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Republicans and Democrats¹ agree that help is needed for the sagging² U.S. housing market and the ailing³ American economy in general. But President Bush and a Democratic lawmaker have made it clear they differ on what kind of help is needed.

美国的共和党和民主党都认为需要帮助解决不景气的房屋市场和整体的经济不景气。但是布什总统和一位国会民主党人明确表示，他们在提供什么样的帮助上存在分歧。

The year's first major government effort to strengthen the U.S economy quickly passed both houses of Congress last month and was signed by President Bush. The legislation is intended to give Americans more money to spend, by providing about $168 billion in tax rebates⁴ and business incentives⁵.

美国政府今年第一个加强经济的主要议案上个月在国会参众两院迅速获得通过，经总统布什签字生效。这个立法意图为美国民众提供更多用于消费的资金，拿出大约1680亿美元作为退税款以及对企业的刺激。

In his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush said he believes the part of the initiative which gives business owners tax breaks for investing in new equipment this year will be especially helpful to the economy. "As more businesses begin taking advantage of these incentives, investment will pick up and so will job creation. And together with the individual tax rebates, these incentives will help give our economy a shot in the arm," he said.

布什在每周一次的广播讲话中说，他相信对企业提供免税那一部分计划会对经济有特别的帮助。这项法规允许企业主在今年投资新的设备时享受税款减免。布什说：“当越来越多的企业开始享受这项刺激的时候，投资就会逐渐增加，就业机会会随之增长，再加上纳税人得到的退税，这些优惠将给我们的经济注入活力。”

The Bush administration has also proposed giving the U.S. central bank sweeping⁶ new powers to more tightly regulate the country's financial industry. One provision of the plan would give the Federal Reserve the power to examine the books of financial institutions whose problems could threaten the nation's economic stability. Democrats are also calling for tougher supervision⁷ of Wall Street and the mortgage lending industry.

布什政府还提议给美国中央银行广泛的新权力来更严格地管理美国的金融业。计划当中的一项就是要授权中央银行对那些有威胁国家经济稳定问题的金融机构的帐目进行检查。民主党人也呼吁更严格地监管华尔街以及房屋贷款的放贷机构。

Differences between the two parties appear in their approaches to strengthening the U.S. housing market. Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are both backing a $30 billion proposal for the government to refinance mortgages for up to two million homeowners who are in danger of defaulting on their loans.

两党的不同之处在于他们加强美国房屋市场的方式不同。争取民主党总统候选人提名的希拉里.克林顿和巴拉克.奥巴马都支持一个300亿美元的提案，让政府为多达两百万可能会在偿还贷款上遇到麻烦的房主重新安排贷款。

Representative Bill Foster, elected in a special vote three weeks ago, said in the Democrats' radio address that his party's plan will help a large number of at-risk homeowners. "Next week, the House of Representatives will continue to work on a comprehensive plan to help families who are on the brink⁸ of losing their homes. Our plan will help more families avoid foreclosure and give cities the chance to rehabilitate⁹ foreclosed homes and put them back on the market," he said.

众议员比尔.弗斯特三个星期前在一次特别投票中当选，他在民主党人的广播讲话中说，民主党的计划将帮助大批面临风险的房主。弗斯特说：“下星期，众议院将继续推动一个帮助濒临失去住房的家庭的综合计划。我们的计划将帮助更多的家庭避免因为交不起贷款利息而被代管机构没收住房，让市政府有机会为被没收的房屋恢复元气，重新上市出售。”

Republicans say the Democratic plan is irresponsible, and amounts to a bailout. President Bush says he will veto that proposal. "The problems in the housing market are complicated, and there is no easy solution. But by supporting responsible homeowners with wise policies, we will help them weather a difficult period. We will help get our economy back on track, and we will ensure (that) America remains¹⁰ the most prosperous nation in the world," he said.

共和党人说，民主党的计划是不负责任的，等于是让政府挽救房市。布什总统说他将否决这个建议。布什说：“房屋市场的问题是复杂的，没有简单的解决方案。但是通过明智的政策来支持负责任的房主，我们就将帮助他们度过一个困难阶段。我们就能够将我们的经济拉回正轨，我们就将保证美国在世界上仍是一个最繁荣的国家。”

In his Saturday address, Mr. Bush promoted two of his administration's policies to help homeowners. Under a voluntary program called Hope Now, participating lenders freeze at-risk borrowers' interest rates at a low level. Another program, called FHA Secure, helps credit-worthy borrowers refinance so-called subprime mortgages that have a low introductory interest rate but later re-set at higher rates.

布什总统在星期六发表的讲话当中，宣传了政府帮助房主的两个项目。在一个叫做“现时希望”的自愿项目中，参与项目的放贷机构冻结有风险的借贷人较低的利率。另一个项目叫作FHA保证，帮助仍然有信誉的借贷人重新贷款，这种贷款开始时利率很低，但是以后会逐渐升高，也叫做次级抵押贷款。