VOA双语新闻：白宫称投资医保乃促经济增长关键

　　White House budget director Peter Orszag told U.S. lawmakers Tuesday that investing in health care is key to creating economic growth.

美国白宫预算办公室主任欧尔萨格星期二在国会表示，对医疗保健的投资是创造经济增长的关键。

Testifying before the Senate Budget Committee, Peter Orszag said that urgent attention is needed to reform the country's health care system.

欧尔萨格在参议院预算委员会听证会上指出，美国的医疗保健体系迫切需要改革。

"We have neglected for too long reforming our health care system and putting it on a sounder track where there are substantial opportunities to improve its efficiency, which will also have major benefits, not only for our long-term budget picture, but for state governments and for workers," said Peter Orszag.

他说：“我们长期忽视了对医疗改革，没有把它放在一个重要地位。我们有很好的机会来改善医疗保健效率，这对我们长远的国家预算、对各州政府、对所有美国人都能带来重要益处。”

The White House budget director says improving health care quality and efficiency will lower costs for treatment, and will help the government's efforts to extend health care to the 46 million Americans who are uninsured.

欧尔萨格说，提高医疗保健质量和效率将降低治疗费用，同时帮助政府让4千6百万还没有健康保险的美国人也能得到医疗照顾。

To address these concerns, President Barack Obama's budget proposes committing $646 billion in health care reform over the next 10 years.

为了强调其重要性，奥巴马总统的预算案建议未来10年内，拨款6千460亿美元，用于医疗改革。

The administration said the money is to come from reorganization of the government's existing health programs and tax increases on wealthy Americans.

奥巴马政府说，这些资金将来自重组政府目前的医保计划和提高富人的税率。

Some lawmakers object to the cost of the president's proposal. Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Budget Committee.

一些国会议员反对这项开支。新罕布什尔州参议员格雷格是预算委员会的共和党籍议员。

"As a practical matter the fundamental philosophy of this budget is an expansion of the size of government which isn't affordable 1 by its own definition because it maintains debt at a level which will essentially 2 run our country into a position where our children cannot afford the cost of the government," said Senator Gregg.

他说：“从务实的角度来看，这项预算案的基本理念就是扩大政府的职能，但是在目前政府背负庞大债务的情况下，扩充政府最终只会导致我们的国家陷入一种困境，那就是我们的下一代无法负担政府所需的开支。”

But the Democratic chairman of the committee, Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, argues that a lot of the current pressure on the economy was created under the previous administration of President George W. Bush.

但是委员会的民主党主席、北达科他州参议员康拉德争辩说，当前许多经济压力都来自于前总统布什政府。

"I think we should remember what President Obama is inheriting: record deficits 3, a doubling of the national debt in the previous eight years, the worst recession since the great depression," pointed 4 out Senator Conrad.

他说：“我们应该记得，奥巴马总统接手的是，历史新高的政府赤字，国债在过去8年翻了一番，以及经济大萧条后最严重的经济衰退。”

Orszag says the new budget presents a change in course from the policies of the Bush administration by focusing on investment in health care, as well as education and energy.

欧尔萨格说，新的预算案与过去布什政府政策的一个不同之处在于，重点投资医保、教育和能源。

Further debate is expected on President Obama's health care proposal when lawmakers begin writing the legislation that will put it into effect.

针对奥巴马总统医疗改革的提案，预料国会议员开始草拟法案时，还会有更多的争论。