2006年VOA标准英语-US Congress Considers Amending Law on Wiretappi

By Deborah Tate
Capitol Hill
26 July 2006
 
The Bush administration has endorsed¹ legislation to change U.S. law to accommodate a controversial anti-terrorism surveillance program that some critics have called illegal.  A Senate hearing focused on the issue.

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US Capitol, Washington DC 
  
The wiretapping program allows for warrant-less eavesdropping² on international phone calls and e-mails between people in the United States and suspected terrorists overseas. 

Critics have questioned its legality, noting that it bypasses a special federal court whose approval is required under a 1978 law known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for domestic wiretapping operations.

President Bush, who authorized³ the program after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, has argued he has the constitutional authority to do so to protect national security.

Sen. Arlen Specter questions Alberto Gonzales during hearing on Justice Department oversight⁴; Sen. Patrick Leahy seated at right, July 18, 2006   
  
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter, has worked with the White House to craft compromise legislation that would allow a secret court to review the program to determine its legality.

"The constitutional requirements are that there has to be a balancing of the value to security contrasted with the intrusion into privacy, and that can only be determined⁵ by judicial⁶ review," he said.

But critics, including the top Democrat⁷ on the Senate committee, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, say the legislation would basically rubber stamp the controversial program by not requiring individual warrants, the underpinning⁸ of U.S. civil liberties protections.

"It has been called a compromise," he said.  "But this Vermonter does not believe we should ever compromise on requiring the executive to submit to the rule of law no matter who is president.  I am sad to say I see the bill less as a compromise and more as a concession⁹."

Under questioning by Senator Specter, Lieutenant¹⁰ General Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Agency, which conducts the program, said the process of obtaining warrants would take crucial time away from anti-terror efforts.

Alexander:  "You would be so far behind the target if you were in hot pursuit with the numbers of applications that you would have to make and the times to make those, you could never catch up."

Specter:  "So your conclusion is that to have individual warrants it would not be practical or effective in what you are seeking to accomplish?"

Alexander:  "That is correct."

Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden, who set up the program when he led the NSA in 2001, endorsed the compromise legislation, saying it is necessary to update the 1978 law for the internet age.
 
"All of us exist on a unitary integrated global telecommunications grid¹¹ in which geography is an increasingly irrelevant¹² factor," he said.

It is not clear when the Senate will act on the legislation.

1 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

3 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

4 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。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

7 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。

8 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

9 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

10 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

11 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

12 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。