美国国家公共电台 NPR--Yellen warns of 'calamity' unless Congress raises the debt limit. What's the holdup?

Yellen warns of 'calamity¹' unless Congress raises the debt limit. What's the holdup?

Transcript²

The U.S. government could default on its debt in a matter of weeks if it doesn't raise the debt ceiling.

That would spell "economic calamity," Treasury³ Secretary Janet Yellen warned this weekend.

"Whether it's defaulting on interest payments that are due on the debt or payments due for Social Security recipients⁴ or to Medicare providers, we would simply not have enough cash to meet all of our obligations," she told ABC's This Week. "And it's widely agreed that financial and economic chaos⁵ would ensue."

President Biden and Democrats⁶ in Congress say the U.S. should simply vote to increase the borrowing limit. But Republicans in the House so far have refused to approve any such legislation unless it also cuts future federal spending.

They were joined over the weekend by 43 Republican senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who submitted a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opposing a "clean" debt limit bill.

Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss the debt ceiling for the first time since February. McConnell, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are also expected to be in attendance.

There's a lot at stake and no "face-saving off-ramp" in sight going into the meeting, NPR political correspondent Mara Liasson told Weekend Edition Sunday.

She says there are a few possible outcomes. Among them: Leaders could negotiate a deal and claim a political victory, or decide to kick the can down the road with a temporary debt ceiling increase, which would have to be negotiated later this year and could risk a government shutdown.

Or they could stay at an impasse⁷ and let the country default, with what economics say will be disastrous⁸ consequences.

"It's Congress's job to do this," Yellen said. "If they fail to do it, we will have an economic and financial catastrophe⁹ that will be of our own making and there is no action that President Biden and the U.S. Treasury can take to prevent that catastrophe."

A Republican lawmaker explains his party's stance

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., the chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus¹⁰, agrees with Yellen that defaulting on the debt would constitute a calamity.

"We should pay our bills," he told Morning Edition on Monday. "The constitution calls on us to do that and we should absolutely do it."

Why then, asked Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep, are Republicans intent on adding conditions?

Johnson says it would be irresponsible not to, as the country is dealing¹¹ with what he calls "twin crises" of the debt ceiling and the national debt, which is now at almost $32 trillion.

"If you're a family who gets a maxed-out credit card bill and you just pay the bill and increase the limit on your credit cards without having a conversation at the family dinner table about what to do in the future, you're making a big mistake," Johnson says.

He points out that raising the debt ceiling and cutting federal spending have happened in tandem¹² before, including under then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Biden in 2011.

Obama agreed to some spending restraints alongside raising the debt ceiling, after a drawn-out negotiations¹³ process that severely¹⁴ affected¹⁵ the stock market and lowered the U.S. credit rating.

Similarly, Yellen said over the weekend that "we're likely to see financial market consequences" even before the estimated June 1 default date if Congress doesn't act in the coming weeks.

Republicans control the House and are not without influence in a narrowly divided Senate. So couldn't they work out spending levels through appropriations¹⁶ bills, which fund the government each fiscal¹⁷ year?

Johnson says there's risk in doing it that way, since "we know that government shutdowns are not the way that any responsible country should be doing its business." He blames Biden's refusal to negotiate for bringing the U.S. this close to the brink¹⁸.

"Had we just done our work three months ago, we wouldn't be talking about putting the stock market at risk," he adds. "We'd be talking about the budgetary controls that are moving us in the right direction."

Inskeep notes that many Americans, including Johnson's constituents¹⁹, rely on federal funds for things like 401(k) plans, retirement²⁰ funds and Social Security benefits. And he asks: Is Republicans' policy goal worth putting all that at risk?

"We put the retirement plans at risk ... if we do not act," Johnson says. Social Security's trust fund is projected to be insolvent²¹ by 2034.

However, the debt ceiling bill that House Republicans passed last month doesn't directly address Social Security, and leaders from both parties have said they will not touch entitlement programs in negotiations.

"We have a Washington establishment that has really on both sides of the aisle²² refused to acknowledge the serious crisis that is looming²³ before us," Johnson says. "And I think we best sit down like big boys and big girls and address both of these problems, the time is right now."

1 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

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 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。

4 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

6 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》

7 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

8 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

9 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

10 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

13 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

14 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

17 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。

18 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

19 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

21 insolvent   

adj.破产的，无偿还能力的

参考例句：

• They lost orders and were insolvent within weeks.他们失去了订货，几周后就无法偿还债务。
• The bank was declared insolvent.银行被宣布破产。

22 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

23 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