VOA慢速英语2013 新闻报道 - 奥巴马政府提出2014财年财政预算方案

IN THE NEWS - Obama Administration Proposes Federal Budget

新闻报道 - 奥巴马政府提出2014财年财政预算方案

From VOA Learning English, this is IN THE NEWS.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

This week, the Obama administration released a budget plan for the 2014 fiscal 1 year. The plan calls for three trillion 770 billion dollars in federal spending during the year beginning in October.

本周，奥巴马政府公布了2014财年预算方案。该方案提出在今年10月开始的下一财年期间的联邦开支为3.77万亿美元。

注：美国财年为每年10月1日至次年9月30日。

President Barack Obama calls the proposal, “a fiscally 2 responsible blueprint” for middle class jobs and economic growth. The budget is his attempt to move closer to a “grand bargain” he sought in debt and deficit 3 reduction talks with Republican Party lawmakers.

奥巴马总统称该方案是为中产阶级职位和经济增长制定的负责任的财政蓝图。他希望通过该预算案，在同共和党国会议员进行的债务和赤字削减对话中，实现他所追求的“重大交易”。

The plan includes one-point-eight trillion dollars in deficit reduction over 10 years. It also adds two-point-five trillion dollars in savings 4 the president says have already been realized. This would bring total savings to four-point-three trillion dollars.

该方案包括在未来十年内削减1.8万亿美元赤字，还包括奥巴马声称已经实现的节省支出2.5万亿美元。这合计将节省支出4.3万亿美元。

Mr. Obama says his budget proposal seeks to end what he calls short-sighted, crisis-driven decision-making here in Washington.

奥巴马表示，他提出的该预算草案试图终结他所谓的“华盛顿短视、危机驱动的决策办法”。

“For years, the debate in this town has raged between reducing our deficits 5 at all costs and making the investments necessary to grow our economy. And this budget answers that argument because we can do both. We can grow our economy and shrink our deficits.”

他说，“多年来，我们的争论持续集中于削减各类赤字和进行必要投资以促进经济增长这两点。该预算案解决了这一争论，因为我们可以同时进行。我们可以在发展经济的同时减少赤字。”

To become law, the president’s budget would require congressional approval, which political experts say is unlikely. His budget would replace tens of billions of dollars in required spending cuts. Those cuts went into effect on January first. Mr. Obama also wants to limit legal ways businesses and wealthy individuals can avoid paying taxes. And he wants to establish a minimum 30 percent tax on people earning one million dollars or more a year.

奥巴马的预算案需要得到国会批准才能正式成为法律，而政治专家表示这是不太可能的。该预算案将会取代1月1日已经生效的数百亿美元的支出削减。奥巴马还希望限制企业和富人逃税的法律途径，并希望对年收入100万美元以上者征收至少30%的税。

President Obama, who is a Democrat 6, says he has gone more than halfway 7 to meet concerns of Republican lawmakers who have resisted tax increases.

作为民主党的奥巴马总统表示，他已经满足了抵制增税的共和党议员关心的大部分问题。

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, gives Mr. Obama credit for seeking more savings from Social Security and other big entitlement programs. But he says the president’s proposals are another attempt to increase taxes.

众议院的共和党议长约翰·博纳（John Boehner）称赞了奥巴马从社会保障和其它重大权益项目上寻求支出节省。但他表示，奥巴马提出的预算案是在试图增税。

“He does deserve some credit for some incremental 8 entitlement reforms that he has outlined in his budget. But I would hope that he would not hold hostage these modest reforms for his demand for bigger tax hikes.”

博纳说，“他在预算案中勾画的一些增量权益改革确实值得赞扬。但我希望他不要以这些适度改革为要挟寻求增税。”

The president is proposing savings by using a new method to set cost of living increases for Social Security payments. But this proposal has angered many members of Mr. Obama’s Democratic Party.

奥巴马提出通过一种新的办法来制定社会保障金的生活成本增长量，从而节省支出。但这一提议激怒了奥巴马民主党阵营中的许多成员。

Another critic, Senator Bernie Sanders, is an independent. He says the proposal is a cancellation 9 of a promise Mr. Obama made as a presidential candidate.

另一位批评家，参议员伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）是无党派人士。他说，这一提议背弃了奥巴马作为总统候选人时做出的承诺。

“When Barack Obama was running for president in 2008, he said that he would not cut Social Security.”

“当奥巴马2008年竞选总统时，他曾说过不会削减社会保障。”

Mr. Obama defended his Social Security offer and changes to Medicare, the health insurance program for older adults and Americans with disabilities. But he says any compromise must not hurt Americans who depend on these programs.

奥巴马为自己的社会保障提议以及修改老年人及残疾人医保项目Medicare进行了辩解。但他表示，任何妥协都不能伤害依赖这些项目的美国人。

“I do not believe that all these ideas are optimal 10. But I am willing to accept them as part of a compromise, if and only if they contain protections for the most vulnerable Americans.”

奥巴马说，“我不认为所有这些提议都是最理想的选择。但如果它们能够保护最容易受到伤害的美国人，我愿意作为妥协的一部分接受它们。”

President Obama’s budget will go nowhere without the support of the two main political parties. Senate Democrats 11 and House Republicans have their own separate spending plans.

如果没有两大政党的支持，奥巴马总统提出的预算案将走投无路。参议院民主党人和众议院共和党人都有各自的联邦支出方案。