2007年VOA标准英语-Democrats Face Uncertain Vote on War Funding Me

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
20 March 2007

Democrats¹ in the House of Representatives face uncertainty² as they proceed with plans to bring legislation to the floor later this week to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and provide billions in domestic and homeland security needs.  VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, Democrats need to prevent defections in their own ranks, as they face stiff resistance from minority Republicans to the measure.

 
A US soldier keeps watch in a Shi'ite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq
Publicly, Democratic leaders continue to express optimism about the upcoming vote, but a different picture emerges when one looks behind the scenes.

The Democratic measure, which totals about $124 billion, with just over $95 billion for war needs, calls for a withdrawal³ of forces no later than September of 2008, and would require the president to certify⁴ that any troops he would deploy⁵ to Iraq before then be fully⁶ trained and equipped.

For weeks, leaders have had to contend with demands from outspoken⁷ war critics on the left of the party who would like to see a timetable that sets an earlier date to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Still others, representing the conservative wing of the party, continue to be wary⁸ of setting any certain date.

In a speech on the floor of the House marking the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, House majority leader Steny Hoyer urged bipartisan support for the measure.

Hoyer challenged Republicans who have disparaged⁹ the Democratic legislation.

"The Iraq war is already longer than our participation¹⁰ in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War," he noted¹¹.  "The specter of five-and-one-half years in Iraq, if our troops remain deployed¹² until August 31 of 2008, can hardly be called a precipitous cut and run."

Minority Leader John Boehner and other Republican leaders predict a united front in their party against the measure.

"We will oppose these efforts to hamstring our generals, our troops on the ground, in their effort, and in their mission, of succeeding in Iraq," said Mr. Boehner.

Republicans issued a statement Tuesday calling the Democratic bill a "political charade¹³" and predicting that it would never be approved in the Senate.

Uncertainty in the Democratic caucus¹⁴ about Thursday's vote was evident in a Tuesday news conference.

Reporters repeatedly pressed Congressman¹⁵ Jim Clyburn and Rahm Emanuel, the Democratic whip and caucus chairman respectively, on how confident they are in getting the 218 votes needed for passage:

CLYBURN:  "I would say we are closer to 218 today than we were yesterday, and we will be closer to it tomorrow than we were today."

EMANUEL:  "I have no doubt that we will have the votes that we need to pass this legislation."

In the background, Democratic leaders have been busy fighting for every vote possible, amid indications that a group of the most outspoken anti-war Democrats will vote against the bill.

 
Brian Van Riper
Just 17 Republicans crossed party lines to support a recent Democratic non-binding resolution opposing President Bush's troop surge in Iraq, and only a few are expected to support the Iraq funding measure.

Underscoring the spectrum¹⁶ of views in the House, Democratic and Republican lawmakers went before the Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday to detail more than 30 bills regarding Iraq introduced since January.

 
John Bruhns
In advance of Thursday's House debate on Iraq-Afghanistan funding, five Iraq war veterans came to the Capitol building to express their support for the Democratic measure, Brian Van Riper and John Bruhns.

RIPER:  "We can't sit back as Americans any longer and allow our military to be dragged further into Iraq, what is ultimately becoming a fruitless mission.  I don't see an end anywhere in sight."

BRUHNS:  "I think it is imperative¹⁷ that we tell the Iraqis that we need benchmarks, we need them to show us that the training wheels have been taken off and our troops aren't carrying the full responsibility."

In a statement marking Monday's fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, President Bush urged Congress to approve Iraq-Afghanistan bill, in his words, without strings¹⁸ and without delay, and threatens to veto the legislation as currently written.

1 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》

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

5 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

9 disparaged   

v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• French-Canadian fur trappers and Sioux disparaged such country as "bad lands. " 法语的加拿大毛皮捕兽器和苏人的贬低国家作为“坏土地”。 来自互联网
• She disparaged her student's efforts. 她轻视她的学生做出的努力。 来自互联网

10 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

13 charade   

n.用动作等表演文字意义的字谜游戏

参考例句：

• You must not refine too much upon this charade.你切不可过分推敲这个字谜。
• His poems,despite their dignity and felicity,have an air of charade.他的诗篇虽然庄严巧妙，却有猜迷之嫌。

14 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。

15 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

16 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

17 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

18 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。