2007年VOA标准英语-US Congress Sends Bush Lobby Reform Bill

By Deborah Tate
Washington
02 August 2007

The U.S. Senate Thursday approved legislation that strengthens ethics¹ and lobbying laws. The measure, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this week, now goes to President Bush for his signature. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The bill, which the Senate passed on an 83 to 14 vote, would bar members of the House and Senate from accepting gifts from lobbyists and require them to provide details about campaign donations raised by lobbyists.

"It provides transparency in campaign contributions, in bundling - where lobbyists give you a stack of checks. All that has to be disclosed now," said Senator Ben Cardin is a Maryland Democrat².

The measure also would require members of Congress to disclose more information about funding they insert into budget bills that could benefit popular local projects and thus potentially boost lawmakers' reelection prospects³.

But some Republicans said the bill has provisions that could allow lawmakers to circumvent⁴ the disclosure requirements - an argument echoed by White House spokesman Tony Snow. "The language has been considerably⁵ weakened, and furthermore, the reporting requirements have been reduced to no requirements at all," he said.

Political watchdog groups agree that the measure is not as tough as initial legislation unveiled by the House and Senate earlier this year, but they nevertheless praised it as an important step.

"Is it perfect? No. I will wait in vain probably for that legislation that we pass here that is perfect. But because of our process, because of the glorious nature of a democracy, it is always a matter of give and take, it is always a matter of finding compromise, to find that piece of legislation to get enough votes and send it to the president's desk," said Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat.

Democrats⁶, who took control of Congress following last November's election, say passage of the legislation fulfills⁷ a campaign promise made last year after two Republican congressman⁸ and a high-profile Republican lobbyist were convicted on bribery⁹ charges.

Although Democrats sought to link Republicans to what they called a culture of corruption¹⁰ on Capitol Hill, a member of their own party, Democratic Congressman William Jefferson was indicted¹¹ on bribery charges earlier this year.

1 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

2 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。

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

5 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

6 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》

7 fulfills   

v.履行（诺言等）( fulfill的第三人称单数 )；执行（命令等）；达到（目的）；使结束

参考例句：

• He always fulfills his promises. 他总是履行自己的诺言。 来自辞典例句
• His own work amply fulfills this robust claim. 他自己的作品在很大程度上实现了这一正确主张。 来自辞典例句

8 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。

9 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。