美国国家公共电台 NPR Hiring Freeze And Obamacare Repeal Could Clobber Veterans Affairs

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST: 

President Trump¹'s nominee² to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs has not been confirmed yet, but two of the executive orders the president signed this week could have a direct effect on the department and also the veterans it serves, as NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE³: As promised, Donald Trump has moved to dismantle⁴ the Affordable⁵ Care Act - Obamacare. That's a concern for those who might be left without health insurance and for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which may have to pick up some of the slack.

SENIOR POLICY RESEARCHER CARRIE FARMER: Most veterans have more than one source of health insurance.

LAWRENCE: Carrie Farmer at the RAND Corporation researches health policy. She says 3 million vets⁶ who are enrolled⁷ in the VA usually get their health care elsewhere, from their employer or maybe from Obamacare exchanges. If those options go away, some of those 3 million veterans will move on to the VA, she says.

FARMER: I would expect that the number of veterans using VA health care will increase, which will only provide a further challenge for VA to provide timely and accessible care.

LAWRENCE: That would be an unwelcome strain on an overtaxed system, she says. Speaking of strain, the president also signed a federal hiring freeze this week. Yesterday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer specifically said that applies to the VA, which he called a broken system.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SEAN SPICER: The VA in particular, if you look at the problems that have plagued people, hiring more people isn't the answer, it's hiring the right people.

LAWRENCE: Just hours later, the acting⁸ secretary of the VA seemed to contradict the White House. He said for public safety, the department intends to exempt⁹ anyone it deems necessary from the hiring freeze. Trump's nominee to lead the VA, Dr. David Shulkin, has also stressed the urgent need to hire more caregivers. He's been running VA health care since 2015. Last fall, he told NPR...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

DAVID SHULKIN: We have 45,000 job openings, that's too many. I need to fill every one of those openings in order to make sure that we're doing the very best for veterans.

LAWRENCE: Shulkin said the VA performs as well or better than private health care systems, but he said that long before he was asked to join the Trump administration. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

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1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 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。

4 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

6 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

7 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。