VOA常速英语2015--美国财政悬崖最后期限将至

美国财政悬崖最后期限将至

It has been nearly a month since House Speaker John Boehner announced his departure.

国会众议院议长贝纳近一个月前就宣布辞去议长的职务。

No successor has been identified, much less chosen. Congressman¹ Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice² presidential nominee³, continues to resist the intense pressure from party elders to seek the post. A leadership vacuum could force Boehner to postpone⁴ his retirement⁵ and lead a fractured Republican caucus⁶ as momentous⁷ deadlines loom⁸.

但接替他的人至今没有找到，更不用说选定了。2012年共和党副总统候选人保罗·莱恩一直承受着来自本党资深议员要求他谋求议长一职的强大压力。无人上位的窘境或将迫使贝纳延长退休时间，随着大限日益临近，他或许还要主持破碎不堪的党内会议。

Last week, the Treasury⁹ Department informed Boehner the U.S. government risks running out of funds by November 3 unless the federal borrowing limit is increased.

上个星期，美国财政部通知贝纳，除非提高联邦债务上限，否则政府资金到11月3日就将用尽。

It would put the United States at real risk for the very first time in our history of not being able to pay our bills.

这将是我们历史上第一次无钱支付债务，从而把美国置于危险之中。

Many Republicans, especially those running for higher office are reluctant to raise the debt ceiling reforms to improve America's fiscal¹⁰ health.

很多共和党人，特别是那些竞选更高职位的共和党人，不愿意通过提高债务上限改革，来改进美国的财政状况。

So, We have a $19 trillion debt. The reason why that is a problem is we only have an $18 trillion economy.

我们有19万亿美元的国债，这很成问题，因为我们的GDP只有18万亿美元。

President Barack Obama has ruled out negotiations¹¹ over the borrowing limit, arguing it's Congress'duty to avoid a catastrophic U.S. debt default.

奥巴马总统排除了就提高债务上限进行谈判的可能。他指出，国会的职责是避免具有灾难性后果的债务违约。

Increasing the debt limit does not authorize¹² any new spending. It simply allows the Treasury to pay for expenditures¹³ that Congress themselves already have approved.

提高债务上限并不是批准新的开支。它只是让财政部支付国会已经通过的经费。

 

In addition to the debt ceiling deadline, Congress has until December 11 to extend the U.S. government's spending authority or risk another partial federal shutdown. Discussions between the White House and congressional leaders are reportedly progressing on a longer term spending deal, but until a new House speaker is chosen, it is not clear who would see a deal to fruition or bring it up for a vote.

除了联邦债务上限的截至日期之外，美国国会还必须在12月11日之前延长联邦政府开支授权，否则又将面临政府部分关门的厄运。白宫和国会领导人就长期预算协议而进行的谈判据报正取得进展。但是，在众议院议长选定之前，由谁确保协议得到实现或提交投票，仍然是一个未知数。

1 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。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

7 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

8 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

9 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

10 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。

11 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。

12 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

13 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》