White House denounces Boehner "Plan B" as "exercise in futility"

 WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- White House spokesman Jay Carney on Thursday said the "Plan B" pursued by the Republicans is a "multi-day exercise of futility¹" which holds back the fiscal² talks.

"It's an exercise in Republican vote counting that will not result in anything for the American people. It cannot pass the Senate. The President would veto it if it got to his desk," Carney told reporter at the White House.

While saying the alternative option sought by the Republicans would represent "a major step backward" in the fiscal talks, Carney noted³ there is still an opportunity for compromise on a big deal.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday crafted "Plan B", an alternative plan for avoiding the looming⁴ fiscal woes⁵ in case his attempts to forge a broader deal with the White House fail.

The House of Representatives is expected to hold a vote Thursday on the backup plan which maintains current tax rates for households making less than 1 million dollars a year.

Boehner said that he expects to keep working with President Barack Obama to try to avert⁶ the year-end "fiscal cliff" after House Republicans pass the plan.

"Our country has big challenges. The President and I are going to have to work together to solve those challenges," Boehner said at a news conference.

The House Majority leader Eric Cantor vowed⁷ on Thursday that Republican leaders would have enough votes to pass Boehner's "Plan B".

Senate Majority Leader Harry⁸ Reid ruled out a Senate vote on Boehner's bill, saying the so-called "Plan B" measures to deal with year-end automatic tax hikes and spending cuts are a "non- starter" for the Democratic-controlled Senate.

If a deal is not reached before the end of the year, some 600 billion dollars in tax hikes and spending cuts are set to begin next month. The massive fiscal contraction⁹ could throw the U.S. economy back into recession.

1 futility   

n.无用

参考例句：

• She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
• The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处，这让她很生气。

2 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 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

5 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

6 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

7 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。

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 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。