VOA标准英语2010年-Obama Signs Health Care Reform Into La

Measure intends to extend health insurance coverage¹ to 32 million Americans currently without it

Kent Klein | White House 23 March 2010
 

President Barack Obama signs the health care bill in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, 23 Mar² 2010

Democrats³ Say They Are '24 Hours Away' from Passing Historic Health Care Reform
Obama to Make Final Health Reform Appeal to House Democrats
U.S. President Barack Obama has signed into law a plan to reform the way Americans pay for health care. The signing follows a contentious⁴ year-long debate, with more to come.

Democrats and health reform advocates celebrated⁵ in the East Room of the White House Tuesday, as President Obama signed historic legislation to overhaul⁶ the U.S. health care system.

"We are done," he said.

Before he signed the bill, Mr. Obama paid tribute to the lawmakers who fought for health reform over the past year, and the legislators and presidents who have advocated it since the early 20th century. "Today, after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied⁷; health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America," he said. 

The 10-year package, estimated at $940 billion, is meant to extend health insurance to 32 million uninsured Americans.  The Obama administration says it will also reduce federal budget deficits⁸ and stop insurance companies from denying coverage to people with existing medical problems.

Mr. Obama says it will be four years before the plan fully⁹ takes effect, but the system will begin to change this year.

At the festive¹⁰ ceremony, the president acknowledged that this legislation will mark a fundamental change in U.S. domestic policy. "We have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care," he said.

The reform legislation narrowly passed the House of Representatives on Sunday.  Opposition¹¹ Republicans in the House voted unanimously against it.

Republicans regard the plan as a federal takeover of one-sixth of the U.S. economy and an unnecessary intrusion of government into personal medical decisions.  They also say it is too costly¹² and that most Americans oppose it.

Health reform is expected to be a major issue in this November's elections for Congress.

More than a dozen of the 50 states plan to file a lawsuit¹³, challenging the legislation's constitutionality.  They contend that it violates states' sovereignty by requiring that all Americans have some form of health insurance.

Even though he has signed the legislation, the president is not finished campaigning for it.  He will go to the central state of Iowa on Thursday, to try to convince a deeply divided country of the plan's merits. 

Mr. Obama has made dozens of trips around the country over the past year, promoting his health reform plan.
 

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

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 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

6 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

7 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

8 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

11 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

12 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

13 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。