VOA标准英语2009年-US Economic Measure Now Goes to House-Senate Ne

With Tuesday's Senate vote approving its version of economic recovery legislation, the focus has shifted to a House-Senate conference committee beginning work on resolving differences between slightly different versions of the measure. Tough bargaining is ahead as Congress and President Barack Obama work to get the bill to his desk.

With the stakes high for the recession-battered U.S. economy and Americans who have lost jobs, the pressure is enormous as lawmakers begin reconciliation¹ talks.

Democrats² and the president want to get a bill on his desk before Congress's next break scheduled to begin on February 16.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer provided an indication of tough bargaining ahead, referring to what he called different priorities in the House and Senate measures requiring thorough debate.

Referring to (three) moderate Republican senators who backed a Senate compromise, he said the House should not be in what he called a position where three people decide what should be done.
　
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 10 Feb 2009

Emerging from a Democratic meeting, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to concerns her members have as negotiations³ begin: "Our colleagues are excited about the prospect⁴, concerned about some of the differences between the House and the Senate, and we promised that because our bill, the House-passed bill, produced more jobs, we will go to conference to fight for those jobs," she said.

Majority Leader Hoyer suggested that negotiations could extend through next week. Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Harry⁵ Reid say they hope for quicker progress. "We expect to have something done within the next 24 hours that will at least head us in the right direction," he said.

Reid and Pelosi met with President Obama early Tuesday before the president used a town hall meeting in Florida to maintain pressure on Republicans. "We can't afford to posture⁶ and bicker⁷ and resort to the same failed ideas that got us into this mess in the first place. That's what the election was about. You rejected many of those ideas because you know they didn't work," Mr. Obama said.

Even with reductions made in the Senate bill, Congressional Budget Office estimates raised the cost of that legislation to $838 billion, about $18 billion more than a House version passed last month without Republican support.

House Democrats assert their version would cost less in deficit⁸ spending in the long-run than the Senate measure.

Republicans continued to assail⁹ both bills as wasteful¹⁰, asserting they constitute a permanent expansion of government spending.

Republican conference chairman, Representative Mike Pence asserted that more Americans support Republican counter-proposals rather than current House and Senate versions he described this way. "A [Republican] stimulus¹¹ bill that actually is not a long, laundry list of worn out liberal spending priorities but actually is at its center a bill that will give working families and small business more of their hard-earned dollars to spend," he said.

House Democratic appropriations¹² chairman David Obey countered Republican arguments about the size of the package, saying that while not perfect it should provide a strong enough boost to stimulate¹³ the economy. "If we have a large and serious economic crisis coming at us, that response needs to be large, bold and aggressive," he said.

Obey said there are substantial, but hopefully not overpowering, differences between the House and Senate measures, but expressed hope lawmakers can focus on the need for action.

1 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

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 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。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

7 bicker   

vi.(为小事)吵嘴，争吵

参考例句：

• The two children used to bicker about who should do the washing-up.这两个小孩子过去常为该由谁洗餐具一事而争吵。
• They always bicker when they meet at school.在学校见面时他们总是争吵。

8 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

9 assail   

v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥

参考例句：

• The opposition's newspapers assail the government each day.反对党的报纸每天都对政府进行猛烈抨击。
• We should assist parents not assail them.因此我们应该帮助父母们，而不是指责他们。

10 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

11 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

12 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

13 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。