Corporations and Foreign Nations Pivot to Lobby Biden 企業和外國轉向遊說拜登

2020年12月4日星期五

Corporations and Foreign Nations Pivot to Lobby Biden 企業和外國轉向遊說拜登

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2020/12/11 第324期訂閱/退訂∣看歷史報份

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Corporations and Foreign Nations Pivot to Lobby Biden 企業和外國轉向遊說拜登
Oregon Preschool Policy Could Be National Model 幼兒班免費讀美國俄勒岡州帶頭

Corporations and Foreign Nations Pivot to Lobby Biden 企業和外國轉向遊說拜登
文/Kenneth P. Vogel and Eric Li
陳韋廷/譯、樂慧生/核稿企業和外國轉向遊說拜登 The morning after Election Day, as votes were still being counted, diplomats from more than 20 foreign governments logged into a videoconference to hear Joe Lockhart, a veteran Democratic operative, provide what his consulting firm's invitation described as "insider tips on how to make YOUR agenda happen in the aftermath of an election." 美國選舉日隔天的早上，計票作業仍在進行之際，來自20多個外國政府的外交官參加了一場視訊會議，聆聽民主黨資深黨工羅克哈特的報告，他的顧問公司在邀請函中將報告內容稱為：「讓你想推動的事在選後得以實現，圈內人提供的撇步」。 Over the next few days, as Joe Biden accumulated the votes necessary to become the next president, representatives from countries and companies around the world began scrambling to secure representation from well-connected Democrats like Lockhart. 接下來幾天，拜登累積了成為下任總統所需票數，來自世界各國和企業的代表也隨之積極行動，爭取羅克哈特之輩人脈廣泛的民主黨人作為自己的代理人。 Manny Ortiz, a Democratic lobbyist with ties to the party's congressional leaders, said he received a string of inquiries from representatives for foreign governments — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — that had previously focused on strengthening ties to President Donald Trump. 跟民主黨國會領袖們交好的說客曼尼•歐提茲表示，包括卡達、沙烏地阿拉伯和土耳其在內的許多外國政府代表，一個接一個向他打探消息，這些國家此前都專注於加強與美國總統川普的關係。 And Heather Podesta, a leading Democratic lobbyist, said her firm recently signed a slew of new clients from the energy, consumer goods, technology and defense industries that were preparing for the expected Biden win. 民主黨知名說客海瑟·波德斯塔說，她的公司近來跟一大票來自能源、消費性商品、科技和國防工業的新客戶簽下合約，這些客戶都在為拜登料將獲勝做準備。 While Biden has taken steps to demonstrate his distance from lobbyists, his presidency is being welcomed in Washington's influence industry. 雖然拜登已採取行動證明他跟說客保持距離，但他出任總統正受到華府遊說業者的歡迎。 Lobbyists and other advisers who help clients navigate Washington are quietly highlighting ties to Biden and his team in pitches to prospective clients, while firms and interest groups that lack such ties are scrambling to secure them. Such connections are plentiful because aides and colleagues of Biden's have been cycling between government and the influence industry going back to his 36 years representing Delaware in the Senate and his eight years as vice president. 跟拜登及其團隊有交情的遊說業者和幫助客戶維繫華府關係的顧問，正不動聲色地凸顯這種關係以爭取潛在客戶，而缺乏這種關係的遊說業者跟利益集團則急著建立這種關係。這樣的人脈十分好找，因為曾為拜登助手和同僚者，一直在政府和遊說業者之間打轉，時間橫跨他擔任德拉瓦州聯邦參議員的36年，以及擔任副總統的8年。 It is a far cry from four years ago, when Trump swept into town with few connections to established gatekeepers and lobbyists. 這跟4年前情況大不相同，當時川普橫空出世，入主白宮，幾乎跟既有門神和說客毫無瓜葛。 Instead of fulfilling his campaign promise to "drain the swamp" of special interests, Trump empowered a powerful, but relatively small, new class of lobbyists with connections to him or his inner circle. They reaped tens of millions of dollars in lobbying fees from companies, interest groups and foreign governments seeking to navigate an administration that revolved around the whims of one man, while defying established norms about policymaking and governance. 川普並未實現當初競選時許下的承諾，將特殊利益集團的「沼澤抽乾」，反而造就了一個跟他或他的核心圈子有交情、規模較小卻更夠力的新一類說客。他們從一些企業、利益集團和外國政府那裡賺取數千萬美元的遊說費用，這些客戶試圖跟這麼一個政府維繫關係，而這政府全憑單一主政者反覆無常的念頭運作，無視於政策制定與治理的常規。說文解字看新聞【陳韋廷】遊說是美國政治文化重要現象，也是規模數十億美元的行業，目的在於影響法令或政策制定，文中以influence industry形容相當貼切，業者稱為lobbyist，即「說客、遊說者」，此字從表示「大廳」的名詞lobby衍生而出，因這些人常到國會大廳找機會接觸議員並影響其決定。遊說在美並不違法且受憲法保障。Influence peddling（關說）則屬非法。說客除須具備專業知識外，還要有connections（人脈、關係），此字常用複數形式，文中形容詞well-connected即意指「人脈很廣的」。值得注意的是，遊說與關說有所差異；以受益對象來說前者較廣泛，後者常涉及圖利的問題，又人們常說的走後門，英文則說成pull strings。此外，navigate一字在文中譯為「維繫關係」，非常見的「駕駛、導航」之意，另operative意指「工作人員」，尤指政府情報人員。

Oregon Preschool Policy Could Be National Model 幼兒班免費讀美國俄勒岡州帶頭
文/Claire Cain Miller
譯/李京倫、核稿/樂慧生幼兒班免費讀美國俄州帶頭 On Election Day, Multnomah County, which includes Portland, Oregon, passed one of the most progressive universal preschool policies in the nation. 美國總統大選投票當天，俄勒岡州最大城市波特蘭所屬的摩特諾瑪郡，同時通過了全郡適用的學齡前教育政策創制案，進步程度在全美名列前茅。 The measure, to be paid for by a large tax on high earners, will provide free preschool for all children ages 3 and 4, in public schools and in existing and new private preschools and home-based child care centers. It will also significantly raise teachers' wages so they are equivalent to those of kindergarten teachers. 政策內容是讓所有3到4歲兒童免費在公立幼兒園、現有和新設的私立幼兒園及設於民宅的托育中心就讀，資金來自向高收入者所課重稅，並將幼兒園教師薪資大幅提高到與學前班（幼稚園）教師等同。 It seeks to overcome the central problem in early childhood care and education: It is unaffordable for many families, yet teachers are underpaid. The solution, Multnomah County voters decided, is to finance preschool with public funding instead of private tuition and to pay teachers much more. 這項政策旨在解決幼兒照顧與教育核心問題：許多家庭負擔不起，且教師薪水太低。郡選民決定，解決方式不是靠個人所交學費支撐幼兒園營運，而是由公家出錢，同時大幅調高教師薪水。 It also seeks to overcome some of the pitfalls of universal preschool policies in places like New York and Washington, D.C. In doing so, early childhood researchers say the policy could serve as a blueprint for the rest of the country. 政策還意在克服紐約與華府等地全體適用學齡前教育政策的缺點。幼教學者說，這政策可作為全美的藍本。 "This was focused on access to quality preschool, so when children enter kindergarten, they are able to succeed," said Jessica Vega Pederson, a county commissioner and a chairwoman of the measure's steering committee. 郡政委員兼這項政策的指導委員會主席潔西卡．彼得森說：「政策意在讓孩子得以就讀優質幼兒園，讓他們進入學前班後適應良好。」 Caregiving has become a much more politically salient issue. The closings of schools and child care centers because of the coronavirus made clear the extent to which the sector underpins the economy. Joe Biden has made caregiving a central part of his economic plan. 幼兒照顧議題政治性已遠甚於既往。新冠肺炎疫情導致學校和托育中心關閉，凸顯這個區塊支撐經濟的程度。宣布當選美國總統的拜登，一直把幼兒照顧視為經濟政策的重點。 Child care is the largest expense for many families, and yet educators — who are disproportionately Black and Latino women — earn an average of $12 an hour, according to the center for the study of child care employment at the University of California, Berkeley. Half rely on public assistance. Even when they have the same education, preschool teachers earn half of what kindergarten teachers do, the center found. 托育費用是許多家庭最大開銷，但柏克萊加州大學兒童托育就業研究中心的資料，非裔和西語裔女性占比超高的托育人員，平均時薪僅12美元（約台幣360元），半數依賴社會福利過活。該中心還發現，就算教育程度相同，幼兒園老師的薪水卻只有學前班老師的一半。 Research has shown that high-quality preschool is beneficial for children, particularly those from low-income families. It helps them prepare for kindergarten — academically, socially and behaviorally — and shrinks achievement gaps. Research has shown that for poor children, it results in increased earnings and better health later in life. 研究顯示，優質幼兒園可嘉惠兒童，尤其低收入家庭兒童。優質幼兒園讓兒童在學業、社交和行為上做好進入學前班的準備，並縮小成就差距。研究顯示，貧困兒童進入優質幼兒園，長大會有更高的收入，也更健康。

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