VOA常速英语2007-Lawmakers Seek Changes in US War Powers Resoluti

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
25 October 2007

A group of lawmakers from both parties is proposing to change a law approved by Congress more than three decades ago aimed at limiting the ability of the president to go to war without the approval of Congress. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, supporters of the effort point to recent statements by the Bush administration about Iran in underscoring their call for changing the 1973 War Powers Act.

In a news conference, lawmakers said their legislative¹ effort, still in its early stages, is designed to establish what they call a clear and sustainable war powers policy for the post September 11 world.

Walter Jones of North Carolina, the sharpest critic among Republicans of President Bush's Iraq policies, says the purpose of their resolution is to ensure that Congress meets its constitutional responsibility of having the sole authority to declare war:

"Congress must be fully² informed before sending Americans into harm's way, said Congressman³ Jones. "Congress must not be a rubber stamp for the executive branch but a check in our system of checks and balances."

Two other Republicans and a Democrat⁴ joined Congressman Jones in unveiling a proposal to introduce a resolution to modify the 1973 War Powers Act, approved by Congress during the war in Vietnam.

William Delahunt, a Massachusetts Democrat, says he and the others are driven by the experience of Congress's vote in 2003 giving President Bush authority to invade Iraq:

"What we are saying now is we intend as a Congress, as a legislative body, to recalibrate that legislation," said Delahunt. "Don't think you're going to throw a high, hard one past us now [deceive us]. We have learned [from Iraq]."

Lawmakers would change the existing war powers law to permit a president to initiate⁵ short-term military deployments without congressional action but only repel⁶ and retaliate⁷ for an attack on the United States or U.S. troops, or to protect and evacuate⁸ U.S. citizens.

The president would have to submit a detailed⁹ report within 48 hours on the justification¹⁰, scope, duration and estimated costs, as well as an assessment¹¹ of the impact on U.S. diplomacy¹², and an assessment of post-hostility scenarios¹³.

The lawmakers would also require the president to convene¹⁴ a special consultative group composed of senior executive officials, and top leaders of the House and Senate.

In presenting the plan, the lawmakers cited recent statements by the Bush administration that they suggest indicate an increased likelihood of military conflict with Iran over its nuclear program and military interference in Iraq.

Ron Paul who is among Republican presidential candidates, says Congress should move now to re-assert its constitutional prerogatives¹⁵:

"We are about to have another war going on," said Congressman Paul. "And more sanctions placed on Iran today, sanctions blockades boycotts¹⁶ all these things are acts of war so there is an escalation¹⁷ now of the friction¹⁸ now between us and Iran and if we don't have something like this we don't have anything to say about it. We can wake up tomorrow and having something going on in Iran and this war will be spread."

Again, Congressman Jones:

"Congress has to assert itself," he said. "We are no more than neutered with an administration that just makes a decision that, we think this needs to happen for the safety of the world, without any true consultation¹⁹."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Congress Thursday that the administration will continue to pursue a diplomatic solution to the impasse²⁰ with Iran over its uranium enrichment program, while reiterating²¹ that no options are being taken off the table.

Included in an administration request for $196 billion in emergency funds for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, is $88 million to modify B-2 bombers²² to deliver what are called Massive Ordinance²³ Penetrator bombs, known as bunker busters.

In speaking in favor of the war powers changes, Republican Wayne Gilchrest says Congress should refuse to provide the money, and expresses concern about what he sees as signs of impending²⁴ conflict with Iran:

"We ought to be pulling back from our rhetoric²⁵ against Iran, we should be pulling back from these proposals offering more sanctions on Iran," said Congressman Gilchrest.

The proposed new war powers resolution has not yet been introduced in the House of Representatives, and there is no indication how it will be viewed by Democratic leaders in either the House or Senate.

Congressman Delahunt believes the proposal will attract Republican support, adding that he hopes to convene a hearing on the subject.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

3 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。

4 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。

5 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

6 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

7 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

8 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

11 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

12 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。

13 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

15 prerogatives   

n.权利( prerogative的名词复数 )；特权；大主教法庭；总督委任组成的法庭

参考例句：

• The tsar protected his personal prerogatives. 沙皇维护了自己的私人特权。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Congressmen may be reluctant to vote for legislation that infringes the traditional prerogatives of the states. 美国国会议员可能不情愿投票拥护侵犯各州传统特权的立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

16 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

17 escalation   

n.扩大，增加

参考例句：

• The threat of nuclear escalation remains. 核升级的威胁仍旧存在。 来自辞典例句
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。 来自辞典例句

18 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

19 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

20 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

21 reiterating   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He keeps reiterating his innocence. 他一再申明他无罪。
• The Chinese government also sent a note to the British government, reiterating its position. 中国政府同时将此立场照会英国政府。

22 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

24 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

25 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。