奥巴马公布预算计划

 　　WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama unveiled his 2014 budget Wednesday, aiming to rein¹ in the deficit² by raising taxes on the affluent³ and curbing⁴ government spending on programs including Social Security and Medicare.

　　The blueprint⁵, which continued the Democratic preference for taxing the rich, also included "some difficult cuts" Obama said he didn't like. He made the concession⁶ to win over some rank-and-file Republicans in the budget battle which could be coupled with a fight to hike the debt-ceiling later this year.

　　BALANCED APPROACH

　　Obama proposed 3.78 trillion dollars in spending for the 2014 fiscal⁷ year and a 1.8 trillion deficit reduction over the next decade.

　　"Nothing shrinks the deficits⁸ faster than a growing economy," he said at the White House as he introduced his plan.

　　In the new budget outlined on Wednesday for the fiscal year starting October 1, Obama stuck to his balanced stance to reduce the red ink and put forward a fiscal mix of new investments in infrastructure⁹ and education along with deficit reduction through tax increases and spending cuts.

　　According to the budget coming two months late to the Capitol Hill, the federal deficit would be 744 billion dollars for fiscal year 2014, or 4.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). By 2023, the ratio of deficit to GDP would fall further to 1.7 percent.

　　In the budget, Obama proposed a total of 1.8 trillion dollars in deficit reduction over 10 years, mainly through a combination of nearly 600 billion additional tax revenues and 1.2 trillion dollars in spending savings¹⁰.

　　A 28 percent cap would be applied¹¹ to itemized deductions¹² for top earners, and the so-called Buffett Rule, the idea of requiring millionaires to pay no less than 30 percent of their income, was once again incorporated.

　　FIX THE ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM

　　Obama also sought to turn off the across-the-board " sequestration" cuts which have already kicked in from March 1 after the White House and the Congress failed to reach an agreement on a substitute plan.

　　As an attempted compromise to draw Republicans to the table, Obama for the first time offered to change the way the cost-of- living is calculated for social security benefits. By switching to the less generous "chained CPI", the federal government will reduce its payment to future social security beneficiaries and in this way cut deficits by about 230 billion dollars over the next 10 years, according to the budget.

　　"These measures will only become law if congressional Republicans agree to meet me in the middle by eliminating special tax breaks and loopholes so millionaires and billionaires do their fair share to cut the deficit," Obama stated in the budget.

　　By the administration's calculation, the proposed 1.8 trillion savings over 10 years, together with about 2.5 trillion dollars in spending cuts agreed since mid-2011, would bring the total deficit reduction to more than 4.3 trillion dollars.

　　THREE VERSIONS

　　The president's budget came after the Democratic-controlled Senate and the Republican-led House of Representatives have each passed separate and starkly¹³ different budget resolutions. Both plans have little chance of winning approval in the deeply polarized Congress. And the version Obama outlined just added a third bid for a possible grand bargain.

　　Obama's plan may draw criticism from both parties as Democrats¹⁴ dislike cuts to entitlement programs and the Republicans oppose any additional tax increase beyond the tax hikes which took effect in January.

　　In their budget plan, Senate Democrats call for limiting tax breaks for wealthy people to raise additional revenue, while House Republicans want to get rid of tax breaks as a way to lower the overall rates and simplify the tax code.

　　"House Republicans passed a balanced budget that will help foster a healthier economy and to help create jobs. Unfortunately, the president's budget never comes to balance," House Speaker John Boehner commented in a statement.

　　He said Obama does deserve some credit for the "incremental¹⁵ entitlement reforms" he outlined in his budget. "But I would hope that he would not hold hostage these modest reforms for his demand for bigger tax hikes."

　　Nonetheless, Boehner said he was hopeful in the coming weeks the two sides would have an opportunity, through the budget process, to come to "some agreement."

　　Related:

　　U.S. State Department cuts budget by 6 percent

　　WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department on Wednesday proposed its budget of 47.8 billion U.S. dollars for the fiscal year 2014, a decrease of 6 percent from that of 2012.

　　"This year, our budget request for the Department of State and USAID totals $47.8 billion, a six percent reduction from FY 2012. These funds are a strategic investment in our core mission of advancing America's national security and economic interests," said Secretary of State John Kerry in the budget report. Full story

　　Pentagon seeks 526.6 bln dollars for next year

　　WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a 526.6-billion-dollar base budget for the Defense¹⁶ Department in fiscal year 2014, as the Pentagon struggles to provide funds for its strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific amid mandatory¹⁷ budget cuts.

　　The request keeps defense spending at about the same level as in 2013, which would pay for personnel, weapons research and development, procurement¹⁸ and operation and maintenance of the military. It doesn't include war cost in Afghanistan and mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration, which could be over 100 billion combined. Full story

　　U.S. federal deficit narrows to 106.5 bln USD in March

　　WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. federal government registered a budget deficit of about 106.5 billion U.S. dollars in March, about half of the level recorded in the previous month, said the U.S. Treasury¹⁹ Department Wednesday.

　　The federal government raked in a revenue of 186 billion dollars, 8.6 percent higher than the same month a year ago. It registered outlays²⁰ of 292.5 billion dollars last month, below the year-ago level of 369.4 billion dollars, said the department. Full story

　　U.S. lawmakers say tax reform doable to boost economy

　　WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua)-- A comprehensive tax overhaul²¹ to simplify the rules and close special-interest loopholes is essential for U.S. economy and a mutual²² goal of both parties, said U.S. congressmen on Monday.

　　In an op-ed published on the Wall Street Journal, Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Dave Camp, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said while they are from different political parties, they agree that America's tax code is broken. And that is why they have been working together as the chairmen of Congress's two tax-writing committees to make it fairer for U.S. families and spark a more prosperous economy.

1 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

2 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

3 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

4 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

5 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

6 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

7 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

8 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

13 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

14 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 incremental   

adj.增加的

参考例句：

• For logic devices, the incremental current gain is very important. 对于逻辑器件来说，提高电流增益是非常重要的。 来自辞典例句
• By using an incremental approach, the problems involving material or geometric nonlinearity have been solved. 借应用一种增量方法，已经解决了包括材料的或几何的非线性问题。 来自辞典例句

16 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

17 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

18 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

19 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。

20 outlays   

v.支出，费用( outlay的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• For MU, there were no upfront risks or cash outlays. 对摩托罗拉大学而言，没有风险或现金费用。 来自互联网

21 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

22 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。