Tax Troubles Force Two Nominees To Withdraw

Voa: date 2/6/2009

Tax Troubles Force Two Nominees to Withdraw Nominees for two important positions, including a cabinet secretary, withdrew over unpaid taxes. The president said he took responsibility for the problems. Transcript of radio broadcast: 05 February 2009 This is the VOA Special English Economics Report. President Obama has accepted responsibility for problems involving his nominees for two important positions. On Tuesday, the President's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services withdrew his nomination. Tom Daschle made the decision after it became widely reported that he had failed to pay over one hundred forty thousand dollars in taxes. Health care spending represents nearly seventeen percent of the economy. President Obama made health care reform a main issue in his campaign. But so was change from old ways of doing things in Washington. Mister Daschle was former Senate majority leader and a close advisor to the President. Experts say it will be hard to find a nominee with as much experience in both Tom Daschle health issues and politics. President Obama had chosen Nancy Killefer as the government's chief performance officer to supervise the White House budget office. But she also withdrew Tuesday. She had failed to pay unemployment taxes for an employee. Mister Obama accepted blame for the problems. BARACK OBAMA: "The most important thing from my perspective is making sure the American people understand we don't have two sets of rules here. That everybody has responsibilities. In this situation I take responsibility for it." The two withdrawals followed problems with the nomination of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner who also had failed to pay thousands of dollars in taxes. However, he was confirmed by the Senate last week. On Wednesday, President Obama announced that Secretary Geithner will release a new plan to ease credit markets next week. The President also announced measures to increase trust in the financial system. Mister Obama placed limits on pay for top executives at banks that receive new aid money from the government. The rule will limit pay to no more than five hundred

thousand dollars a year. It also bars additional forms of pay except for stock that can only be received after government loans have been repaid. Also this week, the Senate began debate on President Obama's economic aid plan. The House passed its eight hundred twenty billion dollar version of the bill last week. And in other economic news, a report by the Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing index shrank by less than expected. The service sector is made up of businesses like banks, hotels and restaurants. It represents about eighty percent of economic activity. And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember. Bai 2:

merican History Series: President John Tyler Shows His Independence Tyler, who took office after William Henry Harrison died, resisted attempts by Senator Henry Clay and other Whig Party leaders to control him. Transcript of radio broadcast: 04 February 2009 Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. The election of eighteen forty put a new president in the White House: William Henry Harrison. The defeat of President Martin Van Buren had been expected. Still, it was a sharp loss for his Democratic Party. Harrison was a retired general and a member of the Whig Party. He became the ninth president of the United States. But he got sick and he died after just a month in office. His vice president, John Tyler, became president.

John Tyler

Whig leaders, especially Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky, tried to control the new president. Clay proposed detailed legislative programs for the new administration. Among them: the establishment of a national bank. This was high on Senator Clay's list of proposals.

But Tyler soon showed his independence. He did not approve the plans as proposed by Clay. Tyler vetoed two bills calling for the creation of a national bank. Tyler wanted peace and party unity. But he also wanted to show that he -- not Clay -- was president. This week in our series, Bud Steele and Lew Roland continue the story of John Tyler.

VOICE ONE: Clay's supporters in the cabinet did their best to get Tyler to sign the bank bills. When the president refused to do so, Whig Party leaders urged the cabinet to resign. This would show that the president, alone, was responsible for the veto of the bills. All cabinet members, but one -- Daniel Webster -- resigned. Secretary of State Webster was with the president when one of the letters of resignation arrived. "What am I to do, Mr. President?" asked Webster. "You must decide that for yourself," Tyler said. Daniel Webster

"If you leave it to me, Mr. President, I will stay where I am." President Tyler stood up.

"Give me your hand on that," he said, "and I will say to you that Henry Clay is a doomed man from this hour." Tyler named a new cabinet. And there was not one Clay supporter in it. VOICE TWO: The president's veto of the second bank bill brought strong public protests from those who wanted a national bank. A large group of Whig congressmen met and voted to expel Tyler from the party. During the struggle over the bank bills, the Whigs did not forget the other parts of Senator Clay's legislative program. Clay especially wanted approval of a bill to give the different states money from the sale of public land. Tyler liked this idea himself. Many of the states owed large amounts of money. The distribution bill, as it was called, would help them get out of debt. VOICE ONE: The president was willing to support the bill. But he saw one danger in it. If all the money from land sales was given to the states, the federal government might not have enough money. Tyler feared that Congress then would raise import taxes to get more money for the federal government. As a southerner, the president opposed taxes on imports. He finally agreed to accept the distribution bill, but on one condition. The distribution of money to the states would be suspended if import taxes rose higher than twenty percent. Tyler signed the bill, and it became law.

(MUSIC) VOICE TWO: The next year, the government found itself short of money. It was spending more than it had. Congress decided that import taxes should be raised, some even higher than twenty percent. The bill was passed by close votes in the House and Senate. When it got to the White House, President Tyler vetoed it. He said it was wrong to raise the tax so high and, at the same time, continue to give the states the money from land sales. He said the federal government itself needed the land-sale money. The Whigs were angry. Still, they did not have enough votes to pass the bill over the president's veto. Then they approved a new bill. This one raised import taxes, but said nothing about distribution of federal money to the states. And President Tyler signed it. VOICE ONE: While the Whigs made bitter speeches about the failure of the party's legislative program, Tyler worked to improve relations with Britain. The United States and Britain disputed the border that separated Canada from the northeastern United States. Both Canada and the state of Maine claimed the disputed area. Britain was also angry because Americans had helped Canadian rebels. Canadian soldiers had crossed the Niagara River and burned a boat that was used to carry supplies to the rebels. Secretary of State Daniel Webster wanted peace with Britain. And there was a new government in Britain. Its foreign minister, Lord Aberdeen, also wanted peace. VOICE TWO: Lord Aberdeen sent a special representative, Lord Ashburton, to the United States. Lord Ashburton had an American wife. And he was a friend of Daniel Webster. He arrived in Washington in the spring of eighteen hundred forty-two with the power to settle all disputes with the United States. Lord Ashburton said Britain regretted that it had not made some explanation or apology for the sinking of an American boat in the Niagara River. The two men discussed the border dispute between Canada and Maine. Webster proposed a compromise border line. Lord Ashburton accepted the compromise. The agreement gave almost eighteen-thousand square kilometers of the disputed area to Maine. Canada received more than twelve thousand square kilometers. VOICE ONE:

The Senate approved the Webster-Ashburton agreement. And American-British relations showed improvement. President Tyler then turned to another problem: Texas. Texas asked to become a state during President Van Buren's administration. But nothing was done about the request. Tyler was interested in Texas and wanted to make it part of the Union. Secretary Webster was cool to the idea of Texas statehood. As a northerner, he did not want another slave state in the Union. Webster and his supporters were Tyler's only real strength in the Whig Party outside of Virginia. The president, therefore, did not push the issue of Texas. After Senate approval of his treaty with Lord Ashburton, Webster decided that he could be of no more real use to the administration. He resigned as secretary of state. Tyler named one of his Virginia supporters, Abel Upshur, to the job in the summer of eighteen forty-three. VOICE TWO: Upshur was a firm believer in slavery. He felt slaves were necessary in the agricultural economy of the South. Upshur was worried about reports that Britain was interested in ending slavery in Texas. These reports said Britain had promised to defend Texas independence and to give economic aid, if the slaves were freed.

Abel Upshur

Upshur and other southerners feared what might happen if this were done. Slaves from nearby southern states would try to escape to freedom in Texas. And the abolitionists might use Texas as a base for propaganda against the

South. VOICE ONE: There was another reason for President Tyler's interest in Texas. He believed it possible to make political use of the question of Texas statehood. It could help him build a new political party, a party that might elect him president for another four years. Four months after becoming secretary of state, Upshur offered a statehood treaty to Texas. At first, Texas President Sam Houston refused the offer. He finally agreed to negotiate, but said the United States must accept two conditions. It must agree to protect Texas if Mexico attacked it. And it must promise that the United States Senate would approve the treaty. Upshur told the Texas representative in Washington that Texas would be given military protection just as soon as the treaty was signed. And he said the necessary two-thirds of

the senators would approve the statehood treaty. Houston was satisfied. And his representative began secret negotiations with Upshur. VOICE TWO: A few weeks later, before the talks could be completed, Upshur joined the president and congressional leaders for a trip down the Potomac River. They sailed on a new American warship that carried two large cannons. John C. Calhoun The new guns were to be fired for the president. Upshur was standing near one of the cannons during the firing. He and two other men were killed when the gun exploded. The president was not injured. But nineteen others were hurt. President Tyler named John C. Calhoun -- a Democrat -- as his new secretary of state. He did so for two reasons: Calhoun believed that Texas should be part of the United States. And Tyler -- a Whig -- hoped that Calhoun might be able to get him nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. (MUSIC) ANNOUNCER: Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Bud Steele and Lew Roland. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, are at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English Bai 3 ;

Foreign Student Series: Financial Aid Offerings may be limited, but more aid is available for international graduate students than for undergraduates in the U.S. Part 20 of our series. Transcript of radio broadcast: 04 February 2009 This is the VOA Special English Education Report. We talked last week about employment rules for international students in the United States. Now we move to financial aid, which is often limited for international students. American schools provided aid to almost half of foreign graduate students during the last academic year, but only ten percent of undergraduates.

In all, more than sixty percent of international students paid for their education mainly with personal or family money. Twentysix percent were supported by their American college or university. Foreign students represent a valuable resource, especially when public colleges and universities face budget cuts by states. Foreign students pay the higher prices charged for students from out of state. Not only that, they can help schools increase their ethnic diversity. Some students are supported by their home university or government. A small number receive support from the United States government. Employers, private sponsors and international organizations also help some students pay for school. A list of American colleges and universities that offer financial aid to foreign students can be found at edupass.org -- e-d-u-p-a-s-s dot o-r-g. The Web site also provides information and advice on scholarship programs. Never trust a program that charges for application forms. Another helpful site about American higher education and financial aid is educationusa.state.gov. About half of international students are in graduate school. The Institute of International Education in New York says thirty-one percent during the last academic year were undergraduates. The others were studying English or in training program. In all, the United States has around eighteen million students in higher education. Last year, more than six hundred twenty thousand, or three and a half percent, were international students. The United States, though, has the largest "market share," about twenty percent of all the international students in the world. But even as more and more students come to the United States, more and more are also going to other countries. So experts say the American share is likely to go down in the future. The nearest competitor is Britain, with thirteen percent at last report. Other top countries for international students include France, Germany, Australia, China, Canada and Japan. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series is online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember. Bai 4:

Gold! Thousands Went to Western Canada to Find It But most of the people who traveled to the gold fields in the 1890s had no idea what they would face. Transcript of radio broadcast:

03 February 2009 VOICE ONE: This is Faith Lapidus. VOICE TWO: And this is Richard Rael with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we begin the first of two programs about the discovery of gold. Huge amounts of gold. Enough gold to make a person extremely rich. Our story begins in an area called the Klondike in the Yukon Territory of western Canada. The discovery took place on a warm August day in eighteen ninety-six. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: George Carmack and his two Indian friends, Skookum Jim Mason and Dawson Charlie, were working near the edge of a small river in western Canada's Yukon Territory. The area was just across the border from Alaska, which was owned by the United States. The men were using large steel pans to search for gold. They placed dirt and rocks in a pan and then filled it about half way with water. Slowly, they moved the water around in the pan until most of the dirt and water washed away. This left only very small rocks. This method was a very good way to find small amounts of gold. The three men had often worked like this in an effort to find gold. But they had never been very successful. VOICE TWO: The three men moved along the small river as they worked. History does not say which of the three found gold first. But it does say that all three began to find large amounts. In eighteen ninety-six, gold was selling for about sixteen dollars for twenty-eight grams. The three men knew they were rich after just a few days. They also knew they must go to the government office and claim the land. They had to keep their discovery a secret until they had a legal claim to the land where they had found the gold. VOICE ONE: George Carmack, Skookum Jim Mason and Dawson Charlie were the first men to discover a great amount of gold in the Klondike. Before that August day, others had found gold, but never in huge amounts.

The three men had found one of the largest amounts of gold ever discovered lying on the surface of the Earth. The news of this discovery could not be kept secret very long. Other people quickly traveled to the area of the great Klondike River where the three had made the discovery. Some also found huge amounts of gold, enough to make them extremely rich. (MUSIC) VOICE TWO: On July sixteenth, eighteen ninety-seven, the ship Excelsior came into the American port of San Francisco, California. It carried the first men who had found gold in the Klondike. The next day, the ship Portland landed in Seattle, Washington. It too carried men who had found gold in the Yukon. Clarence Berry was one of these men. He was a fruit farmer from California. He came off the ship Excelsior in San Francisco with one hundred thirty thousand dollars worth of gold. Niles Anderson came off the ship Portland with one hundred twelve thousand dollars in gold. They were only two men among more than one hundred who left the ships with huge amounts of money. Photographs taken when the ships landed show thousands of people meeting the two ships. Newspapers printed long stories about the discovery of gold and the rich men who had just returned from the Yukon. The news quickly traveled around the world that gold had been discovered. VOICE ONE: To understand the excitement it caused, you must understand the value of that much money at the time. In eighteen ninety-seven, a man with a good job working in New York City was paid about ten dollars each week. To earn the one hundred thirty thousand dollars that Clarence Berry took off the ship, that man Life on the gold fields of the would have had to work for two hundred fifty years! Klondike People all over the world became excited about the possibility of finding gold. Newspaper stories said it was easy to find the gold. It was just lying on the ground. All you had to do was go to Alaska, and then to the Klondike area of the Yukon Territory of Canada and collect your gold. VOICE TWO: The possibility of finding gold caused thousands of people to make plans to travel to Alaska and then to the Klondike area of the Yukon. American and Canadian experts say between twenty and thirty thousand people may have traveled to the gold fields.

These people were called "stampeders." The word "stampede" means a mass movement of frightened animals. In eighteen ninety-seven, the word came to mean the huge groups of people running or stampeding to Alaska and the Klondike. The people wanted a chance to become rich. The United States was suffering a great economic depression. It had begun in the southern United States as early as eighteen ninety. By eighteen ninety-seven, thousands of people were out of work. Men who had no jobs decided to use all the money they had left to go to Alaska. Many believed that it would be worth taking a chance to become extremely rich. VOICE ONE: Newspapers and magazines began writing stories about traveling to Alaska. Books told what a person would need to be successful at finding gold. Other books explained sure methods of finding gold.

"Heart of the Klondike" by Scott Marble

Many of these books told people what they wanted to hear -that finding gold in the Yukon was easy. Most of the people who wrote the books had no idea at all where the Canadian Yukon Territory was. Many did not know anything about the American territory of Alaska. The people who wrote the books had no idea what was involved. They were only interested in selling books.

Many of the people who would travel to the gold fields had no idea what they would face. They did not know about the extremely cold weather that could kill. Most did not know they would face extremely hard work and terrible living conditions. VOICE TWO: This was not true of the Canadian government. The Canadian government knew how hard it was to live in the western part of the country. The Canadian government quickly approved a law that said each person must bring enough supplies to last for one year. This was about nine hundred kilograms of supplies. Each person would have to bring food, tools, clothing, and everything else they needed for one year. The reason for this was very simple. There were no stores in the Yukon. There was no place to buy food. The nearest port was more than one thousand kilometers away from where the gold discovery had been made.

There were no railroads. At first, there were no roads that would permit a horse and wagon. The stampeders would have to walk all the way, and transport the supplies by themselves. The price of these supplies quickly increased. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: In eighteen ninety-seven, a travel company in the middle western American city of Chicago, Illinois listed the prices of what it cost to travel to Alaska. A ticket to ride the train from Chicago to Seattle, Washington was fifty-one dollars and fifty cents. The company said a ticket on a ship from Seattle to Skagway, Alaska was thirty-five dollars.

The Cooper & Levy store in Seattle, Washington, sold supplies to miners

Companies across the United States offered to sell all the supplies a gold seeker would need to take to the Klondike. Newspapers and magazines printed long lists of the supplies a stampeder would need. The price for these goods was often extremely high. The trains and the ships would carry these supplies for an additional price. VOICE TWO: A young man who had the money to buy the supplies and the necessary tickets to travel to Alaska usually landed at the little port of Skagway. The first shipload of several hundred gold seekers landed at Skagway on July twenty-sixth, eighteen ninety-seven. Many ships quickly followed. The little town of Skagway soon had thousands of people looking for a place to live, food to eat and directions to where they could find gold. The stampeders were in a hurry. They wanted to quickly travel to the area where they could find gold. Many wanted to buy the rest of the supplies they would need before they began the trip into Canada. These supplies became extremely valuable. Prices increased even more. Violence and a lack of a police department soon caused problems. People fought over supplies. The gold seekers quickly learned that life in Alaska would be extremely difficult. And they soon learned they still had more than one thousand kilometers to travel. They learned they would have to carry their supplies over high mountains. Then they would need to build a boat to travel on the Yukon River. They learned the last part of their trip would be the hardest of all. That trip and what the thousands of gold seekers found will be our story next week. (MUSIC)

VOICE ONE: This program was written by Paul Thompson and produced by Mario Ritter. This is Faith Lapidus. VOICE TWO: And this is Richard Rael. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program in Special English on the Voice of America.