2007年VOA标准英语-US Senate Approves Iraq Spending Bill With Troo

By Paula Wolfson
White House
29 March 2007

The U.S. Congress and the White House have moved a step closer to a major confrontation¹ on Iraq. The Senate has passed a war funding bill that includes wording on a troop withdrawal². VOA's Paula Wolfson reports President Bush says he will veto the legislation.

The final Senate vote (51-47) was largely along party lines, with majority Democrats³ declaring victory.

Only two Senate Republicans - Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon - voted for the bill, which sets a goal of moving U.S. troops out of Iraq in about a year.

The legislation must now be reconciled with a version passed earlier by the House of Representatives, which mandates⁴ a pullout by the end of August of 2008.

President Bush has said any bill that contains a timetable for withdrawal is not only unacceptable, but a formula for disaster.

 

Shortly before the Senate vote, he met at the White House with all the Republican members of the House of Representatives - the first such meeting of the Bush presidency⁵. They consulted behind closed doors, and then appeared as a group before cameras - the House members closing ranks around the president.

George W. Bush

"We stand united in saying loud and clear that when we have got a troop in harms way, we expect that troop to be fully⁶ funded," he said. "And we have got commanders making tough decisions on the ground, we expect there to be no strings⁷ on our commanders."

But Democrats remain unmoved, and are vowing⁸ to press forward despite the threat of a presidential veto. Patty Murray of Washington State led the drive to pass the bill in the Senate.

"We are taking a major step forward in saying that we are no longer going to idly stand by without any debates, without any discussion, without any consequences and move continuously to increase the war in Iraq," she said. "We have said it is time for us as a nation to tell the Iraqi people they need to stand up for themselves."

Senate Republicans fought the bill to the last, warning that valuable time is being wasted, as the Pentagon waits for the money needed to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. They said Democrats do not have the two-thirds majority needed to override⁹ a presidential veto, and are pushing the bill to make political points.

Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama said by passing the bill, the Democrats have named a "date for defeat."

"We have taken a step backwards¹⁰. We have put an arbitrary deadline on our military. It is the wrong message at the wrong time," he said. "Surely this will embolden¹¹ the enemy. It will not help our troops in any way. It is a big mistake."

Moments after the Senate vote, a panel was named to begin negotiations¹² with the House to reconcile their two different versions of the bill.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she expects the compromise that will go to the president will include language on a troop pullout, despite his promised veto.

1 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

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 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》

4 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 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。

8 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

9 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

10 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

11 embolden   

v.给…壮胆，鼓励

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine,he went over to introduce himself to her.他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• The Prime Minister was steadily emboldened by the discovery that he faced no opposition.发现自己并未遭到反对，首相渐渐有了信心。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。