VOA常速英语2007年-Bush Keeps Up Pressure on Congress to Approve W

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
01 December 2007

President Bush is urging Congress to pass several pieces of legislation when the lawmakers return from a long holiday recess¹ next week. Among them, the president is pushing for funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. From Washington, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Congress returns Monday to what the president says is "a lot of unfinished business."

"Members of Congress now have only a few weeks left before they head home for the [Christmas] holidays," he said.  "Before they do so, I urge them to do their job: fund our troops, protect our citizens, provide taxpayers² relief, and responsibly fund our government."

In his weekly radio address Saturday, the president urged lawmakers to renew anti-terrorism legislation that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor domestic phone calls without court permission, as long as one end of the conversation is reasonably believed to be outside the United States. The Bush administration also wants congress to protect telecommunications companies from lawsuits³ for having turned over telephone records of Americans.

Mr. Bush is also pushing Congress to pass bills that fund the daily operations of the U.S. government and limit the tax burden on middle class Americans.

But the president's top priority is to win congressional approval of his $196 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The money is for the 2008 fiscal⁴ year, which began October 1.  The president and the Pentagon argue that further delays in approving these funds would force cuts in military operations across the United States and ultimately compromise the war on terror.

The Democrats⁶ have offered to pass $50 billion of the president's requested $196 billion, but on condition that most U.S. troops leave Iraq by next December. The president says he will veto any legislation linked to those terms.

Virginia Senator Jim Webb, a Democrat⁵, just returned from a trip to Iraq. He told reporters Saturday that warnings about military cuts are just "gamesmanship" on the part of the Pentagon, and that there will be no negative impact if Congress continues the debate on the war funding bill for several more weeks.

"You are asked to appropriate programs that have not been debated, and they are all lumped together, and so supposedly you are shutting down the military men and women if you vote against anything that comes out of the administration," he said.  "So you begin to understand the frustration⁷ in the Congress."

The Democrats have said they will not give the president a free hand to pay for the war.

1 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

2 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 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。

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 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。