President Barack Obama is expected to nominate Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius on Monday to be the nation's Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. Governor Sebelius is Mr. Obama's second choice for the post after former Senator Tom Daschle withdrew his name amid controversy over unpaid income taxes.
预计美国总统奥巴马星期一将提名堪萨斯州州长凯瑟琳.西贝柳斯出任卫生与人类服务部部长。西贝柳斯是奥巴马总统的第二位卫生部长人选。此前，前国会参议员汤姆.达施勒由于未全额交纳所得税引起争议而退出提名。
The expected Sebelius announcement follows a huge health care reform proposal in Mr. Obama's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year.
与此同时，奥巴马提出的下一财政年度预算中包含一项规模宏大的医改建议。
If confirmed by the Senate, Kathleen Sebelius, an early supporter of Barack Obama's campaign for president, is expected to play a prominent role in reforming the nation's health care system. She currently is serving her second term as Kansas governor after holding the post of state insurance commissioner.
如果获得参议院批准，现年60岁的西贝柳斯将在改革美国医疗保健系统的过程中发挥主要作用。西贝柳斯从奥巴马刚开始竞选的时候就站在他一边。西贝柳斯曾经担任堪萨斯州负责保险事务的官员，目前是她第二个州长任期。
President Obama has made health care a major priority of his administration. Last week, in unveiling his $3.5 trillion budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, Mr. Obama acted on his campaign pledge to overhaul the nation's health care system with a request for more than $600 billion to fund reforms over 10 years.
奥巴马总统将医疗保健作为政府的一个主要工作重点。上星期，奥巴马在公布下个财政年度3万5千亿预算案的时候，要求在今后10年为医改拨款6千亿美元，这是在兑现他有关彻底整顿美国医疗制度的竞选承诺。
"With this budget, we are making a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform," Mr. Obama said. "It's a step that will not only make families healthier and companies more competitive, but over the long term it will also help us bring down our deficit."
奥巴马说：“通过这项预算，我们对全面医改做出了历史性承诺。这样作不仅仅会使家庭更健康，企业更有竞争力，而且从长远来看，还将有助于减少我们的赤字。”
Mr. Obama says he wants to expand health care coverage while slowing the rate of cost increases. Administration officials say they hope to create a universal system that will lead to more affordable coverage for all Americans.
奥巴马表示，他要扩大医保涵盖范围，同时减缓费用攀升速度。政府官员说，他们希望建立一个全民健保制度，让所有的美国人都能买得起健康保险。
Over the weekend, Reuters news service quoted an unnamed Obama administration official as saying that Governor Sebelius is a popular state official known for her bipartisan approach and that as insurance commissioner, she stood for better health care, giving her "unique insight and experience" that President Obama can draw on.
路透社周末引述奥巴马政府一名官员的话说，西贝柳斯是一位受民众喜爱的州政府官员，不受党派立场影响，作为保险事务主管，她支持提高健保质量，奥巴马总统可以从她那里得到“独特的见解和经验”。
Mr. Obama's first choice as HHS secretary was former Senator Tom Daschle who withdrew his nomination last month after it was revealed that he failed to pay about $140,000 in taxes.
奥巴马的第一位卫生部长人选是前国会参议员达施勒。上个月，在有关他曾少交纳14万美元税款的消息被披露之后，达施勒退出了提名。
The selection of Governor Sebelius comes as the White House prepares to host a summit on health care reform, involving lawmakers and members of key interest groups.
西贝柳斯州长是在白宫准备主持召开一次国会议员和主要利益集团成员参加的医疗改革峰会的时候得到这项提名的。
Appearing the CBS television program "Face the Nation," White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel said health care reform is crucial to reviving the U.S. economy.
白宫办公厅主任拉姆.伊曼纽尔在接受哥伦比亚广播公司电视采访的时候指出，医疗改革对振兴美国的经济至关重要。
"The health care system is a particular example where America's economic competitiveness, its strength around the world, is sapped because we have a health care system that doesn't allow American workers and businesses to compete, and it is the key to our long-term putting our fiscal house in order," Emmanuel said.
他说：“医疗制度特别能说明美国的经济竞争力、美国在世界各地的实力为什么被削弱了，因为我们的医疗制度不让美国工人和企业去竞争。这是我们把我们的长期财政理顺的关键。”
Republican lawmakers have expressed concern about the proposed cost of Democratic health care reforms and about giving the federal government a larger role in health care.
共和党议员对民主党提出的医疗改革的成本以及让联邦政府在医疗保健中发挥更大的作用感到担心。
The Department of Health and Human Services employs some 65,000 people and manages government health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid as well as health and social science research, disease prevention, and food and drug safety programs.
卫生和人类服务部有6万5千名雇员，负责政府的医疗保险和医疗补贴等健保项目，进行卫生与社会学研究，防治疾病以及制定落实有关食品药品安全的计划。 |