美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ahead of next year's divided Congress, Democrats have much work to do

Ahead of next year's divided Congress, Democrats¹ have much work to do

Transcript²

Republicans will take control of the House in January but the Senate will remain under Democratic control. Until then, Democrats have a lot to do in the lame³ duck session.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The U.S. Senate is set to remain under Democratic control and Republicans will take control of the House in January. But until then, Democrats still run Congress, and lawmakers have a lot to get done. NPR's Barbara Sprunt is here to walk us through the next few weeks. All right, Barbara, so we have a divided Congress coming up. What is at the top of the list for Democrats this next month?

BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE⁴: Top of the list is legislation to codify⁵ protections for same-sex and interracial marriage. This is Democrats' response to the Supreme⁶ Court decision that we saw earlier this summer, Dobbs, on abortion⁷. And Democrats want to enshrine other personal rights. The Senate is likely to take this up this week. Twelve Republican senators have already supported this on an earlier procedural hurdles⁸. Another piece of legislation on the docket is the Electoral Count Act. This one is in response to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol last year. Its goal is to clarify existing election law and get rid of any ambiguity⁹ around the role of the vice¹⁰ president, make it clear that the vice president's role is strictly¹¹ ceremonial. And it would also make it harder to object to state counts. This, too, has bipartisan support in the Senate, and it's a priority for Democrats to get done, send it over to President Biden before this whole power shake-up in January.

MART?NEZ: Now, because this is our U.S. Congress and it's the end of the year, there always seems to be a government funding bill to resolve. So any whispers or any loud talk of a shutdown on Capitol Hill?

SPRUNT: No whispers, and I can't make any promises. You know, we would never know for sure until it's all said and done. But there's no talk of a shutdown threat from lawmakers at this point. And it doesn't seem like something that the Republicans would necessarily want to have kind of hanging over their heads just before they take control of the House in January. Current funding is set to run out December 16, so it's possible Congress might need to punt a little bit to resolve some issues. But the expectation is that they'll be able to find agreement.

MART?NEZ: All right. What are the sticking points, though, this time?

SPRUNT: The biggest sticking point is on funding for Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion. President Biden has asked Congress for about $38 billion to aid Ukraine further. But there's growing resistance among Republicans on this type of continued funding for Ukraine without more oversight¹². Kevin McCarthy, the likely incoming House speaker, has pushed back on the size of this kind of funding. Various members of his conference are increasingly against providing the Biden administration with money, and McCarthy needs their votes to win the speakership in January. So needless to say, it just makes for some tricky¹³ politics, and it could complicate¹⁴ getting a quick deal.

MART?NEZ: Now, that January 6 committee that's investigating the attack on the Capitol - that's also going to dissolve at the end of the year. The committee is supposed to issue a final report. Is that still happening?

SPRUNT: Yes. The committee is also still talking to witnesses and gathering¹⁵ information as they've done for months. The report is set to come out before the end of the year, which means lots of reading for us. And it's expected to focus, much like the public hearings did, on connecting former President Trump¹⁶ to the violence on Capitol Hill that day. The report is expected to include recommendations like passing the Electoral Count Act, which we just discussed. And the reality is that come January, with Republicans in the majority, House oversight is going to shift away from Trump and towards the Biden administration. So it's a different ballgame.

MART?NEZ: All right. So when you're done reading, we'll bring you back so you can do some more reporting. That's NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Barbara, thanks.

SPRUNT: Sounds good. Thank you.

1 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》

2 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。

3 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

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 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

8 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

9 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

12 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

13 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

14 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

15 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

16 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。