VOA慢速英语-Economics Report - The US Housing Rescue Plan: What

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Last week, the United States Congress approved a major housing bill. President George Bush signed it into law on Wednesday.

The plan could help an estimated four hundred thousand homeowners late in their payments and in danger of losing their homes.

The government will guarantee up to three hundred billion dollars in lower-cost refinancing of loans. In return, lenders must agree to forgive part of the original loan.
　
Prices for homes, like this one in Denver, Colorado, are falling in many parts of the country

But experts say as many as three million owners are in trouble. With falling prices, many people owe more than their homes are worth.

The new law also includes help for the mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They guarantee or own almost half of the nation's twelve trillion dollars in housing debt.

They buy high quality loans but have also invested in risky¹ mortgages. In recent months they have reported eleven billion dollars in losses, and their stock prices have collapsed².

Congress created the Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae, in nineteen thirty-eight. In sixty-eight it became a shareholder-owned company financed with private capital. Then Congress created a competitor: the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association, or Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae and the smaller Freddie Mac buy loans from banks and other lenders, then sell them as securities to investors³ worldwide. This secondary market provides money for lenders to make new loans.

Now, few investors are interested in mortgage-backed securities without government guarantees.

Investors always believed that if Fannie and Freddie needed help, the government would intervene. Now, it has. The new law lets the Treasury⁴, until the end of next year, offer them unlimited⁵ credit and even buy their stock.

Some critics say Fannie and Freddie should be replaced by truly private companies. Their government connection has lowered their borrowing costs. But many economists⁶ say homeowners get little of that savings⁷. And critics have deplored⁸ their spending on political campaigns, lobbying activities, and pay for their executives.

The plan does create new supervision⁹ over both companies.

The Congressional Budget Office says the rescue plan could cost taxpayers¹⁰ twenty-five billion dollars. But it also says there is probably better than a fifty percent chance that no money will be needed.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 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。

5 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

6 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 deplored   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They deplored the price of motor car, textiles, wheat, and oil. 他们悲叹汽车、纺织品、小麦和石油的价格。 来自辞典例句
• Hawthorne feels that all excess is to be deplored. 霍桑觉得一切过分的举动都是可悲的。 来自辞典例句

9 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

10 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。