美国有线新闻 CNN 2013-10-20

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

 

Take a look at the clock on the bottom of the screen. There's just 28 hours to go until the debt ceiling deadline and tonight, there's a breaking news, more evidence. And this is not a game. If lawmakers don't wanna listen to the polls that show how much you, the American people, disapprove³ of how they are doing  their jobs. Perhaps, they'll listen to this. Tonight, the credit rating agency, F., put the United States on notice that its rating could be down graded. It's called a rating watch negative. We have more on that a moment. In a statement, the agency said the political brinksmentship could increase the rick of default. So, where exactly are we on a deal to end that risk or at least delay it? All day today we're expecting a vote on the House floor. Tonight, on a deal to reopen the government and avert⁴ a debt default but low and behold⁵ House Republican leaders have canceled that vote. Congressman⁶ Peter King, a Republican, comes and joins me now. Congressman, thanks for being with us.  

 

"Thank you, Anderson."

 

"What you have seen today? How do you describe it?" 

 

"It makes actually no sense. I mean, you know, the game is over. We have to get this done and John Boehner has tried everything he can and there are just some people in our party that no matter what he has tried to do, they wont⁷' go along. So, hopefully, we get some adult supervision⁸ from the Senator something will happen. But, we are talking about a real disaster coming up and Boehner John, the speaker has tried everything he can and no matter what he does, this is a certain group that's not going to go along with him." 

 

"Well, the speaker could have, I mean, brought up a clean CR before. I mean to say he's done everything. Is that really true?"    

 

"Well, I said he's done everything. He has 2 roles but one is to run the House. The other is try to keep the party united. So, he's tried to keep the party united and he's tried to move this forward. And it seems very difficult to put the party united."

 

"What do you make Dana Bash saying from a source, a Democratic source that seems to be perhaps sort of a deal on a Senate side? Is that something you would support on? What if it came to the House?"

 

"I would. Listen, I've said all along. This was madness. It was madness to follow Ted² Cruz. It was absolutely madness to be saying we're gonna shutdown the government, to defund Obamacare. It never makes sense and now we are, we are down apparently⁹ he's trying to pass a CR and take away health insurance from the congressional employees. That's why we shutdown the government for it. It makes no sense." 

 

"And you said all along that those who are promising¹⁰ their constituents¹¹, defunding or delaying Obamacare that was a fraud."

 

"Yeah. Ted Cruz is total fraud from the start. It never could have succeeded. I can't imagine going into battle knowing you can't win and yet continue to tell your people you are winning. It's just a...It's like a never land. Parallel universes, whatever you want to call." 

 

"What do you think what happened with this Senate bill assuming that it's under the same parameters¹² we've been hearing about since yesterday in terms of continuing the government, ending the shutdown and not really, it's not defunding. It's not delaying Obamacare. Will...could that pass now?"

 

"Well,  certainly I can be anything. I'm certainly of that. If that comes to a vote on the House floor, you probably get all the Democrats¹³ and certainly enough Republicans to get it through."

 

"And you're confident speaker Boehner would allow to come to the House?"

 

"I'm... I don't know what John would do but I think, though, if he's gonna to be involved in expediting the process at all, he probably then would allow it to come to a vote in the House floor. It's getting too close to the wire." 

 

"Have you ever seen anything like this?" 

 

"No, nothing is bad, no. Because again, I've seen some tough battles. Back in 1995 and 96, you can argue whether or not should have been a government shutdown that was over 2 competing budgets. It was a real philosophical¹⁴ difference and both sides were negotiating throughout. This is just we shutdown the government which is really a dramatic thing to do for a goal that we never have a chance of obtaining based on one guy from Texas who somehow convinced 40 House members that this was a crusade they had carried out."

分享到：