VOA常速英语:特朗普同意在2月15日前暂停政府停摆

Air travel delayed along the east coast of the United States as unpaid air traffic controllers call out from work. The same day, a second paycheck is missed by federal employees on the two failed attempts in the U.S. Senate to reopen the government. That was the critical mass needed to move President Trump to reopen the government through February 15th, but without border wall funding. Over the next 21 days, I expect that both Democrats and Republicans will operate in good faith. This is an opportunity for all parties to work together for the benefit of our whole, beautiful, wonderful nation. 21 days for federal employees to get paid and for lawmakers to negotiate a border security deal the president was clear must still include that wall.

The walls we are building are not medieval walls. They are smart walls. We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea. We never did. We never proposed that. Trump’s agreement to reopen the government to discuss border security was the demand from Democrats throughout the history making 36 days standoff. The American people do not like it when you throw a wrench into the lives of government workers over an unrelated political dispute. Hopefully, now, the president has learned his lesson. Republican leadership called for Democrats to honor those demands. Our Democratic friends will stay true to the commitment that they’ve stayed constantly over the past weeks that once the government was reopened, they’d be perfectly willing to negotiate in good faith on a full-year government funding that would include a significant investment and urgently needed border security measures, including physical barriers.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it clear Democrats essential position against funding a wall has not changed. Unity is our power and that is what maybe the president underestimated. Trump weigh declaring a national emergency at the border to obtain the funds for a wall. He later warned that was still a possibility if negotiations don’t work out. Well, we’re gonna work with the Democrats, we’re gonna say and if we can’t do that, then we’ll do, obviously we’re going to do, the emergency, because that’s what it is, the national emergency. A sign progress on the ongoing immigration debate, it’s only temporary.
Catherine Chipsin VOA news Capitol Hill.