(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
JUDY WOODRUFF: We have two lead stories out of Washington tonight. First, the country is on the verge of a massive wave of housing instability after the federal ban on rental evictions expired over the weekend. Congress failed to extend a moratorium. And President Biden declined to do so in the face of a court order. Today, Gene Sperling, who is the White House coordinator of pandemic recovery funds, said the president's hands are tied after a Supreme Court ruling in June made it clear that another extension by presidential order wouldn't stand.
GENE SPERLING, White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator: The wording in the Supreme Court opinion was fairly clear that they said the CDC could not grant such extension without -- quote -- "clear and specific congressional authorization." I think, really, what has happened, what we are all dealing with is that the rise of the Delta variant is particularly harmful for those who are most likely to face evictions. And as that reality became more clear going into the end of last week, I think all of us started asking, what more could we do?
JUDY WOODRUFF: And our White House correspondent, Yamiche Alcindor, joins me now. So, Yamiche, tell us more about what is behind the president's decision not to extend this ban himself? And what is making this issue so contentious?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, the federal moratorium and the contention and scrambling around it comes to two big things, law and politics. On the legal side, White House aides, Gene Sperling, a number of other sources I have been talking to, they have been underscoring the idea that President Biden didn't think that he had the legal authority to extend this eviction moratorium. They say they looked around. They could not find any legal option to do that, because the Supreme Court said that there would need to be congressional authorization if a presidential order was to extend the ban. They also say that the CDC looked into this, even looking into targeted eviction moratoriums for areas with high infection rates. And even that, in that limited way, it was also seen as not a legal option. That said, when I pushed Gene Sperling and when I talked to sources, there's another issue here, and that is that the White House does not want to go to the Supreme Court and have the court strike down other sort of federal policies that make broad use of public health laws. So that's somewhat of their thinking. Then there's the politics of this. We saw House Speaker Nancy Pelosi come out and urge President Biden to extend this eviction moratorium. Progressives are also saying the White House waited too long, that they should have been dealing with this issue at all. But the president then again says his hands are tied, that Congress needs to be doing something. And he's also pushing states and localities to try to provide resources to people.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, given all that, where does this go from here?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, that's the big question. Gene Sperling today said that thousands of Americans could be facing evictions. President Biden says that he's going to be double-, triple-checking. He's going to be kicking the tires to try to find legal options and other ways to help people. But there really is a big question of what more of the White House and Congress can do. They're -- really, the White House is really putting it in the hands of Congress and local authorities. But that is where some people feel as though the White House is scapegoating, shifting the blame here, shifting responsibility. The White House, though, is underscoring they're doing all that they can.
JUDY WOODRUFF: All right, Yamiche Alcindor on this fast-moving story, thank you very much.
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Thanks.
重点解析
1.on the verge of 濒临于
The peace talks were on the verge of collapse.
和平谈判濒于破裂。
2.decline to do 婉言拒绝做某事
Party B may decline to participate in any of the above, if it believes that to do so is contrary to its better interests.
如果因此而损害了乙方的利益，乙方可以拒绝参加相关活动。
3.expire 期满
This was due to expire at the end of the present Congress.
这项任命在本届国会届满时将到期。
4.hands are tied 无能为力
I really wish I could help, but my hands are tied.
我真的希望我能帮上忙，但我实在无能为力。
5.shift the blame 推卸责任
He tried to shift the blame for his mistakes onto his colleagues.
他自己犯了错误，却试图把责任推给同事。
参考译文
朱迪·伍德乐夫：今晚我们有两个关于华盛顿的头条新闻。首先，在联邦政府禁止出租房屋的禁令于周末到期后，美国正处于发生大规模住房动荡的边缘。国会未能延长禁令。拜登总统在法院命令面前拒绝这么做。今天，白宫流行病恢复基金协调员吉恩·斯珀林表示，因为最高法院6月的一项裁决明确表示，总统的下一次延期命令将不再成立，所以总统现在无能为力。
吉恩·斯珀林，白宫的美国救援计划协调员：最高法院的意见措辞非常明确，他们说，疾控中心在没有“明确和具体的国会授权”的情况下无权批准延期。我觉得，真的，现在发生的事情，我们要面对的是，德尔塔变异毒株的快速传播对那些最有可能被驱逐的人极其不友好。到上周末，随着这一事实越来越清晰，我想大家都会开始问：我们还能做什么？
朱迪·伍德乐夫：我们的白宫记者亚米切·阿尔辛多现在和我一起。那么，亚米切，跟我们讲讲，总统决定不延长禁令的背后的原因是什么？又是什么让这个问题变得如此具备争议？
亚米切·阿尔辛多：嗯，联邦禁令和围绕它的争论涉及两件大事，法律和政治。在法律方面，白宫助手，吉恩·斯珀林，以及我接触过的其他一些消息来源，都强调拜登总统认为他自己没有法律权力延长驱逐令。他们想了很多办法，但是找不到任何合法的选择，因为最高法院表示，总统命令延长禁令需要得到国会的授权。他们还说疾控中心对此进行了调查，甚至有针对性地暂停了对感染率高的地区的租客的驱逐。即便如此，这种有限的方式也被视为不合法的选择。他们说，在我和吉恩·斯珀林、和线人的交谈过程中，我意识到这里还有一个问题，那就是白宫不想去最高法院，让最高法院推翻其他广泛运用公共卫生法的联邦政策。这就是他们的想法。这其中还有政治因素。我们看到众议院议长南希·佩洛西站出来敦促拜登总统延长驱逐令。进步派也表示白宫等得太久了，他们早该处理这个问题了。但是总统又说他无能为力，需要国会做些什么。他还敦促各州和地方政府尽力为民众提供资源。
朱迪·伍德乐夫：那么，鉴于现在的情况，接下来会发生什么呢？
亚米切·阿尔辛多：嗯，这是个大问题。今天，吉恩·斯珀林表示可能会有数千名美国人面临驱逐。拜登总统表示他会再三确认。他正在努力寻找法律途径和其他办法来帮助民众。但白宫和国会还能做些什么确实是个大问题。他们，真的，白宫真的把这件事推给了国会和地方当局。不过在这一点上，有些人认为白宫是在找替罪羊，想推卸责任。然而白宫强调他们正尽其所能。
朱迪·伍德乐夫：好的，非常感谢亚米切·阿尔辛多为我们报道这一变化迅速的事件。
亚米切·阿尔辛多：谢谢。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
