VOA标准英语2013--2013年在历史上是美国国会通过法律最少的一年
时间：2018-12-08 作者：英语课 分类：VOA常速英语2013年(十二月)
US Congress in 2013 Passes Fewest Laws in History 2013年在历史上是美国国会通过法律最少的一年
CAPITOL HILL — The 113th Congress has been the least productive in history, with the House and Senate passing only 57 bills that were signed into law by President Barack Obama. Analysts 1 say that even in the context of a divided government, with a Democrat 2 in the White House, a Democratic-controlled Senate and a Republican-led House of Representatives, performance has been dismal 3. Most analysts do not expect a dramatic change next year, as lawmakers look to midterm elections coming in November.
Immigration reform passed in the Senate, but was not even taken up in the House of Representatives. This prompted some activists 4 to fast for days or even weeks to get lawmakers to pay attention. Majority Republicans set the agenda in the House, where a lot of time was spent passing legislation to repeal 5 or delay President Obama’s health care law. Budget analyst Stan Collender thinks present patterns of behavior are likely to continue.
“They voted to repeal Obamacare 37 times, knowing full well that not one of them was going to get through. What actually… [got done] at the end of the day is very, very little. It was totally predictable, and almost certainly will continue in the absence of some sort of major crisis.”
Republican opposition 6 to ObamaCare led to a government shutdown for two weeks in October, with conservative advocacy groups leading the charge. Two months later, House Speaker John Boehner criticized some fellow Republicans, saying they pushed the party into a futile 7 budget standoff.
“The day before the government reopened, one of the people at one of the groups stood up and said, ‘well, we never thought it would work.’ Are you kidding me?” said Boehner.
Stuart Rothenberg, who follows Congress for his political report, thinks the entirety of Congress is to blame.
“Republicans, Democrats 8, Independents all think Congress has failed, that they haven’t addressed the nation’s toughest problems, that they’ve been bickering 9, that it’s all about politics. Each side points the finger at the other so there’s no doubt about that. Congress as an institution is now held in as low a regard as I’ve ever seen,” said Rothenberg.
Veteran Republican Senator John McCain agrees.
“The American people, very appropriately, have very little regard for us. It is down now to some nine percent. And when you know that low number, you have to got to remember in the nineties, in the eighties, general approval rating was in the sixtieth percentile, it wasn’t always like this,” said McCain.
Senator McCain reports that the current atmosphere in Congress is as poisoned as he can remember in his 30 years on Capitol Hill. He says lawmakers should remember that one can compromise to get laws passed without compromising one’s principles.
- City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
- I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。
- The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
- About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。
- That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
- My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。
- His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
- Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- 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。
- 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。
- They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
- Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。