美国民主党与共和党为社会安全问题争论不休

 

Democrats², Republicans, Battle Over Social Security

美国民主党与共和党为社会安全问题争论不休

 

A rally by opponents of the president's Social Security proposals came amid new public opinion polls showing he has a long way to go in persuading Americans.

 

According to one poll, only 45 percent of those surveyed support creating individual private retirement³ accounts by diverting a portion of Social Security taxes.

 

Some of that opposition⁴ was evident in a rally that brought virtually all Democratic members of the House and Senate to a park in front of the Capitol.

 

Senator Richard Durbin is a key Democratic critic.

 

Durbin: Do you want to turn your retirement security over to Wall Street? (No)  Do you want to give up guaranteed benefits for risky⁵ privatization? (No) Do you want to saddle [burden] your children and mine with $5 trillion of debt?  (No) Well I don't know if the President heard it but we heard it on this stage!

 

A few steps away, Republican House members took aim at what they called Democrat¹ demagoguery on the Social Security issue.  Clay Shaw is a Florida Republican.

 

Clay Shaw: They [Democrats] are interested only when the [television] cameras there are and they can trash Republicans for wanting to do something, instead of joining forces with us.  We have held our hands out to them time and time again and they cut them off when we hold out our hands to join with them and to find a solution for Social Security.

 

Back at the rally, Congressman⁶ Steny Hoyer, number two House Democrat, had this message for the president and Republicans.

 

Steny Hoyer: If the president of the United States, in his efforts to privatize Social Security, thought we were going to be sleeping, he was sadly mistaken.

 

Critics say the changes in Social Security being pushed by the president will worsen budget deficits⁸, sharply increase the national debt, and leave millions of Americans more vulnerable in their retirement years.

 

Democratic lawmakers were joined by a coalition⁹ of groups representing retirees, women, and labor¹⁰.

 

Among them, George Kourpias, head of the Alliance for Retired¹¹ Americans, and Kim Gandy, head of the National Organization for Women.

 

Kourpias: If George Bush and his allies succeed in replacing Social Security with private accounts, it will be necessary to make massive cuts in monthly benefits for everybody.

 

Gandy: It is a foolish gamble, and women are not buying it.

 

Democrats are making use of their own weapon meanwhile.  He is none other than James Roosevelt, the grandson of the late President Franklin Roosevelt who presided over the birth of Social Security.

 

James Roosevelt: We have made huge progress in letting people know they can count on a secure retirement, they can count on disability coverage¹² if they are injured. And their children and their survivors¹³ can count on coverage if they die prematurely¹⁴. That is what this fight is about."

 

Republicans are using a new slogan in their fight for Social Security changes.  They are calling Democrats the “Party of No,” part of a strategy to paint Democrats as obstructionists on Capitol Hill.

 

Paul Ryan is a Republican Congressman from the state of Wisconsin.

 

Ryan: Our constituents¹⁵ did not send us to Congress just to come and criticize.  Our constituents sent us to Congress to come and propose solutions to the biggest challenges facing our country.  That is Social Security reform. And so it is very irresponsible to come to Congress and not even participate in the debate on how to save Social Security. That is what we're getting from the other side right now. That is what we're getting from the Democrats."

 

President Bush has not sent a specific social security reform bill to Congress, saying he hopes lawmakers will work together on responsible bipartisan legislation.

 

Republicans controlling the House and Senate want to give President Bush's Social Security reform proposals legislative¹⁶ life no later than June or July.

 

A key step took place Tuesday with the first hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, whose chairman Republican Senator Charles Grassley has been sharply critical of what he calls a do nothing approach, and who is expected to write the first major version of Social Security legislation.

 

Dan Robinson, VOA news, Capitol Hill.

 

注释：

retirement [ri5taiEmEnt] n. 退休, 引退

in front of adv. 在……前面

demagoguery [5demE^C^Eri] n. 群众煽动，散布谣言，煽动行为

deficit⁷ [5defisit] n. 赤字，不足额

coalition [7kEuE5liFEn] n. 合并，接合，联合

count on v. 依靠，指望

slogan [5slEu^En] n. 口号，标语

obstructionist [Eb5strQkFE5nist] n. 妨碍者

Wisconsin [wis5kCnsin] n. 威斯康星州(美国州名)

bipartisan [bai7pB:ti5zAn] adj. 两党连立的

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 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》

3 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

6 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

7 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。

8 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

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

13 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

15 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。