2007年VOA标准英语-US Senate Blocks Legislation to Restore Legal R

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
19 September 2007

Legislation that would have given detainees held by the United States the right to challenge their detention¹ in U.S. courts has been blocked in the Senate by lawmakers arguing the measure would undermine the U.S. war on terrorism. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The Senate voted 56-43, four votes short of the 60 necessary, and largely along party lines, to limit debate and move the legislation to a final vote.

The measure would have restored to foreign terrorism suspects the right of habeas corpus, which bars the government from imprisoning² people without a court review.

Congress revoked³ the right for non-U.S. citizens declared by the U.S. government as enemy combatants when it passed the Military Commissions Act last year.

But the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, says that right is guaranteed by the U.S. constitution.

"The Constitutional right of habeas corpus is expressly recognized in the Constitution, with the provision that habeas corpus may be suspended only in time of invasion or insurrection, neither of which situation is present here," said Specter. "That fundamental right has been in existence since the Magna Carta in 1215."

Specter was a key sponsor of the legislation to restore habeas corpus rights to detainees, as was the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

"The truth is that casting aside the time-honored protection of habeas corpus makes us more vulnerable as a nation because it leads us away from our core American values and calls into question our historic role as the defender⁴ of human rights around the world," said Leahy. "It also allows our enemies to accomplish something that they could never achieve on the battlefield: whittling⁵ away the liberties that make us who we are."

But opponents, including the Bush administration, argued the legislation would undermine the war on terrorism. Senator Lindsey Graham is a South Carolina Republican who has served in the U.S. Air Force and as a military lawyer.

"It would be ill-advised for this Congress to confer on American courts the ability to hear a habeas petition from enemy prisoners housed at Guantanamo Bay, where they could go judge shopping and sue our own troops for anything they could think of, including $100 million lawsuit⁶ against the Secretary of Defense," said Graham. "That will lead to chaos⁷ at the jail, and undermine the war effort."

Earlier this year, a U.S. appeals court upheld that enemy combatants were not entitled to the right habeas corpus. The U.S. Supreme⁸ Court is expected to rule on the matter in the coming months.

1 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

2 imprisoning   

v.下狱，监禁( imprison的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr Afwerki may disgust his compatriots by torturing and imprisoning his critics. Afwerki总统拷打和监禁他的反对者已经使的国人生厌。 来自互联网
• Proud and intelligent, it takes great pleasure and imprisoning enemies through psionic exploitation. 它骄傲并狡猾，非常喜欢囚禁敌人并剥夺他们的智力。 来自互联网

3 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

4 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

5 whittling   

v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Inflation has been whittling away their savings. 通货膨胀使他们的积蓄不断减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is whittling down the branch with a knife to make a handle for his hoe. 他在用刀削树枝做一把锄头柄。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 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。