2007年VOA标准英语-US Lawmaker Threatens to Hold White House Offic

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
20 August 2007

The Democratic chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has threatened to hold members of the Bush administration in contempt for withholding¹ documents subpoenaed² by his panel. The administration did not meet a Monday deadline for handing over information about the legal justification³ for its wiretapping program, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

Senator Patrick Leahy, 20 Aug 2007

Senator Leahy says he may seek contempt citations⁴ against members of the Bush administration, whom he did not name, if the requested documents are not handed over by the time Congress returns from its recess⁵ early next month.

"I will have no hesitation⁶ voting for contempt, if that is what it takes," said Senator Leahy.

The Judiciary Committee on June 27 sent subpoenas⁷ to the Justice Department, the National Security Council and the offices of the president and vice⁸ president for documents relating to the legal justification for the National Security Agency's surveillance program.

In a letter to Leahy, White House lawyer Fred Fielding said the administration needed more time, but expressed hope that Congress and the White House could reach an accommodation.

Leahy said his panel had waited long enough.

"There has been noncompliance," said Patrick Leahy. "There has been dilatory⁹ unresponsiveness. It has been almost two months since the service of the subpoenas, three weeks since the time they asked for additional time, and still we have nothing at all."

Leahy said the information his panel is seeking is especially important for lawmakers as they decide whether to make permanent revisions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.

Just before its month-long recess, the Congress approved a temporary overhaul¹⁰ of the law to allow the government to monitor e-mails and phone calls of suspected terrorists overseas and people in the United States without first getting court warrants. The revisions expire in six months.

Leahy said if the administration wants Congress to make the changes permanent, it will have to provide more information about the program.

"For Congress to legislate¹¹ effectively in this area, it has to have full information about the executive branch's interpretations¹² of FISA," he said. "We should not legislate in the dark while the administration hides behind a fictitious¹³ veil of secrecy¹⁴."

The surveillance program was established after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

1 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

2 subpoenaed   

v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court subpoenaed her to appear as a witness. 法庭传唤她出庭作证。
• The finance director is subpoenaed by prosecution. 财务经理被检查机关传讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 citations   

n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬

参考例句：

• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Some dictionary writers use citations to show what words mean. 有些辞典的编纂者用引文作例证以解释词义。 来自辞典例句

5 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

6 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

7 subpoenas   

n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• My company has complied with committee subpoenas by supplying documents confirming all that I have said. 本公司按照委员会的要求，提供了能够证实我刚才发言的文件。 来自辞典例句
• Congressional Investigations: Subpoenas and Contempt Power. Report for Congress April 2, 2003. 金灿荣：《美国国会的监督功能》，载《教学与研究》2003年第2期。 来自互联网

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 dilatory   

adj.迟缓的，不慌不忙的

参考例句：

• The boss sacked a dilatory worker yesterday.昨天老板开除了一个凡事都爱拖延的人。
• The dilatory limousine came rolling up the drive.那辆姗姗来迟的大型轿车沿着汽车道开了上来。

10 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

11 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

12 interpretations   

n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解

参考例句：

• This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。

14 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。