VOA常速英语2007-US Presidential Candidates Collectively Raise Re

By Jeffrey Young
Washington
17 October 2007
 

The total amount of money raised by the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates may, by the time Election Day 2008 comes about, approach or even break $1 billion. For just the first nine months of 2007, presidential candidates in the two major parties have already collected a total of $415 million. In this segment of How America Elects, VOA's Jeffrey Young looks at campaign financing and the controversies² surrounding it.

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. is the most expensive residential¹ address in the United States.  To win four years of occupancy at the White House, both major political parties, the Democratic and the Republican, are more than willing to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in the fight for the presidency³.

And in each new presidential race, the sums rocket even higher. Total contributions to both Democratic and Republican Party presidential candidates went from $135 million in 1992 to $671 million in 2004.

Analyst⁴ Brian Darling at the conservative research organization The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. explains why the two major parties need to raise huge sums to compete with each other. "The advertisements that cost millions of dollars to run, be it radio or TV, the traveling expenses throughout the country - - it's going to cost a lot of money for these candidates to travel on a daily basis, and also the massive campaign organizations that these candidates need to put together,” he said.

At the start of the 1970s, Congress enacted⁵ laws that led to the creation of the Federal Election Commission.  FEC Spokesman Bob Biersack outlines its oversight⁶ role. He says, "If you want to run for President of the United States, you are required to comply with a series of laws including restrictions⁸ on how money is raised, and how it is spent and used in those campaigns."

Current federal regulations limit presidential candidate contributions from individuals to $2,300, with organizations limited to $5,000.

The Federal Election Commission requires that candidates file quarterly reports listing both contributions and expenses. These records are open to the public, including on the Internet.

Laura MacCleery is with an independent advocacy group called Public Citizen in Washington, D.C.  She recounts how the public pressed Congress in the 1970s for an alternative to traditional presidential campaign fundraising. "So, one of the things that happened was that they [Congress] established the presidential public funding system for campaigns."

But in the 2000 and 2004 presidential races, the Democratic and Republican Parties chose not to accept public funding, allowing them to spend without restriction⁷. The same is expected to happen in the 2008 White House contest.

But some Americans, including Laura MacCleery at Public Citizen, want presidential campaign donations done away with entirely⁹. MacCleery says, "The ultimate solution, of course, is public funding of elections, and that is what we are pushing for next."

Others say that giving money to political candidates is part of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment¹⁰ right of free speech, and cannot be eliminated.  And as November 2008 gets closer, the campaign contribution cash piles will continue to grow.

1 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

2 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 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。

7 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。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 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。