美国国家公共电台 NPR--After high-profile pushback, Senate passes help for veterans exposed to toxins

After high-profile pushback, Senate passes help for veterans exposed to toxins¹

Transcript²

Comedian³ Jon Stewart was frustrated⁴ when Senate Republicans initially⁵ blocked a bill to provide expanded health care for military veterans exposed to toxic⁶ chemicals. The legislation passed Tuesday.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The U.S. Senate has given final approval to improved health care and disability benefits for millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins while on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. What's called the PACT⁷ Act is now waiting for President Biden's signature, but it was almost derailed by last-minute objections from Republicans. Then came some pretty high-profile pushback. NPR's H.J. Mai reports.

H J MAI, BYLINE⁸: Ahead of a second Senate vote within a week, roughly 40 military veterans and their supporters set up camp in the shadows of the U.S. Capitol. Among them was comedian and activist⁹ Jon Stewart. Stewart was dressed in dark jeans with a black T-shirt and a USO baseball cap. And he was still upset about last week's vote.

JON STEWART: They pulled an April Fool's prank¹⁰ on America's war fighters.

MAI: The former "Daily Show" host has become the most prominent supporter of the PACT Act. The bill expands health care benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals, primarily through so-called burn pits, by classifying cancers and some respiratory illnesses as byproducts of toxic exposure, thereby¹¹ removing the burden of proof for veterans seeking medical care.

STEWART: These folks have been fighting this 15 years. They've lost friends and family to this, toxic exposures. And 25 Republicans flipped¹² their vote for no discernible reason.

MAI: Last week's vote was surprising, as only a month earlier, the same Republicans supported the measure. The bill represents one of the largest expansions of veterans benefits and could affect as many as 3.5 million veterans. Over the past several days, Stewart has been on a media blitz to call out those 25 Republican senators, sometimes in very colorful language. But his main message to Congress remains¹³ the same - stop playing games with the life of veterans.

STEWART: There's always money for war and never money for the veteran. If you're going to start a 20-year war and you're going to spend $6 trillion on it, wouldn't you throw, like, a contingency¹⁴ fund behind that for the consequences that will inevitably¹⁵ come?

MAI: The men and women facing those consequences in the form of health problems are U.S. service members who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as prior wars. One of them is retired¹⁶ Army captain Le Roy Torres. He was deployed¹⁷ to Iraq from 2007 to 2008. He was stationed at Camp Anaconda, where he was exposed to toxins from burn pits. When he came home, he wasn't the same man anymore, says his wife, Rosie.

ROSIE TORRES: Here was this strong man who fulfilled his childhood dreams of being a state trooper and being an Army captain. And just to see all that stripped away from him the way it was, it just really put this heartache in my heart.

MAI: And as his health further deteriorated¹⁸, so did his will to live.

TORRES: He almost took his life a few years ago, put a shotgun to his mouth, and I had to fight him to pull that out of his hand.

MAI: With last night's passage of the bill, Rosie Torres' fight for adequate health care access for her husband has finally ended. H.J. Mai, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALEXANDRE DESPLAT'S "SUNRISE ON LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN")

MARTINEZ: If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or in crisis, call or text the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline. Just those three digits¹⁹ - 988.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALEXANDRE DESPLAT'S "SUNRISE ON LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN")

1 toxins   

n.毒素( toxin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The seas have been used as a receptacle for a range of industrial toxins. 海洋成了各种有毒工业废料的大容器。
• Most toxins are naturally excreted from the body. 大部分毒素被自然排出体外。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 prank   

n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己

参考例句：

• It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
• The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。

11 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

12 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

13 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。

14 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

15 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

16 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

17 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。

18 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

19 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》