音频下载[点击右键另存为]U.S. President Barack Obama is welcoming the Treasury Department's order to slash top executives' pay at seven big companies that have not paid back their government bailouts. The U.S. central bank will also examine the way bankers are paid.
The government is telling the seven companies that have received the most federal aid to drastically cut the pay of their 25 highest-paid executives.
President Obama says the Treasury Department made the right decision.
"This is America," said President Obama. "We do not disparage wealth. We do not begrudge anybody for doing well. We believe in success. But it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms-firms that are struggling-pay themselves huge bonuses, even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat."
Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury official leading the pay review, says the executives' salaries will be cut by as much as 90 percent, and their average total compensation will drop by about half, starting in November.
Mr. Obama says Feinberg's actions are a step toward greater accountability in the financial industry.
"I believe he has taken an important step forward today in curbing the influence of executive compensation on Wall Street, while still allowing these companies
