美国国家公共电台 NPR House Republican Faces Voter Backlash Over Health Care And Tax Votes

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Congressman¹ Tom MacArthur, a Republican from New Jersey², ran in 2016 on a pledge to repeal³ the Affordable⁴ Care Act. That helped him win re-election in a district that President Trump⁵ also won. But following through on his promise could cost MacArthur his seat. NPR's Kelsey Snell has the story.

KELSEY SNELL, BYLINE⁶: Congressman Tom MacArthur's story might seem like a lot of other suburban⁷ Republicans running in 2018. He's in a bare-knuckle fight for re-election against a Democrat⁸ who decided⁹ to run for office after Republicans tried to roll back the Affordable Care Act. But MacArthur is more than just a Republican who ran on repealing¹⁰ Obamacare. He is the only congressman in New Jersey still running after actually voting to do it, and this election is a referendum on that vote. That much is clear within minutes of turning on a television or a radio here.

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ANDY KIM: Congressman Tom MacArthur tried to take away health care for millions of Americans.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: AARP calls Tom MacArthur's plan an age tax.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Jeopardizing¹¹ health coverage¹² for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

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GEOFF GINTER: We can't afford to get private insurance.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Tom MacArthur - still working for the insurance industry.

SNELL: Health care is a top issue across the country this year, but it's even more potent¹³ for MacArthur. That's because last spring, MacArthur saved repeal from the brink¹⁴ of failure. He created a way for states to request waivers to get out of major portions of the law, like a requirement preventing insurers from increasing prices on older, sicker people and minimum coverage standards for health plans. It helped secure enough votes to pass the final House GOP repeal bill. That effort fell short in the Senate, but MacArthur's role drove New Jersey voters to flood town halls like this one in Willingboro in 2017.

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TOM MACARTHUR: Folks, please.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: We gave him a chance to talk. He talked in Congress.

SNELL: That's just the start of a nearly five-hour confrontation¹⁵ that went viral. MacArthur's challenger, Democrat Andy Kim, says that town hall intensity¹⁶ hasn't faded. He's a former Department of Defense¹⁷ employee who says he jumped into politics after a health crisis struck his own family.

KIM: When I talk to people across this district, it's the same thing. They're not forgetting about health care and that debate a year ago because health care is a problem that people in this district face every single day.

SNELL: Like a lot of Republicans who ran two years ago on repealing Obamacare, MacArthur now says he supports some parts of the law, particularly the protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Many voters here say that's confusing. The congressman declined to participate in this story, but MacArthur often says his amendment¹⁸ was aimed at repealing other parts of the Affordable Care Act, not doing away with those protections. Here's how he described it on a recent forum¹⁹ on News 12 New Jersey.

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MACARTHUR: My commitment has always been to protect people with preexisting conditions, maybe do it differently than the Affordable Care Act, which has driven costs up.

SNELL: The wall-to-wall health care focus is increasingly aimed at an extremely narrow set of voters. A recent Stockton University poll found MacArthur leading Kim 47 to 45 percent among likely voters. Just 4 percent said they're undecided. That includes Bruce Preston, who was having breakfast at the Golden Dawn Diner in Willingboro. Preston says he usually votes Republican, but he doesn't like that New Jersey got hit hard by the tax law that MacArthur also supported. And he says he's not comfortable with rolling back the Affordable Care Act either.

BRUCE PRESTON: I certainly will vote Republican for the Senate.

SNELL: Have you decided about the House?

PRESTON: I don't know. I'm a little bit on the - I don't know. That one - I'm not sure. I've been thinking of voting for Kim.

SNELL: MacArthur and Kim have just 14 days to convince him. Kelsey Snell, NPR News, Willingboro, N.J.

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 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 repealing   

撤销，废除( repeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In addition, repealing the alternative minimum tax would also help. 此外，废除替代性最低税也会有所帮助。
• Repealing the investment tax credit. 取消投资税款扣除。

11 jeopardizing   

危及，损害( jeopardize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Plans may also become inefficient in the attainment of objectives by jeopardizing group satisfactions. 用危及群体利益方法去达到目标的计划，也是无效率的。
• That boosted government revenues in the short term, but is now jeopardizing them. Morales将天然气工业，电信业和部分采矿业收归国有的举措吓跑了投资者们。

12 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。

13 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

14 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

15 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

16 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

17 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

18 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

19 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。