周三，共和党人做出最后努力，试图平息选民心中日益增长的愤怒。他们就高昂的生活成本和腐败问题举行了两场注定失败的作秀式投票，随后便休会直至中期选举结束。
Republicans made a last-gasp bid Wednesday to answer simmering anger in the electorate, holding a pair of failed show votes on high costs and corruption, then recessing until after the midterms.
共和党领导层曾考虑像众议院那样提前休会，以便议员们能够投入竞选活动，但在共和党参议员强烈要求就竞选议题进行投票后，他们还是留了下来。
Republican leaders had considered leaving sooner so members could campaign, as the House did, but stuck around after GOP senators clamored for votes on items they could use in those campaigns.
此举收效甚微。在花费了一周多时间通过一项旨在彻底改革大学体育运动的法案（该法案在众议院能否通过尚不可知）后，他们不得不接受两项程序性投票的失败：一项是旨在抑制数据中心能源成本的法案，另一项是限制议员股票交易的法案。民主党人嘲笑这两项法案毫无实质意义。
It was partially successful. After spending more than a week passing a package to overhaul college sports — which may or may not die in the House — they had to settle for failed procedural votes on a bill aimed at curbing energy costs from data centers and another to curtail stock trading by lawmakers. Democrats derided both as toothless.
距离选举日不到五周，这种收尾记录让一些议员感到担忧，认为这些举措为时已晚且力度不足，尤其是在伊朗战争持续不断、汽油价格仍处于年内高位的情况下。
The closing record left some lawmakers worried the moves were too little, too late with less than five weeks until Election Day, especially as the Iran war drags on and gas prices remain near highs for the year.
“你总会担心，如果能做得更多，就应该做得更多，”南达科他州共和党参议员迈克·朗兹（Mike Rounds）表示，“我们知道美国人民现在正处于痛苦之中。我们对此心知肚明。”
“You’re always concerned that if you could do more, you should do more,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota). “We know the American people are hurting right now. We know that.”
“我认为，目前的状况，特别是石油产品价格居高不下……这对任何在任官员来说都是一种伤害，”朗兹说，“如果现在每加仑汽油的价格能下降一美元，那真的会很有帮助。”随着选民准备投票，执政党在多个方面陷入了被动。唐纳德·特朗普总统的全国支持率大幅下滑，给关键摇摆州的现任官员和候选人带来了沉重压力。
“I think the current status right now with prices being high on petroleum products in particular … it hurts anybody who’s currently in office,” Rounds said. “If the price of gas were to go down by a dollar a gallon right now, that would really help.”The party in power has found itself on the backfoot on a number of fronts as voters prepare to cast ballots. President Donald Trump’s approval rating has cratered nationally, weighing on incumbents and candidates in key battleground states.
除了汽油价格，共和党人还面临着创纪录的柴油价格，以及特朗普决定取消进口牛肉关税所带来的连锁反应，这在中西部地区尤为严重，当地农民深受打击。
On top of gas prices, Republicans are dealing with record-high diesel prices and the ramifications of Trump’s decision to remove tariffs on imported beef, especially in the Midwest where farmers have been hit hard.
严峻的选情促使共和党领导人进行了这些最后一刻的投票，其中包括旨在提振其发起人、深陷困境的俄亥俄州共和党参议员乔恩·赫斯特德（Jon Husted）的数据中心法案。
The grim electoral outlook prompted Republican leaders to hold those last-minute votes, including the vote on the data center bill designed to boost its sponsor, embattled Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio).
赫斯特德在家乡因其过去担任俄亥俄州副州长时对数据中心的支持而受到猛烈抨击，他曾多次出席这些数据中心的剪彩仪式。前民主党参议员谢罗德·布朗（Sherrod Brown）的竞选团队将他戏称为“数据中心的代言人”。
Husted has been pilloried back home for his past support for data centers when he was Ohio’s lieutenant governor and appeared at numerous ribbon cuttings for them. Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown’s campaign has dubbed him “the face of data centers.”
“我认为这是一个需要传递的重要信息。我们正在倾听，并且理解民众对于数据中心推高电价的担忧，我们决心确保这种情况不会发生，”得克萨斯州共和党参议员约翰·科宁（John Cornyn）表示。“我认为这在几乎任何地方都是一个重要的信息。”
“I think it’s an important message to send. That we are listening and we understand people’s concerns about data centers raising their electricity rates, and are determined to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. “I think it’s an important message, pretty much everywhere.”
“距离选举还有一个多月，”科宁补充道，并辩称“现在传播这一信息还为时不晚”。然而，民主党人并不打算给共和党人提供选举助力，并阻止了该法案。只有四位参议员——新罕布什尔州的玛吉·哈桑（Maggie Hassan）、明尼苏达州的艾米·克洛布查（Amy Klobuchar）、佐治亚州的乔恩·奥索夫（Jon Ossoff）和拉斐尔·沃诺克（Raphael Warnock）——投票支持推进赫斯特德的提案。
“The election’s still a month off,” Cornyn added, arguing “it’s not too late to spread that message.”Democrats, however, were not in the mood to hand Republicans an electoral boost and blocked the bill. Only four — Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Raphael Warnock of Georgia — voted to advance Husted’s proposal.
少数党还阻止了共和党旨在限制国会议员股票交易的一项措施。这一议题已成为竞选广告中的热门话题。
The minority party also blocked a Republican measure aimed at curbing stock trading among members of Congress. The issue has become a frequent topic in campaign ads.
尽管共和党人对能在最后关头挤出这些投票感到满意，但人们担心，自伊朗战争爆发以来，控制白宫和国会的政党在降低成本方面做得还不够。
Although Republicans were pleased they squeezed the votes in under the wire, there is concern that the party controlling the White House and Capitol Hill has not done enough since the start of the Iran war to bring down costs.
议员们曾试图向选民推销他们认为受欢迎的《一个宏大而美丽的法案》（One Big Beautiful Bill Act）中的部分内容，结果却发现战争掩盖了他们的推销工作。就连总统的儿媳劳拉·特朗普（Lara Trump）也承认，冲突可能会在投票中付出高昂代价。
Lawmakers have tried to pitch what they consider to be popular parts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to voters, only to see the war overshadow their sales job. Even Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, conceded conflict could be costly at the polls.
一些人曾敦促参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩（John Thune）在8月休会前通过第三项和解法案争取一些胜利，该法案本可以利用快速预算规则以简单多数通过。但该党未能获得推进所需的51张选票。
Some had pushed for Senate Majority Leader John Thune to seek some wins prior to the August recess with a third reconciliation bill, which would have used expedited budget rules to pass bills on a simple majority. But the party was unable to find the requisite 51 votes needed to plow ahead.
一些议员担心，他们花了大半个9月的时间通过了一项彻底改革大学体育运动的法案，而不是致力于解决民众负担能力的问题。
Some members worried they spent much of the September passing a bill overhauling college sports rather than working on affordability concerns.
“我不喜欢把好的法案搁置一旁，但我理解我的一些同事想要回去重新开始竞选活动，”路易斯安那州共和党参议员约翰·肯尼迪（John Kennedy）说。他曾抱怨参议院将所剩无几的时间用来“取悦橄榄球教练”。
“I hate to leave good bills on the table, but I understand that some of my colleagues want to get back and start campaigning again,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), who has complained the Senate used its dwindling time to make “the football coaches happy.”
“我们本应在通过（OBBBA）后立即开始。我们现在搁置了两项和解努力，”肯尼迪说。“你可以说，‘好吧，我们会在‘跛脚鸭’会期做这件事’，但你不知道届时人们的心情会如何。”肯尼迪还感叹，参议院尚未对两项《国会审查法》决议进行投票，其中包括一项旨在废除可能导致成本降低的能源法规的决议。
“We should have started right after we passed [OBBBA]. We’re leaving two reconciliation efforts on the table,” Kennedy said. “You can say, ‘Well we’ll do it in the lame duck,’ but you don’t know what people’s moods are going to be.”Kennedy also lamented that the chamber has not voted on a pair of Congressional Review Act resolutions, including one to nix energy regulations that could result in lower costs.
“如果美国参议院本周不被允许投票废除这些规则，那就是立法渎职，”他在周二的议会发言中说道。
“It is legislative malpractice if the United States Senate is not allowed this week to vote to kill these rules,” he said in a floor speech Tuesday.
该党在应对居高不下的汽油和柴油价格方面也举步维艰，这引起了农业州共和党人的极大焦虑，尤其是在民调数字大幅下滑的情况下。
The party has also struggled to respond to stubbornly high gas and diesel prices that are causing major consternation for Republicans in farm states, especially as polling numbers have dipped considerably.
关于禁止柴油出口的想法已被反复讨论，但议员们对于选择正确的推进路径存在分歧。图恩告诉记者，特朗普在这一问题上尚未做出最终决定。
The idea of a diesel export ban has been bandied about, but members were torn over choosing the right path forward. Thune told reporters that Trump has yet to make a final decision on that front.
这位领袖还提醒说，即使他们采取了行动，在选民做出决定前剩下的时间如此之少，可能也无济于事。
The leader also cautioned that even if they did make a move, it may not matter with so little time before voters make up their minds.
“我认为我们已经尽了所能，”北达科他州共和党参议员凯文·克拉默（Kevin Cramer）说。“至于这是否足够，我想我们会在数据中看到结果。”
“I think we’ve done everything we can do,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota). “Whether or not it’s enough, I guess we’ll see in the numbers.”