2007年VOA标准英语-Bush Says He Will Veto Democratic Bills That Vi

By Scott Stearns
Washington
07 July 2007

President Bush says he will veto domestic spending bills if opposition¹ Democrats² want to spend more money than he is asking for.  VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, Democrats say the president is not doing enough to keep the nation safe.

President Bush during his visit to West Virginia Air National Guard 167th Airlift Wing, in Martinsburg, WV, 04 Jul 2007

President Bush says it is a moment of testing for opposition Democrats, six months after they won control of both houses of Congress.

He wants action on a dozen federal spending bills before next month's congressional recess³. In his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush says Democrats can prove they are for open and transparent⁴ government by completing each bill on time.

"The fiscal⁵ year ends September 30," he said.  "By failing to do the work necessary to pass these important bills by the end of the fiscal year, Democrats are failing in their responsibility to make tough decisions and spend the people's money wisely."

The president says his political opponents want to undo⁶ his record tax cuts and his tight rein⁷ on domestic spending, policies that he says have built an economy that is the envy of the world.

"Democratic leaders in Congress want to take our country down a different track," he added.  "They are working to bring back the failed tax-and-spend policies of the past. The Democrats' budget plan proposes $205 billion in additional domestic spending over the next five years and includes the largest tax increase in history. No nation has ever taxed and spent its way to prosperity. And I have made it clear that I will veto any attempt to take America down this road."

The president is challenging Democrats at a time when public approval ratings for Congress are as bad as his. In a Newsweek magazine poll earlier this month, 26 percent of Americans approved of the way the president is doing his job. A total of 25 percent approved of the way Congress is doing its job in a poll by the magazine last month.

Much of the president's low popularity is related to the war in Iraq. In the Democratic radio address, former Congressman⁸ Tim Roemer says that war is making America less secure by creating a new generation of jihadists.

Roemer served on the bipartisan commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He says President Bush has not done enough to follow through on that commission's recommendations.

"Almost six years after 9/11, we are still not as safe as we need to be, and we're not as safe as we should be.  Al-Qaeda is gaining strength, and our policies are not keeping pace," he said.

Democrats in both houses of Congress have passed legislation making the remaining commission recommendations law, but those two versions have yet to be reconciled into a single bill.

"This legislation has passed the House and Senate, but Congress needs to finish the job and get this bill to the President's desk," he added.  "And to secure the American people, the president must support and sign this bill, not threaten to veto it."

Roemer says the bill would make Americans safer by improving first responder communications, better securing the nations border, and checking the rise of new terrorists by expanding educational opportunities in the Middle East.

The Bush Administration has threatened to veto the measure, in part because it has a provision for a freestanding oversight⁹ board on privacy and civil liberties.  The White House says this would infringe¹⁰ on the president's ability to manage the Executive Branch and perform his constitutional duties.

1 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。

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 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

4 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

7 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

8 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。

9 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。

10 infringe   

v.违反，触犯，侵害

参考例句：

• The jury ruled that he had infringed no rules.陪审团裁决他没有违反任何规定。
• He occasionally infringe the law by parking near a junction.他因偶尔将车停放在交叉口附近而违反规定。