參議院爲貿易促進權法案掃除關鍵障礙
WASHINGTON — A flurry of last-minute deal-making on the Senate floor Thursday rescued President Barack Obama's ambitious trade agenda from defeat, breaking a filibuster to advance legislation that would empower the president to complete a sweeping, 12-nation Pacific trade accord.
華盛頓——週四，參議院在最後時刻進行了一系列交易，打破了阻止法案推進的冗長演說拖延戰術，使得貝拉克·奧巴馬總統雄心勃勃的貿易議程免於失敗。該法案將授權總統完成一個覆蓋太平洋地區12國的一攬子貿易協定。For the second time this month, Democratic opponents nearly brought down a carefully brokered deal to give the president authority to complete a trade accord spanning the Pacific and encompassing 40 percent of the world's economy on products ranging from airplanes to running shoes.
這是民主黨內的反對者本月第二次差點推翻精心安排的交易。這樣的交易將授權總統完成一項跨越太平洋並涵蓋40%的世界經濟產出的貿易協定，其中涉及的產品大至飛機，小至跑鞋。
But with the legislation seemingly headed to defeat, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, began deal-making, primarily to persuade enough Democrats to support the measure. He agreed to bring an extension of the Export-Import Bank to a vote before its authorization lapses June 30, and he promised Ohio's senators a vote on an amendment to aid the embattled steel industry.
然而，在該法案看似即將走向失敗之際，參議院多數黨領袖米奇·麥康奈爾(Mitch McConnell)開始做交易，主要是爲了說服足夠的民主黨人予以支持。他同意在美國進出口銀行(Export-Import Bank)的許可於6月30日到期之前進行延期問題的投票，並向來自俄亥俄州的參議員承諾，會讓旨在扶持陷入困境的鋼鐵行業的一項修正案得以表決。
Those deals brought along 62 senators, just above the 60-vote threshold to keep the trade bill from falling to a filibuster.
這些交易爭取到了62名參議員的支持，剛剛超過讓該貿易法案避免拖延戰術所需的60票門檻。“I want to thank the bipartisan group of senators who took a big step forward this morning on a trade agenda that is consistent with strong labor standards, strong environmental standards, and access to markets that too often are closed even as these other countries are selling goods in the United States,” Obama told reporters at the White House.
“我想感謝這些來自兩黨的參議員。他們今天上午在貿易議程上向前邁了一大步。這一議程符合嚴格的勞工和環境標準。此外，有些國家正在向美國銷售商品，與此同時它們的市場卻往往是關閉的。這一議程將能讓我們進入這些市場，”奧巴馬在白宮對記者說。The fate of the trade promotion bill remains in doubt. The Senate must still vote on a series of amendments — some highly contentious — before a final vote on the trade legislation, probably on Friday. If, as is now likely, it passes the Senate, it faces strong, bipartisan opposition in the House.
然而，這項貿易促進權法案依然前途未卜。在對該法案進行最終表決之前，參議院必須對一系列修正案進行投票，其中一些極具爭議，而投票時間大概就在週五。目前看來，法案很可能會在參議院獲得通過。即便如此，它也將在衆議院面臨來自兩黨的強烈反對。“We understand we've got work to do,” said Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., who is leading efforts to round up Democratic votes for trade promotion authority in the House.
“我們明白還需要做工作，”來自威斯康星州的民主黨衆議員羅恩·金德(Ron Kind)說。他正牽頭進行努力，意在爭取衆議院的民主黨人支持賦予總統貿易促進權。Still, Thursday's vote was a high and difficult hurdle. It clearly established trade negotiating authority has the votes it needs in the Senate, and it vindicated the strategy of McConnell, who strictly limited the number of amendments to the trade bill.
不過，週四的表決結果依然跨越了高難度的障礙。它清楚地證實了貿易談判授權在參議院擁有所需的支持票數，也證明了麥康奈爾的戰略是正確的——他此前嚴格限制了該貿易法案的修正案數量。
