美国国家公共电台 NPR Pelosi Rejects 'Socialist' Attacks On Her Prescription Drug Bill

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says she is going to transform the way prescription¹ drugs are paid for in this country. This week she unveiled a sweeping² plan aimed at drastically reducing how much Americans pay for their drugs. Among other things, the legislation calls for the federal government to negotiate the price of as many as 250 drugs each year. It also says the costs should be tied to those on the international market, where prices are lower.

This morning, NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis and I went to the speaker's office for an interview. She greeted us after she had rushed up from the House floor.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NANCY PELOSI: It's very hard to get off the floor. The members...

SHAPIRO: Thank you so much for making time. Ari Shapiro.

PELOSI: Hi, Ari.

SHAPIRO: Good to see you.

PELOSI: Nice to see you.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE³: Susan Davis. Good to see you.

SHAPIRO: Susan Davis began our conversation by asking about the Senate majority leader's reaction to the speaker's plan.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DAVIS: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it, in his word, a socialist⁴ price control bill. There is a competing bipartisan Senate bill. Do you see this as the start of a negotiation⁵ between two chambers⁶ that's going to find a middle ground? Or is this Democrats⁷ laying down a marker to say this is what we believe in, and this is what we're going to fight for in 2020?

PELOSI: Well, if Mitch McConnell is in the pocket of the pharmaceutical⁸ industry, I don't want to characterize any of his comments that he says about our interest in helping⁹ America's working families. He may not have noticed, but in the last election, the health care issue, the cost of prescription drugs, was foremost for families. And whether they were Democrats, Republicans or Independents or no interest in politics whatsoever¹⁰ - God bless them - the American people have spoken on this subject. They're making terrible sacrifices in their lives.

This is about their health security, but it's also about their financial health because the cost of prescription drugs is just prohibitive for them to meet the needs of their families.

SHAPIRO: Madam Speaker, Republicans overwhelmingly oppose this plan based on free market principles. But President Trump¹¹ has expressed on Twitter an interest in finding a bipartisan solution. There have been instances before, whether it's immigration or infrastructure¹², where it looks like you and the president are on the same page. And they've never produced results. Do you think this time will be different?

PELOSI: I hope so. The president says he wants to do this. But let me just say that this is not any pioneering work in the free market. The Veterans Affairs Committee - VA has always had the ability - for a long time - had the ability to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices for the VA. We are not intervening in the free market. We believe in the free market, but we do not believe that the free market should have the exploitation of consumers in our country with the support of the government by banning the ability for the secretary to negotiate for lower prices.

SHAPIRO: If I could ask a related health care question, right now, two of the three leading Democratic presidential candidates would like to do away with private health insurance and leave it entirely¹³ in the hands of the government. Do you think that's the right direction for your party to take?

PELOSI: No, I do not.

DAVIS: What do you think is the right direction?

PELOSI: The Affordable¹⁴ Care Act. This is complicated to put together health care for as many Americans as possible. Our goal for all of us, including those presidential candidates, is to have health care for all Americans - affordable, accessible, quality health care for all Americans. We believe that the path of the Affordable Care Act is the way to go.

So I do believe that if you want to have whatever they're calling their plan - Medicare for All, whatever it is - the path to it is the Affordable Care Act. But we might take that path to something that enables people to have Medicare if they wish or their private insurance if they wish. And I salute¹⁵ them. And if that's what they believe, God bless them for that. But that is, I think, not the practical path to getting something done.

And again, I say to them, all of these issues - single payer and all that - I have those signs in my basement from 30 years ago. I'm with you as an advocate. But as a member of Congress needing to get results for the American people, let's take a path that takes us quickest and best and strongest to affordable care for all Americans.

DAVIS: And that is, in your view, the public option, just to be clear.

PELOSI: Having it as an option. It isn't the public - a public option is an option. It's not the path that - you can have your private insurance, or you can have a public option if you wish.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Now elsewhere in the program, we hear Speaker Pelosi's reaction to news of a whistleblower complaint about President Trump's communications with a foreign leader and the ongoing¹⁶ standoff between the director of national intelligence and Congress.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PELOSI: What is a fact is the law. And the law says the director of national intelligence shall convey the whistleblower information to the intelligence committees in the Congress. And right now, they are breaking the law.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 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。

4 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

15 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

16 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。