2007年VOA标准英语-US House Approves Homeland Security Bill

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
09 January 2007

US Capitol, Washington DC

Democratic leaders in the House chose national security as their top priority to begin their first 100 hours of action promised by Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Half the 9/11 commission recommendations have been implemented², while the rest became bogged³ down in partisan⁴ wrangling⁵ in last year's Republican-led Congress.

One of the most ambitious proposals in the House legislation is a measure requiring the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to screen all air cargo⁶.

Congressman⁷ Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat¹, is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee:

"This bill requires that TSA create a system of inspections⁸ to ensure that 100 percent of the cargo shipped on passenger planes is screened within three years," he said.

The legislation would increase port security, take steps to prevent nuclear material from falling into the hands of terrorists, provide money to improve emergency workers' communications equipment, and distribute more federal aid to states based on risk instead of population.  It would also expand diplomacy⁹ by means of increased U.S. government broadcasts, economic and trade incentives¹⁰, and exchange programs.

A number of Republicans expressed their opposition¹¹ to certain provisions of the bill, including the requirement that all air cargo be screened - a proposal they argued that is unworkable and could shut down commerce and cost billions of dollars.

Congressman Harold Rogers is a Kentucky Republican.

"The ideas and proposals contained within this bill are overly costly¹² and draconian¹³, even," he said.  "It is an effort by the new Democratic majority to look aggressive on homeland security.  This bill will waste billions and possibly harm homeland security by gumming up progress already under way."

Other Republicans criticized the Democratic majority for limiting debate on the measure.

At a hearing across the Capitol, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, (Independent-Democrat) Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, said he hopes the Senate would do its part to enact¹⁴ the 9/11 recommendations in the coming weeks.

"My hope is that in the next few weeks, by the end of the month, we will report out a piece of legislation that will take steps forward to adapt some of the unadapted, unimplemented, inadequately¹⁵ implemented parts of the 9/11 commission report," said Mr. Leiberman.

But the fate of the legislation in the Senate, where Democrats¹⁶ hold a two-seat majority, remains¹⁷ unclear. 

Senate Republicans are opposed to a number of recommendations in the 9/11 Commission report.  Senator Susan Collins is the top Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee:

"Not every single recommendation should be enacted," she said.  "For example, the commission recommended that the Department of Defense¹⁸ [DOD] rather than the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] be the lead agency for directing and executing paramilitary operations.  The DOD, the CIA and many experts opposed that recommendation, and [the last Republican-led] Congress did not adopt it.  I think some of the members of the 9/11 commission would agree that perhaps we made the right decision in that area."

Among those testifying before the committee were several members of the 9/11 commission, including former Congressman Timothy Roemer, who underscored the importance of the commission's recommendations on expanding U.S. diplomacy in the Arab world.

The war on terrorism, he said, is also a war of ideas and a war for hearts and minds.  It is a war, he continued, that the United States must win.

"The time period for radicalized terrorists between alienation¹⁹, radicalization and detonation²⁰ is shrinking," he said.  "More and more young people may be signing up for al-Qaida.  The United States needs to have a compelling message to counter that trend."

Also testifying at the hearing was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who criticized the way federal anti-terrorism funds are distributed.  He said his city had been shortchanged compared with other cities.

"I think it is fair to say that the administration and Congress share the blame for the politicalization of homeland security funding," he noted²¹.  "For the sake of New York City, and for the sake of our nation, I hope you stop writing politically derived²² formulas into homeland security bills.  Instead, you should give the Department of Homeland Security complete flexibility²³ to allocate²⁴ 100 percent of homeland security grants according to risk, threat and return on investment."

The co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission, former Congressman Lee Hamilton, urged the Senate to approve the rest of his panel's recommendations.

The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives has approved a package of security measures aimed at preventing the kind of terrorist attacks that occurred on the United States on September 11, 2001. The vote was 299 to 128. The proposals are among those recommended by the 9-11 commission three years ago but never implemented, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

1 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。

2 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

3 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

6 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

7 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

8 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

10 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

11 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。

12 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

13 draconian   

adj.严苛的；苛刻的；严酷的；龙一样的

参考例句：

• You can't expect the people to obey such draconian regulations.你不能指望人民服从如此严苛的规定。
• The city needs a draconian way of dealing with robbers.这个城市需要一个严苛的办法来对付强盗。

14 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。

15 inadequately   

ad.不够地；不够好地

参考例句：

• As one kind of building materials, wood is inadequately sturdy. 作为一种建筑材料，木材不够结实。
• Oneself is supported inadequately by the money that he earns. 他挣的钱不够养活自己。

16 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》

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。

18 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

19 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

20 detonation   

n.爆炸；巨响

参考例句：

• A fearful detonation burst forth on the barricade.街垒传来一阵骇人的爆炸声。
• Within a few hundreds of microseconds,detonation is complete.在几百微秒之内，爆炸便完成了。

21 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

22 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

24 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。