本次选举的核心焦点与以往多次选举一样，依然是经济问题，然而参议院在华盛顿度过其任期尾声时，关注的却完全是另一件事：大学体育。
The key focus of this election, like many before it, is the economy, but the Senate has spent its waning weeks in Washington focusing on something else: college sports.
这让一些渴望保持在参议院多数党地位、并担心未能及时回应选民对生活成本担忧的共和党人感到十分棘手。
And that has proven a sticking point for some Republicans who are eager to maintain power in the upper chamber and worried that they aren’t meeting the moment to address voters’ concerns over the cost-of-living.
来自密苏里州的共和党参议员乔希·霍利（Josh Hawley）对“福克斯新闻数字频道”表示：“考虑到我们在上面花费了大量得惊人的时间，我只希望这将是美国历史上参议院通过的最棒的法案。”
"I'm just hoping that this will be the best bill ever passed by the United States Senate considering the ungodly amount of time we've spent on it," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital.
他调侃道：“所以也许这将是有史以来最完美、最无可挑剔的立法。”
"So maybe this will be the most perfect and pristine piece of legislation ever," he quipped.
福克斯新闻民调：生活成本受到挤压，沮丧的选民转向民主党这位参议员补充道：“有很多事情我们本可以做，也应该做。所以我希望我们在离开之前能把这些事情做了。我们拭目以待。”霍利连珠炮般地说出了他希望议员们能解决的那些问题，这些问题最终都指向同一个词——成本，无论是燃油、处方药、医疗保健，还是人工智能浪潮带来的财务负担。
FOX NEWS POLL: SQUEEZED BY COSTS, FRUSTRATED VOTERS TURN TO THE DEMOCRATS "There's a lot of things we could be doing and should be doing," the senator added. "So I hope we'll do those before we leave. We'll see." Hawley rattled off those issues that he hoped lawmakers would tackle that all ended in one word, costs — be it for fuel, prescription drugs, health care or the financial burden of the artificial intelligence boom.
参议院预计将于周三离开美国首都，奔赴选战一线，迎接快速临近的中期选举的最后冲刺。但从2025年夏天到现在，其间经历了多次政府关门和党派争斗，在一些忧心忡忡的共和党人看来，选民钱包缩水的切肤之痛已被抛到了脑后。
The Senate is expected to leave the nation’s capital on Wednesday to hit the campaign trail for the homestretch of the fast-approaching midterm elections. But since the summer of 2025 to now, with several shutdowns and partisan fights in between, the sting on voters’ wallets, to some concerned Republicans, has become an afterthought.
尽管如此，共和党人依然急于吹嘘他们去年的政绩，尤其是被称为“宏伟美丽法案”的法案，并将其视为解决国内日益严重的负担能力问题的标志性成就——这是本月早些时候在达拉斯举行的中期代表大会上的主要宣传调门，并且随着11月3日的临近，在参议院的大厅里也越来越多地被提及。
Still, Republicans are quick to tout their accomplishments from last year, notably the "big, beautiful bill," as their signature achievement to tackle the growing issue of affordability in the country — it was a predominant pitch during the midterm convention in Dallas earlier this month, and can be heard increasingly in the halls of the Senate as Nov. 3 nears.
参议院采取行动，通过针对运动员和学校的一系列新规则来遏制大学体育的“混乱状态” 随着参议院的主要工作集中在通过得克萨斯州共和党联邦参议员特德·克鲁兹提出的《保护大学体育法案》（该法案于周一深夜在参议院顺利通过），过去几周和几个月内对无所作为的担忧进一步加剧。
SENATE MOVES TO REIN IN COLLEGE SPORTS 'WILD WEST' WITH SWEEPING NEW RULES FOR PLAYERS, SCHOOLS The concern over inaction in the recent weeks and months has intensified as the main business in the Senate has been devoted to passing the Protect College Sports Act from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, which cruised through the upper chamber late Monday night.
“我们整个星期都在试图让橄榄球教练们高兴，”路易斯安那州共和党联邦参议员约翰·肯尼迪说，“我投了赞成票，但我敢向全美千千万万的爸爸妈妈们保证，当他们晚上躺下睡觉时……他们关心的绝不是橄榄球教练。”肯尼迪表示，他和其他人一直在施压参议院多数党领袖、南达科他州共和党人约翰·图恩，希望再次尝试专门针对可负担性问题进行调解，或者至少将一项旨在保护消费者免受人工智能热潮导致电费上涨影响的法案纳入其中。
"We've been spending all week on trying to make the football coaches happy," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. "I'm voting for the bill, but I can assure that moms and dads out there across America, when they lie down to sleep at night … they're not worried about the football coaches." Kennedy said that he and others have been pressuring Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to take another shot at reconciliation tailored exclusively toward affordability issues, or at the very least to put a bill that would shield consumers from increasing electricity costs as part of the AI boom.
“因为我们什么都没做，”肯尼迪说，“这现在正狠狠地反噬我们。” 对新出现的选举议题的焦虑与日俱增，但共和党称华盛顿并非解决之道 图恩确实为本周的一项投票做好了准备，这很可能是参议院最后一次尝试解决可负担性问题。该法案将要求人工智能公司承担数据中心导致公用事业成本上升的主要负担。
"Because we haven't done a damn thing," Kennedy said. "And it's biting us in the ass right now." ANXIETY GROWS OVER EMERGING ELECTION ISSUE, BUT GOP SAYS WASHINGTON ISN'T THE ANSWER Thune did tee up what will likely be the Senate’s last attempt at dealing with affordability for a vote this week on a bill that would require AI companies to bear the brunt of rising utility costs from data centers.
然而，这项由俄亥俄州共和党联邦参议员乔恩·哈斯特提出的法案预计将遭到民主党的阻挡，民主党并不急于给共和党或特朗普送上一场胜利——尤其是在距离中期选举如此之近的时候。
That bill, from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is expected to be blocked by Democrats, however, who aren’t eager to give Republicans or Trump a victory — especially so close to the midterm elections.
但对一些共和党人来说，在真正试图解决选民担忧方面，这实在是杯水车薪、为时已晚。
But for some Republicans, it’s too little too late when it comes to actually trying to address voters’ worries.
北卡罗来纳州共和党联邦参议员汤姆·蒂利斯回忆起他赢得北卡罗来纳州众议院并成为议长的一段经历。他当时竞选是为了修复经济，而一旦他获得了这样做的权力，他和该州的共和党人就必须承担起这个议题的责任，无论上一届政府采取了什么行动。
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., recalled a story when he won the North Carolina House and became speaker. He ran to fix the economy, and once he won the power to do so, he and Republicans in the state would have to own the issue, regardless of the previous administration’s actions.
蒂利斯对“福克斯新闻数字频道”表示：“这才是真正展现领导力并把事情办成的方式。你不能合理化解释说，我们现在的处境是因为上一届政府造成的失误，”蒂利斯说。“我们就是靠这个当选的。但如果你承诺过，你就得把它解决掉。这正是我们必须努力的方向。我只是觉得找借口推脱，这根本算不上明智的政治手段。”
"That's how you actually show some leadership and get it done. You can't rationalize that we're here because of a problem caused by the prior administration," Tillis told Fox News Digital. "That's how we got elected. But you gotta fix it if you promise to. And that's what we have to work on. I just think rationalizing away, that's just not good politics."
尽管如此，共和党人仍在争取今年秋天的第二次机会，尤其是副总统万斯，他在本月早些时候要求选民“再给我们一次机会”。
Still, Republicans are asking for a second chance this Fall, specifically Vice President JD Vance, who earlier this month asked voters to "give us another chance."
当被问及万斯的恳求时，蒂利斯说：“你知道吗？如果这管用的话，那可真是破天荒头一遭。”
When asked about Vance’s plea, Tillis said, "You know what? If it works, it'll be a first."