美国国家公共电台 NPR--COVID funding is missing from the $1.5 trillion spending measure

COVID funding is missing from the $1.5 trillion spending measure

Transcript¹

President Biden signed the spending bill Friday that contained a lot more than the funds to keep the government running. Many health initiatives were included, but why was COVID funding taken out?

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The $1.5 trillion spending bill that President Biden signed late last Friday contained a lot more than the funds to keep the government running. Many health initiatives were tucked into the legislation, as well - everything from the closing of a tobacco regulation loophole to changes in food assistance programs. Now, one thing, though, that was noticeably missing - COVID funding. NPR's Allison Aubrey is here. Allison, let's start with the tobacco regulation loophole. The FDA has been stepping up regulation of e-cigarettes, which are popular with teens. What changed?

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE²: Good morning, A. One of the ways the makers³ of flavored e-cigarettes have tried to avoid FDA's tobacco regulation is by switching to synthetic⁴ nicotine⁵, which is made in a lab, not from tobacco. For example, one of the brands most popular with teens, Puff⁶ Bar, comes in delicious-sounding flavors such as cool mint or banana ice. It uses synthetic nicotine. Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids told me this makes it tougher to rein⁷ in teen vaping. But with the signing of this bill, this loophole will be closed.

MATTHEW MYERS: The key here is that as FDA cracked down on flavors like cookie crunch⁸, these companies simply switched the kind of nicotine they were using in order to sell products that wouldn't otherwise be allowed. That's why closing this loophole is so critical.

AUBREY: Though vaping decreased some early in the pandemic, the most recent data shows millions of teens are still vaping regularly. So Myers says this is good news, a step in the right direction.

MARTINEZ: All right. So let's move on to another item. Something else in this huge spending package is the continuation of telehealth benefits. How significant is this?

AUBREY: Well, there's a temporary extension of the flexibility⁹ that's been allowed amid the pandemic in the Medicare program for folks 65 and up. So providers who see Medicare patients can continue to bill for telehealth visits. And the bill also extends some flexibility for mental health visits via telehealth, too. Now, the temporary extension lasts about five months or so. But, you know, people are getting accustomed to the convenience of telehealth. So a lot of providers, a lot of patients would like to see permanent changes.

MARTINEZ: The spending bill also makes some changes to food assistance programs that have helped millions of Americans during the pandemic. What are those details?

AUBREY: When the pandemic started and schools shut down, school nutrition directors had to really scramble¹⁰ to feed kids in a whole new way. So they were given waivers from the rules, which allowed for a lot more flexibility on what they could serve and how to serve it. This led to creative, new ways to get food to those who need it. I spoke¹¹ to Donna Martin. She heads the school nutrition program in Burke County, Ga. She told me she's been able to send home big boxes of fresh food to families, enough for several days.

DONNA MARTIN: Oh, my gosh. It was a game-changer. We were able to give food that was amazing. We're able to give, like, whole heads of broccoli¹² and whole heads of cauliflower and unusual fruits and vegetables because it was economy of scale. So we could give much, much better food.

AUBREY: And she says this is the type of food families really want and need, but this waiver program is set to expire in June.

MARTINEZ: I'd like to ask kids about the broccoli, though, by the way. OK, so what does this mean...

AUBREY: (Laughter).

MARTINEZ: ...When it comes to school nutrition programs? Will they have to go back to the old way of doing things?

AUBREY: Maybe. I mean, there was a big push to extend these waivers that have given schools more flexibility, more money. But in the end, the waiver did not make it into the spending bill. Some lawmakers resisted, saying things can go back to normal with the pandemic easing.

MARTIN: This is going to be a disaster for my program. We're going to have to really cut back on the quality of the meals, and I don't want to do that.

AUBREY: She says there is already a high level of food insecurity in her county in rural Georgia.

MARTINEZ: So does that mean fewer kids might be fed?

AUBREY: This really is the concern. Many schools say they'll have to scale back if the flexibility waivers expire. I spoke to Lisa Davis of Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign. She says programs like this have such a solid return on investment. You keep kids well-fed. There are all kinds of positive benefits to health and well-being¹³.

LISA DAVIS: The latest USDA numbers showed that because of all of the steps the government took - from making sure schools could continue to get meals to kids in new and different ways, the child tax credit enhancement, so many different policies - food insecurity, on whole, did not rise significantly.

AUBREY: The concern is that this progress could be lost. The group says they will look for other ways to keep the waivers in place.

MARTINEZ: All right, so let's end on the item that was not there, was not included in the spending bill, and that's COVID funding. So why was COVID funding taken out of this bill when when, really, so much else was included?

AUBREY: You know, I think a lot of people were asking that question when the bill was signed on Friday as we passed the second anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring the pandemic. But, you know, there were lawmakers who said they wanted a full accounting¹⁴ of the trillions of dollars already spent before more COVID relief has passed. Senator Mitt¹⁵ Romney and a bunch of Republican colleagues wrote a letter pressing for an accounting. I think, you know, lots of taxpayers¹⁶ agree this is a valid¹⁷ question. But the flip¹⁸ side to this is that scientists and public health experts say it is imperative¹⁹ we plan for another potential variant²⁰, another outbreak. That means continuing to invest in surveillance, continuing to buy medicines and vaccines²¹. And as Zeke Emanuel, a health policy expert at the University of Pennsylvania, points out, the U.S. has made a pledge to help vaccinate²² the globe, which will require funding.

ZEKE EMANUEL: And we have to remember that delta²³ and omicron, that we've just suffered from - they came from overseas. And we have an urgent need from our own self-interested standpoint to continue our work to fight COVID overseas.

AUBREY: So there is a recognition that many want an accounting of prior COVID spending, but lots of doctors, public health experts say there are so many initiatives that require ongoing²⁴ funding to make sure the U.S. is prepared for whatever may come next.

MARTINEZ: All right. That's NPR's Allison Aubrey. Thanks a lot.

AUBREY: Thank you, A.

(SOUNDBITE OF GLOWWORM'S "CONTRAILS")

1 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。

2 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。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

5 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

6 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

7 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

8 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

10 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

13 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

14 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

15 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

16 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。

17 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

18 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

19 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

20 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

21 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

22 vaccinate   

vt.给…接种疫苗；种牛痘

参考例句：

• Local health officials then can plan the best times to vaccinate people.这样，当地的卫生官员就可以安排最佳时间给人们接种疫苗。
• Doctors vaccinate us so that we do not catch smallpox.医生给我们打预防针使我们不会得天花。

23 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

24 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。