2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Pushes Congress on War Funding

By Paula Wolfson
White House
16 April 2007

President Bush invited military families to the White House Monday, as he stepped up his campaign for Congressional passage of a war funding bill without a timetable for withdrawal¹. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House that Mr. Bush says Congress owes America's fighting men and women no less.

The message was the same. The tone was different.

This time, it was personal.

President Bush, accompanied by members of military families, makes remarks on the Iraq war supplemental bill, 16 Apr 2007

President Bush motioned to the parents, children, spouses² and siblings³ seated before him in the White House East Room. He told their stories, and spoke⁴ of their support for the troops, even at a time of great loss.

"Many of the families here today have relatives serving in harm's way. Others have lost loved ones in the struggle," he said. "They have come here to Washington with a message for their elected leaders in our nation's capital: Our troops need the resources, equipment and weapons to fight our enemies."

Once again, the president accused the Democratic leadership in Congress of playing politics with the war by pushing a $100 billion war funding bill that includes language setting a timeline for withdrawal.

"Congress needs to put the partisanship⁶ on hold; it needs to get rid of all the politics right now and send me an emergency war spending bill that I can sign that gets our troops the support they need and gives our commanders the flexibility⁷ they need to complete this mission," Mr. Bush said.

The president will sit down Wednesday with congressional leaders to talk about the dispute. Mr. Bush said he looks forward to the meeting, but made clear there will be no change in his war policy.

"Listen, I understand Republicans and Democrats⁸ in Washington have differences over the best course in Iraq. That's healthy. That's normal. And we should debate those differences," he said. "But our troops should not be caught in the middle."

The top Democrat⁵ in the U.S. Senate - Majority Leader Harry⁹ Reid - responded a short time later. He said Democrats will make sure U.S. forces have the necessary resources. But he said with this controversial bill, Congress is sending the president a message from the American people.

"The president has a choice to make in the coming days: cling to the discredited¹⁰ policies that have led our troops further into this intractable civil war or work with a bipartisan majority in Congress to make us more secure," said Senator Reid.

Reid said the Democratic leadership is determined¹¹ to send a bill with a timetable for withdrawal to the president. But recently, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee let it be known the Democrats have a back up plan in the event of an expected presidential veto.

Carl Levin said if Democrats cannot muster¹² the two-thirds majority needed to override¹³ a veto, they will draft a substitute bill. He indicated it will not contain specific language on a troop withdrawal, but will set deadlines - or benchmarks - designed to pressure the Iraqi government to meet specific goals so American forces can come home.

1 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

2 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

3 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

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 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。

6 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

7 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

8 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》

9 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。

10 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

11 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。

12 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

13 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。