VOA常速英语2007年-US Congress Overrides Bush Veto For the First T

By Cindy Saine
Washington
10 November 2007

Lawmakers in both houses of the U.S. Congress this week handed President Bush a major defeat when they voted to override¹ his veto legislation to fund popular water projects. It was the first time in his seven year presidency² that the Congress was able to overturn a Bush veto. As VOA's Cindy Saine reports from Washington, the override is a sign that the Republican president will face growing pressure from the Democratic controlled Congress during his last year in office.

The U.S. Senate voted 79 to 14 on Thursday to overturn the president's veto of the water bill, with a total of 33 Republicans joining in with most Democrats⁴. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted 361 to 54 to override the veto.

California Senator Barbara Boxer⁵, a Democrat³ who chairs the Environment and Public Works committee, said it was a rare moment of unity⁶. "It's one of those rare moments, you know, in a very, very divided Senate that we come together," she said.

Senator Boxer said the vote showed Congress is ready to change its priorities and spend more money at home, for America.

The $23 billion legislation authorizes⁷ funding for 900 projects and studies across the United States, including coastal⁸ restoration in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, improving the Florida Everglades, and fisheries in the Great Lakes.

A White House spokesman called the bill "fiscally⁹ irresponsible." But the spokesman said the president was not surprised and understands that Republicans and Democrats are going to support projects in their districts.

Republican Senator James Inhofe, considered one of the most conservative members of the Senate, said his vote to override the veto was not easy. "The reason that I am standing¹⁰ up, and it's very difficult for me to do because I love our president. I think he's been ill-advised in this case," he said.

Several senators pointed¹¹ out that the bill authorizes future funding, but does not actually release any money to be spent now. For Democrats who have been defeated by President Bush's vetoes on embryonic¹² stem cell funding and the expansion of a children's health insurance program, the override was a morale¹³ booster.

Political analyst¹⁴ Larry Sabato, Diretor of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. said he believes the override indicates President Bush, who cannot run for president again because of term limits, is already seeing his influence diminished. "When this happens it's just confirmation¹⁵ that a president is very much a lame¹⁶ duck. We have known this about President Bush for some time. In fact, you could argue he's the earliest lame duck in American history among two term presidents," he said.

But Sabato cautioned that this does not mean that Democrats are likely to score similar victories in bigger battles with Congress over war spending on Iraq and Afghanistan. "The vote was overwhelming in both houses. This could happen again on some other spending matters. On matters like the war in Iraq, though, it will not happen," he said.

House Democrats are hoping another veto showdown could come soon involving the next spending bill for the war in Iraq.

1 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

2 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。

3 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。

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 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

6 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

7 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

8 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

9 fiscally   

在国库方面，财政上，在国库岁入方面

参考例句：

• Nor will fiscally stretched governments pump more money into the political equivalent of a leper colony. 财政吃紧的政府也不愿将更多的钱投入这个避之唯恐不及的政治瘟疫区。
• We are more fiscally constrained, which forces us to work smarter and more efficiently. 与F-15相比我们资金上的限制更大了，美女类小游戏，这迫使我们更为精心和有效地工作。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

13 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

14 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

15 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。

16 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。