Lew sworn in as U.S. Treasury Secretary

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

　　The oath of office was administered by Vice² President Joe Biden. Lew's family members were also in attendance, Treasury said in a statement.

　　Lew was confirmed on Wednesday by the U.S. Senate as the new Treasury Secretary, as Democrats³ and Republicans are haggling⁴ over the looming⁵ government spending cuts. Obama last month nominated the former White House Chief of Staff to lead the Treasury Department, a big step in shaping his economic team for the second term.

　　Lew, a budget expert, served as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in President Bill Clinton's cabinet from 1998 to 2001. During his tenure⁶ at the OMB, he helped the federal government achieve budget surpluses for three consecutive⁷ years.

　　Lew's imminent⁸ challenges as the Treasury chief would be achieving consensus⁹ with GOP leaders to reduce the mounting government debt and coping with the negative effects of the looming government spending cuts.

　　Automatic spending cuts of roughly 85 billion U.S. dollars are set to hit various government departments this year starting March 1, as agreed by Democrats and Republicans in January in their negotiations¹⁰ to resolve the so-called "fiscal¹¹ cliff."

分享到：