VOA标准英语2010年-Congress Gets High Marks From Environm

An environmental group is applauding Congress for its green record in 2009 but sweeping¹ climate change appears doubtful given the partisan² divide on Capitol Hill.

Each year the Washington-based League of Conservation Voters releases a scorecard that rates the performance of members of Congress on environment and energy issues.

LCV Legislative³ director Tiernan Sittenfeld says this year's scorecard reflects an ambitious legislative agenda for the environment in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The 2009 scorecard includes 11 Senate and 13 House votes dominated by clean energy and global warming.

League of Conservation Voters
The non-profit League of Conservation Voters releases its environmental scorecard every year to track votes in Congress.

Voting green

Among the environmentally-significant bills Congress passed last year was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a nearly $800 billion economic stimulus⁴ package. Eighty billion dollars of that total was to be pumped into the U.S. economy to promote development of renewable energy, urban mass transit⁵, high-speed rail systems and clean energy jobs.

Congress also boosted environmental funding and passed a public lands law. And last June, says Sittenfeld, the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the first bill out of either chamber⁶ of Congress to directly take on the challenge of global warming. University of Michigan political science professor Barry Rabe notes that the bill passed by a slim margin⁷ and that, in the months since that House vote, members have shifted positions. 

Party lines

"It's not at all clear that if you took the same bill back to the House today that it would pass. Some of the supporters on the Republican side have expressed concerns," says Rabe. "A number of the Democrats⁸, who voted for it, particularly from agricultural districts, about 38 legislators, have suggested that today might view that differently."

But before any bill can become law, the Senate must pass its version, the House and Senate bills must be reconciled and that final measure must be signed by the President.

Rabe says the League's 2009 Environmental Scorecard indicates that most of the votes on energy and the environment were split along party lines, reflecting the deep political divisions evident in other Congressional efforts. "If you see a number of scores on a hundred point scale on the 40, 50, 60 range that suggests that [members of Congress] are moving back and forth⁹. You see an awful lot of folks on one side close to zero and on the other close to 100 percent."   

Partisan divide

Rabe says as the November 2010 mid-term elections approach, prospects¹⁰ for any sweeping climate legislation are growing slimmer. "Instead we are more likely to see something that is …more connected with economic development and jobs creation."

Rabe adds that the 2009 Muhlenberg-Michigan National Survey of American Public Opinion on Climate Change released in January, finds voter concerns about the environment have declined, eclipsed in part by the economy, unemployment, banking¹¹ and growing skepticism about government.

"This is often the case, when you go into a declining economy, that environmental concerns decline somewhat, in part because the impact of environmental problems, certainly climate change, are not likely to be felt immediately, and it's compelling to kick that proverbial can down the road and focus on whatever the issue of the moment is," says Rabe.

League of Conservation Voters president Gene¹² Karpinski says opposition¹³ from the oil industry is another major roadblock to congressional passage of a comprehensive climate bill. "Big oil and their friends in Congress are trying to stop this," he says. "They are spending record amounts of money trying to stop this."

But Professor Rabe says partisanship¹⁴ poses an even greater roadblock. His view is that the debate has been one dominated by extreme on both sides. "So in that sense I am sympathetic with what might be stated by the LCV.  The tricky¹⁵ part is presenting this in a way that is credible¹⁶ and allows for serious discussion."

One key to breaking the current impasse¹⁷ on climate and energy legislation, says the League's Gene Karpinski, will be if the public demands stronger leadership from members of Congress and from the White House. "And we need to make sure that public sends a message loudly and clearly that they want this done," he says.
 
Karpinski says to do that, the League of Conservation Voters has mounted a nation-wide campaign to build support for new climate legislation among labor¹⁸, industry and veterans groups, who have been suspicious of the measure's potential impact on the American business community.  The League hopes it can convince skeptics that a vote for a new climate law will be good not only for the U.S. economy but for the planet as well.
 

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

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 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。

5 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

6 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

7 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

8 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》

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

12 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

15 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

16 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

17 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。