VOA标准英语2009年-US Senate Democrats Withhold Funding to Cl

U.S. Senate Democrats¹ have decided² not to provide funds to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention³ center until President Barack Obama's administration presents a detailed⁴ plan for what to do with the 240 detainees being held there. It is a setback⁵ for Mr. Obama, who wants to close the facility by January of next year.
　
In this photo, reviewed by US military, the exercise yard at Guantanamo's Camp 4 detention facility is pictured before dawn, 14 May 2009

In his request to Congress for more funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, President Obama had also asked Congress for $80 million to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

But there has been growing criticism, particularly from congressional Republicans, that Mr. Obama should have established a plan for what to do with the detainees at Guantanamo before announcing his decision to close the facility by January 2010. There is concern that some detainees may be transferred to U.S. soil for trials, continued imprisonment⁶ or even release.

Secretary of Defense⁷ Robert Gates has said as many as 100 Guantanamo detainees may be transferred to U.S. facilities.

In recent weeks, a number of state legislatures have approved resolutions barring detainees from being transferred to their states.

On Tuesday, Senate Democrats decided to strip the war funding bill of the money for Guantanamo's closure until President Obama has a detailed plan for handling the detainees.

Senate Majority Leader Harry⁸ Reid:

"Democrats under no circumstances will move forward without a comprehensive responsible plan from the president," said Harry Reid.

The House of Representatives also dropped funding for Guantanamo's closure in its version of the war funding legislation, which passed last week.

At a news conference Tuesday, a group of senators introduced an amendment⁹ to the Senate war funding bill that would bar the release of Guantanamo detainees on to U.S. soil.

Among them was Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican of South Carolina:

"Our immigration laws prohibit the release of a terrorist operative within the United States," said Lindsey Graham. "What we are saying is that we are enforcing that law, that under our amendment, any Guantanamo Bay detainee that is ordered released cannot be released within the United States because they have no legal status to be released. They would be in the custody¹⁰ of the Department of Homeland Security, to be repatriated¹¹ to another country."

At the White House, spokesman Robert Gibbs acknowledged the congressional concerns, and said President Obama would address the detainee issue in a speech on Thursday.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he hopes Mr. Obama will reconsider his decision on Guantanamo.

"I am confident and hopeful that he will now - getting this clear message from both the House and Senate on the appropriations¹² bill - begin to rethink the appropriateness of an arbitrary timeline for the closing of Guantanamo," said Mitch McConnell.

But at the Pentagon, spokesman Geoff Morrell said the administration still plans to close the facility in early 2010.

"I see nothing to indicate that that date is at all in jeopardy," he said. "As far as I can tell, everything remains¹³ on track for action to be taken with regards to the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility according to the timeline proscribed¹⁴ by the president in the executive order."

The Senate could act on the $91-billion bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and provide aid to Pakistan as early as this week. The Senate and House versions of the legislation would have to be reconciled before a final bill is sent to President Obama for his signature.

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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

6 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

7 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。

8 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。

9 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

10 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

11 repatriated   

v.把（某人）遣送回国，遣返( repatriate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The refugees were forcibly repatriated. 难民被强制遣送回国。
• Ancient artworks were repatriated from the US to Greece. 古代艺术品从美国遣送回希腊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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

13 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。

14 proscribed   

v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are proscribed by federal law from owning guns. 根据联邦法律的规定，他们不准拥有枪支。 来自辞典例句
• In earlier days, the church proscribed dancing and cardplaying. 从前，教会禁止跳舞和玩牌。 来自辞典例句