VOA慢速英语2020--特朗普和拜登在重大问题上意见分歧

Where Trump¹ and Biden Disagree on Major Issues

The United States is making last minute preparations for national elections on Tuesday, November 3.

President Donald Trump and former Vice² President Joe Biden are the two main candidates for president. Trump is the choice of the Republican Party. The Democratic Party chose Biden as its nominee³.

The two men disagree about most issues. Their differences provide voters with clear choices for the direction of the country over the coming four years.

Trump has mostly governed as he said he would during his presidential election campaign four years ago. The Republican candidate says he is not a politician, but someone who sets his own path. Since taking office, his "America First" policy has tested U.S. relations with long-time allies. Trump has also attempted to expand the powers of the president, but often found his actions limited by federal court rulings.

Biden has campaigned on what Democrats⁴ call progressive policy positions. He has promised that he will return the country to a more traditional form of politics. Supporters say that, as president, Biden would get involved in detailed⁵ policy debates and legislative⁶ deal-making. Biden has said he will work with allies to reach policy objectives.

Coronavirus health crisis efforts

More than 225,000 Americans have died of causes linked to the novel coronavirus. The virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, was first identified in China last year and quickly spread to other countries.

Parts of the United States are currently facing their highest levels of infection. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 145 million tests have been performed nationwide.

The Trump administration's plan for dealing⁷ with the virus is to develop vaccines⁸ and therapeutic⁹ treatments for those infected. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows recently said that the Trump administration does not believe it can "control" the virus. The administration has not required Americans to wear face masks. Public health experts note that wearing masks could reduce infection rates and save lives.

Biden supports the development of vaccines and therapeutic treatments for COVID-19. But he has called for more federal efforts to contain the virus. Biden has repeatedly said that he believes a nationwide mask requirement is both legal and necessary.

Both Trump and Biden support the reopening of U.S. schools. Biden proposes providing federal money to help schools open safely. Trump has proposed holding back on the release of federal money to schools that fail to reopen.

The issue of climate change

Trump has expressed support for the U.S. oil and gas industries, saying they are important to employment in many states. Since taking office, he has taken steps to expand oil and coal production.

Early in his presidency¹⁰, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord. That agreement is aimed at limiting rising temperatures in Earth's atmosphere. The accord sets limits on industrial pollution from developed countries.

Biden has proposed a $2 trillion plan to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The Democratic candidate says he would push to make electricity production in the U.S. carbon-neutral by 2035. Carbon-neutral means exactly balancing the release of carbon gasses with their removal from the atmosphere.

Biden has said he does not fully¹¹ support the Green New Deal program, a legislative proposal that many Democrats support. But he does support parts of it. The plan aims to fight climate change and economic inequality. Biden also wants to expand the use of electric vehicles and has promised to return the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accord.

Law enforcement and race relations

Over the past year, many U.S. cities have faced protests over the deaths of unarmed Black people involving police. Demonstrators say they are angry over abuses by police and racial injustice¹² in American society.

Trump has made it clear that he supports the law enforcement community. He has called for policies that punish demonstrators who use violence or destroy property.

Biden has tried to walk a fine line between calling for order and condemning¹³ violence on all sides. Some political observers say he wants to keep the support of a growing movement within the Democratic Party that wants to reform law enforcement methods.

In debates with Trump, Biden said he does not support efforts to cut spending on police. Biden has said he is open to providing support for programs that would give communities choices other than an armed police response when facing individuals with mental health or drug problems.

The issue of health care coverage¹⁴

Trump's administration is currently arguing a case before the U.S. Supreme¹⁵ Court. It wants the high court to rule on the Affordable¹⁶ Care Act, or ACA. The health care program is known as Obamacare because it was signed into law by former President Barack Obama. How the court's members rule will decide if parts of the program will remain or whether the law will be overturned.

The law's cancellation¹⁷ could affect the health care coverage of an estimated 23 million Americans who receive government assistance under its rules. Supporters of the law say its cancellation could raise concerns including whether people with pre-existing conditions will remain covered.

Trump has promised to provide a plan that is better and costs less than the ACA, but he has yet to release a complete plan. He also has promised to protect people with pre-existing conditions.

Biden was vice president when the ACA was approved by Congress. He wants to expand the program by offering a "public option" that would permit people to buy a Medicare-like program if they choose. Medicare is a federal program that helps retired¹⁸ Americans pay for healthcare costs. Biden has proposed lowering the age for people to join Medicare, from 65 years to 60.

Taxes

Trump has campaigned on the successful passage of his 2017 tax cut for individuals and businesses. He has promised additional reductions in the future. Trump also has suggested that he wants to cut taxes on capital gains, the profits Americans make when they sell stocks or other investments.

Biden has clearly said that wants to raise taxes on rich people and on businesses. He said he would roll back many of the tax cuts in the 2017 legislation. He has promised that only individuals earning more than $400,000 each year would pay more in taxes. Biden also proposes raising the tax on profits reported by businesses from 21 to 28 percent.

Trade

President Trump's trade policy has mainly centered on discussions with individual nations instead of large trade agreements involving two or more countries. The Trump administration successfully renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement, which is now called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The administration's efforts to reform U.S. trade with China have largely halted since the start of the coronavirus health crisis. But earlier in his term, Trump ordered tariffs²⁰ on goods from countries and groups that the administration said do not trade fairly with the United States. Critics say the tariffs hurt U.S. buyers who cannot or will not buy from suppliers unaffected by the trade taxes.

Biden has said that he would reconsider one of the first moves Trump made on taking office: the U.S. withdrawal²¹ from the Trans-Pacific Partnership²². That trade deal involves countries on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Biden has also promised to reconsider tariffs, suggesting he would withdraw at least some of them.

National security

Trump has sought to strengthen the U.S. military through increased defense²³ spending. He has reduced the number of forces in foreign countries, such as Afghanistan and Iraq. He also has sought changes to troop deployment²⁴ on the soil of allies like Germany.

Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are required to spend a percentage of their economies on their militaries. Trump has criticized many NATO countries for not spending enough. This has angered some supporters of NATO who say his words have hurt the alliance.

Biden is more of an internationalist than Trump. He once served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Biden has strong relationships with many leaders of America's traditional allies. Supporters expect him to begin rebuilding U.S. ties to those countries if he is elected.

Words in This Story

therapeutic – adj. related to treating sickness and providing good effects on the body

mask – n. a covering for part or all of the face

greenhouse – n. a structure or area that traps heat from the sun

response – n. an answer or reaction

tariff¹⁹ – n. a tax paid on a classification of imports or exports

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 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

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 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》

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 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。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

13 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

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。

16 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。

17 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

18 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

19 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

20 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

21 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。

22 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

23 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

24 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。