Bush Says He Will Push For Strong Dollar

 

By Scott Stearns

President Bush says he will pursue his "strong dollar" policy in the upcoming legislative¹ session by working seriously with Congress to lower deficits³, which he says should cause people to want to buy dollars.

"We believe that the markets should make the decision about the relationship between the dollar and the euro," the president said.

President Bush met with Prime Minister Berlusconi a day after Washington announced a monthly record trade deficit² for October of $55.5 billion.

That has helped drive down the value of the dollar. That helps U.S. manufacturers because American goods are less expensive for foreign buyers. The dollar is of particular concern in Europe where much of its decline has come against the euro and the British pound.

President Bush says the decision to raise U.S. interest rates again is a signal to world markets that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is aware of the relative values of the euro and the dollar.

President Bush says the best way to strengthen the dollar is to address long-term U.S. government borrowing, which is caused by budget deficits.

The president is especially concerned about the projected costs of the U.S. retirement⁴ plan known as Social Security. Mr. Bush wants to privatize part of that plan so younger workers can invest some of their retirement money in financial markets.

"I campaigned on the issue," he said. "I look forward to working with members of Congress to resolve this long-term unfunded issue so that the world financiers can take comfort in the fact that this government will address one part of the budget deficit."

Congressional Democrats⁵ oppose the president's Social Security plan, saying it will cut benefits for older Americans and threatens the retirements⁶ of younger workers who could lose money invested in potentially risky⁷ financial markets.

Scott Stearns, VOA News, at the White House.

注释：
legislative 立法的
deficit 赤字
budget 预算
privatize 使私有化
potentially 潜在地

1 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。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

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 retirements   

退休( retirement的名词复数 )； 退职； 退役； 退休的实例

参考例句：

• We've had two retirements in our office this year. 今年我们办公室已有二人退休。
• Those may take the form of sackings redundancies, temporary layoffs or retirements. 这些形式有开除，作为编余人员，暂时解雇或退休。

7 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。