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.
美国参议院最近通过了一项所谓“贸易促进权”的措施。根据这项法案，当一项贸易协定达成之后，国会只能投赞成或反对票。当国会审批美国与亚太国家以及欧洲可能签订的贸易协定时，这种快速审批这类协议的能力会很重要。
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.
但是自由贸易问题可能会助长关于美国就业的争论。许多工会和民主党成员支持一项少有人知的针对美国工人的联邦计划，这就是所谓的贸易调整援助计划。该计划为那些因为国外竞争而失业的人员提供经济援助。保守党称该计划并不奏效而且代价过大。
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，一位前钢铁工人对美国之音表示，该计划有效并且应该扩大。迈克尔·史密斯（Michael Smith）曾经在马里兰州斯帕罗斯角的伯利恒钢铁厂工作。该厂曾经是一家重要钢铁生产商。它雇佣了多达3万名美国人。史密斯先生在伯利恒钢铁厂干了13年起重机操作员。最近，他又回到了这里。
"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."
“我记得这里过去是什么样，记得这里的景象、声音和牵引车。实际上我站在这里很艰难。我的意思是我很心痛。”
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.
该厂于2012年因为一系列经营决策和国际竞争加剧而关闭。这使得史密斯先生和2500名钢铁工人丢掉了工作，而且他们很少具备市场需要的技能。
"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."
他说，“我很幸运地发现了贸易调整津贴计划和贸易调整援助计划，这是提供给我们的联合协议福利。”
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.
贸易调整援助计划为史密斯先生提供每周津贴。他利用他的再培训援助支付书籍和学费。最近他完成了大学学业并获得心理学学士学位。
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.
史密森先生对该计划的体验是美好的。然而许多保守派说贸易调整援助计划是浪费和低效的。丹·艾肯森（Dan Ikenson）在美国加图研究所从事贸易政策研究。他说，贸易每丢掉一个就业岗位，其它原因就会丢掉了30个就业岗位。他通过Skype对美国之音表示：
"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?"
“我的第一个问题是：为什么我们必须将因为贸易丢掉工作或工资受影响的人同其它失业者区别对待？”
Dan Ikenson says trade creates more winners than losers. Instead of government aid, he says manufacturers are better equipped to retrain displaced workers.
艾肯森表示，贸易带来的赢家多于输家。他说，制造商更有能力来重新培训失业工人，而不是政府援助。
"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."
“他们对技术工人的缺乏抱怨良多，如果他们被诱导雇人后培训他们参加工作，可能一两年之后，这会比贸易调整援助计划效果更好。”
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.
参议院投票通过了扩大这项4亿美元的计划，作为快速审批法案的一部分来加快推进美国同太平洋国家悬而未决的自由贸易协定。众议院尚未对这项贸易立法进行表决。
I'm Mario Ritter.
我是马里奥·理特（Mario Ritter）。

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