2006年VOA标准英语-Scope of US Presidential Power Again an Is

By Gary Thomas
Washington
10 January 2006
 

Samuel Alito  
  
One key issue dominating the hearings on the nomination¹ of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme² Court is the scope of presidential power.  The issue has been around since the founding of the United States.  The terrorist threat has caused it to be raised again.

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The scope of presidential power has proved to be one of the most vexing³ issues running through American history. 

Presidential scholars say the issue becomes especially acute in times of war or crisis. 

The wording of the U.S. Constitution simply grants the president unspecified "executive powers" and makes him commander in chief of military forces.  The powers of Congress are spelled out in more detail than those of the president.  As a result, Congress and the president have often clashed over just how much power a president can exercise.

Since September 11th, 2001, President Bush has compared the war on terror to the more traditional forms of nation-to-nation warfare⁴.  He has said this gives him wartime powers and the latitude⁵ to order the detention⁶ of terrorism suspects indefinitely and to conduct electronic surveillance, without court warrants, on U.S. citizens suspected of links to terrorism.

President Bush has said that the constitution, as well as the Congressional authorization⁷ to use force against terrorism, grants him the inherent power for actions like the warrantless surveillance.

"Do I have the legal authority to do this? And the answer is, absolutely," said Mr. Bush.  "As I mentioned in my remarks, the legal authority is derived⁸ from the Constitution, as well as the authorization of force by the United States Congress."

But a new memorandum⁹ issued Thursday by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service disagrees, saying the administration's legal justification¹¹ for the warrantless surveillance is not so clear-cut as the administration claims. 

This sort of dispute is why the Alito Supreme Court nomination hearing has focused so intently on presidential powers.  Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont made his concern about the issue clear on the opening day.

"At a time when this administration seems intent on accumulating unchecked power, Judge Alito's views on executive power are especially important," said Mr. Leahy.  "It's important to know if he would serve with judicial¹² independence or as a surrogate for the President nominating him."

Andrew Rudalevige, a professor of political science at Dickenson College and presidential scholar, says the current claims of executive power are rooted in Vice¹⁰ President Dick Cheney's experience in earlier presidential administrations, when Congress moved to limit the chief executive's prerogatives¹³.

"Well, certainly after 9/11 you have a very aggressive claim to unilateral and exclusive executive power by the president," he said.  "Actually, the vice president perhaps has been the most vocal¹⁴ about this.  He was a staffer in the Nixon and Ford¹⁵ administrations when Congress really was surging ahead and seems to hold a 30-year grudge¹⁶ against the legislative¹⁷ body."

The Vietnam war, the Watergate scandal, and revelations of domestic spying on American citizens caused Congress in the 1970s to pass laws limiting executive authority.  Among them was the War Powers Act, which sought to curb¹⁸ the president's authority to wage war without congressional approval.

David Adler, a presidential scholar at Idaho State University, says those attempts to limit presidential powers had little practical effect.

"Well, there were efforts by Congress in the aftermath of the Vietnam war to reassert its power," he noted¹⁹.  "Unfortunately, those legislative efforts amounted to little more than toy handcuffs because in the example of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Congress did not in fact reclaim²⁰ its control over war power, which in fact the constitution vests in Congress, but Congress ended up giving the president more authority than the president enjoys under the constitution."

Professor Rudalevige says presidents have worked around congressional limitations through administrative²¹ tools such as executive orders and regulations in the vast government bureaucracy.  Scholars say President Reagan was able to recover much of the lost presidential power.

Benjamin Kleinerman, a presidential scholar at Virginia Military Institute, says that in recent years Congress has been reluctant to reassert itself and looks to courts, especially the Supreme Court, for help.

"It's decided²² best when it's, in a way, decided politically, with congress asserting its powers over and against the president, and the president reasserting his powers over and against Congress," he explained.  "And these questions have tended to work themselves out politically.  Congress now tends to look to the Supreme Court to check the president rather than doing it themselves.  In other words, they're hoping that the court will curb the president's power."

In writings early in his career, Judge Alito took a permissive view of presidential powers in intelligence and security matters.  But under questioning, he said no president or court is above the law.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 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。

3 vexing   

adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题，而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句

4 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

5 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

6 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。

7 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

8 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

10 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。

11 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

12 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

13 prerogatives   

n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 )；特权；大主教法庭；总督委任组成的法庭

参考例句：

• The tsar protected his personal prerogatives. 沙皇维护了自己的私人特权。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Congressmen may be reluctant to vote for legislation that infringes the traditional prerogatives of the states. 美国国会议员可能不情愿投票拥护侵犯各州传统特权的立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

15 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

16 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

17 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。

18 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

19 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

20 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

21 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

22 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。