美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden met again with congressional leaders to negotiate raising the debt limit

Biden met again with congressional leaders to negotiate raising the debt limit

Transcript¹

President Biden will cut short his trip to Asia in order to keep negotiating with top congressional leaders over the debt limit — with a possible default as little as 15 days away.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

President Biden met again with top congressional leaders to find a compromise to raise the nation's debt limit, and the clock is ticking. In 15 days, the country may run out of money to pay its bills, something Treasury² Secretary Janet Yellen warns could cause a recession.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JANET YELLEN: It is essential that Congress act as soon as possible. In my assessment³ and that of economists⁴ across the board, a U.S. default would generate an economic and financial catastrophe⁵.

MART?NEZ: NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh joins us now. Did they get any closer to a possible deal?

DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE⁶: You know, potentially. Both Republican and Democratic leaders sounded more positive last night, even though they didn't really have any breakthrough in terms of what a compromise could end up looking like. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who's been really critical of the process leading up to yesterday's meeting, did shift his tone, which was not the case after the two sides met last week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: I did think this one was a little more productive. We're a long way apart. But what changed in this meeting was the president has now selected two people from his administration to directly negotiate with us.

WALSH: McCarthy said he thought it was possible to get a deal by the end of this week. He says that's the time frame needed to get a bill approved through both the House and the Senate before June 1. That's the date Yellen says the U.S. will hit its debt ceiling. McCarthy has tasked his team to meet with the White House team, these two new negotiators who are leading the talks. But he continues to say he doesn't support any short-term deal to avoid a default. There have been previous deals in times of divided government that could serve as a model this time, but getting something done in roughly two weeks is really a tall order.

MART?NEZ: Now, I know President Biden is supposed to go to Japan for the G-7 economic summit. He's still going - right? - but not the whole trip.

WALSH: Right. He has to cut his trip short because of these talks. He was scheduled to be overseas for eight days, but he's now planning to return early on Sunday. And he's skipping his planned visit to Australia. The president said he would come back for what he called the final negotiations⁷, but he also said they have a lot of work to do.

MART?NEZ: Now, what about Democratic leaders? What are they saying about the talks?

YELLEN: You know, they're also calling Tuesday's session productive. Both Democratic leaders repeatedly declined to get into any kind of details about what they could or could not accept. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stressed a couple of areas of agreement.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHUCK SCHUMER: Everyone agreed that default would be the worst outcome, a horrible situation for America and America's families. But we also agreed that we need to pass a bipartisan bill with bipartisan support in both chambers⁸.

MART?NEZ: So, Deirdre, what would a possible deal look like?

WALSH: We have some outlines, but there's still really a lot of major issues they haven't decided⁹, like how long to lift the debt ceiling for. Republicans want to raise it into some time into next year. Democrats¹⁰ want to do it way past the 2024 election. And President Biden noted¹¹ Republicans are still opposed to any kinds of tax increases in this deal, even though they're still pushing for these spending cuts. But the leaders and the president are talking about these spending caps for some period of time. They do seem to appear that they will agree to claw back roughly $60 billion in unspent COVID relief money. There's also some agreement about possibly including a provision that would expedite permits for new energy projects.

One big sticking point still in these talks is the Republicans' push to add new work requirements for adults without dependents who have - who are enrolled¹² in federal safety net programs like food stamps. The president had expressed some openness to that. But many progressives I talked to yesterday in the Capitol said it - insisted it was just a nonstarter. There are some tricky¹³ decisions facing both the president and the speaker. So we'll just see what they can agree to that can get passed the House and the Senate.

MART?NEZ: Deirdre Walsh is NPR's congressional correspondent.

We'll talk again soon.

WALSH: 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 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。

3 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

6 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。

7 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。

8 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 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》

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。