VOA标准英语2008年-US Treasury Secretary Meets With Legislators on

By Scott Stearns
White House
23 January 2008

U.S. Treasury¹ Secretary Henry Paulson met with congressional leaders Wednesday for talks on a stimulus² package for the U.S. economy. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

Secretary Paulson met with the leaders of both political parties in the House of Representatives - Democrat³ Nancy Pelosi and Republican John Boehner.  Boehner told reporters they looked at a lot of options but reached no conclusions.

Paulson is the president's lead negotiator with Congress.  In a meeting with members of the U.S. Council of Mayors, President Bush said the economy needs a boost because Americans are facing uncertainty⁴ brought on by higher energy costs and a falling real estate market.

"I talked to them about my desire to work with the Congress to get a stimulus package passed, one that is going to be robust⁵ enough to effect the economy, simple enough for people to understand it, and efficient enough to have an impact," he said.  "And I am confident that we can get something done."

The president met Tuesday with congressional leaders, including Pelosi and Boehner, as well as the parties' Senate leaders, Democrat Harry⁶ Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell.  Reid says Democrats⁷ are working with Republican colleagues and the Bush administration to get an economic stimulus package to the president in the next three weeks.

"I would hope that we can get something done really quickly, that we set aside our individual ideologies⁸ and move forward with a package that is one that the American people identify with," he said.

President Bush says broad-based tax relief must be big enough to make a difference. So he is proposing an amount equal to about one percent of the value of all U.S. goods and services. That is between $140 billion and $150 billion.

Mr. Bush wants tax incentives⁹ for businesses to make investments this year as well as direct and rapid income tax relief for individuals.

Democrats agree on the need to help individual taxpayers¹⁰, but they also want to boost unemployment benefits and food aid. That social spending may face opposition¹¹ from a president who says the deal should not include projects with little immediate¹² impact on the economy.

Asked about a possible extension of unemployment benefits, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president is not closing the door on other people's ideas, but as Paulson is negotiating with Congress in private, Perino said she will not comment publicly on any specific proposals.

At the World Economic Forum¹³ in Switzerland, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told political and business leaders that the American economy is resilient and sound.

Some participants at the Forum have criticized this week's cut in U.S. interest rates saying that could spark inflation. Others say lower interest rates are a bad idea because cheap loans contributed to the real estate bubble that, when it burst, started the economic woes¹⁴.

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 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。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

5 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 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》

8 ideologies   

n.思想（体系）( ideology的名词复数 )；思想意识；意识形态；观念形态

参考例句：

• There is no fundamental diversity between the two ideologies. 这两种思想意识之间并没有根本的分歧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Radical ideologies require to contrast to their own goodness the wickedness of some other system. 凡是过激的意识形态，都需要有另外一个丑恶的制度作对比，才能衬托出自己的善良。 来自辞典例句

9 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

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。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

14 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。