美国国家公共电台 NPR 美国政府问责局审查1.2万亿救助资金 特朗普也无可奈何

The CARES Act is the $2 trillion coronavirus response legislation that Congress approved late last month. It calls for a government watchdog — the Government Accountability Office, or GAO — to monitor the spending and the overall federal response to the pandemic. And while President Trump¹ has pushed back on other oversight², it'll be difficult for him to block the GAO's work. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

《关怀法案》是美国国会上个月末批准的2万亿美元冠状病毒应对法案。该法案要求政府监管机构美国政府问责办公室（简称GAO）监督支出和联邦对疫情做出的整体反应。虽然特朗普总统抵制了其他监管，但他很难阻止政府问责办公室的工作。NPR新闻的布莱恩·纳勒将带来详细报道。

BRIAN NAYLOR, BYLINE³: The GAO is a nonpartisan agency that's part of Congress. A video on its website explains its purpose pretty succinctly⁴.

布莱恩·内勒连线：政府问责办公室是隶属于国会的无党派机构。其官网上的一段视频相当简洁地解释了其目的。

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

（录音档案）

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: We track government funds to see how much programs are costing, if the programs have met their goals and whether federal money has been spent wisely.

身份不明的人：我们追踪政府资金，查看项目成本，判断项目是否达到目标以及联邦资金是否得到合理使用。

NICOLE CLOWERS: We've been given a very broad oversight role under the CARES Act.

妮可·克劳沃斯：根据《关怀法案》，我们被赋予了非常广泛的监督职责。

NAYLOR: That's Nicole Clowers. She's the managing director of the GAO's health care team.

内勒：这是妮可·克劳沃斯所说。她是政府问责办公室医疗团队的总经理。

CLOWERS: We're required to provide ongoing⁵ monitoring and oversight of the nation's preparedness for, response to and recovery from the pandemic as well as examining the impact of the pandemic on the economy, public health as well as Homeland Security.

克劳沃斯：我们要持续监测和监管国家对这场流行病的准备、应对和恢复，并检查该流行病对经济、公共卫生以及国土安全造成的影响。

NAYLOR: Clowers says the GAO was also tracking how that $2 trillion is being spent, and she says the agency has already gotten to work.

内勒：克劳沃斯表示，政府问责办公室也在追踪2万亿美元是如何花费的，她说，该机构已经开始工作了。

CLOWERS: Some of the more immediate⁶ things that we're starting would include looking at the testing for the virus, the availability of the personal protective equipment as well as infection control at nursing homes.

克劳沃斯：我们现在的一些紧要任务包括，检查病毒检测、个人防护装备的可用性以及养老院的感染控制。

NAYLOR: It's a broad mandate⁷, but Clowers says the agency has experience. It oversaw⁸ spending on the TARP Act and the economic stimulus⁹ bill in 2008, relief measures Congress approved in the Great Recession. The CARES Act contained $20 million for the GAO to hire additional staff. Rena Steinzor is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. She says the GAO is up to the task.

内勒：这是一项广泛的授权，但克劳沃斯表示，该机构有经验。这一机构曾监管2008年通过的问题资产救助计划和经济刺激法案的支出，这些是国会在大衰退时期批准的纾困措施。《关怀法案》为政府问责办公室提供了2000万美元，供其雇佣更多员工。蕾娜·斯坦佐是马里兰大学法学院的教授。她表示，政府问责办公室能胜任这项任务。

RENA STEINZOR: They're used to doing complicated audits¹⁰, and they're used to writing reports that are objective. Now, the downside of all of that is they are the group that dares to be boring. But arguably, you need that.

蕾娜·斯坦佐：他们习惯于进行复杂的审计工作和撰写客观报告。现在，所有这些的缺点是，他们是敢于令人厌烦的组织。但可以说，你需要它。

NAYLOR: Congress initially¹¹ tried to find other avenues for oversight of the CARES Act by establishing a panel of inspectors¹² general to oversee¹³ the money and a special IG to watch over the money distributed to corporations. But President Trump removed the officials said to lead that panel. Steinzor, though, says the GAO is beyond the president's reach.

内勒：国会最初试图寻找其他途径来监管《关怀法案》，比如建立检察长小组监管资金，并任命一名特别检察长来监管分配给企业的资金。但是特朗普总统解雇了据称领导该小组的官员。不过，斯坦佐表示，政府问责办公室是总统力所不能及的机构。

STEINZOR: He can't fire them. He can stonewall them. This administration is historical in terms of the amount of stonewalling that it just does. But they will find a way to talk to people, and they will just keep their head down and keep on walking toward the goal.

斯坦佐：他不能解雇他们。他可以拖延。从拖延程度上来讲，这届政府创造了历史。但他们将找到与人们对话的方法，他们将继续低下头，继续朝着目标前进。

NAYLOR: Clowers says the GAO has long worked with Republicans and Democrats¹⁴, and she's confident the agency will be able to do so as it looks into the government response to the pandemic.

内勒：克劳沃斯表示，政府问责办公室长期以来一直与共和党和民主党合作，她相信，该机构在调查政府的疫情应对情况时，也能做到这一点。

CLOWERS: We have longstanding relationships — independent but longstanding relationships with agencies, and I believe that that will help us maintain good relations — you know, good working relationships moving forward.

克劳沃斯：我们与各机构保持着独立但又长期的关系，我相信这将有助于我们维持良好的关系，推动良好的工作关系。

NAYLOR: The GAO is to report its findings every 60 days. Its first report is due at the end of June.

内勒：政府问责办公室每60天报告一次调查结果。其首份报告将于6月底出炉。

Brian Naylor, NPR News.

NPR新闻，布莱恩·内勒报道。

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 succinctly   

adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地

参考例句：

• He writes simply and succinctly, rarely adding too much adornment. 他的写作风格朴实简练，很少添加饰词。 来自互联网
• No matter what question you are asked, answer it honestly and succinctly. 总之，不管你在面试中被问到什么问题，回答都要诚实而简明。 来自互联网

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

8 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

9 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

10 audits   

n.审计，查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计，查账( audit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
• Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观，稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网

11 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

12 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

14 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》