美国国家公共电台 NPR--Senate negotiators reach a final bipartisan agreement on a gun safety bill

Senate negotiators reach a final bipartisan agreement on a gun safety bill

Transcript¹

A bipartisan gun safety bill, poised² to pass the Senate, could be the first major gun measure in decades. It's a narrow bill that President Biden supports, even though he wants it to go further.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Legislation on gun violence leaves out just about everything Republicans and Democrats⁴ disagree on.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Universal background checks, the banning of military-grade weapons - but the Senate is planning to pass the first meaningful gun legislation in decades with restrictions⁵ the parties can agree on. It's a narrow set of measures, but the bill has support from Democrats and Republicans, including Mitch McConnell. Democrat³ Chris Murphy of Connecticut helped lead the negotiations⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRIS MURPHY: This bill will be too little for many. It'll be too much for others. But it isn't a box-checking exercise. This bill is not window-dressing. This bill is going to save lives.

INSKEEP: NPR congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell is on the line. Kelsey, good morning.

KELSEY SNELL, BYLINE⁷: Good morning.

INSKEEP: How did they decide what stays in this bill?

SNELL: Well, this was a compromise, through and through. This was about whatever lawmakers thought they could get 60 votes in the Senate, and that meant that they had to leave a lot of things that maybe have wide bipartisan support in the country off the table. The lead Republican in these negotiations, Senator John Cornyn of Texas, was booed at his state party convention last week for taking part in these talks. So it wasn't surprising that he went to the floor yesterday to explain how the bill does not infringe⁸ on Second Amendment⁹ rights.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN CORNYN: So unless a person is convicted of a crime or is adjudicated mentally ill, their ability to purchase a firearm will not be impacted by this legislation.

SNELL: And I should say gun rights groups, including the NRA, oppose the legislation as it exists.

INSKEEP: Even though it's very narrow, as we said. So how, if at all, would it limit access to guns?

SNELL: The bill includes more extensive background checks for prospective¹⁰ gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21, and it gives states incentives¹¹ to provide access to previously¹² sealed juvenile¹³ records for those checks. The legislation also uses crisis intervention¹⁴ grants to encourage states to enact¹⁵ so-called red flag laws that would form a core process to remove guns from a person deemed to be a threat to themselves or to others. But the money would still be available to states who choose to pass other forms of crisis intervention.

INSKEEP: Kelsey, as you're talking, I can hear the compromise. It's not a ban on weapons for people under 21, but the background checks change. It's not requiring states to enact red flag laws or follow red flag laws, but it is encouraging them to do so.

SNELL: Yeah. And another compromise here is the way that they approach the rules for people who have been convicted of domestic abuse. Democrats have tried for years to expand the definition who - of who qualifies for a ban after that conviction to include dating partners, rather than just spouses¹⁶ or former spouses. Now, this bill does that, but it also includes a new section to allow people who are restricted from gun access under the bill to have their gun rights restored if their record remains¹⁷ clean for five years.

INSKEEP: How is mental health addressed here?

SNELL: Well, this bill includes funding for telehealth programs to allow expanded access to mental health care across the country, and there's money for school safety and training and community-based mental health programs. Cornyn called this the single largest investment in community-based mental health in U.S. history.

INSKEEP: Now, we've had two different announcements - that they agreed on a framework, that they've agreed on text of legislation. But isn't it never too late for the Senate to have an additional delay? Could this really get derailed?

SNELL: Well, this does have wide bipartisan support in the Senate. Ten Republicans and 10 Democrats wrote the bill, and 16 Republicans voted to get started on it. President Biden has urged Congress to pass the bill without delay, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will bring it up for a vote swiftly.

INSKEEP: OK. Kelsey, thanks so much.

SNELL: Thanks for having me.

INSKEEP: That's NPR's Kelsey Snell.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• 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。

4 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》

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 infringe   

v.违反，触犯，侵害

参考例句：

• The jury ruled that he had infringed no rules.陪审团裁决他没有违反任何规定。
• He occasionally infringe the law by parking near a junction.他因偶尔将车停放在交叉口附近而违反规定。

9 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。

10 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

11 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

13 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

14 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

15 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。

16 spouses   

n.配偶，夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jobs are available for spouses on campus and in the community. 校园里和社区里有配偶可做的工作。 来自辞典例句
• An astonishing number of spouses-most particularly in the upper-income brackets-have no close notion of their husbands'paychecks. 相当大一部分妇女——特别在高收入阶层——并不很了解他们丈夫的薪金。 来自辞典例句

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。