VOA标准英语2009年-US Lawmakers Probe AIG Bonuses

U.S. lawmakers expressed outrage¹ in a congressional hearing on Wednesday about tens of millions of dollars in bonuses paid out by the troubled insurance conglomerate², American International Group, or AIG. Testimony³ by AIG's chief executive Edward Liddy came amid increasing pressure on the company from Congress and the Obama administration to recover the funds.
　
AIG CEO Edward Liddy testifies, 18 Mar⁴ 2009, before the House Capital Markets, Insurance and Government-Sponsored Enterprises subcommittee

With Democrats⁶ and Republicans pursuing legislative⁷ steps to try to recover tens of millions of dollars AIG paid in employee retention⁸ bonuses, Liddy faced angry and frustrated⁹ members of a House of Representatives financial services subcommittee.

AIG received about $170 billion in government funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The company is under fire because of $220 million paid out as retention bonuses, including $165 million recently paid under contracts concluded last year.
　
Rep. Paul Kanjorski, House Capital Markets, Insurance and Government-Sponsored Enterprises subcommittee Chairman, 18 March 2009

At a time when Americans face economic hardships, the panel chairman, Democrat⁵ Paul Kanjorski, said million-dollar bonuses for AIG employees are intolerable.

"Something is seriously out of whack¹⁰ and AIG needs to fix it now. We face the most challenging economy since the Great Depression [of the 1930s]. Many have made personal sacrifices to survive these difficult times. AIG and its employees should do the same," he said.

Named six months ago to take over the faltering¹¹ company, Edward Liddy said he shares the anger many Americans have with "mistakes made at AIG on a scale few could have ever imagined possible."

But he said compensation payments under legal contracts should be honored, saying that doing so will help prevent the complete collapse¹² of AIG's financial products units, which would pose a wider risk to the U.S. and global economies.

"Make no mistake - had I been CEO [i.e., Chief Executive Officer] at the time, I would never have approved the retention contracts that were put in place over a year ago. It was distasteful to have to make these payments," he said. "But we concluded that the risks to the company, and therefore the financial system and the economy, were unacceptably high and if not paid we ran the risk that we would have happen what everyone has worked so hard thus far not to have happen," he added.

Liddy said U.S. taxpayers¹³ still face substantial risks from $1.6 trillion remaining in the portfolio¹⁴ of AIG's financial products unit, adding that he is trying desperately¹⁵ to prevent the uncontrolled collapse of that business in order to pay back U.S. government funds and prevent another shock to the economy.

Liddy also announced that employees in the financial products division who received $100,000 or more in retention bonuses have been asked to return at least half of the money.

Many lawmakers are troubled by AIG's justifications¹⁶ for the pay outs.

Democrat, Gary Peters said, "People are sick of this double standard where working class and middle class workers are treated differently than the financial industry executives. What people are looking for is a shared sense of sacrifice."

Democrat Paul Hodes said the government must recover bonuses paid to AIG employees.

"As far as the American people are concerned, I think AIG now stands for 'arrogance¹⁷, incompetence¹⁸ and greed.' It is unacceptable that TARP funds are being pocketed by AIG executives and it must not be allowed to stand," he said.
　
Representative Spencer Bachus, (file photo)

Republican Spencer Bachus said AIG engaged in "reckless and risky¹⁹ behavior". But he asserted that Congress also must share some of the blame.

"This Congress, some of our policies, have contributed to some of that behavior. The failure to regulate, the failure of oversight²⁰ by this Congress. We are [also] to blame," he said.

President Barack Obama said again on Wednesday that his administration will pursue every legal avenue to recover the bonuses from AIG.

Saying that Americans have a right to be angry about AIG, the president said regulatory structures are needed to prevent a recurrence²¹ of financial system excesses and another economic meltdown.

"I am confident that we can strike the right balance that allows our financial system to stabilize²², allows people to innovate²³ in the financial markets, but don't allow them to put everybody else's savings²⁴, everybody else's well-being²⁵, other people's jobs, other people's homes at risk. And that is the task that lies before us and I am confident we can get it done," said the president.

Back in the congressional hearing room, Republicans continued to assert that the Obama administration and Treasury²⁶ Secretary Timothy Geithner, in particular, failed to exert enough oversight over how government financial rescue funds were spent.

Republican, Mike Castle said, "It is my understanding that the Treasury [Department], Federal Reserve, and AIG executives have been discussing these bonus payments amongst themselves for the last three months. I would like to know what was said between these agencies, what options were weighed and how the bonus decisions were ultimately made."

House Financial Services Committee Chairman, Democrat Barney Frank asked AIG chief Liddy to provide Congress "without restriction²⁷" the names of AIG employees who received bonuses.

In response, Liddy said he would comply with any congressional subpoena²⁸ to obtain the information, but he expressed concern for the safety of company employees, referring to anonymous²⁹ death threats made in recent days against company employees.

1 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

2 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

3 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。

4 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

5 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。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

9 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

11 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

12 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。

13 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

14 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

15 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

16 justifications   

正当的理由，辩解的理由( justification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If he a vulgar person, she does not have justifications for him. 如果他是个低级趣味的人，她早就不会理他了。
• It depends on their effect on competition and possible justifications. 这则取决于它们对于竞争的影响和可能存在的正当抗辩理由。

17 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

18 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

19 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。

20 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。

21 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

22 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。

23 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

24 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。

25 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

26 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。

27 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

28 subpoena   

n.（法律）传票；v.传讯

参考例句：

• He was brought up to court with a subpoena.他接到传讯，来到法庭上。
• Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses.特别委员会有权传唤证人。

29 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。