VOA标准英语2009年-US House to Take Up Legislation on Corporate Bo

U.S. lawmakers expressed outrage¹ in a congressional hearing on Wednesday about tens of millions of dollars in employee bonuses paid by the troubled insurance conglomerate², American International Group, or AIG. Testimony³ by AIG's chief executive came as the House of Representatives prepared to take up legislation on Thursday aimed at recovering government money.

House Democrats⁵ announced that the House will consider a measure that would impose a tax as high as 90 percent on bonuses handed out by companies that receive government funds.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said the step is an attempt to reverse the damage done by what he called "greed and irresponsibility" in the financial world.

"One thing we know for certain, this is not going to happen again. The light is flashing and letting them know that American won't take it. And the House of Representatives [has] heard their voices and we have acted," he said.
　
AIG CEO Edward Liddy testifies, 18 Mar⁶ 2009, before the House Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises subcommittee

In a long day before the House Financial Services Subcommittee, CEO Edward Liddy faced angry and frustrated⁷ lawmakers asking why AIG went ahead with $165 million in bonuses designed to keep employees with the company under contracts concluded before the U.S. government's financial rescue program got underway.

AIG received about $170 billion in government funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program approved by Congress late last year to deal with the U.S. financial meltdown.

Democrat⁴ Paul Kanjorski and other lawmakers said million dollar bonuses are intolerable at a time when Americans face economic hardships.

"Something is seriously out of whack⁸ 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 faltering⁹ company, Liddy said he shares the anger Americans have with "mistakes made at AIG on a scale few could have ever imagined possible."

But, he said, bonuses based on legal contracts should be honored, adding that they would help prevent a complete collapse¹⁰ of AIG's financial products unit, which would pose a wider economic risk.

"It was distasteful to have to make these payments. 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 said.

Liddy announced that employees in the financial products division who received $100,000 or more in retention¹¹ bonuses have been asked to return at least half of the money.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman, Democrat Barney Frank says the U.S. government should use the leverage¹² it has as 80 percent owner of AIG to recover the funds.

"I think the time has come for the federal government to assert greater ownership rights," he said.

Frank said he reserves the right to issue subpoenas¹³ to obtain the names of employees who received bonuses. Liddy expressed concern that providing such information without an assurance of confidentiality¹⁴ might place individuals in physical jeopardy¹⁵ and referred to anonymous¹⁶ threats against AIG employees.

Democratic Representative Gary Ackerman had this exchange with Liddy:

ACKERMAN: "I want to try and help you . . .
"LIDDY: "Thank you, I need all the help I can get.
"ACKERMAN: "All right, this old school teacher is going to give you a little bit of advice. Pay the $165 million back."

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that Americans have a right to be angry, adding that new regulatory structures are needed to prevent a recurrence¹⁷ of financial system excesses and another economic crisis.

"I am confident that we can strike the right balance that allows our financial system to stabilize¹⁸, allows people to innovate¹⁹ in the financial markets, but don't allow them to put everybody else's savings²⁰, everybody else's well-being²¹, other people's jobs, other people's homes at risk," he said.

But Republicans such as Scott Garrett and Jeb Hensarling assert that the Obama administration in its first months failed to exert enough oversight²² over government financial rescue funds.

GARRETT: "Why didn't [Treasury] Secretary [Timothy] Geithner raise this issue just last week with the president when we knew he was briefed in detail about the bonuses from the CEO of AIG? What about the fact that the Fed [i.e., Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank] and the administration still have not outlined an exit strategy from this whole situation? "
HENSARLING: "The greater outrage ought to be [that] four [financial] bailouts [of AIG] later, [there is] no end in sight and no plan of sustainability or exit strategy that has been explained to this committee."

Scott Polakoff with the U.S. government's Office of Thrift²³ Supervision²⁴, the primary regulator of federally-chartered banks, said regulators failed to predict how a U.S. housing market collapse would affect the complex financial instruments known as credit default swaps²⁵ that AIG and other institutions engaged in.

In outlining efforts to keep AIG afloat, Edward Liddy told lawmakers that the $1.6 trillion remaining in the portfolio²⁶ of the company's financial products unit poses a substantial risk to U.S. taxpayers²⁷.

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 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。

5 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》

6 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。

7 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》

8 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。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

13 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

14 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

15 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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。

20 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。

21 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。

22 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。

23 thrift   

adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约

参考例句：

• He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
• His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。

24 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。

25 swaps   

交换( swap的名词复数 )； 交换物，被掉换者

参考例句：

• He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
• Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。

26 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。

27 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。