美国国家公共电台 NPR--Veterans exposed to toxic chemicals say they've won a historic expansion of VA care

Veterans exposed to toxic² chemicals say they've won a historic expansion of VA care

Transcript³

A bill known as the PACT⁴ Act, which will lend health care services and disability benefits to veterans exposed to toxic substances, looks likely to become law next month.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

As we approach Memorial Day weekend, the military cemetery⁵ that I drive by from time to time has a flag by every grave. And there's huge news for veterans. Vets⁶ made sick by toxic exposures will get VA coverage⁷ through a bill that is slated⁸ to pass next month. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports It's going to be a bittersweet moment.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE⁹: Vietnam vets were exposed to a carcinogenic herbicide, Agent Orange, as early as 1962. The Department of Veterans Affairs has acknowledged some of their illnesses as service-connected in the six decades since. In this last decade, Rosie Torres got involved.

ROSIE TORRES: For my husband - 13 years ago, I made him a promise as they were wheeling him into the operating table to have his lung biopsy.

LAWRENCE: Her husband, Le Roy, had deployed¹⁰ to Iraq and lived next to a massive field of burning trash. Back home, he had unexplained breathing problems and headaches. But the VA told him it wasn't related. The Torres family started the burn pit registry in 2010. Hundreds of thousands of vets signed up. And a few years later, the VA made an official government registry of vets who believe burn pits made them sick. Over the past decade, veterans organizations pressured Congress.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JON STEWART: Go back to your district and dig a 10-acre pit.

LAWRENCE: Advocates included comedian¹¹ Jon Stewart. Here he is at a house hearing in January.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

STEWART: And then burn that pit 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But tell your constituents¹², don't worry. Fifteen years from now, we're going to convene¹³ a panel to discuss whether or not the health issues that you're having are in your head or not.

LAWRENCE: Despite some concerns about the cost, veterans health appears to be one of the few bipartisan spaces left in Washington. A Senate compromise has produced a comprehensive $200 billion bill that will cover toxic exposures from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gulf¹⁴ War and Vietnam. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough described it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DENIS MCDONOUGH: The bill that has now been agreed to will be arguably the biggest expansion of authority here at VA in our history.

LAWRENCE: For Rosie Torres, it's bittersweet. Le Roy is still struggling. He's on oxygen 24 hours a day now.

TORRES: So I can't give a prognosis. But, you know, I don't want to go by the medical books. You know what I mean? I'd rather live just day by day.

LAWRENCE: But she says this comes too late for others she can name, veteran activists¹⁵ who died just months ago - Marine¹⁶ vet¹ Kate Hendricks Thomas, National Guardsman Wesley Black and Sergeant¹⁷ First Class Heath Robinson, for whom the bill is named.

TORRES: How do you celebrate something, you know, that you've been fighting for for so long, but you really know that that victory validates¹⁸ that none of those deaths were in vain once this bill passes?

LAWRENCE: President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law as early as next month. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

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1 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

5 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

6 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

9 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

10 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

11 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

12 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

14 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

15 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

17 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

18 validates   

v.证实( validate的第三人称单数 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Other research validates that when it comes to chocolate, type does matter. 其他的研究也证实了不同种类的巧克力确实功效不同。 来自互联网
• Trouble shoots equipment, review and validates data and complete reports. 管理错误描述设备，审查并确认试验数据，完成试验报告。 来自互联网