VOA标准英语2009年-Health Care Debate Heats Up in Heartland o

With the U.S. Congress on a month long break, lawmakers are returning to their home districts where they are meeting voters who are sharply divided on the subject of health care reform. Some of these meetings have erupted into heated arguments and shouting matches. One of those meetings was held in in Pontiac, Illinois, part of Republican Tim Johnson's Congressional district, where he faced a largely supportive crowd opposed to current plans for health care reform.

Mindful of the headlines such town hall meetings have been generating across the United States, Congressman¹ Johnson's chief of staff, Jerry Clarke, promised a packed room of hundreds of voters this meeting would be different. "If you came for theater, you are probably not going to get it here," he said.

But several minutes into the meeting, while answering the first question about health care, Congressman Johnson, who opposes the current health care plan, became impatient with an audience member supportive of government-run health care.

"Let me point out, sir. I am not here to debate you. You have asked me a question, I am going to respond to it, but this is not a back and forth² debate. A lot of people in this room have questions, and as soon as I get done answering them, we are going to let them ask their questions," he said.

"But the bill is not even written, how can you ...," interrupted the audience member.

Congressman Johnson responded: "You want to respect the other people in this room, who also have questions. This is not a debate between you and I. You asked a question, and I am going to answer the question the best I can and let some one else ask another question ... the only way you are going to deal with this."

As the night wore on, it became clear the crowd generally supported Johnson's concerns that government-run health would raise taxes. Many like Ray Henry feel there is a lack of representation by the Republican Party on this issue in a House and Senate controlled by the Democratic Party.

"You never hear the Republican minority coming out on TV and speaking against this in order to get people rallied up for this. The only thing you are hearing are the Democrats³ saying that we are all Nazis⁴ coming to these meetings," he said.

"From my perspective, you are not Nazis, any of you on either side of the issue, not Astroturf constituents⁵, you are people who really care, and in every case, that has been the case with me," the congressman said.

Judy Henderson had a different take on health care. Her adult son has lived with disability his entire life, and she has relied on charity donations to help pay for his care. She became emotional as she appealed to Johnson to consider her circumstances when he votes on health care legislation.

"I have been looking for health-care reform to give him what he needs, and he does not have it, and he falls through this loophole and that is why I am in favor of health care reform," she said.

Johnson explained that he supports health care reform, but says the current proposal falls short. Johnson says he is concerned about the quality of service, the time it would take to get needed care, and the cost of the overall program to taxpayers⁶, which Johnson says would increase the federal deficit⁷ to unsustainable levels.

Charles Merbitz believes a government insurance option, expanding on current programs that cover the elderly and the poor, would actually save money in the long run. "It will not be perfect, God knows that. However it will be so much better than what we have. We are going to spend way less money in taking care of people in emergency rooms and taking care of conditions that could be caught early if we would do that," Merbitz said.

Reaching a consensus⁸ on health care has proven to be difficult, with advocates on both sides of the issue passionate⁹ about different options. Congressman Johnson expects the passion to continue as he prepares for the next meeting in his Illinois district.

1 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

3 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》

4 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

7 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

8 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

9 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。