And now with Democrats³ taking control of the House, Waters is expected to head the powerful Financial Services Committee. This position is going to enable Waters to slow down Trump's banking⁴ agenda and also delve⁵ more deeply into his company's finances. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE⁶: Maxine Waters is a political firebrand, unafraid to talk back to anyone. Here she was on the House floor during a debate about discrimination in auto⁷ lending.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MAXINE WATERS: And don't talk to me about the fact that we don't understand what happens on the auto - no. I will not yield. No. I will not yield.

ZARROLI: And the 80-year-old lawmaker became an Internet meme, thanks to exchanges like this one with Treasury⁸ Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

STEVEN MNUCHIN: The Department of Treasury has cooperated extensively with the Senate Intel Committee, with the House Intel Committee...

WATERS: Reclaiming⁹ my time. Reclaiming my time.

MNUCHIN: ...With the Senate...

WATERS: Reclaiming my time. Reclaiming my time.

ZARROLI: Waters' confrontational¹⁰ style has earned her the loathing¹¹ of President Trump, who disparaged¹² her as having a low IQ, a remark widely condemned¹³ as racist¹⁴. She was one of a handful of Trump critics who were mailed pipe bombs last month. That has only made her double down on her attacks. She drew criticism when she told supporters not to be afraid to harass¹⁵ Trump administration officials if they see them in public. Waters' work on the Financial Services Committee has attracted less attention, but it has earned her admirers, such as Mike Calhoun of the Center for Responsible Lending.

MIKE CALHOUN: She is a tough and savvy¹⁶ defender¹⁷ of consumer protection and holds the feet of the banks and the Trump administration regulators to the fire.

ZARROLI: Waters has positioned herself on the committee as the voice of the little people, quizzing bankers about the impact of their policies on small businesses and homeowners. She earned the nickname Auntie Maxine. Now she's in line to head the committee. In a recent speech, Waters talked about the huge wave of foreclosures in the Great Recession and the massive consumer fraud at banks such as Wells Fargo. And she warned the banks she wasn't about to go easy on them.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WATERS: What am I going to do to you? What I'm going to do to you is fair. I'm going to do to you what you did to us.

(APPLAUSE)

ZARROLI: In fact, with Congress divided, there's a limit to what Waters can accomplish legislatively¹⁸, but she can hold hearings. Ian Katz of Capital Alpha Partners says she can haul regulators and bankers before the committee and shine a light on issues she cares about.

IAN KATZ: She can't pass laws. She can make bank executives and some of the regulators appointed by Trump very uncomfortable and create some awkward moments for them.

ZARROLI: Katz points out that Trump has embarked¹⁹ on a major effort to deregulate banking. He says Waters can make that more difficult.

KATZ: She can't necessarily change what they're going to do, change the regulations, but she could slow things down.

ZARROLI: She can also turn up the heat on Trump. Waters has already been a fierce critic of Deutsche Bank, which has been one of the few big banks willing to lend money to Trump's businesses. She was asked about the bank on Bloomberg TV last week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WATERS: And we know that Deutsche Bank is identified as one of the biggest money laundering²⁰ banks, you know, in the world, perhaps, and that they're the only ones who were, you know, amenable²¹ to providing loans to this president. So we want to know some things about that.

ZARROLI: Waters is quick to say the committee will look at other issues, too, but her new role will give her the resources to look into how Trump's businesses are financed. And she's made clear she's more than willing to do that. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

5 delve   

v.深入探究，钻研

参考例句：

• We should not delve too deeply into this painful matter.我们不应该过分深究这件痛苦的事。
• We need to delve more deeply into these questions.这些是我们想进一步了解的。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

9 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 confrontational   

adj.挑衅的；对抗的

参考例句：

• Fans love rappers partly because they strike such a confrontational pose. 乐迷热爱这些饶舌艺人一定程度上是因为他们所采取的那种战斗姿态。 来自互联网
• You prefer a non confrontational approach when it comes to resolving disputes. 面对争端，你不喜欢采用对抗性的手段来解决。 来自互联网

11 loathing   

n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒，既害怕又憎恨。
• They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 disparaged   

v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• French-Canadian fur trappers and Sioux disparaged such country as "bad lands. " 法语的加拿大毛皮捕兽器和苏人的贬低国家作为“坏土地”。 来自互联网
• She disparaged her student's efforts. 她轻视她的学生做出的努力。 来自互联网

13 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

14 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

15 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

16 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

17 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

18 legislatively   

adv.立法地

参考例句：

• Indeed, experience with the legislatively imposed hybrid procedures has not been encouraging. 的确，立法规定的混合型程序的经历并不令人感到鼓舞。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• The criminal pattern kidnapping and killing the kidnapped person is contained and aggravated crime legislatively. 从犯罪形态来看，“杀害被绑架人”的立法属于包容加重犯。 来自互联网

19 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

20 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 amenable   

adj.经得起检验的；顺从的；对负有义务的

参考例句：

• His scientific discoveries are amenable to the laws of physics.他在科学上的发现经得起物理定律的检验。
• He is amenable to counsel.他这人听劝。