2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Sends 2008 Budget to Congress

By Paula Wolfson
White House
05 February 2007

President Bush has sent his 2008 budget proposal to Congress. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House that Mr. Bush says the spending plan will provide needed funds for the war on terrorism, while putting the nation on course to erase¹ the current budget deficit² in five years.

President Bush says his $2.9 trillion spending proposal is realistic and his budget goal is achievable.

fiscal3 2008 federal budget at end of Cabinet meeting, 5 Feb. 2007 " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070519/1043360.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

President Bush, right, holds up copy of fiscal 2008 federal budget at end of Cabinet meeting, 5 Feb 2007

"Today we submit a budget to the United States Congress that shows we can balance the budget in five years without raising taxes," the president said.

Mr. Bush says even with the costs of the war in Iraq, the budget can be brought into balance if the economy continues to grow, and Congress exercises overall fiscal restraint.

"Our economy is strong because of good policy, because the entrepreneurial spirit is strong and by keeping taxes down we actually generate strong revenues to the treasury,"

he said.

The president spoke⁴ at the end of a meeting with his cabinet that was largely devoted⁵ to budget issues, including the high cost of military operations in Iraq.

His new budget includes, for the first time, long-term estimates of war expenses. Mr. Bush is asking Congress to approve 145-billion dollars for Iraq for 2008, and alerts lawmakers to an imminent⁶ request for an additional 100-billion for the current 2007 fiscal year.

"Our priority is to protect the American people," Mr. Bush said. "And our priority is to make sure our troops have what it takes to do their jobs."

The president made the remarks shortly after copies of his budget proposal were formally delivered to members of the House and Senate, setting off a detailed⁷ legislative⁸ process that is likely to drag on for months.

This is the first time the president has submitted a budget to a Democratic Party-controlled Congress, and lawmakers made clear they plan to give his spending proposal tough scrutiny⁹.

In a written statement, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton called the military request "staggering." He said Congress must look at the details carefully, to ensure taxpayer¹⁰ dollars are spent wisely.

1 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

2 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。

3 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

9 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

10 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。