CNN 2010-03-31

The ink is dry, the pens are down, the gloves are off. And Jill Dougherty is filling us in on where health care reform goes next.

And remember the government program that helped save you from foreclosure? Well, guess what? The program itself might need saving. Stephanie Elam tells us why it's getting slammed. And your questions about changes in your health care. What will reform mean when it's time to see the doctor or the surgeon or the pharmacist? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has some answers for us.

We're at the top of the hour now, and the ink is barely dry on the new health care law, and now the fight returns to Capitol Hill.

The Senate begins debate over possible changes to the House measure, and Senate Republicans are champing at the bit and promising¹ to use every maneuver² possible to undermine or defeat the measure.

Fourteen states have already filed lawsuits³ saying the law is unconstitutional. As for the president, he'll go behind closed doors today to restrict federal funding of abortions⁵. It was that promise that clinched⁶ the final, critical votes for the bill's passage.

As a matter of fact, it was the very issue that stirred so much rage that a congressman⁷ shouted "baby killer⁸" in the House chambers⁹ during Sunday's historic vote.

CNN's Jill Dougherty at the White House.

So what's the deal with this executive order being signed behind closed doors, and what does it mean, Jill?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the president really had to reassure¹⁰ members of Congress and the Senate who supported -- who do not support abortion⁴ rights that the federal restrictions¹¹ on funding for abortion remain in place. That nothing had changed.

And so what he does is he signs an executive order. And, again, it just really is one more step to reassure them that everything is going to be the same and that federal money will not be used for abortions.

PHILLIPS: So, Jill, why wasn't this just put in the bill?

DOUGHERTY: Well, in effect, it kind of is in the bill because nothing changes. But there was so much concern by people, let's say Bart Stupak, a member of Congress who would be here today.

In fact, the president has 13 members of Congress and one senator who are all -- who do not support abortion rights who will be here for the signing. It was just one more way of making it explicit¹². They needed that because it was so contentious¹³. They really wanted the president to go that extra step.

PHILLIPS: And now the president hits the road tomorrow. So what's his next move?

DOUGHERTY: Right. So he goes to Iowa City, Iowa. Why there? Because that's where -- back in 2007 -- he began the campaign, and during the campaign began his campaign for health care reform, so he goes back to the beginning and once again goes out to talk with Americans about how this bill should work

1 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

2 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

6 clinched   

v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的过去式和过去分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议）

参考例句：

• The two businessmen clinched the deal quickly. 两位生意人很快达成了协议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Evidently this information clinched the matter. 显然，这一消息使问题得以最终解决。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

9 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

10 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

13 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。