VOA慢速英语2009-Economics Report - Obama Seeks Reforms in Fi

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

On Wednesday, President Obama proposed major changes to rebuild government supervision¹ of the financial industry.
　
President Obama announces his plan at the White House

BARACK OBAMA: "So today, my administration is proposing a sweeping² overhaul³ of the financial regulatory system, a transformation⁴ on a scale not seen since the reforms that followed the Great Depression."

The current economic downturn grew out of a culture of irresponsible lending and borrowing and "a failure of the entire system," he said. He says a new system is needed to meet the speed and complexity⁵ of a twenty-first century global economy.

Treasury⁶ Secretary Tim Geithner says the financial crisis developed in part because the existing system let some companies "shop for the weakest regulator." He discussed the plan before the Senate Banking⁷ Committee on Thursday.

One goal is to increase supervision of big companies whose failure could threaten the financial system. The Federal Reserve would gain new powers. The central bank would work with a proposed Financial Services Oversight⁸ Council to decide which companies are too big to fail.

The idea is to identify troubled companies early. But the Fed would now have to seek permission from the Treasury to carry out emergency lending.

The administration also proposes a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. It would be responsible for protecting people from unfair and abusive practices with borrowing and investing.

The administration also supports another proposal. Lenders would have to keep five percent of the home loans they would normally group together to sell as securities. The idea is that lenders will be more responsible in making loans if they might not be able to pass off risky⁹ mortgages to investors¹⁰.

Democratic leaders in Congress say they hope to pass a bill for the president to sign by the end of the year.

Some groups were dissatisfied with the proposals. Insurance companies hoping for simplified rules will continue to deal with different supervisors¹¹ in every state. And there is almost no effort to combine the numerous federal regulatory agencies into a single financial regulator.

An industry group, the Financial Services Roundtable, says it supports many of the administration's proposals -- but not for a consumer protection agency. It opposes separating the regulation of a company from its products, saying each regulator will only have half the information. The industry "does not necessarily need more regulation," it says," but rather more effective regulation."

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

4 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

5 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

6 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。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

9 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。

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句