美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Signed 96 Laws In 2017. Here Is What They Do And How They Measure Up

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

What is the verdict on Donald Trump¹'s first year in office? Well, the president gave himself high grades in a Christmas Eve tweet. He said, what an incredible year we had. Don't let the fake news convince you otherwise. Well, NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith has been reviewing Trump's first year in office, and she joins us now. Hi, Tam.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE²: Hey.

SIEGEL: And I'm going to continue now with Trump's very laudatory³ self-appraisal. This is what he said last week as he signed two bills, a temporary government funding measure and the massive $1 and a half trillion tax cut.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Legislative⁴ approvals for which I'm given no credit in the mainstream⁵ media - we have - I believe it's 88, which is number one in the history of our country. Second now is Harry⁶ Truman. Harry Truman had more legislative approvals than any other president.

SIEGEL: Tam, President Trump makes a lot of claims there. Can you give us a quick fact check?

KEITH: Gladly. So in a rare occurrence, Trump is actually selling himself short. He signed 96 bills into law this year, not 88. As for beating Truman, he's not even close. Trump actually trails all of his recent predecessors⁷ in the number of bills signed. And the Truman Library gives a rough estimate of about 240 to 250 bills signed in his first year, so Trump is trailing by a lot.

SIEGEL: Does the White House explain that gap between pretty easily documented record and the president's claim of numbers?

KEITH: I actually went to them and said, what is this Truman claim because it doesn't seem to match up? And they never responded. But you know, it's important to say that tallying⁸ bills is...

SIEGEL: Yeah.

KEITH: ...A truly terrible way to measure accomplishment⁹. Political scientists will say look at significance instead. That's a much better measure.

SIEGEL: Well, let's do that. There are bills, and there are bills. Of those 96 bills that President Trump signed, how many could be called truly significant?

KEITH: Well, one political scientist I talked to said one - the tax bill. It is truly significant. In addition to cutting $1.5 trillion in taxes and reshaping the tax code in significant ways, it also includes a provision repealing¹⁰ the penalty for not buying health insurance under the Affordable¹¹ Care Act, and it opens up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, all of these things on Republicans' to-do list, wish list. Other than that, there are a lot of bills that do a lot of small things.

There are 37 bills that modify or reauthorize existing programs. There were seven temporary funding or disaster relief bills. There were two bills that I would classify as basic government maintenance, things you have to do every year like funding the government and things like that. And then there's the category of bills that is always my favorite category, the one that honors people by naming buildings after them or setting up memorial commissions. And there were about a dozen of those bills.

SIEGEL: Now, legislation isn't the only way that a president enacts¹² his agenda. How does President Trump stack up when it comes to regulations or to judicial¹³ nominations¹⁴?

KEITH: The president has made a lot of changes, and people I talk to say they are the kind of changes that you would expect from a Republican president and a Republican Congress. There has been a huge shift from emphasizing environmental protections to promoting fossil fuel production and energy generation. There's been a big push at deregulation throughout the government, something that the Trump administration is very proud of.

And then there are the courts. President Trump has gotten Justice Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme¹⁵ Court. And there are also 12 circuit judges that have been confirmed by the Senate, and those are lifetime appointments.

SIEGEL: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith, who also hosts the NPR Politics Podcast, thanks.

KEITH: You're welcome.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 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。

3 laudatory   

adj.赞扬的

参考例句：

• Now,when Carrie heard Drouet's laudatory opinion of her dramatic ability,her body tingled with satisfaction.听到杜洛埃这么称道自己的演戏才能，她心满意足精神振奋。
• Her teaching evaluations are among the most laudatory in this department.她的教学评估在本系是居最受颂扬者之中。

4 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。

5 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 tallying   

v.计算，清点( tally的现在分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• In 2007 the state set a U.S. record, tallying 141 twisters. 该州在2007年以总计出现了141个龙卷风而创下了一个美国记录。 来自互联网
• We charge extra fee at 100% of the rates of tallying fees. 我们按理货收费率的100%收取附加费。 来自互联网

9 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

10 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

12 enacts   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The legislative branch enacts laws; the executive branch enforces them, and the judicial branch interprets them. 立法部门制订法律，行政部门执行法律，司法部门解释法律。
• Hold phasic characteristic correctly, ability enacts the policy with an actual suit, measure. 正确地把握形势特点，才能制定出切合实际的政策、措施。

13 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

14 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。