2007年VOA标准英语-Lawmakers Urge Bush to Reconsider Broadcasting

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
19 April 2007

U.S. lawmakers are urging the Bush administration to reconsider proposed budgetary reductions that would end most radio broadcasting in the English language by government-funded Voice of America. VOA's Dan Robinson reports on a hearing on Capitol Hill examining broadcasting and public diplomacy¹ efforts.

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Reductions proposed by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the nine-member panel that oversees² U.S. government-supported non-military international broadcasting, would end all English language radio programming by the Voice of America, except for programs transmitted to Africa.

Other cuts would affect radio broadcasts in Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Uzbek, and a number of Balkan languages, along with Tibetan, Thai, Cantonese, Hindi, and Portuguese³ to Africa.

The reductions come amid ongoing⁴ expansions in government-funded radio and television programming for the Middle East, Iran and Afghanistan, for which Congress has provided increased funds since the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Appearing before the committee, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes faced tough questioning from lawmakers who view the cuts as short-sighted and likely to undermine the ability of the U.S. to communicate abroad.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey chairs the House appropriations⁵ subcommittee on foreign operations.

"These cuts, while small in the grand scheme of things, loom⁶ large when looking at their effect on country programming, and will dampen our public diplomacy efforts," said Nita Lowey.

Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes (Mar 2007 photo)

Hughes says the decision to slash⁷ VOA English, proposed as part of a $668-million budget request for broadcasting, was made in a difficult budget environment. She says it was based on what she calls sound audience research.

"None of us wanted to have to make these decisions, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, it was a very, very difficult decision because we all believe in broadcasting," said Karen Hughes. "We believe in communicating with the world, we want to provide the Voice of America to the world. We tried to make difficult decisions as best we could, based on research."

However Minnesota Democrat⁸ Betty McCollum said broadcasting to the world in English is a comparatively inexpensive way for the U.S. to communicate, She accused the broadcasting board of trying to, in effect, silence the "global brand" of the United States.

"The audiences in fact are not dwindling," said Betty McCollum. "They are just being cut off. If you turn off a transmitter and then do a survey in a country of how many people are listening to VOA, it is going to go down, because they can't listen to Voice of America."

Republican Congressman⁹ Mark Kirk echoed the concerns, saying the broadcasting board should reassess its approach.

"One point six billion people on the planet speak English," said Congressman Kirk. "It is the main language of 71 countries. Al-Jazeera just committed $1 billion a year in English for 24/7 broadcasting. So I am wondering if we can take a second look working with you on that."

Kirk also questioned reductions in one of three dialects of Tibetan broadcasted by the VOA and Radio Free Asia, as well as the elimination¹⁰ of Cantonese. Hughes had this response.

"[For] both RFA and VOA, the audiences [in Cantonese] were not measurable," she said. "VOA was less than one tenth of a percent, and we could not measure an audience for RFA broadcasts. So, again we based the decisions as best we could on research."

Hughes says eliminating broadcasts in one of three Tibetan dialects does not diminish the U.S. commitment to support human rights and liberties in Tibet.

Hughes also faced questions about a key element of the broadcasting structure, al-Hurra television for the Middle East.

The station was sharply criticized for airing remarks of Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, as well as a Palestinian radical¹¹ who made anti-Israel and anti-American comments.

Critics, including pro-Israel groups, say the interviews amounted to the use of U.S. taxpayer¹² dollars to support terrorists and undermine U.S. policy.

Hughes had this exchange with Democrat Steve Rothman.

ROTHMAN: "Why on God's Earth would we want to sponsor a live interview with Nasrallah?"

HUGHES: "Well we don't and that was a violation¹³ of our policy, that was a mistake that was a violation of our policy, I should have said that if I didn't say that earlier."

ROTHMAN: "I am glad to hear you say that."

HUGHES: "That was a mistake, it was a violation of our policy."

Hughes points to what she calls "comprehensive information" supporting programming reductions, saying the goal is to affect the fewest number of people based on audience research, while expanding transmissions to strategically-important countries like Iran, North Korea, and Somalia.

But Congresswoman McCollum, while challenging the statistics used to justify¹⁴ the cuts, said she wants the board to turn over to Congress the minutes of its meetings, which have been closed to the public on national security grounds.

In her testimony¹⁵ on what she calls successful efforts to improve public diplomacy programs, Undersecretary Hughes told lawmakers she is committed to ensuring that the United States has a platform to broadcast credible¹⁶ news and information to counteract¹⁷ what she calls hate-filled and anti-American propaganda.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

3 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

6 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

7 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

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 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

11 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

12 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

13 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

14 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

15 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

16 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

17 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。