美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden budget proposal to show nearly $3 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years

Biden budget proposal to show nearly $3 trillion in deficit¹ reduction over 10 years

Transcript²

President Biden releases his new budget proposal Thursday, his latest salvo in a fight with Republicans in Congress about how to address spending ahead of the looming³ debt limit deadline.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

President Biden unveils his budget proposal today.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

And you can think of this as the start of an argument. The president gives ideas for taxes and spending, but Congress eventually decides. Biden says he wants to protect programs Americans rely on, such as Medicare and Social Security. He wants to do that amid pressure to spend less and borrow less.

INSKEEP: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith joins us once again. Tam, good morning.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

INSKEEP: So is the White House saying it's time to borrow and spend less?

KEITH: Let's say caring about the deficit is cool again. Back in 2017, Republicans passed a massive tax cut that has added to the deficit big-league in 2020 and 2021. Both parties - and then just Democrats⁵ - threw money at the pandemic. Now, there is a Democratic president, and Republicans are in control of the House. House Republicans are demanding spending cuts. And President Biden has, for more than a year, touted⁶ his own administration's deficit reduction.

INSKEEP: True, the deficit was so high that it has been coming down even though it's still high. So what does he want to do now?

KEITH: Well, according to the White House, the president has a plan that would reduce the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next 10 years. That comes through a combination of tax increases on the wealthy and big businesses and targeted spending cuts. That sounds like a lot, but I spoke⁷ with Bob Bixby of The Concord⁸ Coalition⁹ - it's a group that advocates for responsible federal spending - and he put it into context.

BOB BIXBY: Three trillion dollars is a lot of deficit reduction, and it sounds good. But the Congressional Budget Office says that we're going to add about 20 trillion over the next 10 years, so you'd really have to do about twice that - I think probably more than twice that - in order to keep the debt from rising as a percentage of the economy.

KEITH: Hold on to your seatbelts, he says. The national debt is going to rise a lot. This budget is an opening volley in a high-stakes political fight between President Biden and Republicans over government funding and the debt ceiling.

INSKEEP: Debt ceiling - OK, we've talked about that. That is basically paying the bills that the U.S. has already incurred¹⁰. Republicans have yet to sign onto doing that because they're demanding unspecified spending cuts to lower future spending. In that context, what is the president offering?

KEITH: Well, the president's budget leans heavily on cost savings¹¹ through things like negotiating drug prices and cutting tax breaks on the oil industry. He wants to raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations. That's something he campaigned on three years ago and will campaign on again. And the White House sees these as popular proposals supported by the majority of Americans. You know, the biggest two sources of government spending are Social Security and Medicare. The president says he doesn't support cutting either of those things in his budget proposal. He has a plan to extend the life of Medicare by another two decades. He, as you say, has talked a lot about the deficit reduction he achieved in his first two years in office - $1.7 trillion - but that came largely because those expensive pandemic-era programs ended, and there was better-than-expected job growth. The rest of the deficit reduction to come is going to be a lot harder.

INSKEEP: What do Republicans say?

KEITH: They are not excited about this. They say the tax hikes and proposed spending cuts aren't serious. Kevin McCarthy said he wants to negotiate with the president, but he isn't saying exactly what he and Republicans want to cut, though they are saying they don't want to cut Medicare and Social Security either.

INSKEEP: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, thanks so much.

KEITH: You're welcome.

1 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。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 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》

6 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

11 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。