美國可能達成兩黨債務方案協議

The U.S. Senate has blocked a Democratic proposal to raise the federal borrowing limit and avoid a potential default on America’s $14.3 trillion national debt. With both Republican and Democratic plans now defeated, focus shifts to last-ditch negotiations between congressional leaders and the White House. Lawmakers are expressing cautious optimism that a bipartisan deal may soon be at hand.

美國議員們對即將達成一項削減政府開支，而避免美國14.3萬億美元國債出現可能違約的兩黨協議表示了審慎的樂觀。有報導說，在星期二提高聯邦借債上限的限期之前，一項框架協議浮出水面，否則美國政府將無錢可花。

Appearing on U.S. television, the Senate’s top Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said he and the White House are “very close” to an agreement that could attract bipartisan congressional support.

參議院少數黨領袖、共和黨參議員麥康奈爾在電視上說，他和白宮非常接近於達成一項可以得到國會兩黨支持的協議。

The news was welcomed by Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois. “I have a much more positive feeling than I did 24 hours ago,” said Durbin. Durbin spoke on the Fox News Sunday television program.

這個消息受到來自伊利諾伊州的民主黨聯邦參議員理查德·德賓的歡迎。他說：“和24小時之前相比，我現在的感覺要積極正面得多。”德賓參議員是在福克斯新聞臺星期天的節目中做出上述表示的。

After months of partisan gridlock, the agreement being hammered out reportedly calls for trillions of dollars in spending cuts in two stages, and includes a legislative enforcement mechanism to ensure the cuts materialize. Those elements would satisfy several long-standing Republican demands.

在經過兩黨數月的僵局之後，這項據報導呼之欲出的協議要求分兩階段削減數萬億美元的開支，其中還包括建立一個立法部門的執行機制，來確保實現開支削減。這些要素將滿足共和黨方面一些長期的要求。

After an initial round of cuts, a bipartisan congressional committee would identify further spending reductions and, it is hoped, prevent a repeat of the legislative gridlock that has consumed Washington for months. The agreement would reportedly assure the U.S. government’s solvency through the end of next year - a key Democratic demand.

在最初一輪的削減之後，國會一個由兩黨組成的委員會將確定進一步的開支削減數額，人們希望這個委員會將會防止再次出現導致華盛頓目前所陷入的數月之久的僵局。據報這項協議將確保美國政府到明年年底之前的償付能力，而這是民主黨方面的一項關鍵要求。

“We are not returning to this before Christmas. We are going to do this in a way so that the economy is not in suspense and doubt about our future,” said Durbin.

德賓參議員又說：“我們在聖誕節前不需要再處理這個問題了。我們要用這種方式來處理這個問題，這樣經濟就不會處於懸而未決的狀態，外界不會對我們的未來感到懷疑憂慮。”Also appearing on Fox News Sunday was Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, who also expressed satisfaction with an end result that forces the U.S. government to rein in spending.

星期天同樣出現在福克斯新聞臺節目中的還有來自亞利桑那州的聯邦參議員約翰·凱爾，他也對達成一項迫使美國政府嚴格控制開支的最終解決方案感到滿意。

“Three months ago, the president [[Barack Obama]] insisted on a ‘clean’ debt ceiling extension [[greater borrowing authority without conditions]]," ,” said Kyl. Clearly, we will have a significant amount of spending reductions in this proposal.”

他說：“三個月前，奧巴馬總統堅持要無條件地提高借債上限。很明顯，現在我們的這個協議將使政府進行大量的開支削減。”

But can this reported agreement, if finalized, or any agreement pass both houses of a politically-divided and polarized Congress? Senator Durbin.

但是這個報導中的協議，一旦最終完成制定，或者任何一項其它協議，能否在充滿政治分歧，兩極分化的國會兩院都獲得通過呢？

“I do not know the answer to that,” said Durbin.

對此德賓參議員說：“我不知道這個問題的答案。”

The House of Representatives may pose the greatest challenge to raising the debt ceiling. Last week, the Republican-controlled House defeated a first-draft debt proposal put forth by Speaker John Boehner. If Republicans are willing to rebel against bills written by their own speaker, a bipartisan accord could prove even more challenging to pass. The House Republican charged with lining up party votes, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, is non-committal.

國會衆議院可能對提高債務上限構成最大的挑戰。上個星期，共和黨控制下的衆議院沒有通過一項由議長貝納推動的債務法案的最初版本，如果共和黨人連擔任議長的本黨人士提出的法案都予以反對，那麼一個兩黨協商後的協議要想獲得通過，可能會更具挑戰性。對於衆議院共和黨人被指以黨派劃線投票的問題，衆議院多數黨黨鞭凱文·麥卡錫不置可否。

“We will first have to look at the details. But [negotiations are] moving in the right direction,” said McCarthy.

他說：“我們得先審視協議的具體內容。但是磋商的確在朝着正確的方向前進。”

Even if an accord is finalized, passed, and signed into law by President Barack Obama, it remains to be seen whether the U.S. government will retain its top-tier credit rating. A downgrade could lead to higher interest rates, pummeling a weak U.S. economy and making debt servicing even more expensive.

即使一項法案完成起草，獲得通過，最終由奧巴馬總統簽署成爲法律，美國政府能否保持最高等級的信用評級信用評級仍然有待觀察。信用評級被下調可能導致更高的利率，從而打擊美國疲軟的經濟，並使得借債成本更加高昂。