美參議院將投票決定是否開始就取代奧巴馬醫保展開辯論
The U.S. Senate is due to vote Tuesday on whether to open debate on the latest Republican initiative to overhaul the health care system put in place under former President Barack Obama.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is leading the push to move away from the Affordable Care Act, also commonly known as Obamacare, but over the course of the past month he has been forced to take a step back when it became clear there were not enough votes to pass two different versions of the bill.
Republicans hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate. With unified Democratic opposition to repealing the ACA, Republicans can only lose two dissenting votes, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the vote in the event of a 50-50 tie.
Republican Senator John McCain announced he would be returning to work Tuesday after a short absence during which he announced he was diagnosed with brain cancer.
What is not clear is which bill will be voted on. The House of Representatives passed its own repeal-and-replace legislation in May, a bill Trump applauded at a White House rally after its passage and then later described as "mean." He instead called for the Senate to approve legislation with more "heart."
Senator John Cornyn said Monday that Republicans will discuss the various health care bill options at a lunch Tuesday before the procedural vote.
Democratic Senator Al Franken called the lack of clarity about which bill would be considered "deeply troubling."
President Donald Trump continued pressuring Republicans to act on an issue that was part of his campaign, saying Monday there has been "enough talk and no action."
"Any senator who votes against starting debate is telling America you are fine with the Obamacare nightmare," said Trump, who was surrounded by several families the White House referred to as "victims of Obamacare."
"For senate Republicans, this is their chance to keep their promise," the president said. "Over and over again they said, ‘Repeal and replace, repeal and replace.' They can now keep their promise to the American people."
Trump also tore into Obama's health care law with fresh intensity, calling it a "government takeover" of health care and "big, fat, ugly lie" that had "wreaked havoc" on American families.美國國會參議院星期二將投票，決定是否就共和黨取代奧巴馬醫保法案的動議展開辯論。
參議院多數黨領袖麥康奈爾是取代奧巴馬醫保法案的主要推動者，但是過去一個月來，兩個版本的新議案都未能得到足夠的支持，也使他不得不退後一步，重新審視。
共和黨人在參議院以52席比48席佔據多數。如果民主黨人一致反對廢除奧巴馬醫保法案的話，共和黨人最多隻能失去黨內的兩票，在50票對50票的情況下，由副總統彭斯投下決定性一票。
共和黨參議員麥凱恩因爲診斷患有腦癌而暫時休假後，宣佈星期二將重返參議院。
目前還不清楚的是要針對哪個版本的議案進行表決。國會衆議院五月份的時候曾通過了一項廢除並替代奧巴馬醫保的議案，川普在白宮集會上也曾讚揚議案的通過，但是川普後來又稱這項議案“不近人情”，要求參議院加以改進，讓議案更“人性化”。
參議員約翰·科寧星期一說，共和黨人星期二舉行程序性投票前，將在午餐時對醫保議案的各種選項進行討論。
民主黨參議員弗蘭肯表示，連投票表決哪個議案都不知道，實在“令人深感不安”。
美國總統川普繼續對共和黨議員施壓，要求他們在這一議題上採取行動，他星期一表示， “談論得足夠多了，但卻沒有行動”。
川普說：“任何投票反對開始辯論的參議員就是在告訴美國，你們接受奧巴馬醫保法的噩夢。”川普說這番話的時候，好幾個家庭站在他身邊。白宮稱這些家庭是“奧巴馬醫保”的受害者。
川普總統說，“對參議院的共和黨人來說，現在是他們信守自己諾言的機會。他們一再表示，‘廢除並替換，廢除並替換'。他們現在應該信守對美國人民的承諾”。
川普同時再度猛烈抨擊奧巴馬醫保，稱其是政府對健保的接管，是“巨大丑陋的謊言”，對美國家庭造成巨大傷害。
