VOA慢速英語:美國參議院通過貿(mào)易促進權(quán)法案

The United States Senate recently passed a measure called Trade Promotion Authority. Under the bill, the Congress can only vote for or against a trade agreement once it has been negotiated. This ability to "fast-track" such agreements would be important when Congress considers possible trade deals with Asian and Pacific countries and also Europe.

美國參議院最近通過了一項貿(mào)易促進權(quán)的措施。根據(jù)這項法案，當涉及一項貿(mào)易協(xié)定達成時，國會只能投贊成或反對票。這種快速審批類似協(xié)議遇到國會審批美國與亞太國家以及歐洲可能簽訂的貿(mào)易協(xié)定時，可能會尤為重要。

But the issue of free trade can fuel a debate about U.S. jobs. Many labor unions and Democratic Party members support a little-known federal program for American workers. It is called the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program. It provides financial assistance to those who lose their job because of increased foreign competition. Conservatives say the program is ineffective and costs too much.

但是自由貿(mào)易可能會增加美國就業(yè)問題的爭論。許多工會和民主黨成員支持一項少有人知的針對美國工人的聯(lián)邦計劃，這就是所謂的貿(mào)易調(diào)整援助計劃。該計劃為那些因為國外競爭增加而失業(yè)的人提供經(jīng)濟援助。保守黨稱該計劃并沒有多大效果反而付出的代價過大。

However, a former steel worker who spoke with VOA says the program works and should be expanded. Michael Smith worked at the Bethlehem Steel Mill in Sparrows Point, Maryland. The mill was once a major producer of steel. It employed as many as 30,000 Americans. Mr. Smith was a crane operator with Bethlehem Steel for 13 years. Recently, he returned to the grounds.

然而一位前鋼鐵工人告訴美國之音稱這項計劃呈現(xiàn)出了效果，并且應(yīng)該擴大施用范圍。Michael Smith在馬里蘭州斯帕羅斯角的伯利恒鋼鐵廠工作。這個工廠曾經(jīng)是鋼鐵主要生產(chǎn)商，曾雇傭30000多名美國人。Smith曾是這個工廠的吊車司機，一做就是13年。最近他又回到了這里。

"I remember what this place used to be. I remember the sights, the sounds, the tractors. It's actually hard physically standing here. I mean, my heart hurts."

我記得這個地方曾經(jīng)是干什么的。我還記得當時的場景，那些聲音，那些吊車。其實重新站在這里是很難的，我是指心里面很難受。

The mill closed in 2012 as a result of a series of business decisions and increasing global competition. That left Mr. Smith and 2,500 mill workers with no jobs and few marketable skills.

這個工廠自2012年因為一系列業(yè)務(wù)決策和不斷增加的全球競爭不得不關(guān)閉。這使得Smith在內(nèi)的2500名工廠工人失業(yè)，并且這些人所具備的市場技能很少。

"I was blessed enough to find a program called TRA ((Trade Readjustment Allowance)) and TAA ((Trade Adjustment Assistance)), which is a union bargain benefit that was provided to us."

幸運的是我聽說了貿(mào)易調(diào)整補助計劃和貿(mào)易調(diào)整援助計劃。這個項目給我們提供了一個很好的機會。

The TAA program gave Mr. Smith a weekly stipend. He used his retraining assistance to pay for books and school tuition fees. He recently completed his college studies and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Psychology.

貿(mào)易援助計劃給Smith先生提供了每周津貼。他用這筆錢來支付用來培訓(xùn)新技能的書費和學費。他最近完成了大學課時學習，并且取得了心理學學士學位。

Michael Smith's experience with the program was good. However, many conservatives say TAA is wasteful and ineffective. Dan Ikenson studies trade policies for the Cato Institute research group. He says that for every job lost to trade, 30 jobs are lost for other reasons. He spoke to VOA on Skype.

Smith的援助計劃經(jīng)驗是個很好的例子。然而許多保守派議員認為貿(mào)易援助計劃是一種資金浪費項目，并且所取得的成效不大。Dan Ikenson在卡托研究所研究小組負責研究貿(mào)易政策。他說貿(mào)易每丟掉一個就業(yè)崗位，其它原因就會丟掉了30個就業(yè)崗位。他通過Skype與美國之音進行了對話。

"My first question is: why should we treat people who lose jobs or can tie their job loss in some way to trade any differently than we treat other people who lose their jobs?"

我第一個問題想問，為什么我們要把那些失業(yè)的人或者因為受貿(mào)易影響而失業(yè)的人與因為其他原因失業(yè)的人區(qū)別對待?

Dan Ikenson says trade creates more winners than losers. Instead of government aid, he says manufacturers are better equipped to retrain displaced workers.

Dan Ikenson說貿(mào)易所造就的成功者遠比失敗者多。相比政府援助，他說，制造商能更好的培訓(xùn)失業(yè)工人。

"They complain a lot about the dearth of skilled workers, and if they were incentivized to hire people just to train them in exchange for them agreeing to work, maybe for a year or two afterwards, that might work a lot better than trade adjustment assistance does."

關(guān)于缺乏技術(shù)工人這個問題他們抱怨的太多了，如果他們主動雇人來培訓(xùn)他們來讓他們工作，也許一年或者兩年之后，可能就會比貿(mào)易調(diào)整援助工作的效果好很多。

The Senate voted to extend the 400-million dollar program as part of a fast-track bill to speed pending free trade deals with Pacific countries. The House of Representatives has yet to vote on the trade legislation.

參議院投票通過延長4億美元計劃作為快速審批法案的一部分來加快推進美國同太平洋國家懸而未決的自由貿(mào)易協(xié)定。眾議院也已經(jīng)投票表示支持貿(mào)易立法。

I'm Mario Ritter.

Mil Arcega reported on this story for VOA. Additional material came from other VOA reports. Mario Ritter wrote it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

assistance – n. help or aid that is provided by someone or a group

global – adj. from around the world or having to do with the world

marketable – adj. able to be sold; something that others will want to buy or accept

adjustment – n. a relatively small change that makes something better

pending – adj. not yet decided on or acted upon