VOA慢速英语 2007 0526a

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week in Washington, Congress approved a war spending bill that President Bush 
 
said he would sign. There was debate on an immigration bill. And hearings continued into why the Justice Department dismissed eight federal prosecutors¹ last year.

The Iraq spending bill was approved Thursday after majority Democrats² dropped their demand to set a date for a troop withdrawal³. But the bill does threaten to cut economic aid if the Iraqi government fails to make progress on political and security reforms.

Democrats say they will renew their fight for a withdrawal plan in the next war-financing bill.

The one just approved contains one hundred twenty billion dollars in spending. Ninety-five billion of that will pay for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September. Billions will go to unrelated projects at home.

Also included in the bill is the first increase in almost ten years in the federal minimum wage. Many of the lowest-paid workers are immigrants. And on Monday the Senate opened debate on an immigration bill.

Supporters of immigration reform, including President Bush, say the bill is needed to help fix a broken system. An estimated twelve million immigrants are in the United States illegally.

Proposals include stronger border security, a temporary worker program and a path for undocumented workers to become legal.

One proposal would create two-year renewable visas for foreign temporary workers. On Wednesday the Senate voted to cut the proposed number of temporary workers in half, to two hundred thousand a year.

Some groups say the bill would separate families of immigrant workers. Labor⁴ unions worry that the bill would create a new class of poorly paid migrants with few legal protections. Employers are divided over proposed changes that could also affect highly skilled foreign workers. And some critics say the bill would reward people who entered the country illegally.

The Senate is expected to end debate on the immigration bill in the middle of June. At that time senators could take a rare no-confidence vote in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales over the Justice Department dismissals.

On Wednesday a committee in the House questioned a former Gonzales aide who worked with the White House. Monica Goodling said she "crossed the line" by bringing political considerations into some hiring decisions at the department. But she said she had only a limited part in the replacement⁵ of United States attorneys.

Democrats said her statements raised new questions about dismissals that they suggest were made for political reasons. But a Republican lawmaker said there were no surprises and no evidence of corruption⁶.

Democrats and some Republicans want Alberto Gonzales to resign. President Bush says he supports him and hopes Congress will move quickly to finish hearings that he calls "political theater."

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

1 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

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 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

4 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。

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。