Weekly Address: President Obama Calls for Earmark Reform
每周电视讲话:奥巴马总统呼吁进行专项拨款改革
WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Obama called for Congress to address the issue of earmarks -- items inserted into spending bills without adequate review. The President has time and again called for new limitations on earmarks, and the Obama Administration has put in place higher standards of transparency, including www.earmarks.gov. This week, the Administration updated www.earmarks.gov with more information about where last year’s earmarks were actually spent, and made it easier to look up members of Congress and the earmarks they fought for. In these challenging times, working across the aisle to address this issue will signal the government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, shine a light on a Washington habit that wastes billions of taxpayer dollars, and take a step towards restoring public trust.
华盛顿:在本周的讲话中,奥巴马总统呼吁国会解决专项拨款的问题——那些列入支出议案中的却未受到足够监管的项目。总统一次又一次呼吁对专项拨款增加新的限制，同时奥巴马政府在支出透明度上也提出了更高的要求，其中就包括设立www.earmarks.gov网站. 本周，当局在www.earmarks.gov网站上更新了去年专项资金的实际使用情况的更多详细信息，人们可以更方便的查询国会议员以及他们争取的专项资金的使用情况。在这充满挑战的时刻，党派间的通力合作将在这一问题上表明政府的财政责任心，为改变华盛顿浪费数十亿税金的陋习带来一抹亮色，并在重建公众信任的道路上迈出坚实的一步。
This weekend, I’m concluding a trip to Asia whose purpose was to open new markets for American products in this fast-growing part of the world. The economic battle for these markets is fierce, and we’re up against strong competitors. But as I’ve said many times, America doesn’t play for second place. The future we’re fighting for isn’t as the world’s largest importer, consuming products made elsewhere, but as the world’s largest manufacturer of ideas and goods sold around the world.
本周，我将结束亚洲之旅，目的就是为美国产品在这一世界上经济快速增长地区打开新的市场。这些市场的经济竞争异常激烈，我们面临着强大的竞争对手。但我曾多次说过，美国不会甘当第二。我们未来的奋斗目标不是当世界上最大的进口国，消费其他地方生产的产品，而是要成为世界上最大的创意和商品生产者，并将其销往全球。
Opening new markets will not only help America’s businesses create new jobs for American workers. It will also help us reduce our deficits – because the single greatest tool for getting our fiscal house in order is robust economic growth. That kind of growth will require ensuring that our students are getting the best education possible; that we’re on the cutting edge of research and development; and that we’re rebuilding our roads and railways, runways and ports – so our infrastructure is up to the challenges of the 21st century.
打开新的市场不仅仅会帮助美国企业为美国劳动者提供新的就业机会。还将帮助我们降低贸易逆差——因为充盈国库的唯一最强大的方式就是增强经济的增长势头。这样的增长需要我们确保我们的学生得到最好的教育；需要我们处在研发的最尖端；需要我们重新修建公路和铁路，机场和港口——这样我们的基础设施才能满足21世纪挑战的需求。
Given the deficits that have mounted up over the past decade, we can’t afford to make these investments unless we’re also willing to cut what we don’t need. That’s why I’ve submitted to Congress a plan for a three-year budget freeze, and I’m prepared to offer additional savings. But as we work to reform our budget, Congress should also put some skin in the game. I agree with those Republican and Democratic members of Congress who’ve recently said that in these challenging days, we can’t afford what are called earmarks. These are items inserted into spending bills by members of Congress without adequate review.
由于财政赤字过去十多年来一路攀升，除非我们愿意削减那些不必要的开支，否则我们无法承受这样的投资规模。这是我向国会提交冻结三年预算计划的原因，而且我还准备提交更多财政紧缩计划。在我们为改革预算而努力的同时，国会也应该为此使把劲儿。我完全同意最近国会部分共和党人和民主党人的意见，他们说我们现在面临诸多挑战，我们不堪承受这些所谓的专项拨款。这些由国会议员们列入支出法案的项目并没有受到严格的监管。
Now, some of these earmarks support worthy projects in our local communities. But many others do not. We can’t afford Bridges to Nowhere like the one that was planned a few years back in Alaska. Earmarks like these represent a relatively small part of overall federal spending. But when it comes to signaling our commitment to fiscal responsibility, addressing them would have an important impact.
现在，部分专项拨款支撑着当地社会的一些有价值的项目。但还有许多不是。我们不能忍受像前几年计划在阿拉斯加到处建桥的事情。这些专项资金虽然只是联邦总支出中的一小部分。但这却涉及到反映我们对国家财政的责任心问题，解决这些问题将产生重要的影响。
As a Senator, I helped eliminate anonymous earmarks and created new measures of transparency so Americans can better follow how their tax dollars are being spent. As President, time and again, I’ve called for new limitations on earmarks. We’ve reduced the cost of earmarks by over $3 billion. And we’ve put in place higher standards of transparency by putting as much information as possible on earmarks.gov. In fact, this week, we updated the site with more information about where last year’s earmarks were actually spent, and made it easier to look up Members of Congress and the earmarks they fought for.
作为一名参议员，我尽力帮助减少匿名专项资金支出，并设立新的手段增加透明度让美国人民可以更好的追踪自己缴纳的税金是如何花掉的。作为总统，一次又一次，我呼吁对专项资金增加新的限制。我们已经削减了30多亿美元的专项支出。而且还通过将更多信息公布在earmarks.gov网站上，为增加透明度设立了更高的标准。实际上，本周，我们在该网站上更新了去年的专项资金实际的支出情况的更多详细信息，使得查询国会议员和他们争取的专项资金的使用情况更加方便。
Today, we have a chance to go further. We have a chance to not only shine a light on a bad Washington habit that wastes billions of taxpayer dollars, but take a step towards restoring public trust. We have a chance to advance the interests not of Republicans or Democrats, but of the American people; to put our country on the path of fiscal discipline and responsibility that will lead to a brighter economic future for all. And that’s a future I hope we can reach across party lines to build together.
今天，我们有机会走的更远。我们不仅仅有机会为改变华盛顿浪费数十亿税金的陋习带来一抹亮色，更有机会为重建公众信任迈出坚实的一步。我们可以有机会为美国人民谋取利益而不是为共和党人或民主党人；有机会将我们国家的财政纪律和财政责任推上正轨，进而为所有人带来更加光明的经济前景。这是我希望通过超越党派界限的共同努力可以实现的未来。
Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend.
谢谢各位,周末愉快!
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