美国国家公共电台 NPR--Congressional lawmakers will vote this week on a deal to raise the debt ceiling

Congressional lawmakers will vote this week on a deal to raise the debt ceiling

Transcript¹

Lawmakers are returning to Washington to vote on a two-year budget deal to lift the nation's borrowing limit, and put modest restraints on annual spending.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Lawmakers are back in Washington to vote this week on the debt ceiling deal struck by President Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the long weekend. Now, if approved, the deal would avoid an impending³ default and suspend the nation's borrowing limit until after the next presidential election. NPR political correspondent Susan Davis has more about what's in this deal. Susan, I know D.C. is the capital of the country, but it's also maybe the capital of dealmaking...

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE⁴: (Laughter).

MART?NEZ: ...In the United States as well. So put this one in perspective. How big is this one?

DAVIS: You know, it's a pretty modest agreement. There's no major structural⁵ reforms in the bill that would fundamentally change how the government spends money, but it does aim to put the brakes on it, at least in the short term. These savings⁶ largely come from putting caps on discretionary spending over the next two fiscal⁷ years for basically everything but the military. And that, A, has generally tended to be good news for the country because it usually makes government shutdowns off the table. And the new Republican House majority can certainly claim some political victories here. There are provisions that cut planned funding for the IRS. They're going to enact⁸ tougher work requirements for certain adults to receive benefits like food stamps, at least for a few years. And it would end the current pause on student loan repayments⁹ that began during the pandemic. But even added up, those things don't make much of a dent² in the national debt, which is still primarily fueled by spending on programs like Medicare.

MART?NEZ: And bipartisan Washington deals usually means everyone gets something, but no one's happy about what they have. So who's not happy right now?

DAVIS: Well, the Republicans' right wing and the Democrats¹⁰' left wing are voicing the loudest opposition¹¹. But that's pretty typical, especially when it comes to spending deals. Many on the left are angry about provisions that weaken environmental protections and the focus from Republicans to restrict aid to the neediest of Americans. Already, about a half a dozen Republicans have come out opposed to it because they say it doesn't do enough to address the debt. That's an important number because it already tells you that the speaker is going to need some combination of Democrats to pass this in the House. He only has a four-seat majority. But with Democrats in control of the Senate and the White House, from the very beginning, it was clear there was just no way a final deal could come together that didn't have Democratic buy in. So, no, it is not a major conservative victory for many in the House Republican Conference, but it's probably as realistic of a deal as divided government can produce these days.

MART?NEZ: But are Republicans in the House going to maybe hold Kevin McCarthy's feet to the fire on this?

DAVIS: You know, they certainly could. His job overall doesn't seem at risk over this particular deal. But, you know, it's volatile¹². There's going to be some test votes in committee, likely later tonight. One of the things we're watching is if former President Trump¹³ comes out for or against this deal. That could certainly factor into how many rank and file Republicans weigh their votes. He still has a lot of sway among most Republicans. And when the vote ultimately happens, yeah, it's going to be watched pretty closely to see exactly how many Republicans are standing¹⁴ behind the speaker. And I think it could be seen as a measure of support about how much he has behind him in the party at this time.

MART?NEZ: And on the other end, Sue, considering that President Biden supports this, is it safe to assume enough Democrats will get on board to make sure it passes both the House and the Senate?

DAVIS: It looks that way for now. You know, Democrats are mainly happy that the White House beat back Republican efforts to repeal¹⁵ major parts of the president's Inflation Reduction Act, particularly provisions that relate to climate change. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the House has already said he expects some measure of Democrats are going to support it. Obviously they're going to help the president. In the Senate, it's been interesting because the leaders there played almost no role in cutting this deal. They basically said, hey, if Biden and McCarthy agree, we'll put it on the floor. That seems to be what's happening. Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell already praised it, said he's going to vote for it. Many Senate Democrats are not going to be happy with less spending on domestic programs over the next couple of years. But that looks like it's going to have to be a fight for another day.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR political correspondent Susan Davis. Susan, good to check in with you.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

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 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

3 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

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 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

7 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。

8 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

9 repayments   

偿还，报答，偿付的钱物( repayment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The repayments of the loan are spread over 10 years. 贷款可在十年内分期偿还。
• The repayments of the loan are spread over 25 years. 这笔贷款分摊二十五年偿还。

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 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

13 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。