VOA标准英语2009年-Senate Panel Endorses Obama Treasury Secretary

The Senate Finance Committee has approved President Obama's nominee¹ to be Treasury² Secretary paving the way for his confirmation³ by the full Senate. President Obama is hoping for a quick confirmation of his top financial adviser⁴, so that his administration can get to work on a massive economic recovery plan.
　
Timothy Geithner testifying on Capitol Hill, 21 Jan 2009

The Senate Finance Committee voted 18 to 5 to approve Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary, despite a second day of tough comments by several Republican members. All five Senators voting "No" were Republicans.

One of them was Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona.
　
Sen. Jon Kyl holds up a copy of Tax Allowance Application for 2002 tax year, that Mr. Geithner submitted as evidence during confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, 21 Jan. 2009

He said he was very disappointed in Geithner's lack of candor⁵ in answering questions about his own personal tax history.

"I also cannot vote 'yes' when I believe that as of right now he has not been as candid⁶ with me or with this committee as I believe he should have," he said.

Geithner apologized to the panel on Wednesday for what he called "careless mistakes" in failing to pay $34,000 of taxes earlier this decade. The 47-year-old president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank had neglected to pay certain U.S. income taxes when he was employed by the International Monetary⁷ Fund.

Among other duties, the Secretary of the Treasury oversees⁸ the collection of U.S. federal income taxes.

Another strong opponent of Geithner was Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, who blamed Geithner's lack of effectiveness as a regulator for part of the current economic collapse⁹ on Wall Street.

"Trillions of dollars in savings¹⁰ held by retired¹¹ Americans have been destroyed as a result," he said.

Bunning said Mr. Geithner had been involved in just about every flawed bailout action of the Bush administration.

But several Republicans on the panel voted for Mr. Geithner, and experts believe his confirmation by the full Senate is virtually guaranteed. Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York expressed the view held by many that Geithner is the person best qualified¹² to lead the Treasury Department at this critical time.

"In these times, our financial system is entering troubled, dangerous and uncharted waters. And there is no navigator more suited for this job by way of intelligence, experience, inclination¹³ and temperament¹⁴ than Tim Geithner," he said.

Geithner says the new administration will submit a comprehensive plan for responding to the housing and financial crisis to Congress within the next few weeks. He has called for approval of a separate stimulus¹⁵ plan to revive the economy, which is mired¹⁶ in its worst recession in more than 25 years.

Before becoming head of the New York Fed, Geithner served in a variety of positions at the Treasury Department and has been deeply involved in its international financial operations.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 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。

3 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 candor   

n.坦白，率真

参考例句：

• He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
• He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率，已使婚姻奄奄一息。

6 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

7 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

8 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

9 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

10 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。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

13 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

14 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

15 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

16 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》