2007年VOA标准英语-House Approves New Iraq War Funding Measure

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
10 May 2007

Scene on floor of US House of Representatives 10 May 2007

In the latest challenge by Democrats¹ to President Bush over funding for the war in Iraq, the House of Representatives has approved a new bill by a vote 221 to 205 to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. VOA's Dan Robinson reports the legislation only provides about half of what is required, and the president has vowed² to veto it saying Congress must provide full funding for the military.

The Democratic-crafted bill comes in the wake of President Bush's veto of a previous measure approved by the House and Senate that would have established a timeline for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

The new bill provides about 43-billion dollars for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, including funds to train Iraqi and Afghan security forces.

But only through July.

Congress would take another vote, after a required report by the president on the situation in Iraq, on whether to release nearly 53-billion dollars more to maintain operations through September.

Democratic leaders also brought a separate measure to the floor calling for withdrawal³ of U.S. combat forces, and military contractors⁴, within nine months.

Aimed at placating⁵ the most vocal⁶ war critics in the party, it was defeated in a 255 to 171 vote.

On the House floor, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrat's legislation is aimed at a responsible withdrawal of U.S. forces while demanding accountability of the Iraqi government and President Bush. "He has grown accustomed to a free hand on Iraq that he had before January 4th (when Democrats took control of Congress). Those days are over. The American people have made it clear that they want a new direction in Iraq, one that is going to bring this war to an end," she said.

Earlier, David Dreier, a California Republican, referred to President Bush's veto of a previous Democrat-crafted measure that contained a timeline for withdrawal of troops, and renewed charges that Democrats are engaging in a "political charade":

"Funding our troops who are in harm's way is not a game. These votes may make my friends on the other side of the aisle⁷ feel good, but they are not doing anything to get our troops what they need to protect themselves and to fight effectively against terrorists around the world," he said.

Chances are slim for approval of the legislation in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority.

In remarks at the Pentagon Thursday, President Bush rejected the legislation in advance as haphazard⁸ and piecemeal⁹, saying Congress must send him legislation providing full funding for the military. "My message to the members of Congress is, whatever your belief may be, let's make sure our troops get funded and let's make sure politicians don't tell our commanders how to conduct operations, let's [not] hamstring our people in the field," he said.

The president says he agrees that requiring the Iraqi government to meet specific political and economic benchmarks makes sense, adding that his chief of staff will be working with lawmakers to find common ground on that issue.

Speaker Pelosi said on the House floor late Thursday she hopes something comes of those discussions, but added Democrats intend to stand their ground saying benchmarks without consequences are meaningless.

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 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

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 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 placating   

v.安抚，抚慰，使平静( placate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She pulled her face into a placating and childlike expression. 于是她装出一副稚气的想要和解的样子来。 来自飘（部分）
• Uncle Peter's voice came as from a far distance, plaintive, placating. 彼得大叔这时说话了，他的声音犹如自一个遥远的地方起来，既带有哀愁又给人以安慰。 来自飘（部分）

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

8 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

9 piecemeal   

adj.零碎的；n.片，块；adv.逐渐地；v.弄成碎块

参考例句：

• A lack of narrative drive leaves the reader with piecemeal vignettes.叙述缺乏吸引力，读者读到的只是一些支离破碎的片段。
• Let's settle the matter at one stroke,not piecemeal.把这事一气儿解决了吧，别零敲碎打了。