VOA标准英语2010年-Congress Acts to Encourage US Aid Flow

The U.S. Congress is moving to help encourage Americans to increase monetary¹ donations to the earthquake relief effort in Haiti.  The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved bipartisan legislation, which the Senate is also expected to pass, to enable Americans to deduct² donations to the Haiti recovery operation from their federal income tax due in April.
 
Supported by Republicans and Democrats³, the legislation is aimed at encouraging Americans to send money to the Haiti relief effort.

Tens of millions of dollars have already flowed to Haiti through a variety of non-government humanitarian⁴ and religious groups and governments around the world have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.

Representative Charlie Rangel of New York, who chairs the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said Americans have been quick to respond to the horrendous⁵ devastation⁶ in Haiti.

Lawmakers from both major political parties, he said, agree on the need to keep aid flowing and make it easier for Americans to contribute:

"What this bill does is allow Americans and others to make generous cash contributions to the charity of their choice and at the same time not have to wait until next year to be able to deduct this [from their taxes] as a charitable contribution," Rangel said.

The House legislation mirrors a bill in the Senate, where the Democratic chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, called it a "call to arms" for Americans to give to the relief and rebuilding of Haiti and help ease suffering there.  Congress took similar action in 2005 after a tsunami⁷ devastated⁸ large parts of Asia.  Republican Eric Cantor said the legislation shows that despite their differences, the two major political parties can cooperate in times of crisis.

"While it is often the differences between the parties in Congress that makes the news, this legislation demonstrates that we can come together on common sense proposals to ease the suffering of our fellow man," Cantor said.

Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen called the measure an important incentive⁹ for Americans to reach deeper into their pockets to help the people of Haiti, and issued this call to President Obama where international aid efforts are concerned:

"I urge President Obama to immediately begin efforts to convene¹⁰ an international donor's conference to bring together other responsible nations and international organizations that can join the U.S. in committing [to] efforts to help the Haitian people recover from this horrible disaster," she said.

Approved by voice vote, the legislation would allow cash contributions Americans make to the Haiti relief effort, through March 1 of this year to be deducted¹¹ from taxes for 2009 which are due on April 15.

 

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 deduct   

vt.扣除，减去

参考例句：

• You can deduct the twenty - five cents out of my allowance.你可在我的零用钱里扣去二角五分钱。
• On condition of your signing this contract,I will deduct a percentage.如果你在这份合同上签字，我就会给你减免一个百分比。

3 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》

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 horrendous   

adj.可怕的，令人惊惧的

参考例句：

• He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
• The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。

6 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

8 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

9 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

10 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。

11 deducted   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of your uniform will be deducted from your wages. 制服费将从你的工资中扣除。
• The cost of the breakages will be deducted from your pay. 损坏东西的费用将从你的工资中扣除。 来自《简明英汉词典》