On Friday, the U.S. Senate shelved a final vote on the $410 billion spending bill that would fund the federal government through the current fiscal year. Senators from both parties have expressed reservations over the more than 8,000 localized spending projects, called earmarks, which total more than $7 billion.
美国国会参议院星期五搁置了对4100亿美元政府开支议案的最后表决，这项议案将为本财政年度联邦政府的支出提供资金。民主和共和两党的部分参议员对开支议案中有8千多个地方性开支项目，即所谓的专门拨款，持保留意见。这些地方性项目的支出额高达70亿美元。
Congress will continue debate Monday over the federal spending bill, which a handful of Republicans and Democrats are criticizing for being loaded down with earmarks, or special projects legislators use to funnel money to their constituents.
国会星期一将继续就联邦开支议案进行辩论。部分共和党和民主党议员对议案中夹带太多的专门拨款项目提出批评。所谓的特别拨款项目就是议员们为自己的选民争取的资金。
Congress did not pass the legislation last year under threat of a veto from then-President George Bush. Now some question whether President Barack Obama is breaking his campaign pledge to scour the budget line by line for wasteful spending.
国会去年在前总统布什威胁要否决的情况下没有通过相关的专门拨款。奥巴马总统竞选时表示要逐条审议预算案，减少浪费的支出。现在有人怀疑奥巴马是否没有兑现竞选时所作的保证。
Republican Senator John McCain, who is well known for deriding earmarks as "pork barrel spending," told Fox News the president should scrap the bill entirely.
共和党参议员约翰.麦凯恩曾嘲讽地称这些专门拨款项目为“猪肉桶支出”，他在接受福克斯新闻采访时说，总统应该全面废弃这个议案。
"But the fact is, they are unneeded, unwanted, unnecessary and it is not last year's business," said John McCain. "It is money that is going to be spent as soon as the president signs the bill, and he should not sign it, he should veto it and send it right back."
他说：“但是，事实是，这些都是不必要的，不需要的，没有必要的。这跟去年的情况不一样。这些钱在总统签署之后，就得支出。他不应该签字，他应该否决它，把它退回去。”
McCain acknowledges that earmark spending is a bipartisan problem; about 40 percent of the earmarks came from fellow Republicans. One such Republican is Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama who says the inclusion of earmarks should not impede funding the government.
麦凯恩承认专门拨款项目是两党共有的问题。大约40%的专门拨款项目来自共和党人。阿拉巴马州的共和党参议员谢尔比就是其中之一。他说，议案中包括专门拨款不会阻碍为联邦政府提供资金。
"A lot of people voted for a stimulus bill, a TARP [Troubled Assets Relief Program], that is $1.5 trillion," said Richard Shelby. "Now they say, 'Oh, we better not vote for a $400-billion bill to fund the government.' I think we ought to fund the government and move on."
谢尔比说：“很多人投票赞成经济刺激计划，赞成所谓“救助有问题资产项目”，需要的资金高达1.5万亿美元。现在他们说，我们最好不要投票通过4000亿美元的联邦政府运作资金。我认为我们应该为政府提供资金，然后向前迈进。”
Another Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, who inserted 37 earmarks for South Carolina, defended the process for funneling revenue to his home state.
另一个共和党人，参议员格雷厄姆为南卡罗来纳加入了37个特别拨款项目。他为自己给家乡争取资金的行为进行辩护。
"I think I should have the ability as a United States Senator to direct money back to my state as long it is transparent and it makes sense," said Lindsey Graham.
格雷厄姆说：“我认为，作为一名美国参议员，我应该有能力为我所在的州争取一些资金，只要这些钱是透明的，支出是有道理的。”
In total, earmarks represent less than two percent of the federal spending bill. Graham and other senators say they expect the bill to pass later this week.
总的说来，专门拨款只占联邦政府开支总额的不到1%。格雷厄姆和其他参议员说，他们预期这个议案在本星期晚些时候可以得到通过。 |