VOA常速英语2013--本周华盛顿聚焦财政问题之争（在线收听）

Washington Week: Focus on Fiscal Battles 本周华盛顿聚焦财政问题之争

WASHINGTON — After weeks focused on Syria, Washington is turning its attention to fiscal deadlines that, if not met, could provoke a limited U.S. government shutdown and another downgrade of America’s credit rating.

President Barack Obama is expected to address this very topic in remarks on Monday. The drama is a replay of partisan battles over federal spending and the president's signature healthcare law, known as Obamacare, a major component of which will be activated October 1.

President Obama says America’s fiscal picture is improving.

奥巴马总统表示美国的财政前景正得到改善。

“The deficit has been cut in half since I came into office. It is continuing on a trend line of further reductions. If we want to do more deficit reduction, I have already put out a budget that says ‘let us do it’,” said Obama.

“自从我当选为总统以来赤字已被削减了一半。现在呈现继续进一步削减的趋势。如果我们想削减更多的赤字,我已经制定了一个让我们这样做预算。”奥巴马说道。

Republican lawmakers are not satisfied. House Speaker John Boehner:

但共和党议员们并不买总统的账。众议院议长约翰·博纳这样说道: 

“For the sake of our economy, we will continue to do everything we can to repeal, dismantle, and defund Obamacare. Another important part of our plan for jobs is reining in the massive deficits and debt that is hurting our economy and jeopardizing the American dream for our kids and grandkids,” said Boehner.

“为了我们的经济,我们将继续竭尽所能来废除、取消和撤资奥巴马医改。我们工作计划的另一个重要部分是控制伤害我们的经济并危及我们的孩子及子孙美国梦的巨额赤字和债务。”贝纳说道。

So far, House Republicans appear divided on how best to pursue those goals. Further domestic spending cuts sought by Republicans will get no Democratic support, says House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

到目前为止,众议院共和党人就如何最好地实现这些目标仍存在分歧。众议院少数党领袖南希·佩洛西表示共和党人进一步削减国内开支人将不会寻求民主党人的支持。

“This is one of the dumbest ideas you could advance: cut education to reduce the deficit. No! Invest in education to grow the economy and bring money to the Treasury,” said Pelosi.

“这是你可以提前的最愚蠢的想法之一:削减教育以减少赤字。荒谬至极! 投资教育经济增长之后给财政部带来收益,” 佩洛西说道。

And the White House says it will not negotiate on the Affordable Care Act as  Obamacare is formally known.

而白宫表示不会就可支付医疗法案，即统称的奥巴马医改进行谈判。

Spokesman Jay Carney said, “We will not accept anything that delays or defunds Obamacare. Threatening a government shutdown over an ideological position is not something most Americans would believe is the right thing to do."

发言人杰·卡尼说道:“我们不会接受奥巴马医改的任何延迟或撤资。威胁政府放弃这一想法并不是大多数美国人认为应该去做的正确事情。

Without a funding extension, the U.S. government’s spending authority expires at the end of this month. The federal government will reach its borrowing limit weeks later. 

没有资金扩展,美国政府的财务开支授权将会于本月底到期。几周后联邦政府将达到其借款限额。