VOA常速英语2007-US Lawmakers Fail to Override Presidential Veto

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
18 October 2007

The House of Representatives has failed to override¹ President Bush's veto of legislation approved by Congress that would have expanded a government-subsidized children's health insurance program.  VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

Democrats² needed to change the minds of enough lawmakers to override the president's veto of legislation expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program, one of the most fiercely fought domestic issues in recent times.

In a 273 to 156 vote, Democrats fell 13 short of the votes needed for a two-thirds majority of those voting.  Overrides³ require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate.  When the Senate passed the bill in September, it achieved a veto-proof majority.

Under the 1997 program, the federal government and U.S. states assist children whose parents earn too much to qualify for the massive government Medicaid program, but not enough to afford private insurance.

About nine million children 18 and younger have no health insurance, while congressional budget statistics show about 6.5 million children and 671,000 adults received health insurance under the program in 2006.

The legislation Congress approved and the president vetoed proposed to expand funding by about $35 billion during the next five years.

President Bush said this would unreasonably⁴ expand the role of the government in health care.  He proposed a much lower $5 billion expansion, adding that the program had grown to cover too many adults, and too many children in middle-income families.

Democrats cited public opinion polls showing a majority of Americans support expanding the program, noting that the legislation proposed to phase out adults, and would remain focused on low income families.

Michigan Congressman⁵ John Dingell accused Republicans of trying to confuse Americans.

"The debate here is about one thing only, health care for kids.  Some have tried to change the subject, obfuscating⁶ this debate with misconceptions, half truths and outright⁷ lies," Dingell said.

Republicans accused Democrats of supporting an overly broad expansion, and failing to identify adequate budgeting to pay for it.

Republican Steven King asserted Democrats were also trying to score political points.

"That is what this debate is about, [to] make people dependent so they do not have individual responsibility, and you can have more people dependent on your votes on the floor of this Congress," King said.

President Bush says he remains⁸ open to negotiations⁹ to achieve a bipartisan solution, sending two officials to Capitol Hill.

"The president is extending a hand and reaching out," said spokeswoman Dana Perino at Thursday's White House briefing.

The override failure came at the end of a difficult week for House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders.

Democratic leaders were forced to postpone¹⁰ a vote on a measure proposing to revise the law on anti-terrorist electronic surveillance and strengthen controls on executive power.

Speaker Pelosi also acknowledged that growing opposition¹¹ to a non-binding Armenian genocide resolution, fueled by intense opposition from the Bush administration and Turkey, could block that measure from a vote in the House.

1 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

2 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》

3 overrides   

越控( override的第三人称单数 )； （以权力）否决； 优先于； 比…更重要

参考例句：

• The new rule overrides all the previous ones. 新规则使以前的所有规则失效。
• The application configuration file setting overrides the machine configuration file setting. 应用程序配置文件设置重写计算机配置文件设置。

4 unreasonably   

adv. 不合理地

参考例句：

• He was also petty, unreasonably querulous, and mean. 他还是个气量狭窄，无事生非，平庸刻薄的人。
• Food in that restaurant is unreasonably priced. 那家饭店价格不公道。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 obfuscating   

v.使模糊，使混乱( obfuscate的现在分词 )；使糊涂

参考例句：

• They are obfuscating the issue, as only insurance companies can. 他们在此问题上混淆视听，这事只有保险公司才做得出来。 来自辞典例句
• What sort of knucklehead uses a word like obfuscating? 什么样的笨蛋会用像抽象化这样的词？ 来自电影对白

7 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

10 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。