Obama Urges Congress to Avoid 'Self-Inflicted Wound'

WHITE HOUSE — President Barack Obama is urging Congress to reach an agreement to avoid the tax increases and deep government cuts that are set to take effect Tuesday. The next move in the fiscal¹ drama is up to the Senate.
In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said the U.S. economy cannot afford what he called “a politically self-inflicted wound.”
“The housing market is healing, but that could stall if folks are seeing smaller paychecks. The unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 2008, but already, families and businesses are starting to hold back because of the dysfunction they see in Washington,” said the president.
Seeking agreement
The leaders of the Senate, Democrat² Harry³ Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell, are working through the weekend to find an agreement to reduce the U.S. deficit⁴ and avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” They could have legislation ready for a Senate vote on Sunday or Monday.
Both leaders expressed optimism that a deal could be reached after they met Friday with Obama at the White House.
The president, in his Saturday address, said he believes the senators may be able to work out an agreement that can pass Congress before the deadline.
Backup plan
If not, Obama has said he wants Reid to introduce legislation to avert⁵ some of the consequences of missing the deadline.
In the Republican Party response, Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri said he also has faith that a deal can be done, but it is up to Democrats⁶ to take the lead.
“Fortunately, going over the fiscal cliff is avoidable. There is not much time, but there is still time to act. Both President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have claimed that an achievable plan is one that can pass both houses of Congress, and Republicans agree,” said Blunt.
The president met Friday with Reid and McConnell, as well as House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. It was his first meeting with all four congressional leaders since November 16.
Vice⁷ President Joe Biden and Treasury⁸ Secretary Tim Geithner also were in the meeting.
Various scenarios⁹
The Democratic-led Senate returns to session Sunday afternoon, at which time Reid hopes to have an agreement ready for a vote. Any deal that passes the Senate must then clear the Republican-led House, which returns to session later on Sunday.
Obama is proposing to cut the federal deficit, partly by raising taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year. Republicans had called for a threshold of $1 million.
Republicans have campaigned for spending cuts in government social programs, something Democrats strongly oppose. Democrats want to shrink the defense¹⁰ budget, an idea Republicans reject.
If no agreement is reached by the end of Monday, Americans will be hit with an estimated $600 billion in tax increases and severe government spending cuts, and unemployment benefits will be halted.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

5 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

6 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》

7 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。

8 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。

9 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 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。