VOA标准英语2013--Obama: Spending Cuts Are 'Dumb,' Unnecessary

 

Obama: Spending Cuts Are 'Dumb,' Unnecessary

Obama called the $85 billion in automatic cuts “dumb” and “arbitrary,” and he said Republicans could have stopped them.

“Let’s be clear. None of this is necessary. It is happening because [of] a choice that Republicans in Congress have made. They have allowed these cuts to happen because they refuse to budge¹ on closing a single wasteful² loophole to help reduce the deficit³,” said the president.

Obama met earlier Friday with the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry⁵ Reid. Also attending were Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the leading House Democrat⁴, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

They met for less than an hour and reached no agreement.

Obama wants to reduce the U.S. deficit by combining targeted spending cuts with higher taxes on wealthy Americans. Republicans oppose further tax increases.

After the meeting, Boehner said the president obtained tax increases in their January 1 agreement, and the focus now must be on cutting spending.

“This discussion about revenue, in my view, is over. It is about taking on the spending problem here in Washington,” he said.

Obama and members of his team have been warning for days about the damage they say the cuts will cause to the U.S. economy, as he did Tuesday at a shipbuilding factory in Virginia. The president said the cuts will possibly cost as many as 750,000 jobs. He said the effects will not be felt immediately, but the pain will be real.

“We will get through this. This is not going to be an apocalypse, I think, as some people have said. It is just dumb. And it is going to hurt,” he said.

Obama, who has been criticized for failing to settle the dispute, said he cannot force Republican leaders to continue negotiating until a settlement is reached.

“I am not a dictator, I am the president. So, ultimately, if Mitch McConnell or John Boehner say, ‘We need to go to catch a plane,’ I cannot have Secret Service block the doorway,” said Obama.

The president said he still believed the cuts could be replaced, but it may take weeks or months.

1 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

2 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

3 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。

4 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。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。