美国国家公共电台 NPR White House Proposes Deep Cuts To Safety Nets With 'Taxpayer First' Budget Plan

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Trump¹ administration has been dogged by controversy² for the past few weeks, but now, even as the president is traveling overseas, his administration is proceeding³ with the business of government. It's presenting the 2018 budget today. Budget Director Mick Mulvaney calls it a, quote, "taxpayer⁴ first" budget.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICK MULVANEY: We are no longer going to measure compassion⁵ by the number of programs or the number of people on those programs.

MARTIN: The budget includes less money for Medicaid, food stamps and disability payments; more money for the military, Border Patrol and veterans. We've got NPR's Scott Horsley on the line with us to give us a preview of the budget. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁶: Good morning, Rachel.

MARTIN: How does this spending plan measure up to the draft budget plan that we saw earlier this year?

HORSLEY: Well, the budget that came out a couple of months ago was referred to at the White House as the skinny budget, and it only dealt with a skinny piece of the overall government spending pie, namely the so-called discretionary spending that Congress has to authorize⁷ each year. This budget is more comprehensive, and it includes what is really the bulk of government spending, which is entitlement programs. Now, it doesn't make big changes to the biggest entitlement programs, namely Medicare and the Social Security retirement⁸ programs. But it does call for substantial cuts to other mandatory⁹ spending, including the Social Security disability program, food stamps, as you mentioned, and Medicaid. It would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid spending over the next decade.

MARTIN: Didn't we hear about these Medicaid cuts when the House passed their health care bill and didn't some senators say no way to those cuts?

HORSLEY: (Laughter) You're right. And that is a useful reminder¹⁰, that this blueprint¹¹ that the White House puts out is just sort of a notional idea of what the White House would like to see. But ultimately, it's Congress that controls the purse strings¹², and lawmakers will have to decide what sort of spending they're going to authorize. But yes, the Obamacare repeal¹³ bill that was drafted by Republicans in the House would cut substantially into Medicaid, and there are some Republican senators who have expressed concern about that, certainly moderate Republicans but also some very conservative Republicans in states that did expand the Medicaid program under Obamacare and in some cases saw big gains in the number of people getting health insurance.

MARTIN: So what about the deficit¹⁴ - which is something that has traditionally been incredibly important to the Republican Party, getting the deficit under control. Does this budget move in that direction?

HORSLEY: It does. This budget, if it were actually adopted, says it would reduce the deficit as a share of the overall economy really right away and would actually eliminate the federal budget in its 10th year in 2027. However, big asterisks¹⁵ attached to that one as it does rely on these pretty substantial cuts, which Congress may or may not see fit to enact¹⁶. And also it relies on a relatively¹⁷ rosy¹⁸ forecast of what's going to happen with the U.S. economy. Namely, it suggests that the economy is going to ramp¹⁹ up rather quickly in the next several years to 3 percent annual economic growth - that's about double the growth rate we saw last year - and that it would sustain that 3 percent growth rate for the better part of a decade.

Now, a lot of independent forecasters think that's overly optimistic, partly because where would the workers come from to have that level of economic growth? We already have relatively low unemployment, and we have a lot of baby boomers who are hitting retirement age every day. One of the rationales the Trump administration offers for these cuts to safety net programs is it would effectively force some people who are not working now to get back into the workforce²⁰.

MARTIN: NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley. Hey, Scott, thanks for breaking it down for us.

HORSLEY: Good to be with you, Rachel.

1 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。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

4 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

5 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 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。

8 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

9 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

10 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

11 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

12 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

13 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

14 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。

15 asterisks   

n.星号，星状物( asterisk的名词复数 )v.加星号于( asterisk的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He skips asterisks and gives you the gamy details. 他曲解事实，给你一些下流的细节内容。 来自互联网
• Make lists with dashes, asterisks, or bullets if you use HTML email. 如果你写的是HTML格式的邮件，用破折号、星号和子弹号立出清单。 来自互联网

16 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

17 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

18 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

19 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

20 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。