2007年VOA标准英语-Both Houses of US Congress OK Iraq War-Funding

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
24 May 2007

The U.S. Congress has approved legislation supporting military operations in Iraq, with majority Democrats¹ calling it the best achievable at this time, and Republicans claiming victory in forcing Democrats to drop a withdrawal² timetable. Approval by the House of Representatives, by a vote of 280 to 142, sent the measure to the Senate where few hours later, Senators passed the bill by a vote 80 to 14. The measure is now ready for President Bush's signature. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

Stripped of withdrawal language, the $120 billion measure is the result of weeks of intense negotiations³ since President Bush vetoed an initial Iraq funding measure.

Democratic leaders faced intense pressure from the far left of their party to impose a timetable, but resistance from President Bush forced them to back down, at least for now.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter⁴ summed up the dilemma⁵ for her fellow Democrats. "The president and his allies in Congress have put our soldiers in harm's way and Mr. Bush is willing to keep them there no matter how much they suffer. If this Congress delayed funding by continuing to back a bill we cannot pass at this time, we would not force the president to end the war. All indications are he would leave our soldiers in Iraq, and without adequate funding they would have to do even more with even less," she said.

Republicans pointed⁶ to success in forcing Democrats to remove withdrawal language, which they assert would have harmed U.S. troops and threatened the defense⁷ of Iraq from al-Qaida.

"We simply cannot and will not strengthen the hands of terrorists who have made the destruction of America their number one priority. We cannot and will not abandon the Iraqis to be butchered by these terrorists in their midst. And we cannot and will not abandon our mission just as real progress is starting to be made," said Congressman⁸ David Dreier.

But Democratic leaders insist that President Bush's agreement to have the bill include political, security and economic benchmarks the government of Iraq must achieve is a victory in itself.

President Bush gestures during a news conference in the Rose Garden of White House, 24 May 2007

The president spoke⁹ at the White House. "These benchmarks provide both the Iraqi government and the American people with a clear road map on the way forward. Meeting these benchmarks will be difficult. It's going to be hard work for this young government," he said.

To ensure passage House Democratic leaders required two votes, one on $99.5 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan military operations through September, the other for billions in additional domestic spending.

The next phase for Democrats in trying to wind down the war is to target separate defense bills and another Iraq supplemental spending request between June and September.

Also on the Democratic agenda, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is a measure later this year to repeal¹⁰ the 2002 measure that gave the president authority to begin military action in Iraq. "This is not the end of the debate. We have to be here to bring this bill to the floor so we can go forward, but this debate will go on," she said.

In a rare display of emotion, Republican minority leader John Boehner asserted Democratic tactics merely send a negative message to the troops, and distract from the larger war against terrorists. "I think at the top of our list is providing for the safety and security of the American people. That is at the top of our list. After 3,000 of our fellow citizens died at the hands of these terrorists, when are we going to stand up and take them on, when are we going to defeat them?"

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders face criticism from the most outspoken¹¹ anti-war members of their party, such as Senator Russ Feingold. "Instead of forcing the president to safely redeploy our troops, instead of coming up with a strategy providing assistance to a post-redeployment Iraq, and instead of a renewed focus on the global fight against al-Qaida, we are faced with a spending bill that just kicks the can down the road (continues congressional funding), and buys the administration time," he said.

The funding battle between Democrats, on one hand, and Republicans and the president, on the other, also promises to affect the 2008 presidential race, as key Democratic front-runners will face pressure to explain their votes, while Republican candidates will have to decide how close they remain to the president if violence in Iraq does not abate¹².

1 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》

2 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。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

5 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

11 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

12 abate   

vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退

参考例句：

• We must abate the noise pollution in our city.我们必须消除我们城里的噪音污染。
• The doctor gave him some medicine to abate the powerful pain.医生给了他一些药，以减弱那剧烈的疼痛。