奥巴马每周电视讲话：国会要帮助信用良好的房屋贷款人
[size=4][b]WEEKLY ADDRESS:It’s Time for Congress to Act to Help Responsible Homeowners | The White House[/b][/size]
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WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama continued his call for a return to American values, including fairness and equality, as part of his blueprint for an economy built to last. This is why the President is sending Congress his plan to give responsible homeowners the chance to save thousands of dollars on their mortgages by refinancing at historically low rates without adding a cent to the deficit. The housing crisis has been the single largest drag on the recovery, and although the Administration’s actions have helped responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages and stay in their homes, Congress must act now to do more to continue assisting homeowners and the economy. President Obama asks all Americans to tell their elected officials to pass this plan to keep more families in their homes and more neighborhoods thriving and whole.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been traveling around the country and talking with folks about my blueprint for an economy built to last. It’s a blueprint that focuses on restoring the things we’ve always done best. Our strengths. American manufacturing. American energy. The skills and education of American workers.
And most importantly, American values like fairness and responsibility.
We know what happened when we strayed from those values over the past decade – especially when it comes to our housing market.
Lenders sold loans to families who couldn’t afford them. Banks packaged those mortgages up and traded them for phony profits. It drove up prices and created an unsustainable bubble that burst – and left millions of families who did everything right in a world of hurt.
It was wrong. The housing crisis has been the single biggest drag on our recovery from the recession. It has kept millions of families in debt and unable to spend, and it has left hundreds of thousands of construction workers out of a job.
But there’s something even more important at stake. I’ve been saying this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class. And the housing crisis struck right at the heart of what it means to be middle-class in this country: owning a home. Raising our kids. Building our dreams.
Right now, there are more than 10 million homeowners in this country who, because of a decline in home prices that is no fault of their own, owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Now, it is wrong for anyone to suggest that the only option for struggling, responsible homeowners is to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom. I don’t accept that. None of us should.
That’s why we launched a plan a couple years ago that’s helped nearly one million responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages and save an average of $300 on their payments each month. Now, I’ll be the first to admit it didn’t help as many folks as we’d hoped. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying.
That’s why I’m sending Congress a plan that will give every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3, 000 a year on their mortgages by refinancing at historically low rates. No more red tape. No more endless forms. And a small fee on the largest financial institutions will make sure it doesn’t add a dime to the deficit.
I want to be clear: this plan will not help folks who bought a house they couldn’t afford and then walked away from it. It won’t help folks who bought multiple houses just to turn around and sell them.
What this plan will do is help millions of responsible homeowners who make their payments every month, but who, until now, couldn’t refinance because their home values kept dropping or they got wrapped up in too much red tape.
But here’s the catch. In order to lower mortgage payments for millions of Americans, we need Congress to act. They’re the ones who have to pass this plan. And as anyone who has followed the news in the last six months can tell you, getting Congress to do anything these days is not an easy job.
That’s why I’m going to keep up the pressure on Congress to do the right thing. But I also need your help. I need your voice. I need everyone who agrees with this plan to get on the phone, send an email, tweet, pay a visit, and remind your representatives in Washington who they work for. Tell them to pass this plan. Tell them to help more families keep their homes, and more neighborhoods stay vibrant and whole.
The truth is, it will take time for our housing market to recover. It will take time for our economy to fully bounce back. But there are steps we can take, right now, to move this country forward. That’s what I promise to do as your President, and I hope Members of Congress will join me.
Thank you, and have a great weekend. [b] 重点词汇：
deficit ['defisit]
n. 赤字；不足额
stake [steik]
n. 桩，棍子；赌注；火刑；奖金; vt. 资助...
mortgage ['mɔ:ɡidʒ]
vt. 抵押; n. 抵押
refinance [,ri:fai'næns, ri:'fain-]
vt. 再供…资金；再为…筹钱
decline [di'klain]
n. 下降；衰退；斜面; vi. 下降；衰落；谢...
dime [daim]
n. 一角硬币
recession [ri'seʃən]
n. 衰退；不景气；后退；凹处
historically [his'tɔrikəli]
adv. 历史上地；从历史观点上说
decade ['dekeid]
n. 十年，十年期；十
biggest [bigist]
adj. 最大的（big的最高级）
[/b] [b]译文[/b]
在本周的讲话中，奥巴马总统继续呼吁重拾公平和平等等美国价值观，作为其建设可持续发展经济体的施政蓝图的组成部分。这也是总统向国会提出一项计划，向信用良好的房屋贷款人员提供重新进行抵押贷款机会，利用历史低位的利率节省资金而且不用增加财政赤字的原因所在。房贷危机是对当前经济复苏的最大拖累，尽管当局政府采取了大量措施来帮助信用良好的房屋贷款人重新进行房屋抵押贷款，保留他们的住所，但国会必须做出更大的努力来帮助这些背负房贷的人，促进经济复苏。奥巴马总统请求所有美国人民都告诉他们所选举出来的官员们通过这项计划，以此来保证更多家庭有房可住，让更多邻友生活美满富足。
在本周的讲话中，奥巴马总统继续呼吁重拾公平和平等等美国价值观，作为其建设可持续发展经济体的施政蓝图的组成部分。这也是总统向国会提出一项计划，向信用良好的房屋贷款人员提供重新进行抵押贷款机会，利用历史低位的利率节省资金而且不用增加财政赤字的原因所在。房贷危机是对当前经济复苏的最大拖累，尽管当局政府采取了大量措施来帮助信用良好的房屋贷款人重新进行房屋抵押贷款，保留他们的住所，但国会必须做出更大的努力来帮助这些背负房贷的人，促进经济复苏。奥巴马总统请求所有美国人民都告诉他们所选举出来的官员们通过这项计划，以此来保证更多家庭有房可住，让更多邻友生活美满富足。
在过去的几个星期里，我走遍了全国，与人们一起谈论我提出的建设可持续发展经济体的施政蓝图。这一蓝图着重关注重拾那些我们一直做的最好的东西。我们的力量来自于美国的制造业，美国的能源产业，以及技能娴熟的，受过良好教育的美国劳动者。
放贷人将贷款发放给那些无力负担的家庭。银行将这些抵押贷款打包后进行交易以寻求虚无缥缈的利润，飞涨的价格制造出不稳定的泡沫并最终破裂——让数百万家庭遭受伤害。
这不应该，房贷危机是当下对我们经济复苏最大的拖累。它让数百万家庭负债累累无力消费，让数十万建筑工人失去工作。
但还有些事情更加重要。我曾说过此时是关系中产阶级成败的关键时期。但房贷危机却在我们中产阶级的心口重重的敲了一下，让拥有一套房子，养育儿女，追求梦想都变得遥不可及。
当下，有超过1000万房屋贷款人担负着比他们房屋价值高得多的贷款，而这都源自房屋价格下降，而他们本身毫无错误。现在，如果有人说对于处境艰难而信用良好的房屋贷款人来说唯一的选择就是坐等房产市场的触底反弹，我不这么认为。任何人都不应该这么想。
两年前我们提出了一项计划帮助将近100万信用良好的房贷人重新进行抵押贷款，以此每月为其节省300多元的还款额，原因就在于此。现在，我首先要承认的是这一计划并没有帮助到我们想象中的那么多人。但这并不意味着我们不应该继续努力。
我向国会提交了一项计划，让所有信用良好的房贷人有机会重新进行房屋抵押贷款，以历史上最低的利率每年为他们节省3000美元，原因也在于此。没有官僚的繁文缛节，没有无休止的形式主义。只是在最大的金融机构增加一些费用，这样不会增加一分钱的财政赤字。
需要说明的是，该计划不能帮助那些无力担负贷款的购房者，也不会帮助那些购买多套房产只是等着行情转好就出手卖掉房产的人。
这项计划要做的就是帮助那些信用良好的房贷人能够每月正常还贷，但直到现在，这些人还不能重新进行抵押贷款，因为他们的房产价格一直在下降，或者他们一直受官僚作风的拖延。
但现在好了。为了降低数百万美国人民的还款额，我们需要国会做出努力。我们需要他们通过这一计划。但过去的6个月的实事告诉我们，要让国会做些事情实在不是一件容易的事情。
我一直持续向国会施压，让他们做些正当的事情，原因就在于此。但我依然需要大家的帮助。我需要你们的声援。我需要每个同意这一计划的人拿起电话，或者发送电子邮件，或者发推，或者访问网站，用这些方式提醒华盛顿的这些议员们，让他们知道他们是在为谁工作。让他们通过这项计划，让他们帮助更多家庭保住房产，让更多友邻生活美满富足。
事实是，房产市场的复苏有待时日。我们的经济重新恢复活力也有待时日。但我们现在可以采取很多的措施，来推动这个国家向前发展。这是我作为总统的承诺，我也希望每个国会议员都能与我携手向前。
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