ECONOMICS REPORT - Bush Signs Major Energy and Transportatio

ECONOMICS REPORT - Bush Signs Major Energy and Transportation Bills
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, August 12, 2005

I'm Bob Doughty¹ with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

 
 

President Bush has signed into law the first energy policy act in more than ten years. He says problems like the high cost of fuel and the rising dependence² on foreign oil will take years to solve. But he says the new law is a major step.

It offers tax savings³ to energy companies including those that develop sun and wind power, and also nuclear power. Tax breaks total fourteen and one-half thousand million dollars.

The new law requires federal buildings to cut energy use by twenty percent within ten years. And there are tax credits for buyers of solar-power systems and hybrid⁴ vehicles. These cars use electric power to save fuel.

The law does not set new requirements for carmakers to build vehicles that use less fuel. But it does require more ethanol production. Ethanol is fuel made with grain.

The Energy Policy Act of two thousand five simplifies rules for the oil and gas industries to build new processing centers. It expands the Strategic Oil Reserve. And it permits greater use of federal land for energy exploration.

The new law provides money for research on cleaner-burning coal and on hydrogen fuel. Also, it establishes a partnership⁶ with India, China, Australia, Japan and South Korea to develop clean energy.

But critics point out that the law does not place limits on some forms of pollution like carbon dioxide.

The administration worked for an energy bill in Congress since two thousand one. Some early proposals were not included in the final bill. For example, Congress did not permit oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Lawmakers also denied legal protection to fuel makers⁵ from claims over the chemical M.T.B.E. It is widely added to gasoline to reduce pollution. But it has also leaked into drinking water supplies. Its use will be banned in ten years.

Americans will see one effect of the new energy policy in two thousand seven: more daylight in the spring and fall. The government will add a month to Daylight Saving Time. Timing⁷ devices programmed with the current dates will have to be reset⁸.

President Bush signed the energy bill on Monday in New Mexico. On Wednesday, in Illinois, he signed a transportation bill that was popular in Congress. It provides two hundred eighty-six thousand million dollars over six years for roads, bridges and other projects.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter.  I'm Bob Doughty.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

3 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

4 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。