美国国家公共电台 NPR--Congress is trying to wrap up its work for the rest of the year

Congress is trying to wrap up its work for the rest of the year

Transcript¹

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill aim to approve a massive $1.7 trillion government funding measure that includes aid for Ukraine. And the House Jan. 6 committee is expected to issue its final report soon.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Congress is trying to wrap up its work for the remainder of the year on the heels of a historic joint² address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: Your money is not charity. It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Members are now hoping to approve a massive government funding measure this week that includes billions for Ukraine, as well as defense³ spending and discretionary programs. But that isn't all that's on Congress' plate.

MART?NEZ: No, a House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is set to release its full report Thursday. Here to walk us through lawmakers' busy week is NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. All right, so let's start with the spending bill, up against a Friday deadline that comes with the threat of a government shutdown if it's not passed in time. Is it on track to pass?

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE⁴: It could, but it could be tight. The Senate started the process to move this legislation earlier this week, but it hit some snags along the way, and it got snagged once again last night. It's a $1.7 trillion bill that's more than 4,000 pages long. And it also still needs to get through the House. A few hours ago, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said they were close to moving this through his chambers⁵ early as today. Overall, it directs $850 billion to defense spending and $773 billion to discretionary programs. It funds the military, government agencies, includes pay raises for service members and government workers, and it directs $40 billion in emergency aid to areas struck by public disasters and more than 44 billion in aid for Ukraine. But even if this bill has been stuck a few times, it is the holiday season, and it's those deadlines that often get Congress moving.

MART?NEZ: All right. That was a lot, but what else is at stake here?

GRISALES: Well, it covers some critical initiatives, including reforms to the Electoral Count Act. This would safeguard presidential elections. It's a bipartisan plan that would strengthen this law by making it clear the vice⁶ president can only play a ceremonial role in the counting of votes. And it significantly raises the threshold for members to raise objections to those votes. And this is one of those major bipartisan legislative⁷ recommendations to come out of the January 6 attack.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, the committee is expected to release its final report. What could we see there?

GRISALES: This is expected to establish a historical record of the panel's investigation⁸ into the Capitol attack, and it comes a few days after their final public presentation. It will include evidence to back a criminal referrals panel is issuing against former President Trump⁹ for four crimes. This is insurrection, obstruction¹⁰ of an official proceeding¹¹, conspiracy¹² to defraud¹³ the United States and conspiracy to make false statements. Now, criminal referrals do not have legal weight. They don't force the Justice Department to act. But the panel's evidence is what could persuade DOJ special counsel that's overseeing their criminal probe on this to act.

MART?NEZ: Now, last night, the committee released its first tranche of witness transcripts¹⁴. What can you tell us about those?

GRISALES: Yes, 34 transcripts to start. These are tied to the more than 1,000 witnesses the committee interviewed. This tranche of documents included key figures who took the fifth, including Trump allies such as Roger Stone. Maryland Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin said this is a big reason the panel was stymied¹⁵ from pursuing more referrals or recommendations because of significant witnesses who declined to cooperate. That all said, the panel will release a lot more of these transcripts that will include more substantial interviews in the coming days.

MART?NEZ: NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales. Thanks a lot.

GRISALES: Thank you much.

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 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 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。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 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。

10 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

11 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

12 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

13 defraud   

vt.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• He passed himself off as the managing director to defraud the bank.他假冒总经理的名义诈骗银行。
• He is implicated in the scheme to defraud the government.他卷入了这起欺骗政府的阴谋。

14 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

15 stymied   

n.被侵袭的v.妨碍，阻挠( stymie的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Relief efforts have been stymied in recent weeks by armed gunmen. 最近几周的救援工作一直受到武装分子的阻挠。 来自辞典例句
• I was completely stymied by her refusal to help. 由于她拒不相助， 我完全陷入了困境。 来自互联网