VOA标准英语2009年-US 'Pay Czar' Proposes Executive Pay Cuts

By Laurel Bowman
Washington
29 October 2009

 
Kenneth Feinberg
A top Treasury¹ Department official has ordered pay cuts for the 25 highest-paid executives at seven companies that received government bail-outs.  But he says he doesn't want broader powers to reduce salaries in the rest of the U.S. financial sector².

Call him the pay czar. That's what some members of Congress did when lawyer Kenneth Feinberg outlined his plan for executive pay cuts.
 
"Let's be straight about this, 'You are the czar. You make the decision and that is it," Republican Congressman³ Dan Burton, of Indiana said.

"My job was created by Congress in the Treasury to establish compensation determinations designed with one primary objective in mind: to get the taxpayer⁴'s money back," Feinberg responded.

Feinberg addressed Congress October 28 for the first time since he announced that the pay for executives at seven firms that received government funds to stay afloat would be cut by half.

"We greatly reduced the amount of cash that would be made available to these senior officials. We reduced that cash by approximately 90 percent," Feinberg said.

Instead, Feinberg says large portions of executives' pay will be tied to stock that can't be immediately cashed out. He recommended similar action for the broader market, and said he wanted to take no further action himself.

"I am hoping that the report that I have issued and the recommendations I made to these seven companies will have some effect voluntarily in influencing how the private sector goes about establishing compensation practices," Feinberg said.

Some Republicans lawmakers feared that forcing executives to take big pay cuts would lead to a devastating⁵ brain drain at some of the nation's most important firms.

"Now if they jump ship and you don't have top talent running these companies the American taxpayer who is the majority stock holder⁶ has inferior people running them," Burton noted⁷.

Representative Ed Towns said let them go.

"I am not too sure people will be excited about hiring people that failed," he said. "I don't think you have to worry about that too much."

The hearing came as Congress grapples with the role government should play in reigning⁸ in large companies whose collapse⁹ could affect the economy.

1 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。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

7 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。

8 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

9 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。