美国国家公共电台 NPR--Biden to sign a bill that would care for veterans made sick by toxic exposures

Biden to sign a bill that would care for veterans made sick by toxic¹ exposures

Transcript²

President Biden on Wednesday will sign the PACT³ Act, a bill to care for veterans exposed to toxins⁴ that is considered the biggest expansion of veterans' health care in U.S. history.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

President Biden today plans to sign into law what is widely considered the biggest expansion of VA care ever, the PACT Act. PACT stands for Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxins. It's meant to make up for broken promises over the years to care for veterans made sick by toxic exposures in Vietnam and in Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops and Iraqis alike were exposed to things like burn pits. Quil Lawrence follows veteran affairs for NPR, and he's with us now. Good morning, Quil.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE⁵: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So I just gave a shorthand version of the PACT Act. But how comprehensive is this legislation?

LAWRENCE: It covers a lot. You mentioned the burn pits, which were those open pits of burning trash and fuel in Afghanistan and Iraq that made so many veterans sick, and Vietnam vets⁶ who are still fighting to get covered for Agent Orange. But it's also vets who served during the Cold War, who were exposed to radiation from atomic testing, or Marine⁷ families who lived on Camp Lejeune from the '50s all the way through the late '80s, who were drinking contaminated water. It's veterans who served in Djibouti or Syria or Uzbekistan. If they're having respiratory issues or rare cancers, they can now contact VA. And as many as 3.5 million veterans may have a claim.

FADEL: What do you mean, may have a claim? How will this all work?

LAWRENCE: Yeah. So mostly what Congress did was just take the burden of proof away from the veterans of, you know, what caused your cancer. It's off their backs now. So for years, we've been interviewing vets who were sick and many who died waiting for the VA to determine that their cancer was related to service and not to smoking or to diet or to something with genetics. Now, if you went to war and you've got asthma⁸ or brain cancer or this long list of other ailments⁹, they're just going to presume it's connected to your service. And just as importantly, thousands of veterans who were too sick to work from these ailments will get VA disability payments.

FADEL: OK, Quil, when we talked to you about two months ago, you said this was basically a done deal. So that was two months ago.

LAWRENCE: It looked like it was a done deal. It really - so it had passed the Senate 84 to 14. And then they found this technical error in the House version of the bill. And they just needed to delete one line, and they needed to vote on it again at the end of July. But when they did that in the Senate, 25 Republicans switched their votes, and it was widely seen as just an angry reaction to Democrats¹⁰ reaching a deal on totally unrelated legislation. But veterans advocates - they were already ready to celebrate. They had a big victory party ready on Capitol Hill.

FADEL: Right.

LAWRENCE: And that suddenly turned into this angry protest. And veterans camped out for six days until there was another vote and enough Republicans switched back.

FADEL: OK, so now some of these sick veterans have died. Others have been suffering for years. How soon can they expect to get help?

LAWRENCE: This is going to be phased in. And, you know, the VA has blown deadlines on phasing in programs before, but they say they're going to have a new call center and a network of trained experts to help vets make their claims ready by January. The law includes money for additional staff and even new buildings, and they're going to need it because the VA already has a backlog¹¹, and this is going to bury them in new claims. But VA is encouraging vets and survivors¹² to apply and get things in motion. There's a feeling of support from the Biden administration. President Biden often mentioned his own son, Beau, had died of a cancer he believed was caused by burn pits. And while these vets were camping out for six days in the heat and the rain outside the Senate, the White House actually sent VA Secretary Denis McDonough over to the VA to bring pizza to them outside. There's a perception that the VA kind of wants this to work this time.

FADEL: NPR's Quil Lawrence, thank you, Quil, for your reporting.

LAWRENCE: Thanks, Leila.

1 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。

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 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。

4 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》

5 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。

6 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

9 ailments   

疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His ailments include a mild heart attack and arthritis. 他患有轻度心脏病和关节炎。
• He hospitalizes patients for minor ailments. 他把只有小病的患者也送进医院。

10 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》

11 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

12 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者