奥巴马每周电视讲话：总统要求尽快投票通过对洛丽塔·林奇的任命

Hi, everybody. One of the most important positions in the President's Cabinet-and to our national security, our law enforcement, and our criminal justice system-is Attorney General.
大家好！总统内阁最重要的职位之一，也是对我们的国家安全、法律执行和刑事司法制度最重要的职位之一，就是司法部长。
It has been more than four months since I nominated Loretta Lynch to serve as the next Attorney General of the United States. For 30 years, Loretta has distinguished¹ herself as a tough, fair, and independent attorney. As the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, she successfully prosecuted² the terrorists who plotted to bomb the Federal Reserve Bank and the New York City subway. She helped secure billions in settlements for people wronged by some of the world's biggest banks. She's been dogged in her pursuit of public corruption³. She's jailed some of New York's most violent and notorious mobsters and gang members. And through it all, she's worked closely with law enforcement and local communities to get the job done.
我提名洛丽塔?林奇担任下一任联邦司法部长已经过去4个多月了。30多年来，洛丽塔证明了她是一位严厉、公平、独立的检察官。作为纽约东部地区的联邦检察长，她成功起诉了密谋炸弹袭击联邦储备银行和纽约地铁的恐怖分子。她还帮助受到某些世界最大银行不公对待的人们通过庭外和解保住了数十亿资金。她还致力于打击公权力腐败。她将纽约最残暴、臭名昭著的歹徒和黑帮成员打入大牢。在所有这些事情中，她与地方执法人员和社区通力合作，出色地完成了任务。
In short, her qualifications are superb. That's why, in the past, the Senate easily confirmed Loretta to lead one of the most prominent U.S. Attorney offices in the country-not once, but twice.
总之，她的履历超凡出色。正因如此， 参议院在过去毫无困难地确认洛丽塔领导全国最重要的联邦检察官办公室之一。而且不是一次，是两次。
Still-it has been more than four months since I nominated Loretta Lynch to serve as Attorney General.
到今天为止，距我提名洛丽塔?林奇担任司法部长一职已经过去四个多月了。
And this time, Republican leaders in Congress won't even let her nomination⁴ come up for a vote. In fact, by Monday, Loretta will have been languishing⁵ on the Senate floor for longer than the seven previous Attorneys General combined. Let me say that again-she will have been waiting for a simple yes-or-no vote on the Senate floor for longer than the seven previous Attorneys General combined.
这一次，国会的共和党领导人连一次投票表决的机会都不给。而到下周一，洛丽塔的提名在参议院等待投票确认的时间比前七位司法部长等待的时间总和还长。我再强调一遍，她在等待参议院一个简单的同意或否决的投票表决，这一时间超过了前七任司法部长等待时间的总和。
No one can claim she's unqualified. No one's saying she can't do the job. Senators from both parties say they support her. This is purely⁶ about politics. First, Republicans held up her nomination because they were upset about the actions I took to make our broken immigration system smarter and fairer. Now they're denying her a vote until they can figure out how to pass a bill on a completely unrelated issue. But they could bring her up for a yes-or-no vote at any time.
没有人可以质疑她的工作能力。没有人敢说她不称职。两党的参议员们都说自己支持她。这次完全就是政治把戏。首先，共和党人担心我改革移民系统，使其更明智更公平而采取的举措让他们担忧，他们因此阻挠对洛丽塔的任命。现在，他们想等到制定并通过一部与之毫无干系的法案之后再对她进行投票。但他们完全可以在任何时候对她进行投票表决。
Republicans promised that Congress would function smoothly⁷ with them in charge. Here's a chance for them to prove it. Congress should stop playing politics with law enforcement and national security. They should support good people in both parties who want to reform our criminal justice system. And that means they should end the longest confirmation⁸ process for an Attorney General in three decades, and give Loretta Lynch a vote.
共和党人承诺掌控国会之后会让各项流程更顺畅。现在就是他们证明这一点的机会。国会不可以在关系执法和国家安全的问题上继续玩弄政治手腕。他们应该支持两党中想要改革我们刑事司法体系的好人。这就需要他们结束30多年来最长的司法部长确认流程，给洛丽塔?林奇一次投票表决的机会。
Thank you. And have a great weekend.
谢谢大家！祝你们周末愉快！

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？

6 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

7 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

8 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。