2006年VOA标准英语-US Senate Panel Postpones Vote on UN Nominee

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
07 September 2006

A key Senate panel has postponed¹ a vote on the nomination² of John Bolton for a full- term appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.  The unexpected development came as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee considered a number of President Bush's key diplomatic nominations³.

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John Bolton

Bolton's nomination, and therefore his confirmation⁴ by the full Senate, has been held up for months even as he has temporarily carried out his duties at the United Nations under a recess⁵ appointment made last August by President Bush.

That appointment expires January 1, and the president has made it clear on numerous occasions his determination to have Bolton confirmed by the Senate.

Republican Senator Richard Lugar, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, explained the postponement⁶ during Wednesday's committee session.

"We had originally intended to vote on the nomination of John Bolton to be ambassador to the U.N.  However, I am removing the nomination from today's agenda after conferring with several senators," he said.

Eventually, Bolton is expected to have the support of 10 committee Republicans, although one key senator, Lincoln Chafee, has not yet said how he will vote.

The nomination has been troublesome for Senator Lugar, who had to overcome opposition⁷ from one key Republican Senator, George Voinovich, and from Democrats⁹ who successfully blocked the Bolton nomination in the Senate last year.

All eight committee Democrats have opposed Bolton, and Senator Chris Dodd has urged fellow Democrats to filibuster¹⁰ Bolton's nomination if it does get to the Senate floor.
  
Senator Lugar has not said when the nomination will be scheduled again at committee level.

In separate actions, the Foreign Relations panel also approved six ambassadorial or diplomatic nominations.

One, Richard Hoagland as ambassador to Armenia, sparked statements by some senators upset that the U.S. government does not officially recognize as genocide the forced mass evacuation, and deaths related to it, of hundreds of thousands of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire. 

Among the comments were these by Democrat⁸ Joseph Biden and Senator Lugar, who said rejecting the Hoagland nomination would set a troubling precedent¹¹ and harm U.S. efforts to work with a strategically important nation.

"I think the administration's policy [on the Armenian genocide issue] is not only wrong, it is factually inconsistent with history," Sen. Biden said.

"Further delay in posting a highly-qualified nominee¹² in Yerevan is not in the interest of U.S. national security or our credibility in the region," said Sen. Lugar.

The Senate committee also approved and sent to the Senate for ratification¹³ the U.S.-Britain extradition¹⁴ treaty which lawmakers noted¹⁵ will help both countries deal with the worsening threat of Islamist terrorism.

1 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

6 postponement   

n.推迟

参考例句：

• He compounded with his creditors for a postponement of payment. 他与债权人达成协议延期付款。
• Rain caused the postponement of several race-meetings. 几次赛马大会因雨延期。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 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。

9 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》

10 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

11 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

12 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。

13 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

14 extradition   

n.引渡（逃犯）

参考例句：

• The smuggler is in prison tonight,awaiting extradition to Britain.这名走私犯今晚在监狱，等待引渡到英国。
• He began to trouble concerning the extradition laws.他开始费尽心思地去想关于引渡法的问题。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。