voa标准英语2008年-Paulson, Bernanke Defend Financial Rescue Strat

In testimony¹ to Congress, the U.S. treasury² chief and central bank chairman have strongly defended their management of the $700 billion financial and credit market rescue program. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, where the officials faced tough questions from lawmakers about how government money is being used.
　 COLLAPSE¹⁵: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="15%" align="left" border="0">

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, left, accompanied by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, testifies on Capitol Hill before House Financial Services Committee, 18 Nov. 2008

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have faced criticism the original intent of the financial rescue program as approved by Congress in September has shifted.

Mr. Paulson revealed last week that billions of dollars approved by Congress is now going to prop³ up capital liquidity⁴ and lending capabilities⁵ of banks and other institutions, rather than to purchase troubled assets they hold.

Under questioning before the House Financial Services Committee, Paulson said negative developments in U.S. and global market conditions since Congress approved the rescue program outstripped⁶ the effectiveness of initial $350 billion amount approved by Congress, forcing the change in direction.

"It is clear that an effective mortgage asset purchase program would require a massive commitment of TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program] funds," he said. "In September, before economic conditions worsened, $700 billion in troubled asset purchases would have had a significant impact. But half of that sum in a worse economy simply is not enough fire power."

Paulson said actions so far had strengthened the financial system, prevented further harm to the U.S. economy, and preserved for President-elect Barack Obama the flexibility⁷ he will need to deal with future challenges.

Committee chairman Democratic Representative Barney Frank said lawmakers are unhappy with how banks and institutions have used money from the government program, and their failure to significantly expand lending to home owners.

"The fundamental policy issue is our disappointment that funds are not being used out of the $700 billion to supplement mortgage foreclosure reduction," he said.

Lawmakers have pointed⁸ to media reports that banks have used money from the government assistance program to purchase other banks, and pay investor⁹ dividends¹⁰ and bonuses to executives.

Representatives of some major institutions told Congress last week that executive compensation will be sharply reduced in light of economic conditions, and defended their efforts to expand lending.

Ranking panel Republican Spencer Bachus said Paulson deserves credit for recognizing the need to shift strategy.

"[If] conditions on the ground change, then you must be agile¹¹ and adjust, and I hope we all understand that," he said.

In their testimony, Bernanke and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair said while capital injections reduced pressure on and provided some stability to banks, credit conditions remain unsatisfactory.

"Overall credit conditions are still far from normal, with risk spreads remaining very elevated and banks reporting that they continued to tighten¹² lending standards through October," Bernanke said.
　

FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Financial Services Committee, 18 Nov. 2008

"The financial system is now more stable and interest rate spreads have narrowed substantially, however credit remains¹³ tight and a serious threat to the economic outlook," said Bair.

Bair pointed to continuing increases in the number of U.S. home foreclosures, saying that government efforts are "falling behind the curve."

In his testimony, Treasury Secretary Paulson said the Bush administration remains opposed to using funds from the government rescue program to help the three major U.S. automakers avoid collapse.

House and Senate lawmakers are considering a $25 billion plan to help auto¹⁴ manufacturers.

1 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

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 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

4 liquidity   

n.流动性，偿债能力，流动资产

参考例句：

• The bank has progressively increased its liquidity.银行逐渐地增加其流动资产。
• The demand for and the supply of credit is closely linked to changes in liquidity.信用的供求和流动资金的变化有密切关系。

5 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

6 outstripped   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• That manufacturer outstripped all his competitors in sales last year. 那个制造商家去年的销售量超过了所有竞争对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The imagination of her mother and herself had outstripped the truth. 母亲和她自己的想象力远远超过了事实。 来自辞典例句

7 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

10 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

11 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

12 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

15 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。