美国政府关门(1/2)
概述：由于美国民主、共和两党在围绕政府预算和奥巴马医改的交锋中互不相让，美国联邦政府预算在2014财年已然于10月1日开始之际依旧没有着落，联邦政府的非核心部门只能重蹈17年前关门的覆辙。Hints:
Washington
Republican
Democrat
Affordable Care Act
Obamacare
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
University of Virginia
Larry Sabato
校对：熔雪gemini
翻译&注解：kiwiangle
答疑：vincit
组长：vincit
发音点评：Persist1992
本期材料发音模仿地址：http://bulo.hujiang.com/menu/11885/item/831432/http://t1.g.hjfile.cn/listen/201310/201310070840574864670.mp3This week, a political dispute in Washington led to a partial shutdown of the United States government for the first time in almost 20 years. Agencies sent home more than 800,000 workers, about 1/3 of the federal workforce.
The new budget year began Tuesday, October 1st. But Republicans in Congress blocked even short-term spending for many government operations. They demanded that Democrats change the Affordable Care Act, the new health care law often called Obamacare. The Democrats refused.
The shutdown did not stop Tuesday's launch of online marketplaces, called exchanges, at the center of the law. The federal government and states started websites for millions of uninsured Americans to buy health plans or pay a tax penalty.
Opponents of Obamacare say it will force people and small businesses to buy insurance policies against their will.
At the heart of the dispute is a clash between the two major political parties over the role of the central government in American life.
The political fighting between Democrats and Republicans began to intensify during the 1990s. That followed the election of Democrat Bill Clinton as president. Differences over spending and the role of government led to two government shutdowns.
The disputed presidential election of 2000 brought Republican George W. Bush to office. University of Virginia expert Larry Sabato says the political battles only deepened during his second term.本周，华盛顿的一项政治纷争导致美国政府近20年来首次部分关门。各政府机构将80多万员工遣散回家，这个数字大约是联邦员工总数的1/3。
新的财政预算年度始于周二，即10月1日。但是国会的共和党人甚至在许多政府运作的短期开支上施加阻碍。他们要求民主党人修改平价医疗法（Affordable Care Act），即被称为奥巴马医保的新医疗保健法。可是民主党人拒绝了这一要求。
美国政府虽然关门，但是这并没有阻止周二该法中被称作“exchanges”的网上交易市场的推出。联邦政府和各州开设网站，以便于数百万未投保的美国人购买健康计划或支付税务罚款。
奥巴马的反对者表示这将迫使人们和小型企业购买违背自己意愿的保险单。
这场争论的中心是两个主要政党关于中央政府在美国人民生活中角色的不同诠释。
民主党和共和党之间的政治斗争自20世纪90年代开始愈演愈烈。两党之间的斗争始于民主党人比尔·克林顿当选总统之后。两党在政府支出和政府作用上的不同看法曾两度导致美国政府关门。
2000年充满争议的总统选举使共和党人小布什执掌了政权。弗吉尼亚大学的专家拉里·萨巴托表示在布什的第二任期间，两党之间的斗争更加深化。
页:
[1]