2007年VOA标准英语-Iraq Withdrawal Timetable Measure Moves Forward

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
15 March 2007

The appropriations¹ committee of the House of Representatives has voted [36 to 28] to approve Democratic-crafted legislation calling for the withdrawal³ of U.S. troops from Iraq no later than September of 2008. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the vote moves the measure to the full House which is expected to take it up next week.

Democrats⁴ went into the session confident they would have the votes to advance a spending package, which, in addition to setting a date for U.S. withdrawal, includes more than $95 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan, plus billions more for domestic and homeland security needs.

In setting a timetable, Democrats seek to condition funding for military operations in Iraq on requirements that troops the president would deploy⁵ be fully⁶ equipped and trained and that the duration of their deployments be limited.

The White House has said the president would not oppose provisions requiring him to report to Congress on troop readiness.

 
Rep. John Murtha
Congressman⁷ John Murtha argued for the provision:

"Is there anybody here that believes we should send troops into combat, without equipment, without the equipment they need, without the training they need? However, President Bush remains⁸ strongly opposed to any timetable, and has issued a threat to veto any funding bill containing the timetable language," said John Murtha.

On the threat of a presidential veto, White House spokesman Tony Snow Thursday referred only to a Senate resolution now being debated that calls for a withdrawal of U.S. forces by March of 2008.

During the multi-hour House committee debate, Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis stood firm in opposing language setting a withdrawal timetable:

"This legislation ties the hands of our commander-in-chief during a time of war, [tries to put] military decisions in the hands of politicians instead of the military, and attempts to buy votes for its passage," said Jerry Lewis.

 
David Obey 
The Democratic panel chairman David Obey argued that the legislation attempts to place pressure on Iraqis to take over responsibility for their own country:

"What it does is to put Congress in the role of bad cop, trying to deliver a message to the politicians in Iraq that we are not going to sit around forever watching them dither, watching them refuse to compromise, while our troops continue to die as they are involved in an Iraqi civil war," said David Obey.

Democrats were able to vote down a Republican attempt to strip out the provision calling for a 2008 timeline for a U.S. troop withdrawal.

Democratic leaders also faced demands by liberal members of their party urging an earlier withdrawal date - by the end of this year.

California Democrat² Barbara Lee:

"The American people overwhelmingly oppose the escalation⁹, and Congress just voted against it, and it makes no sense for us to turn around and provide funds for it," said Barbara Lee.

Congressman Obey responded that the Democratic leadership faces the task of accommodating divergent views in order to get the 218 votes needed for approval in the full House:

"We have to try and find a tipping point that will enable us to actually move legislation forward," he said.

Of the $95 billion in the defense¹⁰ portion of the $124-billion measure, Democrats add hundreds of millions of dollars for reconstruction¹¹ and counter-terrorism needs in Afghanistan.

Seven hundred seventy nine million dollars goes to assist the government of Lebanon, $100 million for security needs in Jordan, and $361 million for aid to Sudan, including money for the African Union peacekeeping force.

Several billion dollars go to improve the military health system to improve care for active duty troops and veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The measure also contains billions of dollars for a range of domestic items, which triggered Republican complaints during Thursday's committee debate.

1 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

2 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。

3 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 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》

5 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。