U.S. President Barack Obama will attempt to regain political momentum when he delivers a major address on health care reform to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
美国总统奥巴马星期三将在参众两院的联席会议上发表有关健保改革的重要讲话，以设法重新控制政治局面。
It may be the most important speech so far in Mr. Obama's young presidency. The political stakes for the president and for congressional Democrats are enormous.
这可能是奥巴马总统时间不长的任期内最重要的一次讲话。这个讲话对于他本人和国会的民主党人来说具有重大的政治意义。
The president will attempt to regain the initiative in the battle for health care reform after losing ground last month in public opinion polls and in some angry town hall forums where his plan was heavily criticized.
奥巴马总统将试图在健保改革的战役中重新掌握主动权。此前，上个月的民意调查显示他正在失去民心。同时在一些市民会议上出现愤怒情绪，他的计划遭到严厉的批评。
"Many may believe that we can't afford to do anything," said presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs. "I think this president believes we can't afford not to."
白宫发言人罗伯特.吉布斯说：“许多人可能认为，我们没有能力做任何事。我认为我们这位总统相信我们不能袖手旁观。”
Hopes for a bipartisan compromise on health care appear to be fading. Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming is one of a handful of Republicans who has been discussing a bipartisan approach on health care.
对于两党间在健保问题上达成妥协的希望看起来正在消失。怀俄明州参议员恩兹是支持在健保问题上实行两党合作的少数几名共和党人之一。
But Enzi adopted a negative tone when he gave the Republican response to one of President Obama's recent weekly radio addresses.
但是恩兹在代表共和党人回应奥巴马总统近期的每周例行电台讲话时，采取了消极的口吻。
"This is big. This is personal. This is one of the most important debates of our lifetime," he said. "If Congress and the administration mess this up each and every one of us will pay for the mistakes, as will generations to come. We need health care reform. But more importantly, we need to get it right,"he said.
恩兹说：“这个议题是巨大的，同时也是个人的。这是我们一生当中最重要的辩论之一。 如果国会和政府把这件事搞糟，我们每一个人都要为此付出代价，我们的后代也是如此。 我们需要健保改革。但是更重要的是，我们需要把这件事做好。”
Like most members of Congress, Enzi heard from constituents at town hall meetings during the August congressional recess about the health care issue, and he says many of the comments were negative.
和许多国会议员一样，今年八月国会休会期间，恩兹在市民会议上听取了选民关于健保问题的意见。 他说，许多意见都是负面的。
Several Democrats have said their town hall meetings were not as raucous, and they insist reform supporters remain adamant that Congress should approve changes to the U.S. health care system.
一些民主党人士说，他们举行的市民会议没有那么吵闹。这些民主党人坚持说，改革的支持者仍然坚定地认为国会应该批准对美国健保系统作出改变。
Some liberal Democrats worry that the president may ask them to give up too much in the health care debate in the hope of salvaging some sort of political compromise by the end of the year.
一些民主党自由派人士担心，奥巴马总统可能会要求他们在有关健保改革的辩论中作出太多让步，以期能在今年年底挽回某种政治妥协。
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says many Democrats remain committed to a sweeping reform plan that would expand health insurance coverage to millions of Americans who currently do not have it.
众议院议长佩洛西说，许多民主党人仍然致力于实行全面的改革计划，为数以百万目前没有健康保险的美国人，扩大健康保险涵盖的范围。
"We have a moral imperative to do this. We are the greatest country that ever existed in the history of the world, the great economic leader of the developed world, but the only one that does have access to quality, affordable health care for our people, and we intend to do so," she said.
佩洛西说：“从道义的角度我们必须这样做。我们是有史以来最伟大的国家，是发达国家中巨大的经济龙头，但是我们也是这些国家中，唯一没有为我们的人民提供高质量的、可以负担得起的健康保险的国家。我们打算改变这个局面。”
Republicans and many conservative Democrats are balking on the cost of the reform, which could reach one trillion dollars over the next several years.
共和党人和许多民主党保守派人士以改革成本为由，阻挠这一计划。在未来的几年中，改革可能造成多达一万亿美元的开支。
Political analysts say Mr. Obama has little choice but to try and restart the debate over health care since his poll ratings have gone down in recent months, both personally and in terms of his handling of the health care issue.
政治分析人士说，奥巴马除了试图重新启动关于健保改革的辩论外别无选择，因为近几个月来，他个人，以及他在处理健保问题方面的民调支持率都有所下降。
"You do see a lot more worry in the public opinion polls," said John Fortier, an expert at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "And the polls differ on how questions are asked, but certainly all the polls have moved to much more skepticism about the cost and about worries about the government role," he said.
约翰.福捷是在华盛顿的美国企业研究所的专家。福捷：“在民意调查中，你的确可以看到很多忧虑。民意调查因为提问方式的差异而有所不同，但无疑，所有的调查开始显示更多对成本的怀疑以及对政府职能的担忧。”
A major point of difference between the two main parties is whether the government should offer a health insurance program to compete with private insurance companies in an effort to drive down health care costs.
美国两个主要政党间的一个重要区别是关于政府是否应该提供一个健康保险项目，与私营的保险公司竞争，以降低健康保险的开销。
Republicans argue a government plan, also known as the public option, would undermine the private insurance industry.
共和党人认为，政府提供的项目，又被称为“公众选择”，会损害私营保险业。
Liberal Democrats, including Speaker Pelosi, insist that a public option must be part of any bill eventually passed by Congress.
民主党自由派人士，包括众议院议长佩洛西坚持说，“公众选择”必须是国会最终通过的任何法案的一部分。
The president's address will come shortly after Congress reconvenes after its long August recess. Several congressional committees are working on reform proposals, but so far no one plan has emerged for consideration.
国会在八月漫长的休会后重新召开。此后不久，奥巴马总统将发表讲话。几个国会委员会正在研究改革建议，但是至今还没有出现一项可以被考量的计划。 |