VOA标准英语10月-Congressional Democrats, Economic Experts Discuss

Majority Democrats² in Congress met with economic experts on Capitol Hill Monday to discuss a new package of steps to stimulate³ the U.S. economy. VOA's Dan Robinson reports that minority Republicans say they agree on the need for new legislation to help the economy, but call Democrats' proposals insufficient⁴.
　

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (r) at a news conference following an economic forum5 with Democratic leaders and economic experts, 13 Oct 2008

As Wall Street experienced a dramatic one day recovery of nearly 1,000 points after last week's sharp declines, Democrats were making clear they intend to take further steps to help Americans battered⁶ by recent financial market losses, and reform financial markets.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other key Democrats met behind closed doors with a group of economic experts, and afterwards Pelosi summarized what a new stimulus⁷ package would include.

"A recovery package will have some of the features we have had before, about infrastructure⁸, health care, aid to the states for health for children and seniors, food stamps and unemployment insurance in this time of rising unemployment," said Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi was non-committal when asked about how much this would cost, saying more clarity will come from congressional hearings before and after the November 4th U.S. presidential election.

Steny Hoyer is the House Democratic Majority Leader.

"[Hearings] to look in the very short term, but nevertheless in a considered fashion at what options will best help our economy recover and particularly how best to help those who are most vulnerable and most in need," said Steny Hoyer.

Joseph Stiglitz, recipient⁹ of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics, said there was "remarkable¹⁰ agreement" among economists¹² who met with lawmakers about the need for a comprehensive recovery program.

". . . not just based on trickle¹³ down economics, not just giving money to financial markets, but going directly, at least some of the money going directly, to households to meet infrastructure needs, to meet the variety of challenges facing our society today," said Joseph Stiglitz.

In addition, says Stiglitz, the program must be efficient and well-designed, and consistent with longer-term U.S. economic needs and prospects¹⁴ for growth.

Arthur Leavitt, who headed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 1993 to 2001, strongly endorsed¹⁵ Democrat¹'s plans to address financial market and regulatory reforms when a new Congress convenes¹⁶ next year.

"We are here [in this financial situation] today not because of what happened in the last year, but because of what happened perhaps over the last two decades," said Arthur Leavitt. "We have an opportunity now to make a difference. And the thrust of everything that happened today was to take a look at that and decide how we will restore investor¹⁷ confidence."

Allen Sinai, noted¹⁸ economist¹¹ and consultant¹⁹ to several U.S. presidential administrations, said there is no doubt that the U.S. economy is in recession.

"Look, the U.S. economy is in recession, the global economy is in recession," said Allen Sinai. "We - Washington and Americans - are working through the most severe financial crisis we have had since the 1930s. I think all Americans know the score."

At the same time, Sinai predicts that with congressional action on financial system reforms, in his words, things will look a lot better by next year.

Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee discussed what Democrats are calling their "recovery initiative".

"So what we will be doing next year is to adopt the kind of sensible regulation of credit default swaps²⁰ and collateralized debt obligation derivatives²¹ and those other instruments, which have been un-regulated by conscious choice for the past years, and put rules on them so they do not get out of hand," said Barney Frank.

In a letter to House Speaker Pelosi on Monday, House Republican Minority Leader John Boehner asserted that nothing known so far about Democrat's plans will bring long-term stability to the U.S. economy.

While agreeing on the need for additional steps to get the economy back on track, Boehner repeated Republican calls for capital gains and corporate²² tax cuts, adoption²³ of Republican energy proposals, and other measures.

Speaker Pelosi told reporters that Democrats are closely coordinating²⁴ their economic steps with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

In campaign stops on Monday, Obama laid out in more detail steps he would take to help the economy, including a two year tax break for businesses that create new jobs and a 90 day moratorium²⁵ on home foreclosures.

His Republican opponent, John McCain, told supporters he would do more to help the economy, focusing on steps to halt declines in home values, protect retirement²⁶ funds and freeze government spending.

1 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。

2 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》

3 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

4 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

7 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

8 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

9 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

14 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

15 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 convenes   

召开( convene的第三人称单数 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The Premier convenes and presides over the executive meetings and plenary meetings of the State Council. 总理召集和主持国务院常务会议和国务院全体会议。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法
• Chinese woman tenth the National People Congress convenes grandly today in Beijing. 中国妇女第十次全国代表大会今天在北京隆重召开。

17 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

20 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。

21 derivatives   

n.衍生性金融商品；派生物，引出物( derivative的名词复数 )；导数

参考例句：

• Many English words are derivatives of Latin words. 许多英语词来自拉丁语。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These compounds are nitrosohydroxylamine derivatives. 这类合成物是亚硝基羟胺衍生物。 来自辞典例句

22 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

23 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

24 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

25 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

26 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。