VOA标准英语2009年-US Governors Debate Obama Mortgage Rescue Plan

President Barack Obama's plan to aid millions of Americans who are at risk of losing their homes is getting a mixed review from state governors who gathered in Washington for a three-day meeting. A rash of home foreclosures helped plunge¹ the United States into recession, and the national foreclosure rate shows few signs of subsiding².

Unveiled last week, the Obama plan encourages struggling homeowners to refinance their mortgages at a lower interest rate. If refinancing is not enough to prevent foreclosure, the plan provides a mechanism³ for lowering a homeowner's mortgage debt burden, and incentives⁴ for both lenders and borrowers to abide⁵ by the reworked agreement.
　
Housing and Urban Development-Secretary, Shaun Donovan (File)

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan says the plan will help honest Americans who have been hurt by the economic downturn, not real estate speculators whose investments turned sour when property values dropped.

Donovan spoke⁶ on CBS' Face the Nation program.

"What is really driving foreclosures is people losing their jobs. We have millions of families across this country that, through no fault of their own, are in trouble on their mortgages. We are going to stop speculators from getting in the plan [benefiting]," said Donovan. "But we have to make sure that folks who have played by the rules and are struggling can get some help."

Total costs for the plan are estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Although home foreclosures hurt the national economy as a whole, they are particularly worrisome to state and local governments, many of which rely on property taxes for revenue. Foreclosures tend to depress housing values for entire neighborhoods, and lower assessed values mean lower tax receipts.

But while America's state governors agree the housing crisis must not be allowed to fester, some are critical of the Obama administration's prescription⁷ for fixing the problem.

"I think it is a horrible idea," said Mark Sanford.

South Carolina's Republican Governor Mark Sanford says the administration's plan rewards irresponsible behavior. Sanford spoke on Fox News Sunday.

"About 95 percent of folks are playing by the rules and struggling, but still paying their mortgages," said Sanford. "The idea that somebody down the street gets a different system is something that, ultimately, is going to undermine a whole lot of other folks with regard to paying their mortgage."

Also appearing on Fox News Sunday, fellow-Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota said the federal government has no business restructuring private mortgage contracts.

"This notion where the government is going to step in and then forcibly reconfigure the terms of an existing contract should scare us," said Pawlenty.

But others say struggling homeowners must be helped for the same reason that failing banks must be rescued: to do otherwise invites economic catastrophe⁸ that harms everyone. Democratic Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania.

"If we do not do it, the whole system collapses⁹. Every economist¹⁰ - conservative, liberal, moderate, progressive - says that we have got to do these bailouts, as bad [painful] as they are," said Rendell.

President Obama says his home foreclosure plan is one of three tools he will deploy¹¹ to stabilize¹² the U.S. economy. The other two are the stimulus¹³ plan he signed into law last week and Treasury¹⁴ Secretary Timothy Geithner's initiative to save troubled U.S. financial institutions.

1 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

2 subsiding   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的现在分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• The flooded river was subsiding rapidly. 泛滥的河水正在迅速退落。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gradually the tension was subsiding, gradually the governor was relenting. 风潮渐渐地平息了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

3 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

4 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

5 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

8 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

9 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

12 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

13 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。

14 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。