美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden and lawmakers postpone debt ceiling meeting as their staffs keep negotiating

Biden and lawmakers postpone¹ debt ceiling meeting as their staffs keep negotiating

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace³ of South Carolina about the debt ceiling. The U.S. government could default on its debt in a matter of weeks if the debt ceiling isn't raised.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Washington is inching closer to a June 1 deadline to lift the nation's borrowing limit or run out of cash to pay America's debts. President Biden wants Congress to allow more borrowing without conditions. Republicans want Democrats⁵ to agree to deep spending cuts. Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina is on the line now to discuss all this. Good morning, Congresswoman, and thank you for being on the program.

NANCY MACE: Good morning. Yeah, thank you for having me.

FADEL: So President Biden and top congressional leaders delayed a second meeting that was set for today, and it seemed like little headway was actually made during that first meeting. At this point, do you think a deal is possible? Are you optimistic?

MACE: I am always going to be cautiously optimistic. You know, there is precedent⁶ in recent history where we've had a Democrat⁴ president and Republican-controlled House where they've worked together to figure this out. And we're not going to run out of money to pay our debts. I mean, when you look at the amount of tax revenue, No. 1, that's coming in year over year, we have 11 times the amount needed to pay the interest on the debt. We're not going to default unless the president decides to because he can prioritize spending. But in the meantime, you know, we need to figure out a way to balance the budget over the next - I don't know - 10, 15, 16 years.

FADEL: I would just like to point out, though, that Secretary - the secretary of the Treasury⁷, Janet Yellen, says we will be running out of cash as soon as June 1.

MACE: Right. Well, here's the thing. We can prioritize. The president can prioritize spending. We're not going to run out of money to pay the interest on the debt because we get 11 times the interest on the debt and tax revenues year over year. It is a false statement equivocally to say that we're going to default on June 1. That doesn't have to happen unless President Biden wants it to.

FADEL: Now...

MACE: And those are just the facts. But the facts also remain that the last time the budget was balanced was under a Democrat president. Republicans in '94 had a 10-year plan to balance the budget, happened in four years under President Clinton's leadership because there was a surplus. I have a plan that would balance the budget in five years and realize that's a bit aggressive for most people in Washington. They don't move that fast. But I would even take 20 years at this point, something to show responsible decisions about the way we spend the American taxpayer⁸ dollar.

FADEL: But at this point, there is a danger that the country will default. And, you know, I understand that you are saying that the...

MACE: We won't have to unless the president wants to.

FADEL: ...It won't happen unless the president wants to, but he says that...

MACE: He can prioritize spending without cutting money for veterans...

FADEL: I understand, but...

MACE: ...Or Medicaid or Medicare, Social Security.

FADEL: Now, President Biden also accuses your party of being the problem here, holding the economy hostage by tying it to these deep spending cuts. Do you think the Republican Party should be...

MACE: Well, when you look at $12 trillion in debt...

FADEL: Can I just ask the question?

MACE: ...Over the last 6 years, under President Biden - I'm answering your question...

FADEL: Yeah.

MACE: ...'Cause you don't want to deal with the facts this morning. And those are the facts. This is the problem with media. They don't want to go down the middle and show...

FADEL: No, I'm sharing facts.

MACE: ...Show fair and square both sides.

FADEL: I don't appreciate that. I'd like to start with the - go back to the brinksmanship, 'cause in the end, this is about Americans for both parties. I think a lot of Americans are worried, Republican or Democrat. They're nervous. What happens to - about my mortgage? What happens with my job if the country defaults? And they wonder, is anybody...

MACE: Well, then you can lay that blame on the president of the United States for not taking responsible measures to rein⁹ in spending. The reason we have inflation is because of the spending that we've had in both parties, by the way. President Biden added $4 trillion to the debt in the last two years. President Trump¹⁰ added 8 trillion during his tenure¹¹. So just over the last six years - $12 trillion in debt alone. We have $32 trillion now in total put on by both parties. And so I would hope that the American people would hold both sides accountable for the debacle that we're facing today. But if we don't cut taxes and we don't cut spending and the Federal Reserve doesn't slow down the amount of money they're printing year over year, we wouldn't be in this problem. So we've got to face the music, and both sides have to come together to figure this out...

FADEL: And one of the issues you had...

MACE: ...And rein it in.

FADEL: Right, one of the issues you had with your own party's bill was that it didn't deal with a balanced budget, but you eventually did get behind it. What changed?

MACE: Yeah, I got to deal with the leadership to get a balanced budget amendment¹², to get that conversation. But, you know, you want to talk about deep spending cuts in your intro. And these weren't really that deep spending cuts. We're talking about $6.2 trillion versus¹³ $6.3 trillion, a difference in spending this year over last year. The cuts, in my opinion, didn't go deep enough, which is why I advocated for a balanced budget amendment. I mean, this is a plan that would - you know, Democrats would go off the deep end at 80mph versus Republicans going off at 70mph. This is a problem started by both parties, and they both need to sit down and fix it.

FADEL: That's Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Thank you so much for your time.

FADEL: Thank you.

1 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

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 mace   

n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮

参考例句：

• The sword and mace were favourite weapons for hand-to-hand fighting.剑和狼牙棒是肉搏战的最佳武器。
• She put some mace into the meat.她往肉里加了一些肉豆蔻干皮。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

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 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

7 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。

8 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

9 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。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

12 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

13 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。