2007年VOA标准英语-US Senate Republicans Block Iraq War Resolution

By Margaret Besheer
Washington
17 February 2007

U.S. Senators opposed to sending thousands more American troops to Iraq narrowly failed Saturday to move a nonbinding resolution, expressing disapproval¹ of President Bush's plan, to a formal debate and vote. The measure failed to win the necessary 60 out of 100 votes in the Senate, falling four votes short. VOA's Margaret Besheer has more from Washington.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lowers his head during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol Saturday

In a rare Saturday session, Democratic and Republican party senators gathered for a fourth straight day to debate whether to move to a vote on a symbolic³ resolution criticizing President Bush's plan to send nearly 22,000 more U.S. combat troops to Iraq.

On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a similiar non-binding measure.

Senate Democrats⁴ and some Republicans were hoping to bring their bipartisan resolution to a vote, but failed, winning only 56 of the 60 required votes.

The measure had full support from Democrats, but only seven Republicans broke party ranks to vote "yes." It is the second time they have tried and failed to overcome a procedural obstacle to vote on the nonbinding resolution. At a press conference following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Democrats would not try again. "There are lots of things we can look at other than this surge. This is over with, we are going to go on to other things," he said.

Opponents of the measure said they had no problem with debating the war, but they blocked voting on this resolution to protest the democratic leadership's decision not to allow a competing resolution they offered about war funding to be brought to a vote. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said "The reason we are here on a Saturday playing these stupid political games, while people are off over in Iraq trying to win this war, is because our colleagues on the other side of the aisle⁵ are afraid to take a vote on cutting off funding."

But Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia, a sponsor of the resolution criticizing the troop increase plan and one of seven Republicans to support it, said it expressed disagreement with the president only over whether the troops should be used to defuse Iraq's internal conflict. "We have the right to respectfully disagree," he said. "And we do so in our language. We support the president on the diplomatic aspects of his plan; we support the president on the economic aspects of his plan announced on the 10th of January. We only disagree with one portion of it. Mr. President, do you need 21,500 additional men and women of the armed forces in this conflict?"

The American public is growing impatient with the war, with 63 percent of people surveyed in a recent poll saying they oppose Mr. Bush's decision to deploy⁶ more troops to Iraq.

1 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

2 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。

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

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 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

6 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。