As the midterms(中期选举) approach, Congress often becomes less productive. Members spend more time on the campaign trail(在竞选活动中), where they don’t want to have to defend controversial votes(有争议的投票). The incentive to compromise diminishes, not that there was much to begin with(并非一开始就有很多). Yet this Congress recently passed a bipartisan(两党的) bill aimed at lowering housing costs. In the coming months it is due to take up other measures, including annual defence legislation and government-funding bills.
随着中期选举临近，国会往往效率降低。议员们在竞选活动上花费更多时间，不愿为有争议的投票辩护。妥协的动力减弱——尽管原本也没有多少。然而，本届国会最近通过了一项旨在降低住房成本的两党法案。未来几个月，它还将审议其他措施，包括年度国防立法和政府拨款法案。
But even that modest agenda has been thrown into doubt(使陷入怀疑) by Donald Trump’s fixation on(对…的执念) a bill with little chance of becoming law. Mr Trump says he will not sign any legislation until the SAVE Act is approved. Prediction markets put its odds(几率；可能性) at less than one in ten. John Thune, the Republican leader in the Senate, has repeatedly told the president that the measure(法案；措施) lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster(美国参议院冗长辩论). “This is a distraction(干扰；分心的事物),” says a Republican aide. “We would like to be done with this, but it’s an issue that won’t go away(不会消失).” Why, then, won’t the president let it?
但就连这个温和的议程也因唐纳德·特朗普对一个几乎不可能成为法律的法案的执念而陷入不确定性。特朗普表示，在《SAVE法案》通过之前，他不会签署任何立法。预测市场将其通过几率定为不到十分之一。参议院共和党领袖约翰·图恩多次告诉总统，该法案缺乏克服冗长辩论所需的60票。“这是一个干扰，”一名共和党助手表示。“我们希望此事能了结，但这个问题不会消失。”那么，总统为何不肯放手呢？
At its core the SAVE Act would require voters to provide proof of citizenship(公民身份证明), such as a passport or birth certificate, when registering to vote. They would also have to present photo identification(带照片的身份证明) to cast a ballot(投票). States would be required to compare voter-registration rolls(选民登记册) with federal citizenship records. Supporters describe the measure as an election-integrity reform(选举诚信改革) that would increase public confidence and ensure that only citizens vote. Yet evidence of voter fraud(选民欺诈) by non-citizens—or anyone else—is vanishingly rare(极其罕见).
从核心内容看，《SAVE法案》将要求选民在登记投票时提供公民身份证明，如护照或出生证明。他们还必须出示带照片的身份证明才能投票。各州将被要求将选民登记册与联邦公民记录进行比对。支持者将该措施描述为一场选举诚信改革，将增强公众信心并确保只有公民投票。然而，非公民——或其他任何人——的选民欺诈证据极为罕见。