VOA常速英语2014--Washington Week: In Election Year, Congress Unlikely to Tackle Tough Issues 聚焦华盛顿:大选年美国国会回避棘手问题

 

Washington Week: In Election Year, Congress Unlikely to Tackle Tough Issues  聚焦华盛顿:大选年美国国会回避棘手问题

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress gets back to work Monday after a weeklong break. Despite recent action to pass a federal budget and raise the nation’s debt ceiling, expectations are low that the politically-divided legislature will tackle momentous¹ - and contentious² - legislation to reform America’s immigration system and facilitate new international trade pacts³.

华盛顿报导-从双休回来，国会成员开始了一个礼拜的工作。除了最近通过了国家预算和提高国家负债，而政治分歧是棘手问题包括建立美新的国移民系统和设立新的国际贸易政策。

In last month’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama once again urged Congress to enact⁴ immigration reform.

上个月，联邦政府声明，美国终统奥巴马再一次要求国会颁布新的移民法。

“Immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits⁵ by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades.  And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill⁶ their dreams - to study, invent, and contribute to our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone.  So let us get immigration reform done this year,” said Obama.

“在未来的20年，移民政策法案将使我国的经济增长，减少财政赤字斤1万亿。且更好的原因是：当人们来到美国实现自己的理想，学习或发明或致力于文学，他们让我们的国家变更具竞争力，招商引资创超更多的就业岗位。所以我们必须通过最新的移民政策。”奥巴马如实说。

Many Republican lawmakers remain opposed to any bill that would provide a path to citizenship⁷ for undocumented workers.  Others, like House Speaker John Boehner, say the Obama administration cannot be trusted to enforce the law.

许多共和党官员仍然反对花任何钱给失业市民提供就业途径。另一种意见是，美国官员约翰本尼说奥巴马政府不会支持废纸这项法律的。

“The American people, including many of my [House Republican] members, do not trust that the reform we are talking about will be implemented⁸ as it was intended to be,” said the speaker.

“美国人民，包括许多我们的国会成员不会支持这项法律会像希望的那样实施的。”美国官员说道。

On the other hand, Boehner is urging bipartisan backing to boost the administration’s ability to negotiate free trade agreements across the globe.

另一方面，本尼强调两党支持增加行政力量来商议全世界自由贸易法案。

“The president says he wants to make this a year of action.  That sounds good, but if he wants to make it a year of action, let us work together to pass Trade Promotion⁹ Authority that would expand exports and create more jobs in America,” said Boehner.

”总统希望本年能够实施这项法律。听上去似乎很容易，但如果想实施，还需要我们共同合作通过贸易促进条例，这才能在美国真正扩大出口创造更多工作机会。“本尼告诉记者。

在贸易促进条例中，贸易条例由国会举手表决。奥巴马总统已经批准了扩大外贸条例，但是这并不意味着贸易促进挑剔具有经济特权

Under TPA, trade pacts would be subject to an up-or-down vote in Congress without amendment¹⁰.  President Obama has endorsed¹¹ expanding trade, but has not named TPA as a top economic priority.

“We need to work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect our workers, protect our environment, and open new markets to new goods stamped ‘Made in the USA.’  China and Europe are not standing¹² on the sidelines.  Neither should we.”

“我们两党必须共同合作保护我们的工人，保护我们的环境，而开拓新的市场的都是戳有‘美国制造’的产品。中国和欧洲都不会退让这部分市场，我们也不会。”

Many congressional Democrats¹³ say free trade will ship American jobs overseas.  In the Democratic-led Senate, Majority Leader Harry¹⁴ Reid says TPA is unlikely to get a vote.  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says opposition¹⁵ runs high in her caucus¹⁶.

许多国会民主当人认为自由贸易会将美国就业机会转移到海外。民主党主要领导人哈利瑞德说贸易促进条例不会获得民众支持。白宫少数民族领导南希说在她的决策委员会支持的人更多。

"I do not think that [TPA] would have very many votes among Democrats in the House."

“我不认为贸易促进条例会争取到白宫中更多自由党人的投票。”

Instead, Pelosi is urging Congress to raise the U.S. minimum wage and to extend jobless benefits for the unemployed¹⁷, which most Republicans oppose.

相反，佩洛西认为国会提高美国最低工资以及增加实业福利才能，这些许多共产党人反对。

 

All House seats and one-third of the Senate will be contested in midterm elections in November.  During an election year, Congress usually shies away from politically-contentious votes, a tendency that could be repeated in 2014.

所有的国会的成员和1/3的参议院的成员将为11月大选而奋斗。在大选年，国会总是远离政治重大问题选举，2014年也不例外。

1 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

2 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

3 pacts   

条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约

参考例句：

• Vassals can no longer accept one-sided defensive pacts (!). 附庸国不会接受单方面的共同防御协定。
• Well, they are EU members now and have formed solidarity pacts with members such as Poland. 他们现在已经是欧盟的一部分了并且他们和欧盟成员诸如波兰等以签署了合作协议。

4 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

5 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

6 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

7 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

8 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

9 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

10 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

11 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 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》

14 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

15 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。

16 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。

17 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。