2006年VOA标准英语-Iraq War, Tax Cuts Increase US Budget Defi

By Barry Wood
Washington, DC
10 February 2006
 
watch Budget Deficit¹ report

President Bush has submitted a U.S. government budget for the fiscal² year beginning in October that totals $2.8 trillion.  VOA's Barry Wood reports that mainly because of tax cuts and the war in Iraq, the budget will be in deficit by an amount approaching nearly four percent of U.S. output (gross domestic product)

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Budget director Josh Bolton unveiled a spending plan that gives the defense³ department a seven percent increase, to help cover the cost of the war in Iraq.

 

 
Josh Bolton
  

"The President has committed to provide our fighting men and women what they need to prosecute⁴ this war correctly and as safely as they can."

Alice Rivlin, a former budget director now a scholar at Washington's Brookings Institution, worries that the war in Iraq is actually being paid for with borrowed money, since taxes are not going up with the budget. "This is the first time actually we have fought a war without paying for it. And worse than that, we're fighting a war and cutting taxes at the same time."

Those tax cuts -- which may have boosted economic growth -- did much to shift government finance from surplus to deficit. 

Alice Rivlin   
  
Ms. Rivlin says she is worried. "I worry a lot about the deficit.  In the near term, we can probably finance it.  The United States is a large, important economy and people are willing to lend us money all around the world."

The biggest foreign purchasers of U.S. government debt are the central banks of China and Japan. They buy U.S. bonds, in part, to hold down the value of their currencies so that it is easier to export to the United States.

John Snow  
  
John Snow, the U.S. treasury⁵ secretary, says the Bush administration is determined⁶ to bring down the deficit. "This budget also is committed to fiscal discipline.  It holds government spending below the level of inflation. In the non-security, non-homeland security area it reduces actual spending. And it's consistent with the president's commitment to cut the deficit in half by the time he leaves office."

Alice Rivlin doubts that the administration will make good on the president's promise. "I think that is very unlikely because spending will continue to escalate⁷ and the president is very opposed to any increases in taxes."

Not surprisingly, opposition⁸ lawmakers in Congress are particularly critical of President Bush's budget. Democratic Party Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota. "This budget represents an absolute failure to face up to the country's fiscal condition."

Within his own party, President Bush's budget policies are increasingly being questioned.  The Republicans traditionally championed a smaller role for government in the economy. Under President Bush government spending has significantly increased.

1 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。

2 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。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。