This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
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.
本周奥巴马总统签署了一项提高美国债务限额的法案，然而这并没能扭转美国股市跌势。由于对美国和全球经济担忧的加剧，美国股市价格大幅下跌。
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.
这份美国《2011年预算控制法案》允许政府在2013年前寻求融资偿付债务。国会同意将债务上限提高2万多亿美元，但同时要求政府削减开支。
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：“这一妥协协议保证了削减2万多亿美元赤字，这是确保美国能够实现“量入为出”迈出的重要的第一步。同时这一协议还使美国能够保持在教育和科研上的关键投资以创造新的就业岗位，并确保美国在经济仍然脆弱时不会急剧地削减开支。
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.
理查德·戈登（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."
戈登：“如果美国联邦政府不向经济中注入资金，美国经济将停滞。这将导致另一次衰退，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.
上周三，中国大公信用评级机构降低了美国债务信用等级。该机构表示，预算协议并没有改善美国偿付债务的能力。尽管如此，美国国债并不缺买家，其借贷成本甚至有所下降。
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？这时一项被称为“触发机制”的强制协议将开始生效。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.
预算协议不包括加税，但这一争议并未消失。俄亥俄州克利夫兰的凯斯西大学法学教授理查德·戈登表示，这一协议遗留了一个大问题。
RICHARD GORDON: "What is going to be the economic policy of the federal government in the next two years?"
戈登：“联邦政府两年后的经济政策又将走向何方？”