PBS高端访谈:预算的分配对美国人意味着什么

 　　GWEN IFILL: There's been a lot of talk about the politics behind the bipartisan budget agreement.

　　We take a closer look now at the devil in those details.

　　Senate Democrats¹ were happy today to tout² the budget deal headed to the president's desk.

　　Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray said, the agreement was about more than just funding the government.

　　SEN. PATTY MURRAY, D-Wash.: We showed the American people that members of Congress can work together, thatwe can listen to each other and get into a room and talk frankly³ without trying to hurt each other politically. Secondly⁴, by breaking through the partisanship⁵, we finally ended the seemingly never-ending cycle of lurching from one crisis to the next.

　　GWEN IFILL: The budget plan averts⁶ another government shutdown like the one this past October that lastedfor 16 days. It also gives the Pentagon some relief from automatic spending cuts and restores billions of dollars to domestic programs, including scientific research.

　　The $62 billion price tag will be paid for in part by scaling back benefits for military retirees under the age of 62. But, already, there is talk from both sides about finding the money somewhere else instead.

　　The deal won nine Republican votes yesterday, but others, including Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, argued it doesmore harm than good.

　　SEN. TOM COBURN, R-Okla.: But I want to describe who it's a compromise for. It's a compromise for the politicians. It's not a compromise for the American people, because what it really does is increase spending and increase taxes.

　　GWEN IFILL: At the White House, aides to President Obama released a statement after the vote, saying, in part: "It's a good first step away from the shortsighted, crisis-driven decision-making that has only served to act as a drag on our economy."The agreement now awaits the president's signature.

　　Now here to walk us through some of the lingering debate about the budget deal is Lori Montgomery of The Washington Post. Welcome back, Lori.

　　LORI MONTGOMERY, The Washington Post: Thanks for having us.

　　GWEN IFILL: So, does this deal mean that all those sequester⁷ cuts that we talked about, those across-the-board budget cuts have been permanently⁸ eased?

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: No, in fact, they have not been permanently eased.

　　This is a very modest deal. And Paul Ryan and Patty Murray said from the outset that they weren't going totry to solve all the world's problems. So what they have done is for the current fiscal⁹ year, they have walked back half of the sequester cuts. So $45 billion goes back to the agencies, $45 billion in cuts stays in place.

　　Next year, there is a slightly smaller relief from sequester. And after that, sequester stays put. So Republicans have won something, in the sense that they have maintained the spending caps that will reduce spending for the next 10 years.

　　But, in the short-term, for now, there's going to be a big boost in spending for domestic agencies and thePentagon that they hadn't been expecting.

　　GWEN IFILL: So when you raise -- when you raise that cap and you talk about domestic spending for the Pentagon, there are other agencies which I imagine benefit as well. Somebody got a benefit out of this.

　　Among them, for instance, during the shutdown we heard a lot about the National Institutes of Health, and children being turned away from medical trials. Do they now get more money?

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: Well, see, all of that has yet to be decided¹⁰. And it's been a little like premature¹¹ celebrating around here. We have all been saying, oh, this avoids another government shutdown.

　　In fact, they have yet to -- they have to pass another bill to avoid a government shutdown...

　　GWEN IFILL: Oh.

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: ... which could still happen on January 15. I mean, in a rational world, it wouldn't because Republicans and Democrats have now agreed, OK, here's the number, this is what we're going to spend on these things this year.

　　But they still have to, like, apportion¹² out all this extra money that they have just decided to spend. Andthat will happen over the next month. And they will pass that bill, hopefully, when they get back in January.

　　GWEN IFILL: But the way things look now, for instance, we say somebody benefits, somebody pays. Are military retirees paying? There has been a lot of talk about that this week.

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: Yes. So this is by far the most controversial pay-for in this package.

　　This package doesn't give away any of the extra money, but it does identify all of the savings¹³ that allow us to spend more now. So, those $85 billion in cuts, fees, airline passengers will pay more. There's a bunch of stuff. But by far, the group that is yelling the loudest and getting hit most dramatically are military retirees.

　　Civil service workers, non-military workers will also see a reduction in their pensions, but that's just for new employees. In the case of military retirees, if you are currently retired¹⁴, and you're under the ageof 62, you will see a 1 percent knockoff of your cost-of-living increase.

　　GWEN IFILL: So, for instance, we know a lot of military people, especially here in the Washington area, who retired after 20 years in the military. They weren't even 50 years old yet, and they're the ones who would be targeted in something like this.

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: Exactly.

　　And so the argument is, well, these people are still of working age. They're under the age of 62. They canretire as young as 38, 40, and many of them go on and currently have second careers. So, you know, they can afford to give away a 1 percentage point reduction.

　　But the argument on the other side, and it's been coming primarily from the Republicans in the Senate, butI think Democrats are starting to concede, OK, maybe you have a point, is that these people have planned their lives around these benefits, and they see it as a breach¹⁵ of trust for them now to take a hit, you know, sort of retroactively.

　　GWEN IFILL: But isn't there a defense¹⁶ authorization¹⁷ bill that is going through as well and it also has its protectors? Is the Pentagon one of those uncuttable agencies?

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: Well, the Pentagon is seeing its share of cuts. It's not getting all of its money back.It's getting half of its money back this year.

　　But there's also a commission dedicated¹⁸ to military pay and benefits, which is -- you know, we talk about Social Security. That's almost nothing compared to cutting the benefits of our active-duty an retired military men. And that commission is supposed to report next year, because entitlements, you know, retirement¹⁹ and health care is eating the Pentagon alive, as it is in so many other parts of the country.

　　GWEN IFILL: If this stays in place, is there any way to calculate how much the average retiree would haveto pay extra?

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: It's not -- it's what they don't get. So...

　　GWEN IFILL: Right. It's a little backwards²⁰.

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: Yes.

　　So, they would -- this year, for example, the cost-of-living increase was 1.5 percent. They would have seen a 0.5 percent increase instead of a 1.5 percent increase. And it can add up to real money. The union that represents military officers has said that this could be a hit of like $70,000, $100,000 if you are in that sort of doughnut hole from age 40 to age 62 for the entire period.

　　GWEN IFILL: Let's talk a little bit about another area of the budget that this might affect real people, assuming it stays in place as it is now planned, which is payment to Medicare providers. This is not -- wedon't necessarily know how much of this might trickle²¹ down to the actual patient. But doctors and clinics might be -- have to pay more.

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: So the real danger here, this is another thing that is already in place. This is a partof a sequester that will not be relieved.

　　And what it does is, it cuts across-the-board, a two percent reduction in payments to providers of all types, hospitals, nursing homes.

　　GWEN IFILL: And that was a part of the original across-the-board cut?

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: And it stays in place and it's not going it away.

　　So what this agreement does is it says, we would like to continue the sequester for Medicare providers fortwo more years, in 2022 and 2023. It's a huge chunk²² of money. You know, it's way out in the future. The complaint about this is, it may never happen so we may never see those savings. But, you know, the danger ofmaking these kind of cuts is really, you know, whether doctors choose not to treat Medicare patients.

　　GWEN IFILL: Well, so the one thing that we know is true about all of this is, this is maybe a temporary patch and we might be facing another challenge very quickly. What happens next?

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: OK, so, first, we have to pass the funding bills and actually keep the government open,you know, per this agreement by January 15.

　　But then, on February 7, we hit the debt limit again because the last deal we made to reopen the government after we shut it down in October said, we will suspend the debt limit, but only until February 7. So we have got this new potential debt limit conflict coming.

　　Republicans in the House are saying, you know, we really don't want a lot of fuss. It's an election year. We would like to get through this easily. This modest bipartisan budget compromise could be a model. Maybewe can do this again.

　　But you have got all those Republicans in the Senate who are facing Tea Party challenges. And you are starting to hear from the Senate, oh, no, we want to fight, we want to cut spending again. So...

　　GWEN IFILL: Back on the merry-go-round once again.

　　(LAUGHTER)

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: Exactly.

　　GWEN IFILL: Well, I hope you and all the other reporters up on Capitol Hill get a little time off over the holidays to prepare for the next round.

　　LORI MONTGOMERY: Thank you. I hope so too.

　　GWEN IFILL: Lori Montgomery of The Washington Post, thanks.

1 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》

2 tout   

v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱

参考例句：

• They say it will let them tout progress in the war.他们称这将有助于鼓吹他们在战争中的成果。
• If your case studies just tout results,don't bother requiring registration to view them.如果你的案例研究只是吹捧结果，就别烦扰别人来注册访问了。

3 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

4 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

5 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

6 averts   

防止，避免( avert的第三人称单数 )； 转移

参考例句：

• Cautious speech averts eavesdropping. Cautious behavior arrests gossip. 若欲杜人之口，莫若自己谨言；若欲塞人之耳，莫若自己慎行。
• A gift in secret averts anger; and a concealed bribe in the bosom, strong wrath. 暗中送的礼物，挽回怒气；怀中搋的贿赂，止息暴怒。

7 sequester   

vt.使退隐，使隔绝

参考例句：

• Everything he owned was sequestered.他的所有财产都被扣押了。
• This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months.预计这个陪审团将至少被隔离两个月。

8 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

9 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。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

12 apportion   

vt.（按比例或计划）分配

参考例句：

• It's already been agreed in principle to apportion the value of the patents.原则上已经同意根据专利的价值按比例来分配。
• It was difficult to apportion the blame for the accident.很难分清这次事故的责任。

13 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。

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

16 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。

17 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

18 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

19 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

20 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

21 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

22 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。