VOA常速英语2007年-Democrats Urge Shifting US Troops to Focus on T

By Scott Stearns
White House
29 December 2007

Congressional Democrats¹ want President Bush to move more U.S. troops out of Iraq because they say that will better focus the military on terrorist threats in Pakistan and Afghanistan. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Mr. Bush says he will block efforts to link additional funding for the Iraqi war with a timetable for troop withdrawal².

Democrats used their weekly radio address to again call on President Bush to get more American forces out of Iraq.

"Congress is challenging the administration's strategy in Iraq in favor of a better one that will effectively combat terrorism and create stability in the Middle East," said Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic Congresswoman from New York. "Time and time again, we voted for a strategy to redeploy troops out of Iraq, to leave policing the streets to Iraqis and to focus our mission on anti-terrorism, and we won't give up."

Before concluding their legislative³ business for the year, Democrats backed down on efforts to make Iraq war funds conditional⁴ on a troop pull out, because President Bush threatened to veto any measure that sought to link the two. Republicans ultimately pushed through $70 billion to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan without conditions.

The president is rejecting a broader defense⁵ authorization⁶ because he objects to provisions that would expose the Iraqi government to lawsuits⁷ seeking damages from the time of former dictator Saddam Hussein. Mr. Bush refused to sign that legislation Friday because, he said, it would imperil billions of dollars of Iraqi assets at what he says is a "crucial juncture⁸ in that nation's reconstruction⁹ efforts."

The president continues to try and rebuild support for a war that public opinion polls say a majority of Americans believe was a mistake. A CBS News/New York Times survey this month shows that more than two-thirds of Americans disapprove¹⁰ of how the president is handling the war.

In his weekly radio address Saturday, Mr. Bush turned to domestic issues, seeking to reassure¹¹ Americans about the overall strength of the U.S. economy at a time of consumer concern over tightening¹² credit and a slowdown in the housing market.

"Some of you worry about your ability to afford health care coverage¹³ for your families," he said. "Some of you are concerned about meeting your monthly mortgage payments. Some of you worry about the impact of rising energy costs on fueling your cars and heating your homes. You expect your elected leaders in Washington to address these pressures on our economy and give you more options to help you deal with them."

The president says Congress passed a good energy bill, a temporary solution to a middle class tax hike, and a law that will help protect families from higher taxes when lenders reduce mortgage debt. But he criticized Democrats for including in the $555 billion omnibus budget more than nine-thousand special interest items that fund specific programs favored by lawmakers.

Democrats say much of that specially-targeted funding came from Republicans. Since Democrats took charge of Congress one year ago, Congresswoman Gillibrand says, they have increased automobile¹⁴ fuel economy standards and raised the minimum wage.

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 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。

3 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。

4 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

5 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。

6 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

7 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

8 juncture   

n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头

参考例句：

• The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
• It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。

9 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。

10 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

11 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

12 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

13 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。

14 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。