美参议院将投票决定是否开始就取代奥巴马医保展开辩论

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.

参议院多数党领袖麦康奈尔是取代奥巴马医保法案的主要推动者，但是过去一个月来，两个版本的新议案都未能得到足够的支持，也使他不得不退后一步，重新审视。

共和党人在参议院以52席比48席占据多数。如果民主党人一致反对废除奥巴马医保法案的话，共和党人最多只能失去党内的两票，在50票对50票的情况下，由副总统彭斯投下决定性一票。

共和党参议员麦凯恩因为诊断患有脑癌而暂时休假后，宣布星期二将重返参议院。

目前还不清楚的是要针对哪个版本的议案进行表决。国会众议院五月份的时候曾通过了一项废除并替代奥巴马医保的议案，川普在白宫集会上也曾赞扬议案的通过，但是川普后来又称这项议案“不近人情”，要求参议院加以改进，让议案更“人性化”。

参议员约翰·科宁星期一说，共和党人星期二举行程序性投票前，将在午餐时对医保议案的各种选项进行讨论。

民主党参议员弗兰肯表示，连投票表决哪个议案都不知道，实在“令人深感不安”。

美国总统川普继续对共和党议员施压，要求他们在这一议题上采取行动，他星期一表示， “谈论得足够多了，但却没有行动”。

川普说：“任何投票反对开始辩论的参议员就是在告诉美国，你们接受奥巴马医保法的噩梦。”川普说这番话的时候，好几个家庭站在他身边。白宫称这些家庭是“奥巴马医保”的受害者。

川普总统说，“对参议院的共和党人来说，现在是他们信守自己诺言的机会。他们一再表示，‘废除并替换，废除并替换\'。他们现在应该信守对美国人民的承诺”。

川普同时再度猛烈抨击奥巴马医保，称其是政府对健保的接管，是“巨大丑陋的谎言”，对美国家庭造成巨大伤害。