VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS - Mr. Obama's budget for the 2014 fiscal year

 

AS IT IS - Mr. Obama's budget for the 2014 fiscal¹ year

Hello, again. I’m Jim Tedder² in Washington.

President Obama has proposed a $3.77 trillion budget for the federal government. The president says his budget will help America’s economic recovery. 

“That is what the budget I am sending to Congress today represents: a fiscally³ responsible blueprint⁴ for middle-class jobs and growth.” 

Mr. Obama’s budget for the 2014 fiscal year is 2.5 percent higher than the 2013 budget. But the president says it would cut the deficit⁵ by $1.8 trillion over the next 10 years. He wants his budget to replace the spending cuts required under sequestration. Those cuts resulted when the two main parties failed to reach a budget agreement. 

Today we hear how the proposed budget could affect international food aid, the United States military and a nearly 80-year-old government program, Social Security. 

American food aid has rescued people in need for nearly 60 years. No other country gives as much. The Obama budget proposes major changes to how the United States would provide food aid. 

The aid usually comes in the form of American-grown crops sent on American ships. But aid workers say that is not always the best way to help people overseas. Studies show food bought locally costs 25 to 50 percent less and arrives up to 14 weeks sooner than food shipped from the United States. 

Mr. Obama wants to use 45 percent of the $1.4 billion food aid budget to buy food closer to where it is needed. Officials say the changes would save enough money to reach up to four million more people. But farmers in the United States say the changes would reduce jobs in the food industry. 

And shipping⁶ food aid helps support the United States Merchant Marine⁷. Lee Kincaid heads the American Maritime⁸ Congress, a shipping industry group. He says the Merchant Marine is important to national security. 

“...The U.S. mariners⁹ that actually carried the U.S. goods into the war zones. So any impact whatsoever¹⁰, any loss of ships, any loss of the ship’s crews will be detrimental¹¹ not only to the security of the world, but the security of the United States.” 

Rajiv Shah is head of the United States Agency for International Development. He says lifting farmers in developing countries out of poverty will make the world safer. And he says the president’s proposal would do that more effectively than current operations. 

“The one thing I think is inexcusable is promoting inefficiency¹² in trying to accomplish something so profound as saving these lives.” 

Experts say changes to the 60-year-old food aid program face opposition¹³ in Congress. 

You are listening to As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m Jim Tedder. 

Only hours after the president announced his budget proposal, Defense¹⁴ Secretary Chuck Hagel described his own spending plan. Secretary Hagel says the plan calls for $526 billion in defense spending for the fiscal year starting on October first. He says the budget would cut some civilian¹⁵ employees and poorly performing weapons systems. And he says it could lead to some military bases closing. 

“Fiscal realities demand that we make tough decisions that have been deferred¹⁶ in the past. The longer we put this off, the harder it’s going to be, particularly given the uncertainty¹⁷ that still exists about future levels of defense spending.” 

Political observers say Congress is not likely to approve the Defense Department budget. They say lawmakers will not want to vote for a budget that cuts tens of thousands of jobs and closes bases. But they say it may provide the Defense Department with a way to help end a budgetary dispute between Congress and the Obama administration. 

The proposed budget includes more spending on attack submarines and cyber security. Both are important to the administration’s plans in East Asia and the Pacific Ocean. 

Older Americans are protesting the budget proposals that would reduce government assistance for retired¹⁸ workers. Some conservatives say the proposals would save the government billions of dollars. But others say the changes would harm people who need the most help. Steve Ember explains. 

The Obama budget would limit the yearly increase to Social Security payments by using a different method to measure inflation. About 58 million Americans receive social security benefits. Many live on set incomes. 

"Everything is going up. It's rising and there is not much you can do about it." 

Kay Dennison works part-time at a retirement¹⁹ center in Maryland. She worries she could lose everything if her Social Security payments fail to keep up with inflation. 

"Probably my home, because everything is so tight and so high, and the mortgage rates. We've been in our home 40 years and we still owe." 

The proposed changes would save the government an estimated 130 billion dollars over ten years. But AARP --a group that campaigns for older adults – warns that the proposal would be harmful to the average retiree. It says the retiree would get 220 dollars less a year after five years and 862 dollars less each year after 20 years. 

Monique Morrissey is an economist²⁰ with the Economic Policy Institute. She says reducing already small payments is not fair to older poor Americans. 

"Poverty rates for the oldest, old --are higher, incomes are lower, they've often used up other resources, they have more out of pocket expenses for healthcare --they're the last group you would ever want to target to take the brunt of these cuts." 

The social security program now takes in less money than it spends as the population ages. Conservative economists²¹ say more cuts may be necessary to keep the program operating. 

Charles Konigsberg works for the Federal Budget Group. He says Americans have a choice. They can either pay more money into the system or face reduced benefits. 

Virginia Levy²², a retired educator, considers herself lucky. Her monthly social security checks help add to her teacher's retirement pay. 

"I'm worried more about future generations, what it's going to do to them. My children are 40 and what's going to happen to them when they are retiring?” 

President Obama's proposed budget includes additional cuts to Medicare. Many older Americans depend on this government program for their medical needs. Experts say it is probable that Congress will not approve the president’s budget without making changes as they face election campaigns next year. I’m Steve Ember. 

And that’s “As It Is” for today. You can hear the latest world news at the beginning of the hour on VOA.

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 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

3 fiscally   

在国库方面，财政上，在国库岁入方面

参考例句：

• Nor will fiscally stretched governments pump more money into the political equivalent of a leper colony. 财政吃紧的政府也不愿将更多的钱投入这个避之唯恐不及的政治瘟疫区。
• We are more fiscally constrained, which forces us to work smarter and more efficiently. 与F-15相比我们资金上的限制更大了，美女类小游戏，这迫使我们更为精心和有效地工作。

4 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。

5 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。

6 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

9 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。

10 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

11 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。

12 inefficiency   

n.无效率，无能；无效率事例

参考例句：

• Conflict between management and workers makes for inefficiency in the workplace. 资方与工人之间的冲突使得工厂生产效率很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This type of inefficiency arises because workers and management are ill-equipped. 出现此种低效率是因为工人与管理层都能力不足。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 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。

14 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。

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 deferred   

adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从

参考例句：

• The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
• a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划

17 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

18 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。

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 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

21 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。