美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Offers Spending Blueprint, But Congress Already Wrote The Check

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

What if you spent months working on a household budget only to find that your partner or spouse¹ had already emptied your joint² checking account to go on a spending spree? That's kind of what happened to President Trump³. The president unveiled his budget proposal this morning, offering a detailed⁴ blueprint⁵ of how he thinks the government should spend its money next year, but members of Congress who actually control the purse strings⁶ had already come up with their own bigger spending plan last week.

NPR's Scott Horsley joins us now from the White House. Hi, Scott.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁷: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: So a presidential budget is usually seen as a political document rather than an actual binding⁸ financial plan. Is that even more true this year? I mean, what do you get out of this budget?

HORSLEY: You're right. Lawmakers often ignore the White House budget when it comes out. This year, lawmakers acted even before the budget came out and agreed to their own top-line spending levels for both this year and next. Now, there is one area where the White House is in sync with Congress, and that's defense⁹ spending. Trump's budget seeks $716 billion in defense spending next year, which, by coincidence, is exactly what lawmakers agreed to last week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Our military was totally depleted¹⁰, and we will have a military like we've never had before.

HORSLEY: There's more of a disconnect, though, on the domestic side, where Trump wants spending cuts but Congress has authorized¹¹ more money next year - $68 billion more for discretionary nondefense programs.

SHAPIRO: If Congress is going to go its own way on the budget anyway, what difference does this proposed budget from the president make?

HORSLEY: Well, it's a signal of the White House priorities. For example, Trump wants more money for border security, including $18 billion for his border wall plus additional money for Border Patrol agents, ICE officers and tens of thousands of detention¹² beds. Now, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney was pretty frank this afternoon in saying Congress is not likely to approve that kind of money except as part of a broader agreement on immigration. But Mulvaney says the point of this exercise is for the administration to put a marker down on spending.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICK MULVANEY: The executive budget has always been a messaging document. What are the messages this year? Number one, you don't have to spend all of this money, Congress. But if you do, here is how we would prefer to see you spend it.

HORSLEY: For example, the White House is calling for a 34 percent cut in EPA spending, a 26 percent cut in State Department spending and a 16 percent cut in spending by the Agriculture Department, which, by the way, includes some steps on welfare reform - for example, more stringent¹³ work requirements for people receiving food stamps.

SHAPIRO: Scott, any budget is going to have the revenue element and the spending element. And Congress has not only agreed to spend more money. Lawmakers have also cut taxes by $1 and a half trillion. What does that do for the federal deficit¹⁴?

HORSLEY: The deficit is expected to balloon. The White House is predicting that it's going to grow this year to more than $800 billion or more than 4 percent of the overall economy. Next year, the deficit is projected to hit 4.7 percent of GDP. Now, it'd be one thing to see deficits¹⁵ that big in a time of recession, but it's really remarkable¹⁶ to see that much red ink when the economy is doing well as it is right now and we're near full employment.

And what's more, the White House may actually be lowballing the deficit figure because this budget assumes fairly robust¹⁷ economic growth. They expect growth to grow from 2.3 percent last year to 3 percent this year, 3.2 percent next year and then to hold at 3 percent or higher all the way through 2024. A lot of independent economists¹⁸ think that's overly rosy¹⁹. And if they're right, the federal deficits could get even bigger.

SHAPIRO: NPR's Scott Horsley speaking with us from the White House. Thanks, Scott.

HORSLEY: You're welcome.

1 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

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 blueprint   

n.蓝图，设计图，计划；vt.制成蓝图，计划

参考例句：

• All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
• The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。

6 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

9 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。

10 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

11 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

12 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。

13 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

14 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。

15 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

16 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

17 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

18 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。