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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Congress Faces Scramble1 to Raise Debt Ceiling 国会面临提高债务上限的争夺
WASHINGTON — The coming week will see a return to fiscal2 drama in the U.S. Capitol with lawmakers scrambling3 to raise the federal borrowing limit before they adjourn4 for a week-long recess5.
Democrats6 and Republicans have yet to agree on a formula to boost the debt ceiling, and failure to act would leave the U.S. government unable to pay all its bills by the end of the month.
President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress are demanding a conditions-free increase in the government's debt ceiling.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says prompt action is needed to keep the U.S. solvent7.
“This is not a matter of negotiation," Pelosi said. "This is the full faith and credit of the United States of America.”
Republicans control the House of Representatives and are debating whether to attach items to a debt ceiling bill.
“We are still looking for the pieces to this puzzle," said House Speaker John Boehner. "But listen, we do not want to default on our debt, and we are not going to default on our debt.”
Republicans are endangering America’s fragile economic recovery, says Democratic Senator Patty Murray.
“They are once again putting our credit rating at risk. It is time for House Republicans to find their way out of this mess," she said.
U.S. Treasury8 Secretary Jack9 Lew says time is of the essence.
“The longer we wait, the greater the risks become," he said. "Whether it is the economic recovery, the financial markets, or the dependability of Social Security payments and military salaries, these are not things to put at risk.”
China and other creditor10 nations hold substantial amounts of U.S. debt. And the global financial community is taking note of the looming11 deadline.
“The U.S. economy has a lot of things going in its favor right now," said International Monetary12 Fund spokesman Gerry Rice. "Growth is strengthening, job creation has been relatively13 strong, and there is a new budget agreement. The last thing the U.S. economy needs is another confidence shock, such as a debate about whether the U.S. will honor its debt obligations.”
The U.S. national debt exceeds $17 trillion. The pace of debt accumulation has slowed over the last two years. But as long as debt continues to rise, Congress will periodically have to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, as it has done dozens of times in recent decades.
1 scramble | |
v.爬行,攀爬,杂乱蔓延,碎片,片段,废料 | |
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2 fiscal | |
adj.财政的,会计的,国库的,国库岁入的 | |
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3 scrambling | |
v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 );攀登;争夺;(军事飞机)紧急起飞 | |
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4 adjourn | |
v.(使)休会,(使)休庭 | |
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5 recess | |
n.短期休息,壁凹(墙上装架子,柜子等凹处) | |
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6 democrats | |
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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7 solvent | |
n.溶剂;adj.有偿付能力的 | |
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8 treasury | |
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
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9 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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10 creditor | |
n.债仅人,债主,贷方 | |
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11 looming | |
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近 | |
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12 monetary | |
adj.货币的,钱的;通货的;金融的;财政的 | |
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13 relatively | |
adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
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