2007年VOA标准英语-US House Rejects President's Plan for More Troo

By Dan Robinson
Washington
16 February 2007

After four days of debate, the House of Representatives has approved, by a vote of 246 to 182, a non-binding resolution disapproving¹ of President Bush's new troop deployment² to Iraq. Majority Democrats⁴ call the vote a major step toward forcing a new direction on Iraq, while Republicans allege⁵ it sets the stage for Democrats to drain resources from, and attempt to block, further military operations. VOA's Dan Robinson is on Capitol Hill.

 
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic House leaders speak to reporters after Iraq vote.
House approval, confirmed by the Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sets the stage for a procedural vote and debate in the Senate on the same resolution which disapproves⁶ of the president's troop plan, but pledges support for U.S. troops.

Democrats claimed victory, saying passage sends a strong message to President Bush about his plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.

Iraq war veteran and new Democratic member of Congress Patrick Murphy says it also sends this message to Iraqis. "Until the Iraqis come off the sidelines and stand up for Iraq, their country, we are just going to keep running in place," he said.

Democrats play down the fact that predictions that as many as 60 Republicans would support the resolution did not come to pass. Only 17 Republicans crossed party lines, while two Democrats voted against the measure.

Meanwhile, Democratic strategies aimed at placing legislative⁷ roadblocks in the way of the president on Iraq are becoming clearer.

 
John Murtha
Democrat³ John Murtha outlined plans to accomplish this by requiring that troops designated for deployment to Iraq be fully⁸ prepared in terms of equipment and training.

He would limit combat deployments to one year, require that soldiers have at least one year at home between deployments, and prohibit the Pentagon from using a procedure to extend military enlistments.

Murtha detailed⁹ his proposals in an interview with the Web site MoveCongress.org. "We are trying to force a redeployment, not by taking money away [from the troops] but by re-directing money," he said.

House Republican leaders call Murtha's plans proof that Democrats will eventually attempt to cut off all funding for military operations in Iraq.

On the final day of debate, Republican Steve King accused Democrats of playing into the hands of terrorists. "If Mr. Murtha and the people who are working with him are successful in a slow bleed of our resources, then what you will see is Osama bin-Laden say, if we keep attacking America they will leave Afghanistan the same way they left Vietnam, Lebanon, Mogadishu and Iraq," he said.

While she supports Congressman¹⁰ Murtha, Speaker Pelosi rejects Republican suggestions that Democrats do not support the military.

After directing the House to observe a moment of silence for the more than 3,000 U.S. troops killed in Iraq, she said Democrats intend to force a change in direction. "The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect¹¹ for success. The bipartisan resolution today may be non-binding but it will send a strong message [that] we here in Congress are committed to protecting and supporting our troops," he said.

House Republicans appeared earlier with Senate counterparts to denounce what they call dangerous plans that attempt to micro-manage the military.

"There is no question that the Democrats in the House and Senate intend to tie the president's hands when it comes to the conduct of war in Iraq," said John Boehner, House minority leader.

Speaking before the vote Friday, Presidential spokesman Tony Snow had this comment. "Members of Congress are taking their own gamble here. They are gambling¹² on failure. The president has a plan for success, it is all aimed at success," he said.

On Saturday, the U.S. Senate will be in session for a procedural vote that may clear the way for similar debate on Iraq there.

Majority leader Harry¹³ Reid will bring the House resolution to the Senate floor. But Republicans are pushing for a debate on a separate resolution that would oppose any cutoff of funds for Iraq.

1 disapproving   

adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mother gave me a disapproving look. 母亲的眼神告诉我她是不赞成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her father threw a disapproving glance at her. 她父亲不满地瞥了她一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 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》

5 allege   

vt.宣称，申述，主张，断言

参考例句：

• The newspaper reporters allege that the man was murdered but they have given no proof.新闻记者们宣称这个男人是被谋杀的，但他们没提出证据。
• Students occasionally allege illness as the reason for absence.学生时不时会称病缺课。

6 disapproves   

v.不赞成( disapprove的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She disapproves of unmarried couples living together. 她反对未婚男女同居。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her mother disapproves of her wearing transparent underwear. 她母亲不赞成她穿透明的内衣。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 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。

10 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

12 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。