2007年VOA标准英语-President Bush Meets Congressional Leaders to D

By Bill Rodgers
Washington
19 April 2007

President Bush has met with the Democratic Party Congressional leaders to discuss the Iraq war and a pending¹ bill to fund the U.S. military mission through September.  President Bush has vowed² to veto the bill because it imposes a timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops.  More from VOA's Bill Rodgers.

White House meeting with Congressional leaders

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill set timetables for withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq.  The House version would order combat troops out by September 2008, while the Senate bill is less sweeping³ but still sets dates.

The Democratically-controlled House and Senate set these conditions in narrow votes last month as part of legislation to continue funding the military mission.

But President Bush says he will veto the war funding bill because it contains timetables. This standoff was the subject of Wednesday's meeting with Congressional leaders at the White House.

As the meeting began, Mr. Bush said he will listen to all viewpoints. "People have strong opinions around the table, and I'm willing to listen to them. I've got my own opinion which I'm more than willing to share.  The whole objective is to figure out how best to get our troops funding, to get the money they need."

Following the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry⁴ Reid told reporters he urged Mr. Bush to sign the bill. "We are in a position where we believe we are doing the right thing for the people of this country, the majority of the Congress and the military."

For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also urged Mr. Bush to go along with the bill, but indicated there is some room for negotiation⁵. "I think the conversation that we had is the basis for future conversations on this.  But each side was very clear with its position but that doesn't mean that that is the end of the conversation.  And that is what is known as a negotiation in government, it is not just one meeting."

Congressional Democrats⁶ are divided over how far to press forward with linking the troop withdrawal⁷ to the funding bill.  Some want to use the bill as a tool to pressure Mr. Bush to accept a withdrawal timetable, while others are  reluctant.

Republican Congressional leaders said after the meeting that no matter what the Democrats want, President Bush will not yield. House Minority Leader John Boehner said, "I thought the president was clear with the Democrats about what he would and wouldn't do.  And he clearly is not going to sign a bill that handcuffs our troops and adds these tens of billions of dollars of unnecessary spending that are part of this bill.  But at the same time, I think he was open to listening to the concerns of the Democrats, what they had to say, and it was a very polite meeting."

Meanwhile, in Iraq, a series of bomb blasts has killed more than 170 people in Baghdad.  The deadliest car bomb attacks took place mainly in Shi'ite areas of the Iraqi capital.

1 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

2 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

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 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。