美国国会将逼迫奥巴马推行亲商议程

The newly elected Republican Congress in the US will press President Barack Obama to enact a sweeping pro-business agenda which cuts taxes, strips the energy sector of regulation and lifts some restrictions on banks imposed after the financial crisis.

共和党控制的新一届美国国会将施压巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统推行全面的亲商议程，包括减税、取消对能源业的监管，并解除一部分在金融危机后对银行实行的限制。

The Republicans overwhelmed the Democrats in election victories in Congress and in governor’s races on Tuesday night as they regained control of Capitol Hill and the legislative agenda for the first time since 2006 when George W Bush was in the White House.

在周二举行的国会议员和州长选举中胜出的共和党候选人远远多于民主党对手。自2006年——当时白宫主人是小布什(George W Bush)——以来，共和党首次夺回国会山和立法议程的控制权。

In a repudiation of Mr Obama at the start of his final two years in office, the Republicans are set to gain nine seats in the 100-member Senate, which would give the new majority leader, Kentucky senator Mitch McConnell, a reasonable 54-46 cushion in the chamber, although legislation usually needs 60 votes.

奥巴马总统任期进入最后两年之际，选民对他的不满大爆发，导致共和党在总共100个席位的参议院(Senate)新增9席，这意味着新任多数党领袖、肯塔基州参议员米奇•麦康奈尔(Mitch McConnell，上图为麦康奈尔与其华裔妻子、前美国劳工部长赵小兰)将在参议院拥有54席对46席的适度优势，尽管通过立法通常需要60票。

The party is also on track to increase its majority in the House of Representatives to the largest since 1928, after a night which gave the party a sharp psychological boost after sweeping defeats in the past two presidential elections.

共和党在众议院(House of Representatives)的多数优势也将升至自1928年以来最悬殊的程度。在连续两届总统选举全线落败后，共和党从本次中期选举中得到极大的心理提振。

The new Republican-dominated Congress is expected to back Mr Obama on a key policy area for which he has not been able to attract sufficient Democratic support – international trade. He is seeking congressional authority for a stronger hand in trade negotiations with Asia-Pacific countries and Europe.

预计共和党主导的国会将在一个关键政策领域支持奥巴马，那就是国际贸易；奥巴马在这个领域一直未能争取到自己所在的民主党的充分支持。他正寻求得到国会授权，以便更有效地与亚太国家和欧洲展开贸易谈判。

“Most of my members think that America’s a winner in international trade,” Mr McConnell said. “The president hasn’t sent us a single trade bill in six years. I hope he’ll do that.”

“我党的多数成员认为，美国在国际贸易中是一个赢家。”麦康奈尔表示，“6年来，总统连一份贸易法案也拿不出来。我希望他能拿出一份来。”

Mr Obama and Congress could also work together on infrastructure spending, business tax reform, cyber security and reforms to sentencing to keep people out of jail for misdemeanours, White House officials said. But the Republicans have a much larger deregulatory agenda which they believe they can sell as good for economic growth and job creation, and which they believe will also split the Democratic base.

白宫官员表示，奥巴马和国会还可能合作的领域包括：基础设施支出，营业税改革，网络安全，以及旨在让被判犯有轻罪的人无需入狱服刑的量刑改革。但是，共和党方面有一个规模大得多的放松管制议程，他们相信，他们能将这项议程定性为有利于经济增长和创造就业，并认为该议程将分化民主党的支持根基。

The Republicans moved quickly to tie the result not just to an unpopular president but also Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic 2016 candidate, who campaigned heavily in the lead-up to Tuesday’s vote. “It was a direct rejection of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s policies,” said Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican National Committee.

除了把选举结果与支持率低迷的总统联系起来外，共和党方面还很快把2016年可能成为民主党总统竞选人的希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton)扯了进来。“这是对巴拉克•奥巴马和希拉里•克林顿政策的一个直接拒绝，”共和党全国委员会主席雷恩斯•普利巴斯(Reince Priebus)表示。周二投票之前，希拉里大力参与了中期选举的造势活动。

Republicans and a sizeable number of Democrats will support approval for the Keystone XL pipeline to carry crude from Canada across the US. It has been held up on environmental objections. A bipartisan majority in both houses could also back a speedy repeal of the tax on medical devices, which was included in Mr Obama’s health legislation to fund reform of the sector. But Republicans face challenges of their own, with an influx of Tea Party-tinged senators potentially demanding more radical changes, such as repealing Mr Obama’s health law altogether.

共和党以及数量可观的民主党议员将会赞成批准从加拿大向美国运输原油的Keystone XL管道项目。该项目由于环保方面的反对意见而被搁置。参众两院的两党多数还可能支持及早废止针对医疗器材的税收；奥巴马的医改立法包含该税种，目的是资助医保改革。但是，共和党本身也面临挑战，新当选的一批茶党(Tea Party)色彩的参议员可能会要求更为激进的变革，包括彻底废除奥巴马的医改法。

Mr McConnell has made it clear that the Republicans must prove they can govern with their new majority and has warned against unnecessary confrontation with the White House.

麦康奈尔明确表示，共和党人必须证明自己能够以新获得的多数席位治国。他警告称，不要与白宫进行不必要的对抗。