美财长: 不提高债务上限将导致经济危机

Let's start today by talking about the debt ceiling in the United States.

今天让我们从美国的债务上限开始谈起。

In case you're still unsure about exactly what the debt ceiling is, we've got you covered.

如果你还不确定债务上限到底是什么意思，我们会帮你搞定。

You can also call it the government's debt limit.

你也可以将其称之为政府的债务最高限额。

It's the total amount of money the United States government is authorized to borrow to meet its existing legal obligations, like paying for military salaries, tax refunds, Social Security and Medicare benefits, and interest on the national debt among other things.

它是授权美国政府为履行现有法律义务而借入的资金总额，这些义务包括支付军人工资、退税、社会保障和医疗保险福利，以及国债利息等。

But once the debt limit is reached and if the government can't borrow any more money,

不过，一旦达到债务上限，如果政府不能再借入更多的金额，

that means the government could fail to make payments, fail to take care of its own obligations by defaulting on all national debt, and that would greatly impact the U.S. government's reputation across the globe.

那么，这意味着政府可能拖欠所有国家的债务，无法进行支付且无法履行自身义务，这将极大地影响美国政府在全球的声誉。

We'll hear more now from White House correspondent Arlette Saenz on what the United States government could be facing in the near future and what the impact could be.

白宫记者阿莱特·萨恩茨将为我们带来关于美国政府在不久的将来可能面临的情况以及可能会产生的影响的详细报道。

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are heading towards a high-stakes showdown over the debt ceilings.

拜登总统和众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡正在就债务上限问题进行一场重大的对决。

This will be the first time Biden McCarthy are meeting in person since McCarthy became House Speaker and both sides have said the debt limit will be on the table.

这将是自麦卡锡成为众议院议长以来，麦卡锡与拜登首次面对面会晤，双方表示将要公开商讨债务上限问题。

Now both men have said that they don't want to see the nation default on their debts but for the time being they disagree on how to get there.

现在，双方都表示，他们不希望看到美国拖欠债务，但就目前而言，他们在如何实现这一目标上存在分歧。

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has insisted that he believes there should be negotiations and that ultimately, they believe that there need to be spending cuts if the debt ceiling will be raised.

众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡坚称，他认为应该进行多次协商，他们最终认为，提高债务上限需要削减开支。

But President Biden and the White House have insisted that there will be no negotiations over this, and that Congress must fulfill their obligation to raise the debt ceiling.

但拜登总统和白宫坚称，不会就此进行协商，国会必须履行提高债务上限的义务。

A spokesperson for the White House saying in a statement, quote, the president will ask Speaker McCarthy if he intends to meet his constitutional obligation to prevent a national default, as every other House and Senate leader in U.S. history has done, and as leaders McConnell Schumer and Jeffries have pledged to do.

白宫发言人在一份声明中表示，总统将询问麦卡锡议长是否打算履行宪法义务，防止国家拖欠债务，正如美国历史上其他参众两院领导人所做的那样，正如麦康奈尔·舒默和杰弗里斯承诺的那样。

The president, they add, will underscore that the economic security of all Americans cannot be held hostage to force unpopular cuts on working families.

他们补充说，总统将强调，不能绑架全体美国人的经济安全，迫使工薪家庭不情愿地削减预算。

Now, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that they are using extraordinary measures until this moment and that the nation's debt limit must be raised by early June.

现在，财政部长珍妮特·耶伦表示，到目前为止，他们一直在使用非常措施，必须在6月初提高国家债务上限。

So, certainly this could have huge ripple effects for the U.S. economy if the nation were to default on their debt.

如果美国债务违约，这可能会对美国经济产生巨大的连锁反应。