美国国家公共电台 NPR--Democrats are moving forward with a climate, tax and health care bill

Democrats² are moving forward with a climate, tax and health care bill

Transcript³

Senate Democrats are scheduled to start a debate this weekend on a bill that would provide historic investments in climate change, health care measures and tax changes.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Democrats are one step closer to getting a big part of President Biden's agenda over the finish line. Senate Democrats cleared a big hurdle⁴ last night when Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, the last remaining holdout, says she'll support the Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation would address climate change, health care and tax and is set to be introduced on Saturday. And for more, we're joined by NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Barbara, what brought Sinema onboard?

BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE⁵: Well, this is a major piece of legislation. It includes $300 billion in deficit⁶ reduction, $370 billion in energy and climate spending provisions. But it also included a carried interest tax provision, which would change the way private equity⁷ income is taxed. And it was reported that Sinema, a centrist Democrat¹ from Arizona, had some concerns about that. She'd been radio silent all this week. But late last night, she, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said there's an agreement to move forward. So this is a boost for the legislation's prospects⁸.

MART?NEZ: But it's been a bumpy⁹ ride for Democrats. Walk us through those bumps.

SPRUNT: Yeah, that's right. This legislative¹⁰ deal is the result of negotiations¹¹ that were kept under wraps between Schumer and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. The deal has been months in the making. Manchin had backtracked his support for a larger bill last month, saying he was hesitant to support more spending with inflation being so high. A lot of Democrats felt deflated¹² by that. But then last week, this deal surfaced, and there was renewed optimism for getting it done. And Sinema's support is one more step in that direction.

MART?NEZ: So can Democrats now take a victory lap?

SPRUNT: Not quite. This will go through a wonky process called reconciliation¹³. And the rules of that process are that each piece of the legislation has to produce a significant impact on federal revenues and spending for it to qualify. So the Senate parliamentarian has to go through everything and make sure it's all proper. This process would allow Democrats to pass this all on their own with a simple majority, which is good for them because no Republican will vote for this. But that means they need to get everyone in the family on board. And that's no small feat¹⁴, even with Sinema's support. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses¹⁵ with the Democrats, made a dig at the bill the other day. He called it the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. He may have a point. A CBO analysis notes that the bill will have a negligible impact on inflation. Here's what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BERNIE SANDERS: This is an extremely modest piece of legislation that does virtually nothing to address the enormous crises that working families all across this country are facing today.

SPRUNT: Now, this isn't terribly surprising. This bill is a fraction of what he had been pushing for in a climate deal. But is he really going to vote against this and be the senator to tank the deal? It feels unlikely. But he has said that he may offer amendments¹⁶ to it, and that can sometimes throw things into chaos¹⁷.

MART?NEZ: All right. So what are going to be the next steps?

SPRUNT: Well, Schumer has said the Senate will convene¹⁸ Saturday and take a procedural vote to begin debate on the bill. That debate could last up to 20 hours. After that comes what we call the vote-a-rama, which is when all the senators can introduce as many amendments as they want. They can even call for the entire bill, which is over 700 pages, to be read out loud. So it could last well into next week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHUCK SCHUMER: I expect we'll have some late nights and extended debates here on the floor.

SPRUNT: So - but there's - you know, there's some pressure to get this bill done sooner rather than later. The Senate has had a successful couple of weeks. They've worked across party lines to pass gun safety legislation, a bill that would boost the production of semiconductors¹⁹ here in the U.S. They approved Sweden and Finland's bid for joining NATO. And although this is a Democrats-only bill, it would be a huge victory for the Biden administration and for Biden himself. It'll be something that Democrats want to capitalize on, campaign on, because the midterm elections may seem like they're far down the road, but they're only three months away.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, right around the corner.

NPR's Barbara Sprunt, thanks a lot.

SPRUNT: Thank you.

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 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》

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

7 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

10 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。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 deflated   

adj. 灰心丧气的

参考例句：

• I was quite deflated by her lack of interest in my suggestions.他对我的建议兴趣不大，令我感到十分气馁。
• He was deflated by the news.这消息令他泄气。

13 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

14 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

15 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

16 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

17 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

18 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。

19 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句