2007年VOA标准英语-US Lawmakers Welcome President Bush's Statement

By Dan Robinson
Washington
19 April 2007

U. S. lawmakers are reacting to President Bush's strong statement that the U.S. will tighten¹ financial sanctions against Sudan if Khartoum does not cooperate fully² regarding the situation in Darfur. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the question of how effective sanctions can be in forcing governments to change their behavior was also a topic in a congressional hearing Wednesday.

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President Bush speaks at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington 18 April 2007

Speaking at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, the president outlined U.S. actions if the government in Khartoum fails to end its intransigence⁴ preventing the deployment⁵ of a full 20,000 strong U.N./African-Union peacekeeping force for Darfur.

"First, the Department of the Treasury⁶ will tighten U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan. This new effort will allow the United States to enforce more aggressively existing sanctions against Sudan's government, by blocking any of its dollar transactions within the U.S. financial system. As part of this effort, the Treasury Department will add 29 companies owned or controlled by the government of Sudan to its list of Specially⁷ Designated Nationals. This designation will bar these companies from the U.S. financial system -- and make it a crime for American companies and individuals to willfully do business with them," he said.

In addition, the president says the U.S. would target sanctions against individuals responsible for violence in Darfur, measures he says would cut them off from the U.S. financial system and prevent them from doing business with any American citizen or company.

A few hours later, a House subcommittee on terrorism, trade and nonproliferation convened⁸ a hearing to examine the question of how effective sanctions can be.

"In looking at the objectives we are trying to achieve, it is to turn to those proliferating⁹ and terrorist countries and limit or eliminate loans to their government, investments in their oil sector¹⁰, all the other investments, and their non-energy exports," he said.

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Congressman Ed Royce of California

Republican Congressman Ed Royce referred to President Bush's remarks on Sudan and Darfur, saying it appears the U.S. is finally turning up the financial heat on the government in Khartoum.

However, Royce says he would like to have seen stronger steps from the president. "I am disappointed that the president did not go farther this morning, during his Sudan speech, and give [the U.S. Treasury Department] the green light to cut off Sudan's dollar transactions with the U.S. financial system. We have waited long enough. I have been to Darfur, I have been to camps that have been attacked [and] talked to survivors¹². Genocide is indeed occurring there. It is time for the U.S. to take this kind of decisive action," he said.

In other reaction, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who recently visited Sudan as part of a small congressional delegation¹³ said the president delivered a clear message that half measures and disingenuous¹⁴ gestures by authorities in Khartoum will no longer be tolerated.

Wednesday's hearing focused primarily on the impact of sanctions on Iran and North Korea, along with some mention of Syria and Cuba.

Sanctions are most effective, U.S. officials told lawmakers, when they are part of a multilateral financial and diplomatic strategy. "Targeted or calibrated¹⁵ sanctions make it clear that we are not taking aim, for example, at innocent civilian¹⁶ populations but rather at those individuals or entities¹⁷ who are specifically responsible for the dangerous behavior of a particular regimem," said Paul Simons, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs.

Adam Szubin is Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. "By moving in tandem¹⁸ with rather than against the natural inclinations¹⁹ of the private sector, our sanctions have resonated across the international financial sphere, delivering a widespread and tangible²⁰ impact," he said.

Where Sudan is concerned, legislation moving through the House would require the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to compile a list of all companies on the New York Stock Exchange with ties to Khartoum, and prohibit them from receiving federal contracts, and make it legal for U.S. states to divest²¹ from such companies.

Sarah Steelman, treasurer²² for the state of Missouri, spoke²³ in favor of such legislation. "A recent poll conducted for the Center for Security Policy showed that more than 80 percent of those surveyed say that if they learned that a company in which they have invested was found to be doing business in a state sponsor of terrorism, like Iran, Syria or Sudan, they would either sell that investment or demand the company cease doing business with the terror supporting nation," he said.

Roger Robinson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Conflict Securities Advisory²⁴ Group, says the impact of divestment efforts on regimes, especially by companies involved in the energy sector, would be significant.

He asserts there is wide support in the U.S. for terror-free, or in the case of Sudan, genocide free investment. "There is no question therefore that given a choice, American investors²⁵ would prefer to avoid doing business with companies that have those types of material business arrangements with these regimes," he said.

Lawmakers, meanwhile, are stepping up their own personal and diplomatic efforts regarding Darfur.

Against the background of ongoing²⁶ efforts by the Congressional Black Caucus²⁷, House majority leader Steny Hoyer recently went to Sudan, meeting with southern government leaders, visiting displaced persons camps in Darfur, and assessing African Union peacekeeping efforts.

Hoyer also used a meeting with Egyptian President Mubarak in Cairo to urge stronger diplomatic pressure on Khartoum, and said Egypt's ambassador in Washington telephoned him to say President Mubarak had followed through with a pledge to act, although it is not clear exactly what form that took.

 

1 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

4 intransigence   

n.妥协的态度；强硬

参考例句：

• He often appeared angry and frustrated by the intransigence of both sides.他似乎常常为双方各不相让而生气沮丧。
• Yet for North Korea,intransigence is the norm.不过对朝鲜来说，决不妥协是其一贯作风。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

8 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

9 proliferating   

激增( proliferate的现在分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Computerized data bases are proliferating fast. 计算机化的数据库正在激增。
• Crown galls are cancerous growths composed of disorganized and proliferating plant cells. 冠瘿是无组织的正在不断增殖的植物细胞所组成的癌状物。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

13 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

14 disingenuous   

adj.不诚恳的，虚伪的

参考例句：

• It is disingenuous of him to flatter me.他对我阿谀奉承，是居心叵测。
• His brother Shura with staring disingenuous eyes was plotting to master the world.他那长着一对狡诈眼睛的哥哥瑞拉，处心积虑图谋征服整个世界。

15 calibrated   

v.校准( calibrate的过去式和过去分词 )；使标准化；使合标准；测量（枪的）口径

参考例句：

• Power pesticide dusters can be calibrated and used to apply pertilizer. 动力杀虫剂可以调整用来施肥。 来自辞典例句
• The flexible diaphragm is connected to a plat cantilever-calibrated spring. 柔韧的膜片一扁平的悬臂校正弹簧相连。 来自辞典例句

16 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

17 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

18 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

19 inclinations   

倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡

参考例句：

• She has artistic inclinations. 她有艺术爱好。
• I've no inclinations towards life as a doctor. 我的志趣不是行医。

20 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

21 divest   

v.脱去，剥除

参考例句：

• I cannot divest myself of the idea.我无法消除那个念头。
• He attempted to divest himself of all responsibilities for the decision.他力图摆脱掉作出该项决定的一切责任。

22 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

23 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

24 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

25 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

26 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。

27 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。