美国有线新闻 CNN 美国参议院通过税改法案 圣诞节前有望获得批准

Second story out of Washington broke in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Republicans in Congress took another big step toward a major overhaul¹ of the U.S. tax code. The Senate passed a tax reform bill at 2:00 a.m. Fifty-one Republicans voted for it. One Republican and 48 Democrats² voted against it.

Like the bill that the House of Representatives passed in November, the Senate legislation would reduce taxes for most Americans and decrease the taxes that businesses pay on their profits. Unlike the House bill, the Senate version would keep seven different income tax brackets, though it would change their rates. It would allow teachers who used their own money for classroom supplies to deduct³ more from their taxes and it would ta?ke away the Obamacare law that requires Americans to buy health insurance.

Critics are concerned that the bill would increase the deficit⁴. For decades, the government has spent significantly more money than it collects through taxes. Those who opposed the bill say reducing taxes would further increase that deficit. Supporters of the bill say it will help the U.S. economy grow enough to offset⁵ that.

 

What happens next? Both bills have to be reconciled to a single piece of legislation that has to pass in the House and Senate. If it does, it will head to the Republican president's desk for signature. President Trump's hoping to have that done by Christmas.

1 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。

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 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。

4 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。

5 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。