美国国家公共电台 NPR Senators Reach 2-Year Budget Deal

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Senate leaders reached a deal today that holds the promise of breaking the partisan¹ standoff over federal spending. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the deal on the Senate floor.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MITCH MCCONNELL: No one would suggest it is perfect, but we worked hard to find common ground and stay focused on serving the American people.

KELLY: It is a two-year deal, and it would increase spending by $300 billion over those next two years. NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis has the details, and she joins us now. Hey, there.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE²: Hey, Mary Louise.

KELLY: So does this mean maybe we won't be here talking every few weeks about yet another looming³ government shutdown?

DAVIS: I think it might. You know, the Eagles won the Super Bowl, and we get a budget deal.

KELLY: (Laughter).

DAVIS: This is a much more positive week than I anticipated.

KELLY: For you at least - (unintelligible) Eagles.

DAVIS: You know, the goal (laughter) here is certainly to break that cycle of short-term funding bills and shutdown threats that we've been living in since September. It will give Congress the roadmap they need to pass all of their annual spending bills and bring what they hope is a little sanity⁴ back to the budget process. They will have to pass one more stopgap through March 23. And at the end of that, they intend to pass the longer-term spending bills.

KELLY: Well, let's unpack⁵ what's in this deal. It increases money for the Pentagon. It also increases domestic spending. So that's a win in there for Republicans who want more military spending, also a win in there for Democrats⁶ who say they want more domestic spending. What else is in there?

DAVIS: Also tucked into this, it's going to include another $90 billion about in emergency spending for ongoing⁷ disaster relief related to the hurricanes and the wildfires we've had in recent months. It will also include a one-year increase in the debt limit through March of 2019. The debt limit, as we've said before, is essentially⁸ like the nation's credit card. Congress needs to periodically vote to increase it so the country doesn't default on its debts.

The White House has already announced support for this deal. In particular, the additional military spending in there has been a top priority for President Trump⁹. This deal includes $26 billion more than he even asked for in his budget. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders today said that the president believes this bill will achieve, quote, "the strongest military we have ever had." Democrats have some wins in here, too. There's more funding to combat the opioid crisis, to pay for veterans' health care. And they secured 10 years of funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program.

KELLY: Well, let me introduce a D-word into this conversation. That would be deficit¹⁰. I mean, this...

DAVIS: Yes.

KELLY: ...Deal would - as you're telling me, it would OK hundreds of billions in more spending. And that's just a few months after lawmakers OK'd a tax cut that is going to bring in a trillion dollars less in revenue. How is that going to work?

DAVIS: The cost of this two-year spending bill, if you can believe it or not, is higher than anything Republicans ever supported under a Democratic president - President Obama. The combination of these tax cuts and the spending could potentially add up to even more economic stimulus¹¹ than they ever approved under President Obama.

You know, I asked this question to Republicans today. Can you still say you're the party of fiscal¹² responsibility? New York Republican Chris Collins told me that Republicans think this is a bit of a bitter pill, but they still believe those tax cuts will pay for themselves in economic growth. And a lot of conservatives like - North Carolina Republican Mark Meadows told me today he will not vote for this even if President Trump calls him and asks for his vote.

KELLY: So have all the deficit hawks¹³ in Congress got up and flown?

DAVIS: You know, I always say deficit hawks are much louder when they're not in the majority.

KELLY: Wow. What about on the House side? I mean, this is a Senate deal. What are its prospects¹⁴ in the House?

DAVIS: You know, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has said she will not support the deal, although it is still expected to pass with some amount of Democratic support. She made a pretty dramatic stand against the bill today speaking for hours and hours in protest because they're moving forward on a budget deal without an immigration bill. What we do know is that the Senate will turn next to immigration, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he'll have an open debate and see what they can pass in the Senate.

KELLY: Susan Davis, thank you.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

KELLY: NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis.

1 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

2 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。

3 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

4 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

5 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

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 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 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。

10 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。

11 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

12 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。

13 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

14 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。