Title:
Getting Clunkers and Distracted Drivers Off the Road
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
American Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has
announced plans for a "distracted driving summit" in
September in Washington.
Transportation and law enforcement officials, safety
activists and others will discuss how to deal with
drivers who do other things as they drive. Talking
on the phone has long been an issue. But
text-messaging while driving has gained more
attention recently following a number of deadly
crashes.
Right now, though, distracted driving is not the
only thing Secretary LaHood has to think about.
For the first time in many months, large numbers of
Americans have been buying new cars. And here is at
least part of the reason why: In late July the
government began paying for people to trade in older
vehicles for newer ones with greater fuel economy.
The program was named the Car Allowance Rebate
System, but people know it as "cash for clunkers."
It was included as part of an unrelated defense bill
passed in June. Congress provided one billion
dollars for car dealers to pay for trade-ins.
Qualified buyers can receive up to four thousand
five hundred dollars toward a new vehicle. So far,
most of the trade-ins have been trucks and
the majority of new purchases have been cars.
Dealers are required to make the trade-ins unusable
by destroying the engine, then recycle the old
vehicles into scrap metal.
The billion dollars was supposed to last until
November. But officials said most of that money was
quickly spent because of the popularity of the
program. President Obama asked Congress for an
additional two billion dollars which might last
through Labor Day, September seventh.
The House of Representatives quickly agreed to the
additional money. Democrats and Republicans in the
Senate later reached a deal that gave final
approval.
"Cash for clunkers" has its critics. Liberals say
the fuel-efficiency requirements for the replacement
vehicles are not strong enough for the environment.
Conservatives object to the cost, and the idea of
what they say is just another bailout for the car
industry.
The Transportation Department reported on August
fifth that almost half of all sales were from
American manufacturers. Foreign automakers, however,
had six of the ten top selling vehicles in the
program. But even so, most of their vehicles were
built in the United States.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report,
available online at voaspecialenglish.com.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
To post a comment:
• Click "Comment using..." in
the window below
• Click your favorite service: Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail
• Login to the service
• Click "Add a comment..."
• Post your comment in the window
Students: Please post a
comment stating what you found interesting about this video. You are
welcome to include links to your English study blogs and any
other materials you think might be useful for learning
English.
Teachers: Please post your
thoughts about this video. You are welcome to include links to
your sites, blogs, and any other materials you think might
be useful for learning English.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
