美国债务上限谈判陷入僵局

A top priority for Congress is tackling a looming deadline on the debt ceiling.

国会的当务之急是应对债务上限最后期限临近的问题。

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy addressed the issue yesterday during a speech at the New York Stock Exchange.

众议院议长凯文·麦卡锡昨天在纽约证券交易所发表演讲时谈到了这个问题。

Debt limit negotiations are an opportunity to examine our nation's finances.

债务限额谈判是一个审查我们国家财政状况的机会。

But actual negotiations between McCarthy and the White House remain stalled.

但麦卡锡和白宫之间的实际谈判仍停滞不前。

Here to talk us through this is NPR congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt. Hi, Barbara.

下面由国会记者芭芭拉·斯普朗特为我们讲解。嗨,芭芭拉。

Hi. Good morning.

嗨。早上好。

Good morning. So for starters, give us some context to the debt limit itself and how we got here.

早上好。首先，请给我们介绍一些债务限额的背景，以及我们是如何走到这个境地的。

The debt limit isn't about future spending.

债务限额与未来支出无关。

It's about meeting the cost of existing commitments the federal government has made.

而是与履行美国政府已做出的现行承诺的开支有关。

And it's something that can feel a bit like Groundhog Day because, when the debt ceiling is approached, Congress has to address it in some way, and that's what's happening now.

这有点像土拨鼠节，因为当债务上限临近时，国会必须以某种方式解决这个问题，这就是现在的情况。

In January, the U.S. hit its debt limit.

今年1月，美国触及了债务上限。

The Treasury Department employed what it calls extraordinary measures to essentially act as a Band-Aid for a couple of months. But that will run out in early summer.

财政部在数月里采取了所谓的非常措施，实质上只是权宜之计。但到初夏，债务上限就会耗尽。

If Congress fails to raise the debt limit before then, it could lead to an uNPRecedented debt default.

如果国会未能在此之前提高债务上限，可能会导致前所未有的债务拖欠。

That means financial markets could be severely hit.

这意味着金融市场可能会受到严重打击。

It could become difficult to borrow money, and many economists think that, without access to credit, a recession would be very likely.

借钱可能会变得困难，许多经济学家认为，如果无法获得信贷，很可能会出现经济衰退。

So a lot at stake here. McCarthy talked about this during his speech, and he called the debt a, quote, "ticking time bomb." What's his plan?

这里存在很多利害关系。麦卡锡在演讲中谈到了这一点，他把债务称为“定时炸弹”。他的计划是什么?

Well, McCarthy said the House will vote in the coming weeks on a bill that would reduce federal spending levels to those in 2022, limit the growth of spending over the next 10 years to 1% annually and raise the debt limit into 2024,

嗯，麦卡锡表示众议院将在未来几周就一项法案进行投票，该法案将把联邦支出水平降低到2022年的水平，将未来10年的年支出增长限制在1%，并将债务上限提高到2024年，

which, I should point out, could cause lawmakers to have to negotiate this whole thing again smack dab in the middle of the presidential primary season.

我应该指出，这可能会导致议员们不得不恰好在总统初选期间再次就整件事进行谈判。

McCarthy said House Republicans would also add work requirements for adults without dependents who are enrolled in various federal assistance programs, like food stamps.

麦卡锡表示，众议院共和党人还将增加接受各种联邦援助计划(如食品券)的无家属成人的工作要求。

McCarthy was very careful to add that the bill wouldn't touch Social Security and Medicare, two programs that are very popular.

麦卡锡非常谨慎地补充道，该法案不会涉及社会保障和医疗保险这两个非常受欢迎的项目。

This speech comes as negotiations between the speaker and the president have stalled.

这番发言是在议长和总统之间的谈判陷入僵局之际发表的。

The pair met in February, and McCarthy laid the blame for the impasse at Biden's feet.

两人于2月会面，麦卡锡将谈判僵局归咎于拜登。

Biden has remained adamant that he wants to sign a clean debt ceiling bill - so one that's completely separate from any legislation on spending cuts.

拜登仍坚定地表示，他希望签署一份干净的债务上限法案，也就是一份与任何削减开支的立法完全分开的法案。

But it's worth noting that McCarthy is marking his first 100 days as speaker.

但值得注意的是，这是麦卡锡就任议长的第100天。

And if we cast back to earlier this year, you'll remember there was a very long series of votes to secure enough support for him to become speaker.

如果我们回到今年的早些时候，你会记得为确保他获得足够支持成为议长经历了漫长的一系列投票。

And one of the demands from lawmakers who initially withheld their support was that the House not vote on a standalone measure to lift the debt limit.

最初拒绝支持麦卡锡的议员们提的要求之一是，众议院不要就提高债务上限的独立措施进行投票。