美国国家公共电台 NPR--The debt ceiling compromise isn't sitting well with some conservative Republicans

The debt ceiling compromise isn't sitting well with some conservative Republicans

Transcript¹

Conservative Republicans on the House Freedom Caucus² are not OK with the compromises made to get the deal done. NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina about why.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus and liberal Democrats⁴ in the Progressive Caucus have found common ground on one thing, they oppose a debt ceiling compromise that President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to over the weekend. And together, objections on the right and on the left could jeopardize⁵ passage of the deal in Congress. We've called up a member of the Freedom Caucus, South Carolina Republican Congressman⁶ Ralph Norman, to understand why he objects to the deal. Good morning, Congressman. And thank you for being on the program.

RALPH NORMAN: My pleasure. Thank you.

FADEL: Well, now you've called this deal insanity⁷. Can you explain why?

NORMAN: Yeah. It's insanity because, one, if we don't get our spending under control, then this country cannot exist as we know it. The 32 trillion and counting is what we owe now. I would argue it's a lot more. But when we saw this bill in writing, which we've just gotten within the last 24 hours, it was nothing like the bill that we had proposed. As an example, the limit on the debt ceiling we had at 1.4 trillion. And we had cuts to offset⁸ that. What McCarthy agreed to is basically taking the caps off. He can - this Biden administration can spend anywhere from four to - and up. It was no limit, what he can spend. And he transfers it. He's able to do that until after the presidential election.

FADEL: Now, House Speaker - oh, sorry. Go ahead.

NORMAN: No, I mean, I could go on and on. But that's the main - when I saw that, that was a nonstarter.

FADEL: Now, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says 95% of Republicans in Congress are on board with his deal, the deal that he's come up with President Biden. You're not among them. And you are on the House Rules Committee, which has an important role in moving the bill forward. Do you intend to try to stop this bill from moving forward in the House?

NORMAN: We're going to have to have amendments⁹. I know McCarthy won't - Speaker McCarthy won't say closed rule with no amendments. The bill as is is unacceptable. And, you know, I'm new on the committee. Chip Roy is new. Thomas Massie, I think, is - has been on there. But I'm just not prepared to vote for this if we don't get - to surrender all of the basics of what we had in the Limit, Save and Grow is unacceptable. And you're turning the keys over to an administration that's proven to be compromised and corrupt¹⁰. And it's just - it's not acceptable. The American people deserve better than this.

FADEL: Now, to be clear, this is money that's already been spent under the Biden administration, but also under the Trump¹¹ administration. And a lot of Americans - Republicans, Democrats, independents - are scared about what a default could mean when it comes to how they pay their bills. Is a deal you view as bad worth throwing the U.S. government into default or risking the economy?

NORMAN: No. I don't think - we're not going to default. But now the question is, why did the Biden administration basically dither and not meet for over a hundred days? What purpose? The - Janet Yellen has moved the date now from June 1, in her opinion, to June 5.

FADEL: Right.

NORMAN: And it always boils down to, you know, if it were that important, deal with it early. And what Kevin McCarthy should have done is when he got back basically a compromise of everything that we - that all Republicans, 218, voted for - not one single Democrat³ voted for it. And when we got back basically a gutting¹² and a surrender of all the principles in the - in our plan, then, you know, you've got to take action. And we will do that.

FADEL: So what's the path forward here? Have you spoken to the House speaker about possible amendments? I mean, is that a possibility here?

NORMAN: Well, the Rules Committee, we'll find out today. We're meeting at 3, and so we'll find out. But there's got to be amendments on it. There's not going to be a closed rule unless something else is presented. This - to give this administration free rein¹³ on the vault¹⁴ of America is just unacceptable. And his goal is to spend every dollar and no cuts. I mean, you got to remember, this administration said not a dollar in cuts. That's unacceptable.

FADEL: But there were cuts in the deal - right? - even though they said that.

NORMAN: There were no substantial cuts. It wasn't even close to getting this country out of the debt that we're in.

FADEL: Republican Congressman Ralph Norman represents South Carolina's fifth district. Thank you for your time, sir.

NORMAN: My pleasure.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 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。

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 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

6 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。

7 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

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 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

10 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 gutting   

n.去内脏v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的现在分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

13 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

14 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。