VOA常速英语2007年-Bush Urges Congressional Action On War Funds

By Paula Wolfson
Washington
13 November 2007

President Bush is pushing the U.S. Congress to give him the extra money he says is needed for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But as VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House, Democrats² on Capitol Hill are citing new concerns about the cost of the conflicts.

The president has a pending³ request on Capitol Hill for $50 billion in additional military spending.

He says the money is needed now. "Congress's responsibility is clear: It should not go home for the Christmas holidays without giving our troops on the frontlines the funds they need to succeed," he said.

In a speech to business leaders in the state of Indiana, the president acknowledged congressional opposition⁴ to his Iraq policy. But he made clear lawmakers have an obligation to provide the military with the resources needed in the midst of an ongoing⁵ conflict. "Nobody likes war. I understand that. And I understand some were critical of the decision I made, and that is okay. But whatever their position on the war is, we should be able to agree that our troops deserve the full support of those of us in Washington, D.C," he said.

War opponents in Congress have long cited the high cost of the war in terms of American lives. Now they are also raising concerns about the cost in dollars.

Democrats on the House-Senate Joint⁶ Economic Committee say most Americans have no idea of - what they call - the "hidden costs" of the war. Shortly before the president spoke⁷ in Indiana, they released a report that says the actual price tag for the period from 2002 to 2008 may be roughly double the $804 billion requested by the president. They say that figure does not include major long-term expenses such as interest payments on war debt.

Senator Charles Schumer, the top Democrat¹ on the Joint Economic Committee, says the total cost to American taxpayers⁸ so far has been $1.6 trillion for both Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We know that the immense budget costs for the war are putting us more and more into debt and that is financed by borrowing. The hidden costs of the Iraq war take into account the full cost stemming from that excessive borrowing, the instability in world oil markets, the future care of injured veterans, the necessary retooling⁹ of our military and other factors," he said.

At a Capitol Hill new conference, Schumer warned that not only will his post World War II generation be stuck with the bills for the war, but so too will generations to come. "We of the baby-boom generation and our children and grandchildren will be paying for this war for a very long time to come. What this report makes crystal clear is that the cost to our country in lives lost and dollars spent is tragically¹⁰ unacceptable," he said.

The congressional report was prepared without any participation¹¹ by Republicans on the panel. And the White House dismissed it as politically motivated.

The president's supplemental war spending request is expected to come up for consideration in the House of Representatives on Wednesday and some Democrats say they will use the opportunity to press once again for a troop withdrawal¹².

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 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

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 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 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。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

9 retooling   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的现在分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The factory is retooling to start making the new line of cars. 工厂正在重新装备以便开始制造新系列车型。 来自辞典例句
• Among her suggestions: retooling factories to focus on rebuilding America's transportation system. 她的建议包括围绕重新建设美国交通系统这个重心来重组汽车工业。 来自互联网

10 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

11 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。