作者：埃里克·瓦森。参议院民主党人阻止了一项禁止美国议员购买上市公司股票的法案，并猛烈抨击共和党领导人附加了无关的选民身份限制措施，他们称这些限制会让部分美国公民投票变得繁琐。
By Erik Wasson Senate Democrats blocked a bill to prohibit US lawmakers from purchasing stock in public companies and lashed out at Republican leaders for attaching unrelated voter identification restrictions they argued would make casting ballots cumbersome for some US citizens.
这次投票是在参议院计划于11月中期选举前休会前的最后一个议事日进行的，使许多民主党参议员留下了反对推进一项广受欢迎的政治议题的投票记录：约束国会议员的股票交易。
The vote, held the last day the Senate plans to be in session before the November midterm elections, puts many Democratic senators on record against moving forward with legislation addressing a popular political cause: reining in congressional stock trading.
参议院民主党领袖查克·舒默在投票前抨击该措施是“虚假立法”，未能彻底终止议员的股票交易。他对记者说：“他们真正想要的是捞取政治分数，因为他们在竞选中已经焦头烂额。”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the measure ahead of the vote as “sham legislation” that falls short of completely ending lawmaker stock trading. “What they really want to do is score political points because they are drowning in their campaign,” he told reporters.
民主党人还主张，这项禁令应适用于行政部门官员以及总统唐纳德·特朗普，后者在第二个任期内进行的证券交易比整个国会加起来还多。
Democrats also argued the prohibition should apply to executive branch officials and President Donald Trump, who has made more securities trades in his second term than all of Congress combined.
但共和党人表示，这次投票表明，民主党人——其中一些人正以阻止议员股票交易为竞选主张——并不认真对待终止这一做法。该措施周三以53票对47票的党派划线投票未能推进，未达到克服程序性障碍所需的60票。
But Republicans said the vote shows that Democrats — of whom are campaigning on stopping stock trading by lawmakers — are not serious about ending the practice. The measure failed to advance on a 53-47 party-line vote Wednesday, falling short of the 60 votes it would have needed to overcome procedural hurdles.
参议院共和党领袖约翰·图恩对记者说：“你看到的是一个无法接受‘同意’的政党，在选举来临之际只想批评一切。”
“What you are seeing is a party that can’t take yes for an answer and just wants to criticize everything going into an election,” Senate Republican Leader John Thune told reporters.
印第安纳州共和党参议员托德·扬在院会上辩称，该法案将通过让议员更难从他们作为立法者所作的决定中获利，帮助恢复对国会的信任。他指出，该法案将阻止议员、配偶和受抚养子女购买股票，并加强披露要求。扬说：“这项立法是朝着正确方向迈出的一步。”
Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana argued on the floor that the bill would help restore trust in Congress by making it harder for lawmakers to profit from decisions they make as legislators. He noted it would prevent members, spouses and dependent children from purchasing stock and enhance disclosure requirements. “This legislation is a step in the right direction,” Young said.
该法案将禁止议员新购买公共公司的股票，但允许他们继续持有现有的股票。议员可以提前通知后出售现有的股票，同时私人公司的股票也可以自由交易。民主党表示，该法案不适用于总统或行政部门官员，也不会阻止议员通过预测市场对政治决策进行投机。
The bill would prohibit new purchases of public stock but would still permit lawmakers to keep existing holdings. Sales of existing holdings could be conducted with advance notice and shares in private companies could be traded without restriction. The bill does not apply to the president or executive branch officials nor does it stop lawmakers from betting on political decisions through prediction markets, Democrats said.
该法案还规定：大多数选民在亲自投票时必须出示带有照片的身份证件；如果无法立即出示身份证件，可以在缺席投票中附上身份证件的复印件；如果无法立即提供身份证件，也可以提交临时投票申请。民主党认为这一规定给选民带来了不公平的障碍，并且可能导致缺席投票的保密性受到破坏。
The measure also would require most voters to show photo identification if voting in person or attach a photocopy of ID to absentee ballots, with the ability to file provisional ballots if ID is not immediately available. Democrats argue the requirement creates unfair hurdles for voters and ensures that absentee ballots are not secret.
今年7月，该法案在众议院获得通过，13名民主党议员投了赞成票，总票数为232票对198票。不过，该法案未能实现过去几年以来两党普遍支持的全面禁止议员买卖股票的要求。反对更严格股票交易禁令的人认为，强制议员抛售所有股票会阻碍符合条件的候选人参选。
The measure passed the House with 13 Democrats in support on a 232 to 198 vote in July. It falls short of the demands for a congressional stock trading ban that have gained broad bipartisan support over the past several years. Opponents of a more comprehensive stock ban argue that forcing lawmakers to divest of all equity holdings would discourage well-qualified candidates from running for office.