Welcome to the Voice of America's "News Words," where we teach you about words in the news.
Listen for the word that means"not working." Here is U.S.House of Representatives.Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi:
We thank our federal workers for what they have doen.I'm sad about the fact that they had to be furloughed and have this
uncertainty in their lives,on top of all the other uncertainty in our economy.
A furlough is a temporary leave from work.More than 800,000 U.S.federal workers were furloughed in 2013.
Congress could not agree on a budget,so workers were told to stay home.Much of the government was closed.
Now,when you hear the word "furlough,"your English will be good enough to know what this News Word means.