奥巴马每周电视讲话：保卫华尔街改革成果

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week's address, Senator Elizabeth Warren joined President Obama to discuss how far we've come since the financial crisis, when the recklessness of Wall Street caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs, homes, and savings¹. Senator Warren underscored the importance of the Wall Street reforms the President signed into law, which included the strongest consumer protections in generations. In addition to making the financial system safer and more resilient, these reforms also established the first-ever Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which holds banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, and others accountable, and protects consumers from abuses and deceptive² practices. This past Thursday, July 21, marked six years since the President signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law and the five year anniversary of the creation of the CFPB. Thanks to these reforms, the President reiterated³ the economy is stronger and more durable⁴ today than it was before the crisis. That's why President Obama is going to keep fighting to protect the progress we've made reforming Wall Street from attacks, because hard-working Americans who play by the rules should expect Wall Street to play by the rules, too.

Remarks of President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth

Warren as Prepared for Delivery

Weekly Address

The White House

July 23, 2016

POTUS: Hi, everybody. I’m here with Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of our strongest advocates for families and consumers like you. Today, we want to talk about some of the actions we’ve taken to protect everything you’ve worked so hard to build.

Eight years ago, after some big banks made irresponsible and risky⁵ bets with your money, we almost slipped into another Great Depression. While the recklessness started on Wall Street, it didn’t take long before it led to real pain for folks on Main Street. It would cost millions of our fellow Americans their jobs, homes, and savings.

WARREN: The financial crisis wasn’t an unstoppable act of nature. The whole thing could have been avoided, but we didn’t have the rules in place to stop Wall Street from taking enormous risks that threatened the economy. We didn’t have strong protections to keep consumers from being cheated by tricks and traps on financial contracts.

POTUS: So when I took office in the darkest days of the crisis, I promised you we wouldn’t just recover from crisis – we’d rebuild our economy on a new foundation to make sure a crisis like that never happens again.

WARREN: President Obama delivered. He signed into law the toughest Wall Street reforms and strongest consumer protections in generations. Trust me – I’m a pretty tough grader. These new rules are making our financial system more transparent⁶, getting rid of a lot of fine print, and making sure that if a bank screws up, you have someone to call so you don’t get stuck with the bill.

POTUS: These reforms have already made our financial system safer and more resilient. And part of passing those strong consumer protections meant establishing the first-ever Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, based on an idea that Senator Warren came up with before the crisis even began.

WARREN: Every day, the good people at that independent agency crack down on dishonest and deceptive practices like the ones that helped cause the crash. The proof is in the more than 27 million consumers who in just five years have gotten refunds⁷ and other relief from credit card companies, payday lenders, debt collectors, and others that tried to rip them off.

POTUS: Before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, you didn’t have a strong ally to turn to if your bank took advantage of you, or you were being harassed⁸ or charged inappropriate fees. Now you do.

WARREN: The Bureau is also there to help you make better-informed decisions. Before you take out a mortgage, or a loan for college or a new car, check out the agency’s website – CFPB.gov. It can help you sift⁹ through the confusing but important details.

POTUS: Republicans and big banks who opposed these commonsense¹⁰ rules claimed they’d hurt the economy. But we’ve seen what happened to the economy when we didn’t have these rules. And despite their claims, our economy is stronger today than it was before the crisis. Since we dug out from the worst of it, our businesses have added almost 15 million new jobs. Corporate¹¹ profits are up, lending to businesses is up, and the stock market has hit an all-time high. So the idea this was bad for business just doesn’t hold water. Now our task should be making sure we build on those gains, and make sure they’re felt by everybody.

WARREN: But every year, like clockwork, big banks and their Republican allies in Congress try to roll back these protections and undermine the consumer watchdog, whose only job is to look out for you. Their nominee¹² for President promises to dismantle¹³ all of it. They may have forgotten about the crisis, but working families sure haven’t. We haven’t either. And that’s why we’re not going to let them give Wall Street the ability to threaten our economy all over again.

POTUS: Whether you’re a Democrat¹⁴, a Republican, or an independent, if you’re a hardworking American who plays by the rules, you should expect Wall Street to play by the rules, too. That’s what we’re fighting for.

WARREN: It’s about basic fairness for everyone.

POTUS: And it’s about responsibility from everyone. Thanks to leaders like Senator Warren, our country, our economy, and our families are better off. Let’s keep it that way. Thanks for being here, Senator Warren.

WARREN: Thanks for having me, Mr. President.

POTUS: Have a great weekend, everybody.

1 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。

2 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

3 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

4 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

5 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。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 refunds   

n.归还，偿还额，退款( refund的名词复数 )v.归还，退还( refund的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Tomorrow he would return them to the store and claim refunds. 明天他要把它们退还给商店并要求退款。 来自辞典例句
• The new method means that taxpayers get refunds much faster. 这种新办法意味着纳税人可以较快地领到退还款。 来自辞典例句

8 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

9 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

10 commonsense   

adj.有常识的；明白事理的；注重实际的

参考例句：

• It is commonsense to carry an umbrella in this weather.这种天气带把伞是很自然的。
• These results are no more than a vindication of commonsense analysis.这些结果只不过是按常理分析得出的事实。

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 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。

13 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

14 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。