PBS高端访谈:美国共和党急于敲定税收改革法案

Judy Woodruff: On Capitol Hill, House and Senate Republicans are rushing to finish their overhaul¹ of the tax code, with the goal of holding a final vote next week. As our William Brangham reports, details of the compromise are still emerging, as are some potential roadblocks.

William Brangham: Congressional Republicans raced to keep their promise of sending a final tax overhaul bill to the White House by Christmas. House Speaker Paul Ryan...

Rep. Paul Ryan: This tax cut will means less of a paycheck going to Washington and more for the hardworking person who earned it.

William Brangham: Yesterday, GOP lawmakers announced they reached a compromise in principle to bridge the House and Senate bills. That clears the way for final votes on legislation that would cut taxes by $1.5 trillion over a decade.

President Donald Trump²: It will be the largest tax cut in the history of our country.

William Brangham: Today, President Trump again championed the bill, which could be his first, major legislative³ victory.

President Donald Trump: I think we will get there. It will be in a very short period of time. It will be the greatest Christmas present that a lot of people have ever received.

William Brangham: Late changes to the bill include a corporate⁴ tax rate of 21 percent starting in 2018. That's a major reduction from the current rate of 35 percent. And for the richest Americans, a lowered top individual tax rate of 37 percent — that's down from the current rate of 39.6 percent. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi lambasted the changes, charging that they tip the scale even more towards the wealthy.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi: It's daylight robbery and at every iteration, the GOP tax scam becomes even more cowardly, outrageous⁵, dishonest, brazen⁶ theft from middle class families.

William Brangham: The bill also reduces popular tax breaks like the ability to deduct⁷ state and local taxes. That deduction⁸ will be capped at $10,000, which can be split between property, income or sales tax. In a break from the House proposal, the revised bill would still let taxpayers⁹ claim a deduction for medical expenses, and expand it for two years. Other reported changes, the revised bill will repeal¹⁰ the Obamacare individual mandate¹¹, double the estate tax exemption¹² and scale back the deductibility of mortgage interest allowed on loans up to $750,000. Still, there are some issues looming¹³ for Republicans. For one thing, the health of Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. He's been diagnosed with brain cancer and is currently in the hospital. And There Are Some Holdouts: Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee already voted against a Senate version because of the bill's impact on the federal deficit¹⁴. And Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is threatening to vote against a bill unless it raises the child tax credit.

Sen. Marco Rubio: We'll see how it plays out. I want to support tax reform, it's important for the country, but I think this needs to be part of it.

William Brangham: The White House has vowed¹⁵ to work with him. Republicans can only afford to lose only two Senate votes. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm William Brangham.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

6 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

7 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

8 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

9 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

10 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

11 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。

12 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

13 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

14 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

15 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。