VOA标准英语2012--Washington Gridlock Impacts US Financial Standing

（单词翻译）

Washington Gridlock Impacts US Financial Standing¹

At a time of daunting² economic challenges, many Americans are dismayed by Washington’s political paralysis³.
Fueling the gridlock: divided government. Republicans control the House of Representatives and Democrats⁵ control the Senate.
Perhaps the biggest casualty of gridlock: U.S. fiscal⁶ health and financial standing in the world. With the nation teetering on the edge of a debt default last year, Congress engaged in a ferocious⁷, months-long battle over deficit⁸ reduction. Republicans demanded deep spending cuts.
“Giving the federal government more money would be like giving a cocaine⁹ addict¹⁰ more cocaine,” said John Boehner, Republican Speaker of the House.
Democrats accused Republicans of targeting the poor and protecting the rich.
“There is not one red cent coming from America’s wealthiest families, while we are willing to cut education for the poorest children in America,” said Democrat⁴ Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
President Barack Obama, a Democrat, sought $4 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years. In the end, the White House and Congress could only agree on about half that much. The fight nearly led to a U.S. debt default. Credit ratings agencies blasted Washington’s performance. Standard & Poor’s did what once would have been considered unthinkable: it downgraded U.S. creditworthiness.
“Political gridlock in Washington leads us to conclude that policymakers do not have the ability to proactively put the finances of the U.S. on a sustainable footing,” said Chambers¹¹.
Finger-pointers all have a common target: Washington gridlock.
"This slash-and-burn, take-no-prisoners, no-compromise-no-matter-what approach to politics is one of the reasons why Congress is having such a difficult time getting things done," President Obama said.
“The biggest threat to our economy is not Europe’s instability or China’s monetary¹² policy or anything else, it is this partisan¹³ paralysis and political cowardice¹⁴ that I think is defining Washington,” said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Members of Congress regularly bemoan¹⁵ America’s fiscal problems. But taking action means surmounting¹⁶ partisanship¹⁷, something Washington struggles mightily¹⁸ to do.