美国国家公共电台 NPR--With some elections undecided, Congress returns for a busy lame-duck session

With some elections undecided, Congress returns for a busy lame-duck session

Transcript¹

Democrats² retained control of the U.S. Senate, but Republicans are one win away from taking over power in the House.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

While votes are still being counted in the midterm elections, Congress is back this week for what is shaping up to be a busy lame-duck session.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

After Democrats clinched³ control of the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pleaded for both parties to work together.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHUCK SCHUMER: Let us proceed in the next two years by putting people first and getting things done, even if we have to compromise. We may not accomplish everything we want, but if we can get real things done, that will measure how good a Congress we can be.

FADEL: In the House, Republicans are one win away from taking the majority and a passing of the gavel from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to a Republican leader.

MART?NEZ: NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales has more. Claudia, so even with the Senate race in Georgia in a runoff, Democrats are moving forward on their agenda. What's next for them?

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE⁴: Right. Last night, they took the next steps to get legislation to codify⁵ marriage equality on the Senate floor next. This is an issue Democrats have wanted to take up since before the midterms. It came up as a top issue after the Supreme⁶ Court overturned Roe⁷ v. Wade⁸ and ushered⁹ in new questions about other protections that could be under threat. Schumer also pleaded for Republicans to work with Democrats. This is - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted¹⁰ this election was another reminder¹¹ that the country remains¹² closely divided. And we could have divided government again once these House elections are settled. This leaves a long to-do list in the coming weeks, especially as legislating¹³ will become a harder task with the House poised¹⁴ to come under Republican control.

MART?NEZ: All right. So speaking of the House, where do things stand there?

GRISALES: Right. As you mentioned, Republicans are just one race away from taking control in the House. So House Democrats are getting ready for a transition here, to relinquish¹⁵ control of the chamber¹⁶ and making plans for playing defense¹⁷ in the House come next year. But Republicans are projected to gain control of this chamber by a small margin¹⁸. And this upends all sorts of plans for Republicans who were expecting a red wave.

MART?NEZ: And they're set to hold their internal leadership elections today. So what does it mean for House Republicans?

GRISALES: Yeah, so Republican leader Kevin McCarthy was the presumptive speaker if the GOP saw a red wave. But without it, there's a much more turbulent road ahead. He tried to downplay those worries with reporters at the Capitol last night.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: It's going to be a tight majority, so everyone's going to have to work together. We'll be successful as a team and we'll get defeated as an individual if we don't all work together.

GRISALES: Yeah. So he's emphasizing there that if they don't work well together, they will be defeated. So McCarthy only needs to get a majority of his conference to vote for him behind closed doors today. But he's going to need a majority on the House floor next year. And it's unclear if he can get that. There are Republican House members considering challenging him here. For example, members of the House Freedom Caucus¹⁹ have made clear they're not ready to co-sign a McCarthy speakership.

MART?NEZ: It's a lame-duck session through the rest of the year. What are we looking at now?

GRISALES: Right. It's going to be busy, perhaps chaotic²⁰, because if Democrats do indeed lose the House next year, as is expected, that means they're going to be on notice to get critical legislation through that may not be possible come next year. So it's quite the sprint²¹ to the end of the year for both chambers²² as they head into this new Congress That includes wrapping up a government funding package this year, a defense bill reforming the Electoral Count Act and also the work of the House Select January 6 Committee.

MART?NEZ: Now, the January 6 Committee is supposed to sunset by the end of the year. What's left for the panel to do, and actually, what becomes of their work come next year?

GRISALES: Right. One major priority is they need to sort through final witness interviews. And former President Trump²³, who was subpoenaed²⁴, is on that list, but he's not expected to cooperate. He could run out the clock with the new lawsuit²⁵ that he filed against the panel. Now, the committee was already set to sunset by December 31. So they've made plans to issue a comprehensive report in this final month that includes a deeper look at their interviews with more than a thousand witnesses and other findings of evidence over the past year. That said, the GOP is slated²⁶ to take that majority next year in the House so they could try and turn the tables on Democrats and investigate the panel's work.

MART?NEZ: That's NPR's Claudia Grisales. Thanks a lot.

GRISALES: Thank you much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 clinched   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然，这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 codify   

v.将法律、法规等编成法典

参考例句：

• The noble,Dracon,was asked to codify the laws.贵族德拉古被选为立法者。
• The new government promised to codify the laws.新政府应允要编纂法典。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

8 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

9 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 legislating   

v.立法，制定法律( legislate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Why are the senators sitting there without legislating? 为什么那些议员们做在那里不立法？ 来自互联网
• From legislating and protecting peasant's interests organizationally. " 从立法和组织上保护农民利益。 来自互联网

14 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

15 relinquish   

v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手

参考例句：

• He was forced to relinquish control of the company.他被迫放弃公司的掌控权。
• They will never voluntarily relinquish their independence.他们绝对不会自动放弃独立。

16 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

18 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

19 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

20 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

21 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

22 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

23 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

24 subpoenaed   

v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court subpoenaed her to appear as a witness. 法庭传唤她出庭作证。
• The finance director is subpoenaed by prosecution. 财务经理被检查机关传讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

26 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。