愛薇塔樂學英文

 【美國總統電臺演講】2013-04-27（雙語）

美國總統每週電臺演講：華盛頓白宮奧巴馬演講

Weekly Address: Time to Replace the Sequester with a Balanced Approach to Deficit Reduction

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama said that because Republicans in Congress allowed a series of harmful, automatic budget cuts—called the sequester—to take effect, important programs like Head Start are now forced to reduce their services. After travelers were stuck for hours in airports and on planes this past week, members of Congress passed a temporary band-aid measure to stop the cuts that impact airlines — but they must do more to stop cuts to vital services for the American people.  That’s why it’s time for a balanced approach to deficit reduction that makes smarter cuts and reforms in the tax code while creating jobs and strengthening the middle class.

Remarks of President Barack Obama 
Weekly Address
The White House
April 27, 2013

Hi, everybody. Our top priority as a nation must be growing the economy, creating good jobs, and rebuilding opportunity for the middle class.

大家好。我們作為一個國家的第一要務只能是發展經濟，創造好的就業機會，重新為中產階級打造機會。

But two months ago, Congress allowed a series of automatic budget cuts to fall across the federal government that would do the opposite. In Washington-speak, these cuts were called the “sequester.” It was a bad idea then. And as the country saw this week, it’s a bad idea now.

但是兩個月以前，國會坐觀聯邦政府遭遇一系列預算自動削減，這與此背道而馳。用華盛頓的話來講，這些自動削減叫做“預算封頂”。這在當時就不是好主意。直到本周，就全國的情況來看，它現在也不是好主意。

Because of these reckless cuts, there are parents whose kids just got kicked out of Head Start programs scrambling for a solution. There are seniors who depend on programs like Meals on Wheels to live independently looking for help. There are military communities – families that have already sacrificed enough – coping under new strains. All because of these cuts.

因為這些草率的削減，很多家長眼看著他們的孩子們被踢出Head Start（一項美國健康和人文服務部發起的為低收入家庭孩子提供全面的教育、健康、營養和家長參與的服務專案—譯注）專案而束手無策。很多依靠“送餐車”（一個為行動不便的鰥寡孤獨提供飲食服務的專案）生活的老人們不得不自己找出路。很多軍人家庭—已經做出了很大犧牲—不得不應對新的緊日子。這一切都源於這些削減。

This week, the sequester hurt travelers, who were stuck for hours in airports and on planes, and rightly frustrated by it. And, maybe because they fly home each weekend, the Members of Congress who insisted these cuts take hold finally realized that they actually apply to them too.

本周這個“預算封頂”殃及旅行者了，他們在機場和飛機上滯留了幾個小時，實實在在地被它坑苦了。因為很多堅持這些削減生效的國會議員們週末都要乘飛機回家，或許他們也自食其果了。

Republicans claimed victory when the sequester first took effect, and now they’ve decided it was a bad idea all along. Well, first, they should look at their own budget. If the cuts they propose were applied across the board, the FAA would suffer cuts three times deeper.

那些宣稱“預算封頂”初戰告捷的共和黨人現在也已經承認它從來就不是和主意。所以，他們應該首先看看自己的預算。如果他們的提議全面實施，聯邦航空管理局的預算將削減三倍。

So Congress passed a temporary fix. A Band-Aid. But these cuts are scheduled to keep falling across other parts of the government that provide vital services for the American people. And we can’t just keep putting Band-Aids on every cut. It’s not a responsible way to govern. There is only one way to truly fix the sequester: by replacing it before it causes further damage.

於是國會通過了一項臨時解決方案。不過是一副“創可貼”。但是這些削減到時候將影響其它為美國人民提供至關重要的服務的政府部門。我們沒辦法給每個削減都貼個“創可貼”。這不是負責任的管理國家的方法。解決“預算封頂”只有一個切實可行的方法：在它造成更大損失之前取代它。

A couple weeks ago, I put forward a budget that replaces the next several years of these dumb cuts with smarter cuts; reforms our tax code to close wasteful special interest loopholes; and invests in things like education, research, and manufacturing that will create new jobs right now.

幾周前，我提出一個預算以明智的削減取代未來這些幾年盲目削減的預算；改革稅法以堵塞有利於特殊利益群體的漏洞；投資于將創造新就業機會的諸如教育、研究和製造業等。

So I hope Members of Congress will find the same sense of urgency and bipartisan cooperation to help the families still in the crosshairs of these cuts. They may not feel the pain felt by kids kicked off Head Start, or the 750,000 Americans projected to lose their jobs because of these cuts, or the long-term unemployed who will be further hurt by them. But that pain is real.

所以我希望國會議員們抱有同樣的緊迫感和兩黨合作意識來幫助那些受到這些削減影響的家庭。他們可能還沒有感覺到他們的孩子們被踢出Head Start項目的痛苦，或750,000美國人由於這些削減失業的痛苦，或長期失業者們還沒有感覺到被這些削減進一步傷害的痛苦。但是這些痛苦著實存在。

The American people worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one economic crisis just to see your elected officials keep causing more. Our economy is growing. Our deficits are shrinking. We’re creating jobs on a consistent basis. But we need to do more to help middle-class families get ahead, and give more folks a chance to earn their way into the middle class. And we can, if we work together. That’s what you expect. That’s what I’m going to work every single day to help deliver.

美國人民如此長期努力工作，絕不能走出一個經濟危機再看著他們選出的官員們頑固地造成更大的危機。我們的經濟正在增長。我們的赤字正在減少。我們正在創造可持續的就業機會。但是我們應該更進一步幫助中產階級家庭過得更好，給更多的人躋身中產階級的機會。如果我們共同努力，我們一定能實現這個目標。這是你們的希望。這是我每天工作所要達到的目的。

Thanks so much.

非常感謝。