VOA慢速英语2013 美国立法者准备的预算辩论的医疗保健法

 

AS IT IS 2013-09-06 US Lawmakers Prepare for Budget Debate Over Health Care Law 美国立法者准备的预算辩论的医疗保健法

From VOA Learning English, this is As It Is.

Welcome to the program. Im Caty Weaver¹.

President Obama, the United States Congress and the American people face another federal budget dispute this month. We talk about one part of the debate that could shut down the government.

Later, we tell about President Obamas visit to Sweden this week.

The Health Care Law Debate Continues

The United States Congress has returned to official business following a break in August. Lawmakers this month face a decision on how to continue financing the federal government. Mario Ritter reports.

October 1st is the first day of the governments fiscal³, or spending, year. A group of Republican Party lawmakers is threatening to force federal agencies to suspend operations. They say they will not approve a spending bill unless Congress denies money for the health care law, known as the Affordable⁴ Care Act.

President Obama signed the act into law in 2010. But the battle over its enactment⁶ continues. Groups for and against the law have purchased television advertising⁷ in hopes of winning public support.

It is nice to see somebody is looking out for the little guy. The law works.

Please, call the number on your screen and tell Congress, do not fund Obamacare.

Some Republicans want Congress to stop paying for the health care law as part of any agreement to finance federal spending in October. Critics of the law include Senator Ted² Cruz of Texas.

It is not working. It is hurting health care and now is the opportunity to do it if the American people rise up and hold our elected officials accountable.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio also opposes the law.

It will do irreparable damage to our country and to our country. I do not think you can say that you are against Obamacare if you vote for a budget that funds it.

Republicans hold a majority in the House of Representatives. The House has repeatedly voted to cancel funding for the health care law. But the effort has been blocked in the Senate, which the Democratic Party controls. And, President Obama would veto any such effort.

The president recently spoke⁸ to reporters about calls to close down the government.

The idea that you would shut down the government unless you prevent 30-million people from getting health care is a bad idea.

Congressional Democrats⁹ are fighting the idea of defunding the law. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is sharply critical of some Congressional Republicans.

I think they are aimless. I think they are chaotic¹⁰, and I think they are making matters worse for the American people when we should be resolving this.

A number of Republicans in both the House and Senate also oppose the effort to block financing for the health care law. The issue has even become a point of division within the party. But House Speaker John Boehner believes the issue can and will be settled.

And I am confident that when we get into the fall, we will find that it may be a messy process, but I suspect we will find a way to get there.

David Hawkings writes for Roll Call, a newspaper that reports on congress. He believes that Ted Party activists¹¹ are leading the campaign to defund the law.

Conservative Republicans, the Tea Party Republicans have been itching¹² for a fight ever since they got here in 2011. There are still a solid number of Republicans in the House, especially, who are itching for that kind of a confrontation¹³ and think they will win it.

Ford⁵ OConnell has served as an advisor¹⁴ to the Republican Party. He is among those warning members not to act on the threat.

It is a very, very risky¹⁵ strategy that could come back and bite the Republicans at a very important time when they are trying to change their identity and change their perception and win in 2014, so they can grow their numbers and govern in Congress.

In the 1990s, Republicans were involved in budget battles with then President Bill Clinton. Those disputes led federal agencies to suspend operations. Now long-time Republicans worry that since the party was blamed for those shut downs, it will be again if the government closes over the health care law. Im Mario Ritter.

You are listening to As It Is from Learning English on the Voice of America. Im Caty Weaver.

Obama in Sweden

In recent days, President Obama has increasingly turned his attention to the conflict in Syria and foreign relations. Mr. Obama left Washington Tuesday night for a three-day visit to Sweden and Russia. On Wednesday Mr. Obama was in Sweden.

The United States and Sweden have had a special relationship for many years. The two sides on Wednesday reconfirmed their cooperation on shared economic, environmental, and security issues. 

President Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt met in Stockholm. The two men talked about a number of issues, including trade and investment, climate change and disarmament.

In a joint¹⁶ statement, they agreed that the close relationship comes from shared values such as democracy, the respect for human rights, and the rule of law. The statement said, for example, that the two sides would continue to protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons around the world.

Each side promised financial support for the Global Equality Fund. The United States launched the fund two years ago to assist civil society organizations in more than 20 countries. The Obama administration says the United States and Sweden each plan to provide six million dollars in new resources for the program over three years. 

The two nations re-stated their goal of seeking a world without nuclear weapons. The leaders also spoke about the situation in Syria. They strongly condemned¹⁷ any and all use of chemical weapons. 

It was the first time in history that an American president has visited Sweden while in office. Over four million Americans claim to have Swedish ancestors.

This year marks the 375th anniversary of the establishment of the first Swedish settlement in what is now the United States. It has been 230 years since the signing of the first free trade agreement between the nations.

And thats AS IT IS for today. Im Caty Weaver.

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

4 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。

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

6 enactment   

n.演出，担任…角色；制订，通过

参考例句：

• Enactment refers to action.演出指行为的表演。
• We support the call for the enactment of a Bill of Rights.我们支持要求通过《权利法案》的呼声。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 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》

10 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

11 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》

12 itching   

adj.贪得的，痒的，渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。