pbs高端访谈:未达成预算协议共识,谁之过?

 　　MARGARET WARNER:Five days and counting with plenty of tit-for-tat charges, but no agreement in sight, that, in short, summed up the state of affairs in Washington today as the fiscal¹ cliff deadline loomed², Jan. 1. It would mean more than $600 billion in across-the-board tax increases and automatic spending cuts.

　　SEN. HARRY³ REID,D-Nev.: Come the 1st of this year, Americans will have less income than they have today, if we go over the cliff, and it looks like that's where we're headed.

　　MARGARET WARNER:This morning, the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid, was blunt about the chances for a deal. And he blamed House Speaker John Boehner.

　　Just before Christmas, Boehner floated his so-called plan B, letting taxes rise on millionaires. But faced with opposition⁵ in Republican ranks, he pulled it, and sent the House home for the holiday. Reid charged today politics explained why the speaker had not yet called the House back.

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　　HARRY REID:John Boehner seems to care more about keeping his speakership than keeping the nation on firm financial footing. It's obvious, Mr. President, what's going on. He's waiting until Jan. 3 to get reelected as speaker before he gets serious with negotiations⁶.

　　MARGARET WARNER:A Boehner spokesman shot back, "Harry Reid should talk less and legislate⁷ more."

　　But late today, Republican leaders put out word that the House will reconvene on Sunday. Yesterday, they challenged the Senate to take the next step by extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all income groups.

　　In a joint⁸ statement, they said, "The House will take action on whatever the Senate can pass, but the Senate first must act."

　　President Obama returned early from Hawaii today, still pushing to extend tax cuts for the middle class, but raise rates on the well-off. Aides said he made phone calls last night to Speaker Boehner and to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, as well as Sen. Reid and his opposite number, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

　　But late today, McConnell gave no indication of movement.

　　SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL,R-Ky.: Last night, I told the president we'd be happy to look at whatever he proposes, but the truth is we're coming up against a hard deadline here and, as I said, this is a conversation we should have had months ago.

　　And Republicans aren't about to write a blank check or anything Senate Democrats⁹ put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff.

　　MARGARET WARNER:Adding to the urgency, Treasury¹⁰ Sec. Timothy Geithner warned he will have to begin taking extraordinary measures to postpone¹¹ a government default.

　　The government is on track to hit its borrowing limit next Monday, he said, with no prospect¹² of congressional action to raise the limit.

　　And here now to help us unravel¹³ what's going on Todd Zwillich. He's Washington correspondent for "The Takeaway" on Public Radio International.

　　Todd, welcome back.

　　So, decode¹⁴ this for us. Are the players privately¹⁵ as bleak¹⁶ about the prospects¹⁷ as their public statements suggest?

　　TODD ZWILLICH, WNYC Radio: Not as bleak, Margaret, but bleaker¹⁸ than they were even a week ago. And that's not terribly encouraging.

　　The president, as you reported there, flying back to Washington last night, and some members of Congress coming back earlier than others, there will be some meetings here. There have to be some meetings here between the principals that you described there and the president.

　　There are a couple of options even in these last couple of days, even though it seems like five days is terribly, terribly short. There are some bills floating out there to keep tax rates where they're at for people making $250,000 and below. That could slide around. There's a Senate bill that floats around. There's the president's offer which could still be amended¹⁹. Option three, of course, is to go over the cliff and fight this out on Jan. 1.

　　MARGARET WARNER:Are there any meaningful back-channel negotiations going on?

　　TODD ZWILLICH:There have been discussions. Leadership aides on both sides say the channels have been open even during the Christmas break.

　　When the president called Sen. McConnell and others last night, Sen. McConnell made clear to say that's the first time he's talked to a Democrat⁴ since Thanksgiving.

　　Now, that sounds like they haven't been talking at all, but that's not true, because we all know that the president and the speaker have been engaged in close negotiations and their staffs even closer. Even when the speaker and the president don't talk, the negotiators do.

　　MARGARET WARNER:Now, why late today did Speaker Boehner call for the House to reconvene on Sunday?

　　TODD ZWILLICH:Because he knows that there is going to be something probably to vote on, and even if there's not, the president has flown back, the Senate is here, the country is watching.

　　If you were the speaker of the House, would you want your members to be seen as him on vacation sipping²⁰ champagne²¹ on New Year's Eve, and everybody else is in Washington working?

　　It's a combination of optics, for sure, not wanting to be seen as off on vacation, but there is likely to be something that Democrats muster²² to try to get voted on. It would have to probably get through the Senate first, but John Boehner may need his members here.

　　MARGARET WARNER:Now, what did -- you heard Mitch McConnell refer to, we're happy to look at anything the president proposes.

　　What is the president's role right now?

　　TODD ZWILLICH:Well, the president ran on tax rates. The president right now, his role is knee-deep, Margaret. There have been other iterations of debt talks, super committee, Biden talks, where you saw the president try to really keep arm's length from a dysfunctional Congress.

　　The Congress, the House -- the Democratic House and the Republican Senate have proved that they don't have any common ground on taxes. There's nothing that one side can agree to that the other side will agree to without a lot of strife²³.

　　That's the president's role here. Having run on tax increases for people making $250,000 and above, not to mention all that entitlement talk, he ran on it and he won.

　　He is going to have to fight this out next year for sure. He would like to get some of the math off of the table here if he can.

　　MARGARET WARNER:Briefly, are there schools of thought in both parties, though, now that they may be -- each may think he's going to be in the stronger position after going over the cliff?

　　TODD ZWILLICH:Certainly, people on both sides who think that.

　　Liberal Democrats in particular say this Republican orthodoxy, no tax increases at all, remember, those Bush tax rates all expire on New Year's Eve, and they say if we go over the so-called fiscal cliff after Jan. 1, take all the tax votes you want. They will all be tax cut votes -- tax cut votes.

　　And there are conservative Republicans who believe that their bargaining position improves. You reported on the debt limit there, which isn't a concern right now, but becomes more of a concern as February approaches. They think they have leverage²⁴ there to combine the debt limit with the debate over more spending cuts and more leverage on what they want from taxes.

　　So there are strong voices on both sides here who say, go over.

　　MARGARET WARNER:So, we better fasten our seat belts.

　　Todd Zwillich of PRI, thank you.

　　TODD ZWILLICH:My pleasure.

1 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。

2 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 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。

6 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。

7 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

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 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。

11 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

12 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

13 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

14 decode   

vt.译（码），解（码）

参考例句：

• All he had to do was decode it and pass it over.他需要做的就是将它破译然后转给他人。
• The secret documents were intercepted and decoded.机密文件遭截获并被破译。

15 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

16 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

17 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。

18 bleaker   

阴冷的( bleak的比较级 )； （状况）无望的； 没有希望的； 光秃的

参考例句：

• Horoscopes are merely harmless escapism from an ever-bleaker world. 占星术只不过是让人逃避越发令人沮丧的世界的无害消遣罢了。
• On the ground the mood is bleaker. 具体形势更加严峻。

19 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

20 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

21 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

22 muster   

v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册

参考例句：

• Go and muster all the men you can find.去集合所有你能找到的人。
• I had to muster my courage up to ask him that question.我必须鼓起勇气向他问那个问题。

23 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

24 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。