Obama urges Congress to raise U.S. debt ceiling

 　　WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- One week before starting his second term, U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday urged Congress to raise the country's debt ceiling in a timely manner to avert¹ dampening investor² confidence and derailing the economic recovery.

　　Raising the country's debt ceiling does not authorize³ more government spending, but simply allows the nation to cover the bills it has accrued⁴, Obama said at a hastily-arranged White House press conference, the last of his first term.

　　A congressional refusal to raise the debt ceiling would be a " self-inflicted wound" on the U.S. economy, delay payments of benefits to social security recipients⁵, and could possibly tip the country into recession, Obama warned.

　　The U.S. federal government reached its debt limit of 16.4 trillion U.S. dollars on Dec. 31, 2012, and the Treasury⁶ Department was taking extraordinary measures to temporarily postpone⁷ the date of a possible default.

　　The U.S. government is expected to run out of ways to meet all of its obligations between mid-February and early March, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday in a letter to congressional leaders.

　　If Congress does not act to extend borrowing authority, payments to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other government-funded programs would be at risk. "This would impose severe economic hardship on millions of individuals and businesses across the country," said the outgoing Treasury chief who has fought several fiscal⁸ battles with Republicans over the past years.

　　Even a threat of defaulting on government obligations is affecting investor confidence and hurting the economy, and threatening to not raise the debt ceiling is "absurd," Obama stated.

　　Congress Republicans have demanded steep spending cuts from Democrats⁹ in exchange for a debt ceiling increase even at the risk of a government shutdown.

　　The U.S. economy is poised¹⁰ for a good year if Washington politics doesn't get in the way, said Obama, cautioning that Republican lawmakers should not use a government default or shutdown as the bargaining chip to push for government spending cuts.

　　The United States is making progress in enhancing its fiscal sustainability in the past years as a result of government spending cuts and more government revenue. The United States is moving toward the goal of reducing 4 trillion U.S. dollars in government deficit¹¹ over a decade, Obama noted¹².

　　The president urged the country to adopt a balanced deficit reduction approach to ensure key investments to bolster¹³ economic growth and protect the interests of the middle class.

　　Speaking at an event hosted by University of Michigan on Monday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also pressed Congress to raise the country's borrowing limit to avoid a potentially disastrous¹⁴ default.

1 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。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

4 accrued   

adj.权责已发生的v.增加( accrue的过去式和过去分词 )；（通过自然增长）产生；获得；（使钱款、债务）积累

参考例句：

• The company had accrued debts of over 1000 yuan. 该公司已积欠了1000多万元的债务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have accrued a set of commemoration stamps. 我已收集一套纪念邮票。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

8 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。

9 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》

10 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

11 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。

12 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。

13 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

14 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。