美国联邦政府再度面临停摆

Congressional leaders are scrambling to strike a deal to keep the US government funded beyond the end of the week as Donald Trump’s demands for money towards a Mexican border wall complicate bipartisan budget talks.

美国国会领导人正忙于争取达成协议，以保持美国政府不会在本周结束之后因资金紧张停摆。唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)对于在美国与墨西哥边境建造隔离墙的资金要求，使两党的预算谈判变得复杂化。

Lawmakers returned to Washington after a recess yesterday facing the risk of a federal government shutdown from Friday — day 99 of Mr Trump’s presidency — that would force hundreds of thousands of government employees to stay at home and halt a host of services.

昨日结束休会、返回华盛顿的国会议员们，面临着联邦政府从本周五（特朗普总统任期的第99天）起停摆的风险，那将迫使数十万政府雇员留在家里，暂停众多服务。

While senior Republicans were anxious to avoid a temporary closure, Mr Trump’s tweeted demands for money towards his planned border wall — a non-starter for Democrats — have injected volatility into the fiscal debate.

尽管资深共和党人急于避免政府停摆，但特朗普通过推文发出的边境隔离墙建设资金要求——这对民主党人是绝对不可接受的——向财政辩论注入了不确定性。

“The Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth,” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter yesterday. “If the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be!”

“隔离墙是阻止毒品流入我们国家、毒害我国年轻人的重要手段，”特朗普昨日在Twitter上写道。“如果不建造这堵墙——它一定会建成——毒品情况就永远不会以应有的方式得到解决！”

To critics, the pattern of policy uncertainty generated by White House brinkmanship is familiar; last week Mr Trump suddenly announced he would unveil tax proposals tomorrow, even though his team has not settled on detailed plans. The president has also wavered on whether to seek healthcare legislation before tax reform.

在批评者看来，白宫玩的这种悬崖游戏所带来的政策不确定性模式让人眼熟；上周特朗普突然宣布明日公布税收改革提议，尽管他的团队尚未敲定详细计划。总统还曾在要不要把医保立法置于税制改革之前的问题上动摇。

Stan Collender, a federal budget expert and former congressional staffer, said: “It’s the biggest failure of the first 100 days: that the Trump White House has been completely unable to establish a working relationship with Congress.”

曾担任国会工作人员的联邦预算专家斯坦?科伦德(Stan Collender)表示：“这是（特朗普任期）最初100天最大的失败；特朗普白宫完全无法与国会建立工作关系。”

One Republican Senate aide said there was a good chance of Congress agreeing to a one-week extension of funding to give talks more time. While an explicit package for the wall with Mexico is unlikely, there could be room for a broader measure in support of border security, the aide said. “There may be a way for everyone to save face.”

一位共和党参议院助理表示，国会很有可能同意延长一周的政府运作经费，让各方有更多时间商谈。这名助理表示，尽管不太可能就美墨边境隔离墙达成明确方案，但可能存在支持边境安全的整体措施的空间。“可能有办法让大家都保住脸面。”

Republicans are unlikely to push talks to an outright shutdown given the anger it would trigger in the electorate. But to avoid one they need to settle a number of outstanding issues. The White House has made a priority of two demands where Democrats have drawn red lines: the border wall funding and latitude to deny federal grants to so-called sanctuary cities, which seek to shield unauthorised immigrants from deportation. It also wants a defence spending boost.

鉴于政府停摆将触发选民怒火，共和党方面不太可能在谈判中强硬到真的导致停摆的地步。但为了避免政府停摆，他们需要解决几个未决的问题。白宫把民主党人画出红线的两项要求列为重点：边境隔离墙建设资金，以及向所谓的庇护城市（寻求保护无证移民、使其不被遣返的城市）拒发联邦拨款的自由度。白宫还希望大幅增加国防支出。