美国国家公共电台 NPR--Susan Rice, leaving the administration, talks of what's possible in a divided nation

Susan Rice, leaving the administration, talks of what's possible in a divided nation

Transcript¹

Susan Rice is stepping down from her post as President Biden's chief domestic policy adviser². It's the latest of her several turns in government.

During the Obama administration, Rice held high-profile foreign policy positions, including national security adviser. In a memoir³, she wrote about President Barack Obama's choice not to bomb Syria in 2013: "There were only bad options and worse ones."

Rice tells NPR that something similar has been true about domestic issues during the first 2 1/2 years of the Biden administration: On divisive subjects, the best hope has often been to take the least bad option. Yet she didn't sound like she felt it had been her hardest job: "While there are many intractable domestic issues, I dare say there may be more internationally," she said.

Rice's staff assembled a list of accomplishments⁴ in which she played some role. The list touches much of the agenda of the administration as a whole. It's a checklist of specific policy changes that could affect many lives, though they have rarely dominated news headlines — items like "starting the process for a minimum nursing home staffing standard," expanding "postpartum Medicaid coverage⁵ in more than 30 states" and launching "the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline."

Gun control and immigration pose the toughest challenges

Some issues did dominate the headlines, and in an exit interview we discussed her thinking about two especially difficult ones: gun control and immigration.

One year ago this week, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a school in Uvalde, Texas. The shock was great enough that Congress passed the first bipartisan gun legislation in decades — but it was extremely modest, including measures such as offering incentives⁶ to states to enact⁷ red flag laws. Biden took equally modest steps by executive order; more dramatic measures such as a renewed assault-weapons ban appear politically out of reach.

"The president has taken as much executive action as is possible, really, with the authorities that the president has," Rice argued. The rest was out of the administration's hands. "Clearly, we wanted Congress to do more," she said. Republicans have insisted that the Second Amendment⁸ to the Constitution bars most gun regulation, and they have also resisted measures seen as constitutional.

"I'm an optimist," Rice said, but argued that "Congress at the moment is not adequately reflecting the will of the people."

Federal immigration policy is, if anything, more divisive, and the division cuts across party lines. The right-wing media ecosystem⁹ plays up the dangers of migrants and asylum¹⁰-seekers, but big-city Democratic mayors from El Paso, Texas, to New York have also said their cities have too many to handle. The past two Democratic presidents — Obama and Biden — have been painted by Republicans as too welcoming to new arrivals, while they've also faced attacks from progressives who have called them too cruel.

"We are a nation of immigrants," Rice said, "yet we also are a nation of laws," needing to "enforce our laws and secure our borders, even as we at the same time enable those who need the refuge or asylum to be able to make their claims."

Early in the administration, the U.S. made a greater effort to take in unaccompanied minors¹¹ who were crossing the border, uniting them with families or sponsors in the United States. It soon became apparent that some of these minors were being used as child laborers¹² by their sponsors. Rice insisted that the administration was "very concerned" and has improved its systems for monitoring children.

What's left after Title 42

This month, the administration finally faced the expiration¹³ of Title 42, the pandemic-era legal authority first used by the Trump¹⁴ administration to make it easier to expel asylum-seekers and others. To the dismay of immigrant advocates, the administration had long resisted lifting the restriction¹⁵, which was largely seen as an excuse for deportation¹⁶. It has now been replaced by a mix of policies that make it easier for some people to apply for asylum legally, while also making it easier to expel others who cross the border illegally.

"We are opening up lawful¹⁷ pathways for people who qualify to come to the United States through programs that Republican governors and Republican attorney generals and those in Congress are trying to overturn," Rice said. At the same time, she asserted, "the number of people who have sought to cross between our ports of entry without authorization¹⁸ has fallen by over 75% since Title 42 was lifted."

Rice acknowledged that this apparent success may not last. But it counts among the instances during her contentious¹⁹ tenure²⁰ in which, she suggests, the least bad option was good enough.

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 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

4 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

8 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

9 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

10 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

11 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

13 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

14 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。

15 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

16 deportation   

n.驱逐，放逐

参考例句：

• The government issued a deportation order against the four men.政府发出了对那4名男子的驱逐令。
• Years ago convicted criminals in England could face deportation to Australia.很多年以前，英国已定罪的犯人可能被驱逐到澳大利亚。

17 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

18 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

19 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

20 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。