美国国家公共电台 NPR--McCarthy to hold a vote soon on plan to increase debt limit while cutting spending

McCarthy to hold a vote soon on plan to increase debt limit while cutting spending

Transcript¹

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is working to gain support within his own party for his proposal that would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is trying to address a problem.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The House Republican majority faces pressure to extend U.S. borrowing authority. The U.S. needs that in order to meet its obligations and avoid default. Republicans have said they won't do it unless they also get future spending cuts. But spending cuts are unpopular, and they have yet to fully² agree on any plan that they would pass. Senate Democrats³ plan to reject whatever they pass, saying the U.S. should just pay its bills.

INSKEEP: NPR politics reporter Ximena Bustillo is covering this story. Good morning.

XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

INSKEEP: OK, so McCarthy needs 218 votes to pass anything. From his very small Republican majority, he needs to get almost all of them on his side. Where do things stand?

BUSTILLO: McCarthy is whipping for votes in the House currently, and he told reporters last night that he remains⁵ confident a vote could come as soon as this week. The bill would increase the country's borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion or through March of next year, whichever comes first. And it aims to erase⁶ much of President Biden's agenda, including his college loan forgiveness proposal and much of the Inflation Reduction Act, the major climate bill passed last year. But a group of House Republicans are pushing for changes on several provisions that deal with items like ethanol tax incentives⁷ and work requirements for safety net programs. Here he is giving an update on negotiations⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: This bill is to get us to the negotiating table. It's not the final provisions, and there's a number of members that will vote for it going forward to say there are some concerns they have with it.

BUSTILLO: Several Midwestern lawmakers spent Tuesday in McCarthy's office negotiating provisions to keep biofuel tax credits and incentives. Since Democrats are all expected to vote no, McCarthy can really only spare a few GOP votes against the measure. And the White House yesterday also issued a statement that, should the bill pass, Biden is ready to veto it.

INSKEEP: Again, the Democratic position here, of course, is this is a hostage situation. The U.S. should just pay its existing bills and that the White House is not going to negotiate over paying the existing bills. McCarthy, though, is trying to shape something that cuts future spending in some way. What would happen to social safety net programs?

BUSTILLO: Well, let's look specifically at food stamps. McCarthy wants to raise the age limit of adults, 18 to 50, who do not have children and are considered, quote, "capable," from 50 to 56, effectively increasing the number of people who are subject to work requirements. Currently, they have to show that they are working 20 hours a week in order to get food stamps. And if they stop work or don't work enough hours for three months, they lose the benefits. But hunger advocates say that the change will push for more people off the program. Here's Ellen Vollinger, SNAP director for the Food Research and Action Center.

ELLEN VOLLINGER: It's a strategy that is only certain to take food away from people. It is not going to improve their employability or their prospects⁹ in the labor¹⁰ market.

BUSTILLO: Vollinger argues that often the food benefit is being given to a person because they are not able to make enough money on their own to sustain themselves.

INSKEEP: I guess we should just remember also that food stamps are not the largest part of the budget here; it's things like defense¹¹ and Social Security, which are not going to be touched. What happens now?

BUSTILLO: Well, if McCarthy manages to get the bill through the chamber¹², it would increase pressure on Biden to start some talks on what a compromise could look like. But many of the current provisions, like food stamp work requirements, are a nonstarter for Democrats. Now even if the specific bill fails to get to Biden's desk, it does signal some of McCarthy's thinking when it comes to programs that could be negotiated in other packages coming later in the year.

INSKEEP: NPR's Ximena Bustillo. Thanks as always.

BUSTILLO: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 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》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

7 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 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。

9 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 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。

12 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。