US Debt Ceiling Votes Invite Partisanship

     In coming weeks, the U.S. Congress is widely expected to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling, thereby¹ allowing it to borrow additional funds and service America’s $14 trillion national debt. Congress has never failed to raise the borrowing limit - to do so would be to risk default and invite financial calamity².

    But few votes are more distasteful to lawmakers than going on record to authorize³ greater U.S. indebtedness - votes that always invite partisan⁴ sniping, grandstanding, and, this time around, hard bargaining.

    Except for a brief period in the late 1990s when the United States enjoyed a budget surplus, the federal government has had to borrow more and more money to cover the cumulative⁵ indebtedness of yearly deficits⁶. And every time the government bumps up against its borrowing limit, Congress has to step in and raise the debt ceiling.

    Typically, the party in power serves as the voice of reason and responsibility, urging lawmakers to do what is necessary to keep the government afloat. Senate Majority Leader Harry⁷ Reid, the top congressional member of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party, recently put it this way:

    “We have no choice," said Harry Reid. "Everybody in the world recognizes that this country cannot default on its debt. We have a credit card [bill] we have to pay.”

    But, for the minority party, debt ceiling votes provide an irresistible⁸ temptation for partisan bickering⁹.

    This is what Reid had to say as minority leader in 2006, when Republicans controlled the Senate. “How can the Republican majority in this Congress explain to their constituents¹⁰ that trillions of dollars of new debt is good for our economy," he asked.

    That year, Senate Democrats¹¹ voted against raising the debt ceiling, confident that the Republican majority would provide the votes needed to increase the borrowing limit and avert¹² a fiscal¹³ crisis. Among those casting a ‘no’ vote was then-Senator Obama, who argued that raising the debt limit amounted to a failure of economic leadership under then-President George W. Bush.

    Today, President Obama sees things differently. White House spokesman Jay Carney had this to say about Mr. Obama’s 2006 vote in the Senate:

    “The president regrets that vote and thinks it was a mistake," said Carney. "He realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote you can play around with.”

    Democrats are not the only ones to flip-flop on debt ceiling votes. In 2002, Republican Representative Mike Pence of Indiana spoke¹⁴ on the House floor before voting to raise the debt ceiling:

    “I came here believing, as so many people I represent believe, that if you owe debts, [you should] pay debts," said Pence.

    Today, many Republicans are refusing to commit to a debt ceiling increase, unless President Obama agrees to deep spending cuts in federal programs long-championed by Democrats.

    Congressman Pence earlier this year said, “I will not support an increase in the debt ceiling without real and meaningful changes in spending."Analysts¹⁵ say there is nothing new about partisanship¹⁶ in debt ceiling votes. Marc Goldwein is policy director of the Washington-based Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

    “There has always been politics behind the debt ceiling," said Goldwein. "And it is always the party in power that gets stuck with the vote, and the party not in power that blames the party in power for creating deficits that got us here in the first place. That said, that is not a reason to not use the debt ceiling to focus on our debt issues. We have to raise the debt ceiling, but we also need to start thinking seriously about our long term debt situation.”

    The United States bumped up against the current borrowing limit of $14.2 trillion last month. Economists¹⁷ say the nation risks default if the debt ceiling is not raised by August.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

2 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

3 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

4 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

5 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

6 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

7 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。

8 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

9 bickering   

v.争吵( bicker的现在分词 )；口角；（水等）作潺潺声；闪烁

参考例句：

• The children are always bickering about something or other. 孩子们有事没事总是在争吵。
• The two children were always bickering with each other over small matters. 这两个孩子总是为些小事斗嘴。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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》

12 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

13 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。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

17 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》