Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have unveiled their version of health care reform legislation, in an effort to accelerate progress toward meeting achieving one of President Obama's major priorities. Republicans immediately blasted the proposal, which Democrats say they're determined to have the House vote on before the August congressional recess.
美国众议院的民主党人公布了自己的医保改革法案，以便加速实现奥巴马总统的医疗保健改革计划，这是奥巴马的重要优先工作项目之一。共和党人立刻抨击了这个议案， 而民主党人说，他们决心让众议院在8月休会之前对此进行投票。
The effort by majority Democrats to reform the health care system, a goal President Barack Obama says is crucial to speeding economic recovery, ran into problems because of huge initial cost estimates, and the prospect of higher taxes to pay for the changes.
奥巴马总统说，改革医疗保健系统是加速经济复苏所必需的。但是多数党民主党改革医保系统的努力遇到麻烦，这是由于预计的启动费用巨大，为了改革需要增税。
The president has pledged that health care reform would be fully paid for and not add to the federal budget deficit, the growth of which experts agree also threatens long-term recovery.
But a proposal by majority Democrats to pay for it by increasing taxes on high wage earners (couples earning more than $350,000) and wealthy Americans recently provoked opposition from fiscally-conservative Democrats.
民主党议员提议增加高工资者的所得税，让那些总收入超过35万美元的夫妇和富人多交税，这引起了那些在财政上比较保守的民主党人的反对。
Amid worries that disagreements might destroy chances of House and Senate votes before an August congressional recess, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders worked out a final version they vow to bring to a vote before lawmakers leave town.
人们担心，这种分歧也许会使众议院和参议院在国会8月休会之前不能对此投票。众议院议长佩洛西和民主党领导人商定了一个最后文本，他们誓言要国会在议员们离开华盛顿之前进行表决。
Pelosi called the measure a historic step of major importance for America's middle class, but also described as a starting point:
佩洛西称这个法案对美国中产阶级具有重要意义，迈出了历史性的一步。她还说这是个起点。
"This bill is a starting point and a path to success, to lower costs for consumers and businesses, to give greater choice to Americans including keeping your doctor and plan if you like them, better quality of care putting doctors not insurance companies back in charge, and to provide stability and peace of mind that you cannot be denied care of coverage for a pre-existing [medical] condition," said Nancy Pelosi.
佩洛西说：“这个法案是个起点，是走向成功之路，它将减少消费者和企业的费用；它将给美国人更多的选择，包括可以保留你喜欢的医生和医疗保险计划，提高医疗质量，让医生而不是保险公司作主；它将让你安心放心，知道自己不会因为身体有病而得不到医疗保险。”
The measure includes a new government-run insurance plan, known as a public option to compete with private providers. Provisions aim to slow rapidly-increasing medical care costs, and improve access to and the quality and effectiveness of care and treatments.
这个议案包括一个新的由政府管理的医疗保险计划，也就是所谓的公共选择，同私营保险公司竞争。目标是减缓迅速增长的医疗费用，使人们更容易得到医疗照顾，提高医疗照顾的质量和效果。
Democratic Henry Waxman chairs the House Energy & Commerce Committee:
众议院能源和商务委员会主席，民主党议员韦克斯曼说：
"The [current] system is unsustainable," said Henry Waxman. "We cannot continue to put more and more money into health care, especially when you recognize that this country spends more money on health care than any other western industrialized nation, and yet we have 46 to 50 million people uninsured."
“目前的体制难以为继。我们不能继续往医保系统投入越来越多的钱，特别是在你认识到这一点的情况下：美国在医疗保健上花的钱比其他任何西方工业国都多，但是有4600万到5000万美国人没有医疗保险。”
Representative George Miller, a California Democrat, said the Democratic-controlled Congress will deliver on a goal set by President Obama when he was elected:
"We will in this year produce a bill that is fair and fully paid for, reduces cost, preserves choice, and expands access for all Americans," said George Miller. "That was the charge that President Obama gave this Congress when he was sworn into office, it was the charge that the American people gave President Obama when they voted for him in the election."
Currently, between 46 million and 50 million Americans are without health insurance. A report earlier this year found that one out of three Americans under the age of 65 were without health insurance at some point over the past two years.
As for the sensitive question of costs, lawmakers were more guarded, declining to specify a figure before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides its estimate. However, it is thought to be around $1 trillion.
对于成本这个敏感问题，议员们比较谨慎，在无党派的国会预算办公室提出估测之前，不肯提出具体数字。不过人们认为，这个成本是一万亿美元左右。
Republicans immediately responded, attacking the proposed surtax on high-earning Americans as another burden on small businesses, and asserting that the government insurance plan will ruin the existing private medical system:
共和党议员立刻做出反应，抨击这个议案中对于高收入者征收附加税的条款是给小企业增加的又一个负担。他们断言，政府的医疗保险计划将毁坏现有的私营保险系统。
Missouri Republican Roy Blunt:
代表密苏里州的共和党议员布朗特说：
"What we really have here is a bill that without any question will kill jobs, will limit access to health care, will raise taxes, and will lead to a government takeover of health care," said Roy Blunt.
“这个议案无疑会减少就业机会，使得一些人得不到医疗保健，提高征税，会导致政府接管医保工作。”
Democrats will fine tune the measure over the next three weeks to, among other things, address ongoing concerns of fiscally-conservative Democrats, a group known as the Blue Dogs who want assurances that cost-cutting measures will be effective.
民主党人将在今后三个星期里调整这个议案，以便安抚那些在财政上比较保守的民主党议员，他们的一个团体要求得到一个保证，那就是削减成本的措施将会奏效。
In a statement, the group said it is committed to passing health care reform, but said any plan that fails to meet President Obama's goal of substantially bringing down costs is not an option.
The Senate has made slower progress coming up with a health care reform bill. Achieving House and Senate votes before August would allow lawmakers to resolve differences on separate bills so each chamber could vote on a final version after they return from their break. |