pbs高端访谈:交通部长警告缩减预算会扰乱航空业

 　　RAY SUAREZ:With just a week left before automatic spending cuts are set to begin, the Obama administration stepped up pressure on Republicans in Congress today.

　　The latest warnings came over the potential impact that furloughs would have on air travel, starting in April. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said travelers could face new delays of 90 minutes at major airports in Chicago, New York and San Francisco. More than 100 air control towers at smaller airports could be closed, LaHood said. Airlines likely would cancel flights. And Congress, he said, would hear of the fallout.

　　SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION RAY LAHOOD: It's not only the impact on the passengers. It's the impact that it has on airports, control towers, people who work there, airports.

　　And their phones are going to start ringing. Why does this have to happen? Nobody likes a delay. Nobody likes waiting in line. None of us do. If we can't get our hamburger within five minutes, if we can't get on the plane within 30, 40, 50 minutes after going through, you know what happens. They start calling their member of Congress.

　　RAY SUAREZ:More now on these latest warnings, the Republican response and the timing¹ of these possible cuts.

　　Lisa Rein² is following this for The Washington Post, and she joins me now.

　　Lisa, in recent days, senior members of the Obama administration have laid out in exacting³ detail all the terrible consequences if the sequester⁴ goes through, while Republicans, in many cases, have said it might not be that bad. From your reporting, can you tell who's working closer to the truth?

　　LISA REIN, The Washington Post: Well, it is hard to tell, but this is really in part a political game because it really does look like these $85 billion dollars in spending cuts will begin to take effect next Friday.

　　It doesn't look as if Congress, as either side in Congress has a real interest in resolving this issue. And the Obama administration has over the past I'm going to say about two weeks has stepped up the pressure on Republicans to say to the public, OK, dire⁵ consequences will result if these cuts take effect.

　　That's in part because the agencies have to make the cuts across-the-board, and they can't really make them without furloughs. Now, air traffic is just one area of the government that would—that the White House says would be impacted. You have got national parks that are going to delay openings because they have to. They can't do seasonal⁶ hiring, and seasonal hiring are the folks who really drive parks.

　　Poultry⁷ inspections⁸ would be compromised. Prosecutions⁹ in federal courts, you know, would be affected¹⁰, the whole range of things. Now, for the Obama folks, in many ways, it's in their interest to blame Republicans for these cuts because polls have shown that the Republicans would take the blame.

　　For Republicans, many, many constituents¹¹ in these Republican districts want to cut government spending. And their members feel that this is really the only way to start doing it.

　　RAY SUAREZ:These are being portrayed¹² as sudden and sizable cuts. Where are they going to be seen first? Sec. LaHood was talking about April for some of these air traffic effects. What will we see and how soon after Mar¹³. 1st?

　　LISA REIN:Well, it's hard to say.

　　There's no question that no one is going to be furloughed next Friday. And the cuts will really not be visible for several weeks, if that. It's also possible that Congress will reach a deal several weeks into these cuts to stop them and nothing really noticeable, you know, would happen to government services.

　　So they will be gradual. And federal agencies have the ability to push off some of the cuts. But what they are saying is that they need to start furloughing people in about April. The Defense—the Pentagon said this week that it was issuing furlough notices to about 800,000 civilian¹⁴ employees to prepare to be furloughed.

　　So, in the case of the Pentagon, you know, that means that destroyers, various aircraft carriers will not deploy¹⁵ to places like the Persian Gulf¹⁶ and other theaters. And that's a big effect on local economies, in areas like Hampton Roads, Va., San Diego. And it's an effect that will be clearly felt on contractors¹⁷ who rely on Navy contracts for shipbuilding.

　　So I think the effects will be gradual. No one can really tell when the agencies will sort of pull the plug. And, as I said, the cuts nay¹⁸ not take effect for that long.

　　RAY SUAREZ:Well, you said at the outset that there is a political dimension to this. And, of course, as we enter the final week, there most certainly is. What is the public telling opinion researchers about who they will hold responsible if Friday comes and goes without a deal?

　　LISA REIN:Well, I think part of the problem is that many Americans don't really understand what sequestration is.

　　It's become this obsession¹⁹ in Washington, but many people are only just now beginning to become aware of it. But the recent—a recent poll by the Pew center for research said that many more Republicans would be held responsible than would the Obama administration. On the other hand, as I said earlier, Republicans have been putting pressure on the administration for two years, three years now to get—to make deep spending cuts to the federal government which they see as excessive and in need of cutting and as causing huge deficit²⁰ problems.

　　And part of the problem is, if you have automatic spending cuts, which is what the sequestration would do, across all arms of the government, virtually, then no one really needs to take responsible for having authorized²¹ specific cuts to specific agencies. And that's in part why the cuts are, oddly enough, politically more palatable²² than if Republicans or Democrats²³ were to say, OK, we suggest that you cut this agency or that agency.

　　RAY SUAREZ:Lisa Rein of The Washington Post, thanks for joining us.

　　LISA REIN:Thank you.

1 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

2 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。

3 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

4 sequester   

vt.使退隐，使隔绝

参考例句：

• Everything he owned was sequestered.他的所有财产都被扣押了。
• This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months.预计这个陪审团将至少被隔离两个月。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

7 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

8 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 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》

12 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 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。

14 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

15 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

16 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

17 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

19 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

20 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。

21 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

22 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。

23 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》