IN THE NEWS - Powerful U.S. Lawmaker Accused of Election Law

IN THE NEWS - Powerful U.S. Lawmaker Accused of Election Law Violation¹ in Texas
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, October 01, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

On Wednesday, a grand jury in Texas brought a charge against the Republican leader of the United States House of Representatives.

 
Tom DeLay
Texas Representative Tom DeLay has temporarily surrendered his position as majority leader, as required by rules. But he keeps his seat in Congress. He is charged with a violation of Texas election law. It bans using money from businesses to support the election or defeat of political candidates.

The case involves a political action committee he helped set up in Texas. The charge says the group illegally passed money from companies to campaigns in the state through the Republican National Committee.

In two thousand two, the Texas group sent one hundred ninety thousand dollars to the committee in Washington. The charge says the national committee also got a list of seven Texas candidates to receive, in total, that same amount.

The charge says the money was part of an effort to help Republicans win control of the Texas House of Representatives. They did win in two thousand two, for the first time in one hundred thirty years.

Later, Texas lawmakers drew a new map of voting areas. As a result, the House of Representatives in Washington received five more Republicans from Texas.

Mister DeLay is accused of criminal conspiracy². He could face up to two years in prison if found guilty. A judge set a court appearance for October twenty-first. Two other men also face charges.

Mister DeLay says he is innocent. He says he had nothing to do with the day-to-day operation of the Texas committee. He says Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle in Austin, the state capital, charged him for political reasons.

Mister Earle is a Democrat³ who notes that he has also brought charges against Democrats⁴ in the past.

Republicans in Congress have chosen Missouri Representative Roy Blunt to act as majority leader temporarily. But a Republican spokesman said Mister DeLay will remain what he called a "very powerful adviser⁵" to the party leadership.

Tom DeLay has often been called the most powerful Republican in Congress. He is known on Capitol Hill as "The Hammer" for his ability to pass legislation and enforce policies.

All four hundred thirty-five members of the House are elected every two years. Republicans have a twenty-nine-seat majority. The next election is in November of two thousand six.

The House Ethics⁶ Committee criticized Mister DeLay three times last year for violations⁷ of House rules. Political experts say the situation now gives Democrats more ammunition⁸ to charge wrongdoing and poor leadership by Republicans.

Adding to the problems is a federal investigation⁹ of the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist. It involves the sale of his stock in a company started by his family. Senator Frist says he did nothing wrong.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach.

1 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

2 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

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 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

6 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。