VOA常速英语2015--美国财政悬崖最后期限将至（在线收听）

美国财政悬崖最后期限将至

It has been nearly a month since House Speaker John Boehner announced his departure.

国会众议院议长贝纳近一个月前就宣布辞去议长的职务。

No successor has been identified, much less chosen. Congressman Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, continues to resist the intense pressure from party elders to seek the post. A leadership vacuum could force Boehner to postpone his retirement and lead a fractured Republican caucus as momentous deadlines loom.

但接替他的人至今没有找到，更不用说选定了。2012年共和党副总统候选人保罗·莱恩一直承受着来自本党资深议员要求他谋求议长一职的强大压力。无人上位的窘境或将迫使贝纳延长退休时间，随着大限日益临近，他或许还要主持破碎不堪的党内会议。

Last week, the Treasury Department informed Boehner the U.S. government risks running out of funds by November 3 unless the federal borrowing limit is increased.

上个星期，美国财政部通知贝纳，除非提高联邦债务上限，否则政府资金到11月3日就将用尽。

It would put the United States at real risk for the very first time in our history of not being able to pay our bills.

这将是我们历史上第一次无钱支付债务，从而把美国置于危险之中。

Many Republicans, especially those running for higher office are reluctant to raise the debt ceiling reforms to improve America's fiscal health.

很多共和党人，特别是那些竞选更高职位的共和党人，不愿意通过提高债务上限改革，来改进美国的财政状况。

So, We have a $19 trillion debt. The reason why that is a problem is we only have an $18 trillion economy.

我们有19万亿美元的国债，这很成问题，因为我们的GDP只有18万亿美元。

President Barack Obama has ruled out negotiations over the borrowing limit, arguing it's Congress'duty to avoid a catastrophic U.S. debt default.

奥巴马总统排除了就提高债务上限进行谈判的可能。他指出，国会的职责是避免具有灾难性后果的债务违约。

Increasing the debt limit does not authorize any new spending. It simply allows the Treasury to pay for expenditures that Congress themselves already have approved.

提高债务上限并不是批准新的开支。它只是让财政部支付国会已经通过的经费。

In addition to the debt ceiling deadline, Congress has until December 11 to extend the U.S. government's spending authority or risk another partial federal shutdown. Discussions between the White House and congressional leaders are reportedly progressing on a longer term spending deal, but until a new House speaker is chosen, it is not clear who would see a deal to fruition or bring it up for a vote.

除了联邦债务上限的截至日期之外，美国国会还必须在12月11日之前延长联邦政府开支授权，否则又将面临政府部分关门的厄运。白宫和国会领导人就长期预算协议而进行的谈判据报正取得进展。但是，在众议院议长选定之前，由谁确保协议得到实现或提交投票，仍然是一个未知数。