VOA标准英语2008年-US Lawmakers Continue to Voice Concerns Over Fi

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have voiced concern to Treasury¹ Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about proposed steps to bailout U.S. financial institutions. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.
　
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (left) and central bank chief Ben Bernanke at US Congressional hearing, 24 Sep 2008

As they did before a Senate committee on Tuesday, Paulson and Bernanke urged members of the House to swiftly enact² legislation for a rescue plan that would cost American taxpayers⁴ an estimated $700 billion.

Treasury Secretary Paulson told the House Financial Services Committee that decisive action is needed and warned of the danger of delay.

"We must do so in order to avoid a continuing series of financial institution failures and frozen credit markets that threaten American families' financial well-being⁵, the viability⁶ of businesses - both small and large - and the very health of our economy."

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the committee the U.S. economy would suffer a major setback⁷, if the rescue plan is not implemented⁸. "If financial conditions fail to improve for a protracted⁹ period, the implications for the broader economy could be quite adverse," he said.

Lawmakers continue to work on revisions to the White House proposal to produce a bipartisan bill that would allow the government to buy de-valued assets from troubled financial firms and banks.

Democrats¹⁰ and Republicans have pressed Paulson and Bernanke for specifics about how such purchases would occur, and how the worth of the assets would be assessed, insisting on more oversight¹¹ and taxpayer³ protections.

Saying he is not looking for "extraordinary power," Paulson maintained that the $700 billion eventually would be repaid to the government.

"This is not expenditure¹² in a traditional sense. It is not an outlay¹³. It is purchasing assets. And we believe when those assets are sold, the money comes back to the government, to the taxpayer."

Lawmakers from both major parties want substantial changes to the proposed bailout. The Bush administration agreed to one of those changes on Wednesday.

Citing public anger about high corporate¹⁴ salaries, Paulson said he agreed on the need to limit pay for Wall Street executives whose companies could benefit from the government rescue, as long as it would not impede¹⁵ the effectiveness of the program.

California Democratic Representative Brad Sherman called for the creation of a powerful board to co-approve Treasury Department asset purchases. "What we need is a co-signer, somebody sitting there saying you can or cannot engage in that transaction," he said.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers cited their constituents¹⁶' fears about the bailout plan.

"One thing we as politicians know, you can't make a move this large without the consent of the American people. And we don't have it yet." said Republican Representative Deborah Pryce of Ohio.

Meanwhile, the financial crisis continues to be at the center of the U.S. presidential race.

Republican candidate Senator John McCain suspended his campaign on Wednesday and called for postponement¹⁷ of the first presidential debate with his Democratic opponent Senator Barack Obama on Friday. McCain said he will return to Washington on Thursday to work on a solution to the financial crisis.

Obama rejected McCain's proposal, but said both candidates are working on a joint¹⁸ statement calling on their parties in Congress to come together to find a solution to the nation's economic turmoil¹⁹.

 

1 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。

2 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

3 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

4 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

5 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

6 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

7 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 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》

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

13 outlay   

n.费用，经费，支出；v.花费

参考例句：

• There was very little outlay on new machinery.添置新机器的开支微乎其微。
• The outlay seems to bear no relation to the object aimed at.这费用似乎和预期目的完全不相称。

14 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

15 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

16 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

18 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

19 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。