美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Seeks More Border Wall Funding In New Budget

 

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President Trump¹ is calling for a big increase in defense² spending next year - another $8.6 billion to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and deep cuts to many domestic programs. That's all in the blueprint³ for the annual budget that the White House released today. Lawmakers are not likely to adopt many of the president's suggestions, but the document does offer a guide to Trump's priorities. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁴: President Trump wants to boost defense spending by $34 billion, or nearly 5 percent, in the fiscal⁵ year that begins in October. Trump also wants to increase spending on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security by about 7 1/2 percent. The president would partially⁶ offset⁷ those costs with deep cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. Acting⁸ White House Budget Director Russell Vought says in a time of trillion-dollar deficits¹⁰, tradeoffs have to be made.

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RUSSELL VOUGHT: We need to continue to secure the country. We need to continue to secure the border. We're not going to be bashful about that. But at the same time, we're also going to say that we have many, many programs that are wasteful¹¹ and inefficient¹² that we can no longer afford.

HORSLEY: The president's budget calls for a 15 percent spending cut at the Department of Agriculture, a 23 percent cut at the State Department and a 31 percent cut at the EPA. Congress largely ignored calls for cuts like that during Trump's first two years in office. And Sharon Parrott of the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says cuts are likely to be an even tougher sell now that House Democrats¹³ have a shared grip on the purse strings¹⁴.

SHARON PARROTT: Ultimately, what the administration is saying is we need to spend a lot more on defense, but things like education and job training and environmental protection and infrastructure¹⁵ are unimportant for the nation's well-being¹⁶.

HORSLEY: The White House budget also calls for cuts to programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance and welfare. Vought says in order to qualify for those programs, able-bodied adults should be working, or else enrolled¹⁷ in job training or some other community activity.

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VOUGHT: We can help low-income families and end dependency on government benefits by strengthening work requirements.

HORSLEY: Parrott notes that Congress rejected a bid to add work requirements to food stamps last year as part of the farm bill. But the administration is preparing to impose the requirements on its own.

PARROTT: The research really shows that these requirements don't do much to improve employment outcomes and do a lot to increase hardship among people who are already really struggling.

HORSLEY: During the campaign, Trump promised to balance the federal budget. But during his first two years in office, the deficit⁹ ballooned thanks to increased government spending and the GOP tax cut. White House economic adviser¹⁸ Larry Kudlow said over the weekend, deficits are nothing to obsess¹⁹ about, but Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget disagrees.

MAYA MACGUINEAS: Worrying about the deficit is not a popular concern right now, but it doesn't mean it's not an important thing to be worrying about. And we are clearly on the wrong path.

HORSLEY: Even the administration's own forecast now projects trillion-dollar deficits in each of the next four years. And MacGuineas notes despite rosy²⁰ White House economic projections²¹, the red ink is expected to keep flowing long after Trump leaves office.

MACGUINEAS: Even under really heroic economic assumptions, the savings²² in this budget aren't enough to put us on a really sustainable path. It would still have very large budget deficits at a time when the administration is assuming very strong economic performance.

HORSLEY: MacGuineas does see some encouraging proposals in the White House budget, including plans to cut prescription²³ drug prices and find other health care savings.

MACGUINEAS: There are a lot of good ideas in this budget. And the problem is because it relies on gimmicks²⁴ and unrealistic economic growth assumptions, they don't get treated as seriously as they otherwise should.

HORSLEY: And the call for additional border wall funding suggests the budget fight that led to a 35-day government shutdown is far from over. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

1 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。

2 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。

3 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

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 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。

6 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

7 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 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。

10 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

11 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

12 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

13 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》

14 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

15 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

16 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

17 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》

18 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

19 obsess   

vt.使着迷，使心神不定，（恶魔）困扰

参考例句：

• I must admit that maps obsess me.我得承认我对地图十分着迷。
• A string of scandals is obsessing America.美国正被一系列丑闻所困扰。

20 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

21 projections   

预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物

参考例句：

• Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
• The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。

22 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。

23 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

24 gimmicks   

n.花招，诡计，骗人的玩意儿( gimmick的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Financial institutions are also often expected yield of gimmicks. 金融机构也往往以预期收益率为噱头。 来自互联网
• However these are just marketing gimmicks that propagate the myth. 然而这些只是噱头的营销传播的神话。 来自互联网