美国国家公共电台 NPR How The Midterms And Lame-Duck Session Are Pushing The Farm Bill To A Deal

How The Midterms And Lame¹-Duck Session Are Pushing The Farm Bill To A Deal

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

When Congress returns to Washington after Thanksgiving, members will be under pressure to pass a farm bill. The outcome of the midterm elections has changed negotiations² on this major piece of legislation, as NPR's Brakkton Booker explains.

BRAKKTON BOOKER, BYLINE³: The farm bill is typically an exercise in bipartisanship. But in an election year, it's no surprise why this farm bill has yet to bear fruit. Here's President Trump⁴ on the day after Democrats⁵ won back the House.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Everybody wants it. The farmers want it, but the Democrats are not approving the farm bill with work rules.

BOOKER: Here's the background on those work rules. Despite its name, the bulk of the farm bill - about 80 percent - goes to funding SNAP. That stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Most people simply call it food stamps.

At issue is a proposal from the House calling for stricter work requirements for those getting food assistance. It expands the age of those required to work or be enrolled⁶ in job training, among other things.

Mike Conaway is the GOP chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. He's confident that after months of negotiations, lawmakers are getting close to a final deal.

MIKE CONAWAY: I've got responsibilities to - to work on behalf of the House and get what we need to get out of the bill. And we're still working on that.

BOOKER: The House bill narrowly passed and with only Republican votes. The Senate version, meanwhile, was overwhelmingly supported by Democrats and Republicans. Again, Congressman⁷ Conaway.

CONAWAY: The Senate bill is not perfect. We're working to get what we can on the SNAP and make the product better than it currently is.

BOOKER: He's hoping to get one last victory for Republicans before they cede⁸ control of the House to Democrats. Conaway admits the midterms killed most of his leverage⁹ to keep work requirements in. He's now left with two basic options; one, hold the line on the work requirements issue and risk that no farm bill is passed in the lame duck - the drawback - it gets rewritten by Democrats when they are in charge of the House; or, two, pick up the Senate farm bill, which largely leaves SNAP unchanged.

Tom Vilsack is the former Democratic governor of Iowa and served as agriculture secretary under President Obama.

TOM VILSACK: It behooves¹⁰ the Republicans, if they want to get a farm bill done, to basically figure out a way for the chairman to save face and get this thing through the process so that he can point to the fact that he passed a farm bill during the time he was chair.

BOOKER: With all of that in mind, Vilsack says the farm bill is a complex piece of legislation. In addition to SNAP, the farm bill covers a range of subsidies¹¹ for farmers, aids in conservation and boosts rural development.

Robert Rector is a senior research fellow at the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation. He says the government's spending on SNAP is unsustainable, and Republicans need to dig in to keep work requirements in the final bill.

ROBERT RECTOR: Now, I think that they have more leverage than they think they do. The way that this program survives without being changed is that they kick the can down the street, but they kick it five years at a time.

BOOKER: Instead of reauthorizing the farm bill every five years as it normally is, Rector says it should be renewed every six months.

RECTOR: They should come back to it again and again and again by having short reauthorizations that require this issue to be brought up until it's resolved correctly.

BOOKER: Critics of the new work rules say if they are enacted¹², as many as 2 million people would have their food benefits reduced or lost altogether.

But Trump says he really wants them. If new work rules are not in the final farm bill, the question becomes, will the president veto it? Brakkton Booker, NPR News, Washington.

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1 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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》

6 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

9 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

10 behooves   

n.利益，好处( behoof的名词复数 )v.适宜( behoove的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It behooves us to help the needy. 我们应当帮助贫困者。 来自辞典例句
• It behooves a child to obey his parents. 子女应当服从父母。 来自辞典例句

11 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹