美国国家公共电台 NPR--After being dropped, vets and their caregivers may remain in VA program

After being dropped, vets¹ and their caregivers may remain in VA program

Transcript²

Veterans and their caregivers who are part of a popular Department of Veterans Affairs program are breathing easier after a three-year grace period on unenrollment was announced.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

For now, veterans and their caregivers may remain in a popular Department of Veterans Affairs program after they were dropped. As NPR's Quil Lawrence reports, it is offering some relief for vets and might be a step toward restoring trust.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE³: Ashley Sitorius and her husband, William, joined the caregiver program in 2012 when it was brand-new. He did combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The VA says he's 100% disabled - PTSD, traumatic brain injury. William needed help with many tasks throughout the day, and that kept Ashley from being able to hold down a job. For Ashley, the caregiver program was like the VA saying, this is your job.

ASHLEY SITORIUS: There was a little card in the packet and it said, Ashley Sitorius, the caregiver program. And I just felt like, wow, this is serious. This is important. And I carried that dang little card in my wallet forever.

LAWRENCE: That feeling didn't last. In 2015, they were dropped from the program without explanation. NPR later reported that VAs in some states were purging⁴ caregivers from their roles. Ashley Sitorius had to get a job at a bakery.

SITORIUS: That was really bad. I'd have to be out the door and at the bakery by 4:30 in the morning. But my husband was not able to, you know, wake up in time and get the kids off to school. And I'd get phone calls, and it would be like, hey, is anybody going to pick up your child from school?

LAWRENCE: After three months, she quit. They went into debt. After three years fighting the red tape, Sitorius got reinstated in the program. That was 2018, the same year that Congress expanded the caregiver program to include Vietnam-era veterans and eventually disabled vets from all eras. But under the new law, everyone had to be reassessed. By last year, for reasons the VA is still unable to explain, 90% of post-9/11 caregivers were slated⁵ to be kicked off, including Ashley and William Sitorius.

SITORIUS: So that day is March 22 - is when we did our functional⁶ assessment⁷. It is our anniversary. It's our daughter's birthday. And it's the same dang day that the VA announced a pause.

LAWRENCE: A pause. The VA suspended the review. So they weren't kicked off, but Sitorius says she's been in uneasy limbo⁸.

SITORIUS: There are sleepless⁹ nights, you know, anxiety. We have had no security in this program for how many years now?

LAWRENCE: Then yesterday, VA press secretary Terrence Hayes announced a new three-year grace period. No one will be removed until September 2025.

TERRENCE HAYES: Moving forward, we will continue to examine ways to improve the program and make sure it delivers for veterans and their caregivers.

LAWRENCE: I called Ashley Sitorius right after that announcement. She was wary¹⁰.

SITORIUS: I think there's a sense of relief. I have talked to numerous caregivers, but while we have three years, what next? What next? There's broken trust.

LAWRENCE: Terrence Hayes says the VA knows that.

HAYES: This is an opportunity for us to earn and regain¹¹ that trust with our veterans and our caregivers. And we're going to stop at nothing to ensure that we provide them with the support that they need and deserve.

LAWRENCE: The VA has three years to prove that to the 20,000 post-9/11 caregivers in the program. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

1 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

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 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。

4 purging   

清洗； 清除； 净化； 洗炉

参考例句：

• You learned the dry-mouthed, fear-purged, purging ecstasy of battle. 你体会到战斗中那种使人嘴巴发干的，战胜了恐惧并排除其他杂念的狂喜。
• Purging databases, configuring, and making other exceptional requests might fall into this category. 比如清空数据库、配置，以及其他特别的请求等都属于这个类别。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

6 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

9 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

10 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

11 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。