2006年VOA标准英语-Democratic Leaders Rule Out Iraq Funds Cutoff

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
05 December 2006

The incoming Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and other Democrats¹ are ruling out any effort by members of their party to have Congress cut off funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq.  Proponents² of such a move say any funds lawmakers approve when Democrats assume control of Congress in January should be used to bring U.S. troops home.  VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

Congresswoman Pelosi made her position clear as House Democrats met to discuss options and a future position on Iraq.

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington

Pelosi says the meeting highlighted that there are no easy answers to "the very difficult challenge" in Iraq, but she nonetheless stated her firm opposition³ to any funding cutoff:

"Absolutely not," she said.  "Let me remove all doubt in anyone's mind, as long as our troops are in harm's way, Democrats will be there to support them.  But we will have oversight⁴ over that funding."

Pelosi was responding to reporter's questions after Ohio Congressman⁵ Dennis Kucinich urged fellow Democrats to cut off funds for Iraq.

"Why in the world would we want to appropriate an additional $130 billion?  This would keep the U.S. in Iraq through mid-2008," he said.

Kucinich refers to a new "supplemental" request for Iraq and Afghanistan that the Bush administration is expected to send to Capitol Hill when the new 110th Congress convenes⁶, estimates of which range as high as $160 billion.

In addition to a funding cutoff, Kucinich advocates a transfer of authority to the United Nations, a U.N. peacekeeping force, and bringing U.S. troops home within 90 days.

While rejecting any funding cutoff, Democratic leaders are signaling their intention to reverse what they call a long and damaging period in which majority Republicans "rubber-stamped" such requests.

That will play out as House appropriations⁷ and government oversight committees, soon to have Democratic chairmen, subject spending to greater scrutiny⁸.

Congressman Rahm Emanuel, a key player in the incoming Democratic leadership, predicts the next administration funding request will be a defining moment for Congress:

"That is going to be the turning point for a new direction, and that is a critical point in how we, as a country, pursue our foreign policy and national security objectives, in both Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

Sharpened oversight will involve, among other things, committee hearings on alleged⁹ waste and fraud by contractors¹⁰ in Iraq, aimed, says Emanuel, at holding people accountable.

But on overall solutions for Iraq, Democrats continue to assert they will look for bipartisan solutions.  Here is incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer:

"We are hopeful that we could work with the president, work with our Republican colleagues, to assure that we affect a very substantial change in policy," he said.  "None of us want to fail, none of us want to see Iraq as a failure.  But none of us want to continue to pursue a policy that is not only not working, but leaves our men and women deployed¹¹ in the armed forces at great risk."

A new direction on Iraq would, in the Democrats' view, include redeployment and transition of U.S. forces from Iraq, disarming¹² militias¹³, an international conference to discuss stability and reconstruction¹⁴ of Iraq, and amending¹⁵ Iraq's constitution to minimize civil strife¹⁶.

Comments by Democrats came as Americans await the formal release of a report by the 10-member independent Iraq Study Group containing recommendations for the Bush administration.

President Bush's choice as the new secretary of defense¹⁷, Robert Gates, told a Senate panel considering his nomination¹⁸ that the U.S. not winning in Iraq, but added American forces would have to remain in Iraq, at a reduced level, for some years to come.

1 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》

2 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

5 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。

6 convenes   

召开( convene的第三人称单数 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The Premier convenes and presides over the executive meetings and plenary meetings of the State Council. 总理召集和主持国务院常务会议和国务院全体会议。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法
• Chinese woman tenth the National People Congress convenes grandly today in Beijing. 中国妇女第十次全国代表大会今天在北京隆重召开。

7 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

9 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

10 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

13 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

14 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

15 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

16 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

17 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。

18 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。