美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump's Nominee To Be USDA's Chief Scientist Is Not A Scientist

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

More than eight months into the Trump¹ administration, many federal agencies are still missing key personnel. As those positions slowly get filled, one lower-level pick at the Department of Agriculture is stirring up controversy². Amy Mayer of Iowa Public Radio reports on the nominee³ to be the agency's chief scientist.

AMY MAYER, BYLINE⁴: At USDA, Sam Clovis would oversee⁵ the agency's $3 billion research budget which includes work on climate change. During an interview with Iowa Public Radio in 2014 when he was running for Senate, Clovis wasn't shy about his skepticism of the human causes of climate change.

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SAM CLOVIS: I have looked at the science, and I have enough of a science background to know when I'm being boofed. And I think a lot of what we see is junk science.

MAYER: The Air Force veteran is probably best known for hosting a conservative talk show. Clovis went on to run the Trump campaign in Iowa and has been the White House liaison⁶ at USDA since the election. But he's not a scientist. In fact his Ph.D. is in public administration.

BRENDA BRINK⁷: Frankly⁸ I'm appalled⁹...

MAYER: Brenda Brink is a member of the Iowa Farmers Union.

BRINK: ...Because he's not made any bones about being a scientist, and yet he's been appointed to this position where he's elevated to the level of a scientist.

MAYER: And that's not all that's controversial about Clovis. He used to run a blog where he wrote racially charged posts and once related being gay with pedophilia. Clovis also often invokes¹⁰ his Catholic faith, as he did in this campaign ad.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CLOVIS: Being a Republican means that you understand the law. You abide¹¹ by the law, and God's law informs the rest of it.

MAYER: Ricardo Salvador is the director of the food and environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He says being close to the president doesn't qualify Clovis for this USDA job.

RICARDO SALVADOR: If he makes decisions on the basis of loyalty¹² to the new president or on political ideology¹³, we're afraid that this is just going to be very noxious¹⁴ to responsible, science-based decision-making.

MAYER: One of USDA's important programs for farmers is federally subsidized crop insurance. While Clovis wouldn't oversee that program, he upset many farmers by questioning its value during his Senate campaign.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CLOVIS: Most of the Iowa farmers I talked to would just as soon have the government out of their lives, and that includes insurance programs.

MAYER: Clovis does have powerful allies. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, has equated¹⁵ his degree in public administration to a degree in economics and says that background does qualify Clovis for the job.

CHUCK GRASSLEY: There's a very close relationship between science and the decisions that the government makes in science and the impact upon the economy.

MAYER: But the top Democrat¹⁶ on the Senate agriculture committee vows¹⁷ to put up a fight. Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow says the law specifically requires that nominees¹⁸ be chosen from, quote, "among distinguished¹⁹ scientists with specialized²⁰ training or significant experience in agricultural research, education or economics."

DEBBIE STABENOW: In my judgment²¹, I don't see how in the world he meets the requirements of the law. And so I think this is certainly something we're exploring.

MAYER: She says Clovis may need a special waiver to get the job, and that waiver would need 60 votes from the full Senate, not just the simple majority needed for confirmation²². Stabenow says that could make it difficult to confirm him.

STABENOW: We would have to see. But certainly that's a much higher threshold for him to have to reach.

MAYER: So far, Clovis' confirmation hearing hasn't been scheduled. For NPR News, I'm Amy Mayer in Des Moines.

(SOUNDBITE OF STRFKR SONG, "ATLANTIS")

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 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 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。

5 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

6 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

7 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 invokes   

v.援引( invoke的第三人称单数 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• The Roundtable statement invokes the principles of the free market system. 企业界圆桌会议的声明援用了自由市场制度的原则。 来自辞典例句
• When no more storage is available, the system invokes a garbage collector. 当没有可用的存贮时，系统就调用无用单元收集程序。 来自辞典例句

11 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

12 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

13 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

14 noxious   

adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• Heavy industry pollutes our rivers with noxious chemicals.重工业产生的有毒化学品会污染我们的河流。
• Many household products give off noxious fumes.很多家用产品散发有害气体。

15 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

16 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。

17 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。

18 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

19 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

20 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

21 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

22 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。