U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the Obama administration is making progress in calming financial markets. Testifying before the Senate Banking committee, Geithner said a program to help banks and other financial institutions get rid of bad investments will start operating in about six weeks.
美国财政部长盖特纳说，奥巴马政府在稳定金融市场方面正在取得进展。在国会参议院银行委员会举行的听证会上作证时，盖特纳还说，一项帮助银行和其他金融机构摆脱不良资产的计划将在六个星期内开始实施。
Treasury Secretary Geithner told members of the Senate banking committee that economic recovery efforts are beginning to take effect.
盖特纳财长告诉参议院银行委员会的成员们，政府为经济复苏所做出的努力正在发挥作用。
"Today I am pleased to report that there are encouraging signs that the financial system is starting to heal," said Timothy Geithner. "Concern about systemic risk has diminished, and overall credit conditions have started to improve."
他说：“我很高兴地向大家报告，已经出现了令人鼓舞的迹象，金融系统已经开始康复了。人们对系统性风险的担忧已经减少，总的信贷条件已经开始改善。”
Geithner said government and private investors will work together to purchase bad loans from banks, so-called "toxic assets", so the banks can resume lending and get the economy going again.
盖特纳表示，政府和私人投资者将合作收购银行坏帐，也就是所谓的“有毒资产”，这样银行就可以恢复放贷，使经济得以重新启动。
The treasury secretary faced some skepticism from some members of the panel as he gave a progress report on his oversight of the $700-billion effort, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or "TARP." Ranking Republican member, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, accused the Obama administration of not have having a well-conceived plan for the country's banks.
就在盖特纳财长报告他所监管的7000亿美元问题资产救助方案取得进展的时候，参议院银行委员会的一些成员却表示怀疑。来自阿拉巴马州的参议员理查德.谢尔比是这个委员会中的首席共和党成员，他指责奥巴马政府没有为全国的银行制定出一个经过精心构思的计划。
"The failure to devise a clear, Mr. Secretary, and credible plan for employing TARP, has also resulted in a massive waste, some people believe, of taxpayer dollars," said Senator Shelby.
他说：“由于没能为实施问题资产救助方案制定出一个明确而且可信的计划，结果给纳税人的钱造成了巨大的浪费，有些人就是这么认为的。”
Senator Shelby said the massive TARP plan approved late last year had actually scared investors instead of calming them. Several other Republican members expressed concern about the level of government intervention in the market economy. Geithner defended his administration's actions.
谢尔比参议员说，去年底批准的这个规模庞大的问题资产救助方案实际上吓坏了投资人，而不是稳住了他们。另外几位共和党议员还对政府干预市场经济的程度表示担忧。
"Crises don't burn themselves out," he said. "Crises this severe don't burn themselves out. To fix them requires the action of government."
不过，盖特纳财长对于政府的行动进行了辩护：“危机并不会自己熄灭。尤其是这么严重的危机更不会自己熄灭。要化解危机就必须让政府采取行动。”
Geithner confirmed media reports that the Obama administration is considering the creation of a regulatory commission that would have broad authority to protect consumers of financial products such as mortgages, credit cards and mutual funds. He said discussions are still ongoing.
盖特纳财长还证实了新闻媒体有关奥巴马政府正在考虑成立一个监管委员会的报道，这个委员会将具有广泛的权力来保护金融产品的消费者，比如房屋按揭、信用卡和共同基金。他说有关的讨论仍在进行当中。 |