美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Announces Plan To Privatize Air Traffic Control

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

The White House announced a plan today to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system. This is part of the administration's focus this week on the country's aging infrastructure¹. President Trump² says the FAA has been trying to update the air traffic control system for years.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But after billions and billions of tax dollars spent and the many years of delays, we're still stuck with an ancient, broken, antiquated³, horrible system that doesn't work.

MCEVERS: The president's plan to modernize⁴ air traffic control by privatizing it has a number of supporters and some critics, too. Here's NPR's David Schaper.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE⁵: President Trump says the nation's air traffic control system is stuck painfully in the past.

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TRUMP: At a time when every passenger has GPS technology in their pockets our air traffic control system still runs on radar⁶ and ground-based radio systems that they don't even make anymore, they can't even fix anymore.

SCHAPER: Flanked by airline executives, the president said flight delays and air traffic control inefficiencies cost the nation's economy billions each year.

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TRUMP: We're proposing reduced wait times, increased route efficiency and far fewer delays. Our plan will get you where you need to go more quickly, more reliably, more affordably.

SCHAPER: The president's plan calls for a three-year transition in which air traffic control operations would be turned over to a private nonprofit entity⁷, similar to how it's done in Canada. The FAA would continue to provide safety oversight⁸ while the private entity would be run by a 13-member board made up of airport and airline executives, labor⁹ unions and other stakeholders.

PAUL HUDSON: The airlines would essentially¹⁰ be in charge of the skies.

SCHAPER: Paul Hudson is president of the passenger advocacy group flyersrights.org. He argues this could be risky¹¹.

HUDSON: Hardly a week goes by that they haven't had a - either a shutdown through computer outages or videos that show mistreatment of passengers. And it goes on and on.

SCHAPER: The Trump plan would eliminate ticket taxes on passengers, replacing it with a more direct funding scheme. And that concerns Democratic Congressman¹² Peter DeFazio of Oregon, ranking member of the House Transportation Committee.

PETER DEFAZIO: What fees are you going to pay to this private corporation to get on the plane? The airlines hate the ticket tax and want to do away with it, but what's the new system? What's that going to do to general aviation? What's that going to do to businesses aviation, cargo¹³? We don't know.

SCHAPER: DeFazio also worries that privatizing air traffic control operations could actually slow recent progress the FAA is making in implementing¹⁴ its new satellite-based system called NextGen. But Robert Puentes, who heads the nonpartisan think tank Eno Center for Transportation, disagrees.

ROBERT PUENTES: There's no doubt that moving to this independent nonprofit system would be able to deploy¹⁶ this new technology faster than the way that we're doing it right now.

SCHAPER: Puentes says years of uncertain budgets and partisan¹⁵ gridlock have slowed the implementation¹⁷ of NextGen, and he argues privatizing air traffic control would provide stability.

PUENTES: This really isn't about deconstructing government. This isn't getting government out of transportation. It's not selling off assets, anything like that. This is really about getting this very important investment done much faster.

SCHAPER: Nonetheless, some Republicans have joined Democrats¹⁸ in opposing efforts to privatize the air traffic control system in the past, so like many other elements of the president's agenda, this plan likely has some turbulence¹⁹ ahead. David Schaper, NPR News.

1 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

2 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。

3 antiquated   

adj.陈旧的，过时的

参考例句：

• Many factories are so antiquated they are not worth saving.很多工厂过于陈旧落后，已不值得挽救。
• A train of antiquated coaches was waiting for us at the siding.一列陈旧的火车在侧线上等着我们。

4 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

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 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

7 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

8 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

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 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

14 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

15 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

16 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

17 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

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 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。