VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Eye Into the World o

BARBARA KLEIN: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

STEVE EMBER: And I'm Steve Ember. Today we talk about lobbying and think tanks -- two important parts of making policy in the United States.

BARBARA KLEIN: Many groups are involved in public policy decisions. Representatives of corporations and interest groups interact with Congress and the Executive Branch to influence those decisions. This activity is called lobbying.

Some people say lobbying supports special interests at the expense of the public interest. But lobbying is an activity protected by the United States Constitution. And it has become an important part of how laws are made and carried out.

STEVE EMBER: Laws are made in the United States in what is supposed to be a very public process. Bills are proposed in Congress, debated and voted on. Those that pass are sent to the president with the goal of being signed into law.

Then the Executive Branch of the government carries out those laws, and the rules based on them, through its many departments and agencies.

Individuals and businesses that are affected¹ by these laws and rules want to influence their creation and their enforcement. This effort to influence is called lobbying.

Lobbyists gather in the Capitol Rotunda² in Lincoln, Nebraska, as state lawmakers debate on the floor of the Legislature in February 2009

BARBARA KLEIN:A lobby is a public area near the entrance of a building. It is also a public room next to the assembly room of a legislative⁴ body.

The verb "to lobby" first appeared in print in the United States in the eighteen thirties, according to a website about Washington. The term is believed to have started in the British Parliament. It meant the lobbies outside the houses of Parliament where deals took place.

STEVE EMBER: Lobbying is a major industry in Washington. A company or interest group often hires professional lobbyists to do the job.

Estimates for two thousand nine show that close to three and a half billion dollars was spent to influence Congress and the Executive Branch.

Much of the work is done by law firms that specialize in influencing the legislative process and rules enforcement. One of these law firms is Patton Boggs.

Nicholas Allard is a partner at the firm, and says lawyers play an important part in lobbying.

NICHOLAS ALLARD: "If laws are not drafted correctly, or if they’re not implemented⁵ in a fair way so that you have a common rule applied⁶ universally in similar situations, you have bad results and bad policy."

BARBARA KLEIN:

Ken⁷ Vogel is with the Politico newspaper in Washington. He says sometimes lawmakers follow the lead of the lobbyists.

KEN VOGEL: "Some cases, there are lobbying groups that are actually so successful and have so much influence they’re able to write bills, propose bills, for members of Congress. And these members of Congress will introduce them without changing a word of them."

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Federal laws govern the process of lobbying. There are also ethics⁸ rules for members of Congress and the administration. Mark Rom, a professor at Georgetown University, talks about these rules.

MARK ROM: "We’re always testing where those boundaries are and where those rules are. Here’s the big thing: giving money to get something done – that’s illegal. Talking with someone to get something done – that’s not illegal. But there are lots of ways that money comes into the political process that make those boundaries hard to define and always open to dispute."

BARBARA KLEIN:

The news media and self-appointed ethics "watchdog" groups observe how lobbying is carried out. Lobbyists have to report how much money they spend on different kinds of lobbying. Some members of Congress have been sent to jail for illegal actions like taking gifts from lobbyists to influence votes.

Another ethics issue is government decision-makers³ becoming lobbyists and lobbyists becoming decision-makers. Critics call this a "revolving⁹ door." It enables former lawmakers and administration officials to have a large amount of influence on laws and regulations.

The Washington Post newspaper recently found that three of out four lobbyists for the oil and gas industry used to work in the federal government. Many worked in positions that regulated those industries.

Lobbyist Nicholas Allard says this is the important question when someone leaves the government: Is there a conflict of interest, and is the person benefiting from his or her former government service?

Former senator John Breaux left the Senate and became a lobbyist for Patton Boggs. He was criticized for doing that. His answer? "I have been in government my entire life. What do you expect me to become -- an auto¹⁰ mechanic?"

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Lobbyists are expected to be able to reach important people who decide on laws and policies. Reporter Tim Carney at the Washington Examiner newspaper says knowing the right people is important.

He says a lobbyist might be somebody who used to work for a particular congressman¹¹. So the lobbyist can easily get a meeting with that congressman.

Ken Vogel of the newspaper Politico says lawmakers are targeted in many ways. Traditional lobbying is meeting in an office. But there are also advertisements in newspapers, on the subway and on television.

All of this is designed to do the same thing -- to influence the decisions that are made in Washington.

One example of a multimedia¹² lobbying campaign involves two aircraft makers, Boeing and EADS, parent company of Europe's Airbus. They are competing to win an Air Force contract to build new refueling planes.

Both companies have used traditional lobbyists. They have also put out their messages through television and newspaper advertisements and other media.

The fight also shows the growing effort of foreign corporations and even nations to use lobbyists to influence decisions in Washington.

Nicholas Allard talks about how international problems lead to international involvement.

NICHOLAS ALLARD: "Perhaps the biggest change in lobbying is that it is increasingly international and multinational¹³. On most big policy issues -- climate change, financial services regulation – there’s widespread, almost universal, understanding around the world that you can’t act unilaterally."

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN: Washington has many research organizations known as think tanks. They examine issues and sometimes provide opinions on policy decisions.

Some think tanks research subjects like social problems, economics or defense¹⁴. There are liberal and conservative think tanks. Some are neutral and some have strong political beliefs.

One of the oldest public policy research organizations is the RAND Corporation. Its headquarters are in California. The name is a short form of the term "research and development."

RAND was created after World War Two. Media Relations Director Jeffrey Hiday says the term "think tank" dates back to that time. He says the idea was that RAND was a place where people were "putting their heads together" and thinking.

But RAND likes to call itself a research organization instead of a think tank. It says it remains¹⁵ neutral on the issues it studies.

STEVE EMBER: John Bolton was United States ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. Mr. Bolton is now with a think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, or AEI. He says think tanks differ in many ways.

JOHN BOLTON: "There’s a huge range of difference among the various institutions. Some are philosophically¹⁶ based. Some do work for the government on government contracts addressing particular issues. Others, like AEI, and Brookings, Heritage, CSIS are completely funded independently of the government."

Brookings and Heritage are the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation. CSIS is the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

BARBARA KLEIN: Most think tanks are set up as nonprofit organizations. They get money to operate from foundations, individuals and corporations.

Mark Rom at Georgetown University says some think tank experts not only do research on issues. They also develop proposals for legislation and then try to gain support for them. In effect, they become lobbyists.

They meet with members of Congress and the Executive Branch and say "Here is what we found and here is what you should do." Mr. Rom says examples of such advocacy can be found among think tanks that deal with social issues, the environment and nuclear disarmament.

STEVE EMBER:

Some think tanks separate research and activism. The idea is to avoid possible conflicts as an organization doing both activities.

One example is the Center for American Progress. Chief Operating Officer Neera Tanden says her group is interested in moving ideas in a progressive direction.

She says part of the organization works like a traditional think tank. Policy experts study problems and decide what the solutions should be.

Then the American Progress Action Fund tries to gain support for the ideas in Congress, in the White House and in the media.

BARBARA KLEIN: Think tanks have yet another role in Washington.

They provide a place where officials of former administrations can continue to work on policy issues. And wait for a possible return to government when their party comes back to power.

STEVE EMBER: Our program was written by Shelley Gollust with reporting by Jeffrey Young. I'm Steve Ember.

BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein. You can find transcripts¹⁷, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

 

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 rotunda   

n.圆形建筑物；圆厅

参考例句：

• The Capitol at Washington has a large rotunda.华盛顿的国会大厦有一圆形大厅。
• The rotunda was almost deserted today,dotted with just a few tourists.圆形大厅今天几乎没有多少人，只零星散布着几个游客。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

8 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。

9 revolving   

adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想

参考例句：

• The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
• The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。

10 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

11 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。

12 multimedia   

adj.多种手段的，多媒体的；n.多媒体

参考例句：

• Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合。
• Adam raised the issue of multimedia applications and much useful discussion ensued.亚当提出了多媒体应用的问题，从而引发了许多有益的讨论。

13 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 philosophically   

adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地

参考例句：

• He added philosophically that one should adapt oneself to the changed conditions. 他富于哲理地补充说，一个人应该适应变化了的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harry took his rejection philosophically. 哈里达观地看待自己被拒的事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句