PBS高端访谈:白宫的两万亿经济刺激法案

JUDY WOODRUFF: And, this evening, President Trump¹ held another briefing on COVID-19, this time declaring victory on the pandemic aid package still being held up in Congress. But let's turn right now to our Yamiche Alcindor, who has been listening in. So, Yamiche, we know the White House was... has been involved in those negotiations² on the Hill. What are they saying about where things stand right now?

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, just a few moments ago at the White House, President Trump said he would sign the $2 trillion coronavirus bill if it was sent to him immediately. So, he was urging the House and the Senate to move quickly. One thing that was remarkable³, the Treasury⁴ secretary, Steve Mnuchin, said, even though the $2 trillion bill would be the largest stimulus⁵ package passed by Congress, if it passes, he said it would only keep the economy afloat for three months. The president said, if we have to go back, we will. So, already, even though this is a huge bill, federal officials are already saying they might have to have another bill to keep the economy going. Another thing to note, this bill, President Trump is going to be exempt⁶ from using any of the small business or large business loans. So there's going be $500 billion in this bill, and Democrats⁷ fought and got an exemption⁸ for President Trump. So his family business, his hotels, his resorts, none of them will be able to use this bailout money.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Yamiche, just to be clear, even though some Republicans have objected to unemployment benefit language in the bill, the president is saying he's good with it?

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: That's right. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said: This is a bill to get people back to work. We're fine with the unemployment benefits, and we want it to go forward. And the president said: I will sign it immediately.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And then, also quickly, Yamiche, we know the president and others at the briefing spoke⁹ about the status of the fight against the coronavirus. What are they saying?

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, the president was praising the job that he's been doing, and he talked specifically about testing. Here's what he said:

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: We're also doing some very large testings throughout the country. I told you yesterday that, in South Korea...this is not a knock in any way, because I have...I just spoke with President Moon. We had a very good conversation about numerous other things.

But they have done a very good job in testing. But we now are doing more testing that anybody by far. We do more in eight days than they do in eight weeks.

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Just a quick fact-check here. President Trump is saying the United States is doing more testing. But South Korea is six times... is only one-sixth the population of the United States. They're doing more testing per capita than the United States. Also, the United States was slow at testing. So, this is testing being ramped¹⁰ up. That's why we're now testing so many people, Judy.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Important points to make. Yamiche Alcindor, following this very late-day briefing at the White House, Yamiche, thank you.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：今晚，特朗普总统就新冠病毒再次举行了吹风会。这一次，特朗普宣布其在疫情援助一揽子计划中取得的胜利。该计划目前的流程已经走到了国会。不过，现在先让我们听听我台记者阿尔辛多发回的报道。阿尔辛多一直在了解这件事的进展。阿尔辛多，我们听闻白宫一直参与着国会大厦的商讨。关于目前的事态，他们的观点是怎样的呢？

阿尔辛多：是这样的，就在刚才，特朗普在白宫里表示自己会签署2万亿美元的法案来应对新冠病毒。只要该法案能走到他手里，他就会立马签署。所以特朗普在敦促众议院和参议院尽快行动。有一件大事儿是：财政部部长史提夫·纽切纳表示，即便这2万亿美元的法案会是国会通过的最大刺激性一揽子法案，而且即便该法案最终通过，也只能为美国经济保驾护航3个月的时间。特朗普表示，如果经济倒退是大势所趋的话，那这一劫是逃不过的。所以，虽然这个法案是个大手笔，但联邦政府的一些官员已经表示他们或许不得不需要另一个法案来保证经济平稳。还有一件值得注意的事儿：特朗普可以免除使用小企业和大企业的商业贷款。所以这个法案里会有5000亿美元的资金。民主党通过抗争而免除了特朗普。因此，特朗普的家族企业、酒店、度假胜地都无法使用这笔救援资金。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：阿尔辛多，所以，更明确地说——即便一些共和党议员反对该方案里与失业津贴有关的内容，特朗普还是觉得没问题对吗？

阿尔辛多：没错。财政部长史提夫·纽切纳表示“这个法案可以帮助一些人重返工作岗位。我们觉得失业津贴没问题，我们希望该法案能继续推进。”

特朗普表示：我会即刻签署这份法案的。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：接下来，我想简单问个问题——我们都知道，在吹风会上，特朗普和其他一些人都谈到了抗击疫情的情况。他们都说了些什么呢？

阿尔辛多：是这样的，特朗普赞扬了自己所做的工作，他尤其谈到了做检测的事情。他的原话如下：

唐纳德·特朗普，美国总统：我们在全国范围内做了一些非常大型的检测。昨天我跟大家说过韩国的情况，这绝不是批评，因为我……我刚刚跟文在寅总统聊过。我们在很多话题上进行了不错的对话。但他们在检测方面做得非常不错。但目前我们的检测工作也不比谁差。我们8天的检测量就比他们8周还要多。

阿尔辛多：这里快速提一下事实核查的情况。特朗普说美国做了更多的检测。但韩国的检测量是美国的6倍……但韩国人口只有美国的1/6。所以韩国的人均检测量比美国高。

此外，美国检测的速度很慢。所以，检测力度在加强。朱迪，这也是咱们检测如此多人的原因。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：你提的一些点都很重要。感谢你从白宫吹风会上发回的最新报道。

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

7 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》

8 exemption   

n.豁免，免税额，免除

参考例句：

• You may be able to apply for exemption from local taxes.你可能符合资格申请免除地方税。
• These goods are subject to exemption from tax.这些货物可以免税。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。