VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Seeks Congressional Support for $3.5

President Barack Obama went to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, seeking congressional support for his $3.55 trillion budget. The president's effort came as Democratic-controlled House and Senate committees began considering budget blueprints² that might trim the president's spending plans, and as Republicans continued to criticize the size of the president's budget.
　
President Barack Obama arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, to meet with senators to discuss his budget, 25 Mar³ 2009

Leaving the meeting with Senate Democrats⁴, the president said only that it had "gone great".

That left it to Senate Democratic leader Harry⁵ Reid and Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad to give reporters some details. Senator Reid defended the spending plan.

"This budget will protect President Obama's priorities: education, energy, health care, middle class tax relief, and cut the deficit⁶ in half," he said.

Senator Conrad said the budget resolution moving through Congress preserves President Obama's key priorities based on a new estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
　
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (L), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at a news conference, Capitol Hill, 25 Mar 2009

He also sought to clarify what he called misunderstandings amid reports the Senate version of the spending plan leaves out some key Obama priorities.

Rather than excluding specific items, Conrad said, congressional committees will have wide discretion⁷ on spending as long as it is offset⁸ by cuts elsewhere.

"We have not pre-judged a legislative⁹ outcome. We have made it possible for the committee of jurisdiction¹⁰ to do what the president is asking for on climate change, to do what he is asking for on energy and education, but all of them would have to be offset," he said.

Congressional budget plans would try to reduce the projected deficit, which has now ballooned to about $2.3 trillion more during the next 10 years than the White House had originally projected.

The Senate proposal foresees a reduction from $1.7 trillion this year to $508 billion by 2014 - a reduction from 12 percent of gross domestic product to just under three percent. A House version projects a $598 billion deficit after five years.

Democrat¹ John Spratt, Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget, noted¹¹ that President Obama inherited a more than a trillion dollar deficit from former President George Bush.

The emerging budget resolution, Spratt said, envisions a multi-year effort to reduce the deficit.

"The budget resolution before you will not turn this big battleship all the way around in one year's time. We will have to revisit this problem multiple times over the next five years, and each time make mid-course corrections in the hope of finally erasing¹² these deficits¹³ we are incurring¹⁴ today and putting the economy itself on a sound footing," he said.

Republicans continued to hammer President Obama's original spending proposals and the blueprints put forward by Democrats in House and Senate.
　
Congressman¹⁵ Paul Ryan

Representative Paul Ryan asserted that Democrats' proposals still envision a sharp expansion of government spending.

"This really is the president's budget - the high cost, big government agenda just in camouflage¹⁶. It can be described as different from the president's budget only if you believe the following: that the five-year budget window as opposed to the president's 10-year plan was not employed to hide the explosion of costs after 2014 for the president's ambitious big government agenda," said Ryan.

Representative Marcy Kaptur was among the Democrats who responded by pointing to deficit growth during the Bush administration.

"Our job is to make wise decisions in troubling economic times. We are now a nation of debtors¹⁷ borrowing from every country in the world, while our financial system has taken us for a ride. On whose watch did this happen? President Bush," she noted.

In his news conference on Tuesday night, President Obama acknowledged concerns about deficits. But he asserted that a break with past policies, through investments in health care, education and renewable energy, is crucial to economic recovery.

Budget resolutions, which are non-binding, are the framework for later appropriations¹⁸ and other spending decisions by Congress, and are voted on after negotiations¹⁹ to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions.

1 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。

2 blueprints   

n.蓝图，设计图( blueprint的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Have the blueprints been worked out? 蓝图搞好了吗？ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• BluePrints description of a distributed component of the system design and best practice guidelines. BluePrints描述了一个分布式组件体系的最佳练习和设计指导方针。 来自互联网

3 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

4 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》

5 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。

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

7 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

8 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

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 erasing   

v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He was like a sponge, erasing the past, soaking up the future. 他象一块海绵，挤出过去，吸进未来。 来自辞典例句
• Suddenly, fear overtook longing, erasing memories. 突然，恐惧淹没了渴望，泯灭了回忆。 来自辞典例句

13 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

14 incurring   

遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。
• He spoke to the Don directly, taking a chance on incurring Michael's ill will. 他直接向老头子谈自己的意见，这显然要冒引起迈克尔反感的风险。 来自教父部分

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 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

17 debtors   

n.债务人，借方( debtor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never in a debtors' prison? 从没有因债务坐过牢么？ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

18 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

19 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。