美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden and McCarthy talk, but no deal is reached on raising the debt ceiling

Biden and McCarthy talk, but no deal is reached on raising the debt ceiling

Transcript¹

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met for the first time since debt limit negotiations² stalled in recent days. They tried to sound optimistic, but both sides are still far apart.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met last night for the first time since debt limit negotiations seemed to stall in recent days. They sounded an optimistic note but acknowledged they're still far apart. Here's Biden before that meeting.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We have to be in a position where we can sell it to our constituencies. We're pretty well-divided in the House, almost down the middle. And it's not any different in the Senate.

MARTIN: It just isn't clear if they can reach a deal before the country breaches³ the debt ceiling in as few as nine days. NPR's congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales is with us this morning to tell us more. Good morning, Claudia.

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE⁴: Good morning, Michel.

MARTIN: So let me start with this meeting last night between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy. Where are both sides now?

GRISALES: As you mentioned, still pretty far apart. But they both tried to sound this optimistic tone. McCarthy said it marked the best discussion they've had on this yet. And he still thinks they can get this done in time to avoid a financial default.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: I think it was productive in the professionalism, the honesty with one another and the desire to try to find common ground.

GRISALES: Biden, in a statement, also called it a productive meeting and said that their staffs will now continue to discuss a path forward. McCarthy expects they'll talk perhaps daily. And their staffs will continue to meet to get this done. But we should note that Treasury⁵ Secretary Janet Yellen has repeated in a new letter to congressional leaders that it is highly likely that the U.S. will be unable to satisfy all of the government's obligations if Congress has not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by early June and as early as June 1.

MARTIN: So as briefly⁶ as you can, where are both sides stuck? And where could they find agreement?

GRISALES: McCarthy said nothing is agreed to and everything is being talked about. For example, he says he will not talk about any options to raise revenues, which is a key sticking point. Biden says he believes Republicans should consider a look at tax loopholes to make sure that the wealthy pay their fair share. And he said revenue matters as long as you are not taxing individuals with annual incomes of under $400,000 a year.

And McCarthy has repeatedly said that spending cuts need to be central to this deal because he believes the government is spending too much. And he wants to see a deal where spending declines next year from this year. But he has also said that defense⁷ cuts are not on the table, so that leaves fewer places to install these slashes⁸ in spending. And he's talked about new working requirements for certain Americans who need federal assistance. And there could be potential agreement when it comes back to clawing back unspent funds, like those related to pandemic relief bills.

MARTIN: Do we have any sense about how this issue is playing among Americans - obviously, that's a big group, but in terms of what approach should be taken here to resolve this?

GRISALES: Yes. Our new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll out this morning found that a slim majority wants the debt ceiling raised without being tied to spending cuts. That is, they want to see leaders leave the talks about cuts for a separate conversation. But those results are driven by Democrats⁹. In the poll, Republicans overwhelmingly said they want cuts tied to the debt ceiling, while independents are split. Now, if they don't get anything done, there is a lot of blame to go around. People are split on who would take that blame. But when you look at independents, which is a key group for the 2024 elections, they would blame Biden by a nine-point margin¹⁰. That's 47 to 38. And that can give you more insight as to why the White House is so motivated to get this done.

MARTIN: That is NPR's Claudia Grisales. Claudia, thank you so much.

GRISALES: 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 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。

3 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

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 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。

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

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 slashes   

n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• Inmates suffered injuries ranging from stab wounds and slashes to head trauma. 囚犯们有的被刺伤，有的被砍伤，而有的头部首创，伤势不一而足。 来自互联网

9 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》

10 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。