美国国会议员再次聚焦移民议案
美国国会将如何在艰难的移民问题上找到答案，两党参议员表示了不同的期待。一天前，参议院答应采取行动，保护年幼移民人口，强化边境安全，才使联邦政府停摆得以结束。
来自肯塔基州共和党籍多数党领袖麦康奈尔参议员星期一说，他计划2月8号之前安排参议院讨论如何解决那些幼年来美的无证移民面临的问题。美国联邦政府只获得了维持到2月8号的资金。麦康内尔的保证说服了30多名民主党参议员投票通过了临时预算法案，结束了政府的部分关闭。
来自纽约州民主党籍少数党领袖舒默参议员说：“共和党只有16天的时间与民主党合作，让这些‘追梦者’不被递解出境，这样才能争取到通过法案所需的60张赞成票。”
川普总统已经拒绝了三名共和党参议员和三名民主党参议员谈判达成的移民法案建议。据报道，这项建议包括解决“幼年来美暂缓递解计划”保护的年轻无证移民的问题、加强边防，以及改革移民政策。川普总统在国会山的坚强盟友、来自乔治亚州的珀杜参议员说，那只不过是继续谈判的一个起点。
与此同时，舒默参议员收回了他据报在白宫与川普总统私下会谈时表示会支持为在美墨边界建造围墙的保证。
民主党人反对建边界墙，但是如果能在“幼年来美暂缓递解计划”的问题上达成协议，愿意考虑同意为建墙提供有限的拨款。而现在民主党人说，鉴于川普总统已经拒绝了解决无证年轻移民的建议，那么包括边界围墙在内的一切问题都要从头开始。
US Lawmakers Refocus on Immigration Deal
U.S. senators expressed differing expectations on Tuesday for what Congress might produce on thorny immigration topics, one day after a government shutdown ended on a promise of Senate action to protect young immigrants and boost border security.
On Monday, McConnell said he intended for the Senate to consider legislation addressing the plight of undocumented immigrants brought to America as children and other issues by Feb. 8, when U.S. government funding expires once again. The assurance convinced more than 30 Senate Democrats to join Republicans in voting to end a three-day partial federal shutdown.
“The Republican majority now has 16 days to work with us to write a bill that can get 60 votes [in the 100-member Senate] and prevent Dreamers [young immigrants] from being deported,” Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. “The clock is ticking.”
President Donald Trump already rejected an immigration proposal negotiated by three Republican and three Democratic senators that reportedly included a legislative fix for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA], enhanced border security and reforms to legal immigration. A top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, dismissed the deal as a starting point for negotiations going forward.
Schumer, meanwhile, retracted a tentative offer on border wall funding he reportedly made to the president in private talks at the White House last week.
Democrats opposed the wall but expressed willingness to back limited funding for physical barrier construction in order to reach a deal on DACA recipients. Given the president’s rejection of that deal, Democrats said negotiations must start from scratch on all items, including the border wall.
美国烟民人数历史新低
美国肺脏协会说，自从烟草控制政策实施以来，美国的吸烟人数有所减少。
美国肺脏协会在年度报告中说，成年人和十几岁青少年的吸烟比例都处于历史低水平。目前美国成年人中有15.5%的人吸烟。这个比例在美国高中生中为8%。
统计数字来自美国疾病控制与预防中心。美国成年人的吸烟率从2005年的20.9%降到2016年的15.5%。不过，美国人口中仍有3800万成年人在吸烟。
美国肺脏协会的调查发现，美国的某些群体和一些地区吸烟率以及受“二手烟”影响的比例高于美国的平均比例。协会国家政策部主任卡尔是2018年“烟草控制咨文”的作者。他说，相对贫困、受教育程度低的美国人，印第安原住民以及某些族裔的吸烟率高达30%，甚至更高。
朋友和父母吸烟的青少年更容易吸烟。研究显示，大多数烟民是在18岁之前学会吸烟，有些人甚至是在11岁的时候。卡尔称这种现象为“儿科疾病”。他说，年轻时上了瘾，以后很难摆脱。
美国肺脏协会正努力争取美国各州把法定可吸烟年龄上调到和饮酒一样的21岁，理由是中学和高中没有吸烟的人以后吸烟的可能性更小。
美国肺脏协会发表年报是为了改善联邦和各州的政府对烟草的监管，帮助吸烟者戒烟，未吸烟者永不吸烟。
Cigarette Smoking Rates in US Reach Historic Lows
The American Lung Association says fewer Americans smoke cigarettes now than before tobacco control policies were put in place.
In its annual report, the ALA says smoking rates among adults and teens are at historic lows. On average, just over 15.5 percent of American adults and eight percent of high school students smoke cigarettes.
The association gets its data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which show the smoking rate declined from 20.9 percent in 2005 to 15.5 percent in 2016. Still, CDC data shows that nearly 38 million American adults continue to smoke.
Yet, the American Lung Association finds that certain groups and regions in the United States are disproportionately impacted by tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke. Thomas Carr, the ALA's Director of National Policy who wrote the 2018 report "The State of Tobacco Control," said poorer Americans, those who are less educated, Native Americans and some ethnic groups have smoking rates that are close to 30 percent or higher.
There's also peer pressure, and when friends or parents smoke, teens tend to take up the habit. Studies show that most people who smoke start before they are 18. Some start as young as age 11 according to The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Carr calls it a pediatric disease. "It starts in your teens and then once you’re hooked, you can’t get off of it."
The lung association is pushing states to raise the age where young people can legally purchase cigarettes to 21, the minimum age in the United States for purchasing alcohol. The thought is that if middle and high school students can't get cigarettes, they are less likely to start smoking.
The lung association issues an annual report to help promote state and federal regulations to make it easier for people who smoke to quit and to help those who don't smoke not to start.
