2007年VOA标准英语-US Congress, Poised for Month-Long Break, Looks

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
04 August 2007

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are completing legislative¹ work before beginning their month-long recess².  As their session drew to a close, Republicans and Democrats⁴ blamed each other for not accomplishing more than they did, and looked forward to next month, when Iraq and budget battles are expected to dominate.   VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

When Democrats took control of Congress following last November's elections, they vowed⁵ to bring change to Capitol Hill.

Seeking to distance themselves from what they called the do-nothing Republican-led Congress in the last session, Democrats promised to implement⁶ an ambitious agenda.

The Congress did pass a bill to implement the rest of the 9/11 Commission recommendations aimed at preventing the kind of terrorist attack that occurred on September 11, 2001, a measure President Bush signed into law Friday.

Congress also passed a sweeping⁷ lobby reform bill that bars lawmakers from accepting gifts from lobbyists and requires them to provide details about campaign donations raised by lobbyists.

Harry8 Reid, (r), talks to reporters following vote on an amendment to Defense Authorization Bill on Capitol Hill, 18 July 2007 " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070810/1030140.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (file photo)

It is a measure praised by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat³:

"We indicated that because of the culture of corruption⁹ that had infected Washington that we were going to change that, and change it, we did," he said.  "The bill that is now on its way to the president is the most sweeping lobbying and ethics¹⁰ reform in the history of our country."

But on budget matters, the House and Senate have yet to act on most of the 13 spending bills that must be passed by September 30 to fund the government.

Republicans are now using the "do nothing" label on the Democratic-led Congress.  They note public opinion polls that show a majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the Democratic-led House and Senate.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is the Senate's top Republican:

"They have managed to achieve an astonishing thing, which is to have the lowest approval ratings anyone can find for Congress in history, and have done it in a record short period of time for about seven months," he said.

McConnell criticized Democrats for wanting to spend more than President Bush had requested in his budget, and predicted that Mr. Bush would be more than willing to use his veto on spending bills if the Democratic majority does not comply with his request.

"The president will not sign bills in excess of his cumulative¹¹ number, and we can either bring in the bills at an appropriate budget amount, or we will have a series of vetoes here," he added.

Democrats argue they have fiscally¹² responsible budget rules in place, and they note that the Republican majority in the last Congress failed to pass a number of spending bills.

Republicans accuse Democrats of being more interested in conducting what they say are overreaching investigations¹³ into the Bush administration than on producing legislation.

Democrats defend their probes into the administration's controversial wiretap program and its decision to fire federal prosecutors¹⁴, saying they are conducting their oversight¹⁵ responsibilities, which the last Republican majority failed to do.

Democrats blame Republicans for obstructionism and wanting to derail legislation.  Their hopes for a major overhaul¹⁶ of the nation's immigration system were dashed when Republicans blocked the bill, despite President Bush's support of the measure.

Senate Democrats were frustrated¹⁷ when Republicans blocked proposed timelines for troop withdrawals¹⁸ from Iraq, even though a narrow majority in the chamber¹⁹ backed the idea.

Majority Leader Reid vowed to bring up the issue again next month.  He pounded the podium for emphasis.

"We are going to continue our push to change course in the war in Iraq," added Mr. Reid.

Noting opinion polls showing a majority of Americans oppose the Iraq war, Reid hopes more Republicans will back a timetable for redeployment from Iraq after they have had a chance to meet with constituents²⁰ in their home districts over the course of the next several weeks.

The debate on Iraq next month is expected to occur about the same time the top U.S. commander in that country, General David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, are to brief Congress about the progress of the current troop surge strategy.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 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》

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

7 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

8 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

11 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

12 fiscally   

在国库方面，财政上，在国库岁入方面

参考例句：

• Nor will fiscally stretched governments pump more money into the political equivalent of a leper colony. 财政吃紧的政府也不愿将更多的钱投入这个避之唯恐不及的政治瘟疫区。
• We are more fiscally constrained, which forces us to work smarter and more efficiently. 与F-15相比我们资金上的限制更大了，美女类小游戏，这迫使我们更为精心和有效地工作。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

15 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。

16 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

17 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

19 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。

20 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》