VOA慢速英语2011--Obama Seeks Quick Passage of Bill to Cre

IN THE NEWS - Obama Seeks Quick Passage of Bill to Create Jobs

新闻报道 - 奥巴马推出《美国就业法案》并寄希望于国会尽快通过

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。

President Obama is urging Congress to approve a plan designed to create jobs. He announced his proposals Thursday night in a speech to Congress.

奥巴马总统督促国会批准一项旨在创造就业的方案。他在周四晚向国会发表的演说中宣布了这一方案。

BARACK OBAMA: "I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s called the American Jobs Act. There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats 1 and Republicans -- including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything."

奥巴马：“我将向国会提交一份你们应当立即通过的方案，它被命名为《美国就业法案》。这份法案应当没有任何争议，里面提到的所有措施都曾获得民主党人和共和党人的共同支持，其中包括许多今晚的在座人士。这份法案中的所有措施都将得到回报。”

The plan will cost almost four hundred fifty billion dollars. As a spending bill, it goes first to the House of Representatives, which the Republican Party controls.

这一方案将耗资4500美元。作为一项开支法案，它将首先被提交到共和党控制的众议院进行表决。

The speech followed months of political battles over how to lower federal budget deficits 3 and the fourteen-trillion-dollar national debt.

这次讲话紧随在就降低联邦预算赤字和14万亿美元国债的数月政治斗争之后。

A compromise in July provided for one trillion dollars in spending cuts over the next ten years. In return, Congress raised the government's debt limit. But that deal failed to prevent a reduction in the nation's credit rating.

7月份达成的一项妥协将在未来十年削减1万亿美元开支。作为回报，国会提高了政府债务上限。但这一协议并未能阻止美国信用评级的下降。

In his message, Mr. Obama called on Republicans and democrats to stop arguing and put people back to work.

在讲话中，奥巴马呼吁共和党和民主党停止争论，（出台措施）使人们重返工作岗位。

BARACK OBAMA: "The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing 4 national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.”

奥巴马：“这个国家的人民努力工作以尽到他们的责任。今晚的问题是我们是否能尽到我们的职责？问题在于，面对当前发生的国家危机，我们能否停止政治游戏，干些实事来提振经济？”

His jobs plan includes extended cuts in the payroll 5 tax for workers and employers. It also includes assistance for businesses that add workers.

奥巴马的就业方案包括延长削减工人和雇主的工资税，还包括为企业增加新雇员提供援助。

The plan aims to put people to work repairing and modernizing 6 roads, railways, airports, waterways and at least thirty-five thousand schools. It also includes financial aid to state and local governments and job training to help the long-term unemployed 7. And it includes steps to increase the employment of military veterans.

这一方案目的在于使人们投入到公路、铁路、机场、航道以及不少于3.5万所学校的修葺与现代化工作中去。它还包括对州、地方政府以及职业培训的财政援助，以帮助长期失业者。以及包括提高退伍军人就业的措施。

The president said he will release a deficit 2 plan a week from Monday. It will not only cover the cost of the jobs bill, he said, but deal with debt in the long term.

奥巴马表示他将在下周一公布一项赤字方案，该方案不仅将覆盖就业法案的开支，还将从长远上处理债务问题。

The recent budget compromise created a twelve-member congressional committee. That committee has until late November to identify one and a half trillion in additional savings 8 over the next ten years.

最近达成的预算妥协催生了一个12人国会委员会。该委员会必须在11月底前确定未来十年削减的另外1.5万亿美元。

Among Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner said Mr. Obama's proposals "merit consideration." He also said he hopes the president gives serious consideration to Republican proposals.

众议院议长共和党人约翰·博纳（John Boehner）表示奥巴马的提案“值得考虑”。他也表示希望奥巴马认真考虑共和党的提案。

Representative Steve King of Iowa said he did not believe the House would pass the whole bill.

爱荷华州众议员史蒂夫·金（Steve King）说，他不相信众议院能通过议案全部内容。

STEVE KING: "I am really doubtful if there is going to be a movement in this House to pick up a package. There might be a couple of things that we could try to lift out of it. I am not sure what they are at this point."

史蒂夫·金：“我实在怀疑这届众议院会全盘通过这一议案，可能会有一些内容我们会试图去掉。现阶段我并不确定会被去掉的是哪些内容。”

Mr. Obama also urged Congress to approve trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. That was one of the few times in the speech when Republicans stood and cheered. Most Democrats stayed seated.

奥巴马还督促国会批准美国与巴拿马、哥伦比亚以及韩国的贸易协定。这是讲话中数次共和党起立欢呼而多数民主党人保持静坐的时刻之一。

Mr. Obama said some lawmakers might feel that differences can be settled only by voters at the ballot 9 box. But he said Americans who are struggling financially need a Congress that will act now.

奥巴马表示，一些国会议员可能会觉得分歧只能由投票箱中的选票来解决。但在财务泥潭中挣扎的美国人需要国会立即采取行动。

BARACK OBAMA: "Know this: the next election is fourteen months away. And the people who sent us here -- the people who hired us to work for them -- they don’t have the luxury of waiting fourteen months."

奥巴马：“应该知道这一点：距离下届选举还有14个月时间。而那些将我们送到这里，雇佣我们为其工作的人们并没有等待14个月时间的奢侈机会。”

Opinion polls show that most Americans have lost hope that politicians can bring down the high unemployment rate. Currently the national rate is 9.1 percent.

民调显示大多数美国人已经对政治家能够降低高企的失业率丧失了信心。当前美国失业率为9.1%。

And there are concerns about the possibility of another recession, and not just in the United States. This week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned of slowing growth in many leading economies.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

___

Contributing: Mil Arcega, Lisa Bryant, Dan Robinson and Cindy Saine