White House Blasts Revised Boehner Bill

 　　President Barack Obama says Congress can find a bipartisan solution to prevent an August 2 government default.  But White House officials are highly critical of Friday’s changes in Republican legislation to raise the  borrowing limit.

　　White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says House Speaker John Boehner’s addition of a constitutional balanced budget amendment² to the Republican bill makes it less bipartisan and less likely to pass. "This is not serious.  This is dangerous,” he said.

　　Boehner is proposing to amend¹ the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced federal budget.  That provision was included in legislation to raise the debt ceiling to make the bill more acceptable to hard-line Republicans, who did not give Boehner the necessary votes to pass it on Thursday.

　　The House legislation is almost certain to fail in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

　　The speaker’s proposal would raise the debt ceiling in two stages and reduce deficit³ spending by at least $917 billion over ten years.

　　Senate Majority Leader Harry⁴ Reid said Senate Democrats⁵ would start action on their alternative plan, which includes $2.5 trillion in deficit cuts but no changes in government social programs.  He called on Republicans to turn away from the ideology⁶ of the so-called Tea Party faction⁷ of their party.

　　The top Senate Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said Republicans are trying to solve the debt problem, while Democrats are not. “Our Democratic friends here in the Senate have offered no solutions to this crisis that could pass either chamber⁸.  Not one,” he said.

　　Tension mounting

　　At Friday’s White House briefing, Jay Carney said the mounting tension over the looming⁹ default has already damaged the U.S. economy.

　　“There is certainly evidence that the economy has suffered because of the uncertainly created around this debate and the circus atmosphere of our politics around what should be a serious matter,” said the press secretary.

　　Earlier Friday, President Obama said both the House plan and a proposal by Senate Democrats could be altered to make them acceptable to lawmakers from both parties.

　　“There are plenty of ways out of this mess but we are almost out of time.  We need to reach a compromise by Tuesday so our country will have the ability to pay its bills on time, as we always have,” he said.

　　The president said both parties are in general agreement about how much spending can be cut to reduce the deficit, and that compromise is possible.  But he cautioned that time is running out.

1 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

2 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。

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 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。

5 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》

6 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

7 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

9 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望