VOA慢速英语:A Debt Deal in US, but Stocks Still Slide

This week President Obama signed a bill raising the nation’s borrowing limit.  That debt deal, however, failed to keep stock markets from dropping. Prices fell sharply on growing economic concerns about the United States and the world.
奥巴马总统在本周签署了提高债务上限的法案。然而，该法案却未能阻止股市继续下跌。由于对美国和全世界经济形势的担忧，股价急剧下跌。

The legislation followed months of arguing that only added to those concerns. Congress sent the bill to the president to sign into law on Tuesday. That was the last day the government said it had enough money to make all of its payments.
数月争议之后达成的立法更加增加了这些担忧。周二，国会将法案呈交总统签署为法律。这一天，是美国政府表示其有能力开支的最后一天。

The Budget Control Act of 2011 lets the government seek financing to pay its bills until twenty-thirteen. Congress agreed to lift the debt ceiling by over two trillion dollars, but also to make spending cuts.
2011年的《预算控制法案》允许政府在2013年之前进行融资来偿还债务。国会同意将债务上限提高2兆美元，但是必须削减支出。

President Obama said it was a starting point.
奥巴马总统表示这只是一个起点。

BARACK OBAMA: “This compromise guarantees more than two trillion dollars in deficit reduction. It’s an important first step to ensuring that as a nation, we live within our means. Yet it also allows us to keep making key investments in things like education and research that lead to new jobs. And assures that we’re not cutting too abruptly while the economy is still fragile.”
奥巴马：“该折中方案保证赤字削减超过2兆美元。这是确保我们作为一个国家量入为出的第一步。然而，该法案还允许我们在教育和研究等可以创造新的工作机会的领域进行投资，保证在经济仍然非常脆弱的情况下不会大幅削减支出。”

Richard Gordon worked with the International Monetary Fund for nearly ten years. He says there is a risk in cutting the federal budget too much when unemployment is high.
Richard Gordon曾在国际货币基金组织工作了近十年。他表示，在失业率仍然高企时大幅削减联邦预算存在风险。

RICHARD GORDON: “If the federal government does not put money into the economy, the economy will stall. And that will result in another recession, and that cannot help anybody.”
Richard Gordon：“如果联邦政府不向经济体中注入资金，经济将陷入停滞状态。这会导致另外一场经济衰退，这对任何人都没好处。”

The national debt is more than fourteen trillion dollars. At the end of last year, private investors in the United States held the largest share -- thirty-six percent of that government debt. China was the single largest foreign holder of Treasury securities, followed by Japan and Britain.
美国债务超过14万亿美元。去年年底，美国私人投资者持有美国债务的36%，占最大份额。中国是美国国债最大的外国持有者，其次是日本和英国。

On Wednesday, China's Dagong credit rating agency downgraded American debt. It said the budget deal did nothing to improve the United States' ability to pay its debts. Still, the government has had no trouble finding investors, and its borrowing costs have even fallen.
在周三，中国大公信用评级机构降低了美国债务的等级。该机构表示，该预算法案并未能改善美国偿还债务的能力。然而，美国政府寻找投资者并不困难，借款成本甚至出现下降。

The Budget Control Act calls for almost one trillion dollars in spending cuts over ten years. A committee of six Democrats and six Republicans will have to identify another trillion and a half dollars in deficit reductions.
《预算控制法案》主张在未来十年削减近1万亿美元开支。一个由6名民主党人和6名共和党人组成的委员会将寻求如何削减另1.5万亿美元赤字。

What happens if the committee cannot agree? Then an enforcement measure known as a trigger would go into effect. It would cut money from domestic and defense programs, but not in popular social programs for retirees and the poor.
如果该委员会无法达成一致怎么办？这时就会触发一项强制协议开始生效。这一强制协议将削减国内和国防项目开支，但不会削减离退休和贫困人口的大众社会福利项目的开支。

The budget deal contained no tax increases, but that issue has not gone away. Richard Gordon -- now a law professor at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio -- says the deal leaves a big question.
该预算案中没有包含增税措施，但是该问题未能得到解决。俄亥俄州克里夫兰凯斯西储大学法律教授Richard Gordon表示，该协议留下了一个大问题。

RICHARD GORDON: “What is going to be the economic policy of the federal government in the next two years?"
Richard Gordon：“联邦政府未来两年的经济政策又将走向何方？”