美国国家公共电台 NPR--Before the House can vote on bills, it must OK rules for how the chamber operates

Before the House can vote on bills, it must OK rules for how the chamber¹ operates

Transcript²

Now that the House has finally selected a speaker, Republicans are ready to push their agenda. Among their top priorities are cuts to IRS funding.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

After 15 ballots³ and four days of drama, Kevin McCarthy secured enough votes to serve as speaker of the House.

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

The California Republican spoke⁴ about his priorities leading the House amid a politically divided government.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: Our system is built on checks and balances. It's time for us to be a check and provide some balance to the president's policies.

(APPLAUSE)

FADEL: NPR congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh joins us to preview what's ahead in Congress. Good morning, Deirdre.

DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So before the House can vote on any bills, it has to approve rules for how the chamber operates, right? Is that a done deal?

WALSH: It could run into some problems tonight. In exchange for getting those votes from the hard-right faction⁶, McCarthy agreed to a slew⁷ of rules changes. Some of them are widely supported by House Republicans, things like votes on the floor and amendments⁸, votes on single-issue bills instead of wrapping them into - a bunch of things into one massive package, giving 72 hours to read bills before votes. We should also note, this rules package would gut⁹ the Office of Congressional Ethics¹⁰, which screens potential rules violations¹¹, at a time when New York GOP Congressman¹² George Santos admitted he fabricated much of his record and is facing federal investigation¹³ for potential campaign finance issues. These rules also allow just one lawmaker to offer a resolution to oust¹⁴ the speaker, so there's going to be this constant threat hanging over McCarthy's speakership.

FADEL: Are moderate Republicans going along with these changes?

WALSH: Not all of them. Texas Republican Tony Gonzales yesterday said he's a no because he has concerns about the impact the vows¹⁵ to balance the budget within 10 years and slash¹⁶ discretionary spending are going to have on the Pentagon. South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace¹⁷, a moderate, supports rules changes but said on CBS yesterday she's on the fence for voting for them because she wants details about the other deals that were cut in exchange for votes.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FACE THE NATION")

NANCY MACE: And we don't know what they got or didn't get. We haven't seen it. We don't have any idea what promises were made or what gentlemen's handshakes were made. We just have no idea at this point. And it does give me quite a bit of heartburn because that's not what we ran on.

WALSH: We should note, McCarthy just has a four-seat majority, so he can't afford more than a few defections.

FADEL: So what's the first thing House Republicans are planning to do if they can get past this step?

WALSH: The first bill the House of Representatives is going to vote on will be to roll back the increase to the Internal Revenue Service that was part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats¹⁸ over the summer. This was a top Republican campaign promise to get rid of new IRS agents. But the goal of giving money to the IRS was to boost an agency that has lost staff and has really struggled to respond to problems with tax returns that many Americans have been dealing¹⁹ with. So Democrats wanted to increase staffing. Of course, this bill isn't going to go anywhere in the Senate that's controlled by Democrats.

FADEL: NPR's Deirdre Walsh, thank you.

WALSH: Thank you.

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 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。

3 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

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 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

7 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

8 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。

9 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

10 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

11 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

12 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。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

15 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

16 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

17 mace   

n.狼牙棒，豆蔻干皮

参考例句：

• The sword and mace were favourite weapons for hand-to-hand fighting.剑和狼牙棒是肉搏战的最佳武器。
• She put some mace into the meat.她往肉里加了一些肉豆蔻干皮。

18 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》

19 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。