Weekly Address: "Investments in Education, Innovation, and Infrastructure are an Essential Down Payment on our Future"
每周电视讲话:“在教育、创新和基础设施上的投资是对我们未来的基本首付”
WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Obama said that he expects Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress to find common ground as Congress focuses on a short term budget next week. The President will consider any serious ideas to reduce the deficit, regardless of which party proposes them. In fact, the President has already proposed freezing domestic spending, which would cut the deficit by $400 billion and bring this kind of spending to the lowest level, as a percentage of our economy, since the Eisenhower administration. But, cutting investments in education and innovation would hinder our ability to out-compete the rest of the world. While the President recognizes that everyone needs to be willing to sacrifice, we cannot sacrifice our country’s ability to win the future.
华盛顿：在本周的讲话中，奥巴马总统称由于下周国会将重点讨论短期预算方案，他期望国会的民主党和共和党领导人能取得共识。总统先生会认真考虑任何降低赤字的严肃认真的想法，无论是哪个党派提出来的。实际上，总统先生已经提议了一项冻结国内开支的计划，这将降低4000亿美元的赤字，并将该类支出所占经济的百分比降低到自艾森豪威尔政府以来的最低水平。但是，削减在教育与创新上的投资将损害我们超越世界上其他国家的能力。总统指出当全国人民都需要肯为此付出牺牲时，我们不能牺牲我们国家赢得未来的能力。
Over the last month, I’ve been traveling the country, talking to Americans about how we can out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build the rest of the world. Doing that will require a government that lives within its means, and cuts whatever spending we can afford to do without. But it will also require investing in our nation’s future – training and educating our workers; increasing our commitment to research and technology; building new roads and bridges, high-speed rail and high-speed internet.
过去的一个月里，我已经巡视了全国，与美国人民交谈，讨论我们如何才能在教育，创新和建设上超越世界上其他国家。做到这些就要求一个政府量入为出，削减任何不必要的开支。但是我们还需要为国家的未来进行投资——培训和教育我们的劳动者；增加我们对科学技术研究的承诺；建设新的公路桥梁，高速铁路和高速互联网。
In cities and towns throughout America, I’ve seen the benefits of these investments. The schools and colleges of Oregon are providing Intel – the state’s largest private employer – with a steady stream of highly-educated workers and engineers. At Parkville Middle School outside of Baltimore, engineering is the most popular subject, thanks to outstanding teachers who are inspiring students to focus on their math and science skills.
在全国各地的城镇，我看到了这些投资所带来的效益。俄勒冈州的中学和高校为英特尔——我们国家最大的私营雇主——源源不断的输送高学历的工人和工程师。在巴尔的摩市郊的帕科威尔高级中学，工程学是那里最受欢迎的学科，谢谢那些出色的老师们，正是他们激发了学生对数学和科学技能的关注。
In Wisconsin, a company called Orion is putting hundreds of people to work manufacturing energy-efficient lights in a once-shuttered plant. And in the small community of Marquette, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, widely accessible high-speed internet has allowed students and entrepreneurs to connect to the global economy. One small business, a third-generation, family-owned clothing shop called Getz’s is now selling their products online, which has helped them double their workforce and make them one of America’s 5,000 fastest-growing companies in a recent listing.
在威斯康星，一个叫猎户座的公司投入了数百工人在一家曾将倒闭的工厂生产节能电灯。在密歇根州上部半岛的马奎特的小社区，普及的高速互联网接入让学生和企业家可以与全球经济互联。一家经营三代的家庭小企业，叫Getz的服装店现在正在网上销售他们的产品，这让他们将工人人数增加了一倍，并成为最近统计的全美增长最快的5000家公司之一。
Each of these places reminds us that investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure are an essential down payment on our future. But they also remind us that the only way we can afford these investments is by getting our fiscal house in order. Just like any family, we have to live within our means to make room for things we absolutely need.
这些地方中的每一个都提醒我们在教育、创新以及基础建设上的投资是对我们未来的必要首付。但它们也提醒我们，我们唯一可以承受的起这些投资的方式就是理顺我们的国库。就像任何一个家庭，我们必须量入为出，为我们所必须要做的事情腾出空间。
That’s why I’ve called for a freeze on annual domestic spending over the next five years – a freeze that would cut the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, bringing this kind of spending to its lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was President. Just to be clear, that’s lower than it was under the past three administrations, and lower than it was under Ronald Reagan.
这是我提议冻结未来五年年度国内开支计划的原因——该项冻结计划将在未来十年削减4000多亿美元的赤字，将该项开支在我们经济中所占的比重降低到自德怀特·艾森豪威尔任总统以来的最低水平。说的更明确点，该水平比过去三届政府的都要低，比罗纳德·里根政府的也要低。
Now, putting this budget freeze in place will require tough choices. That’s why I’ve frozen salaries for hardworking civil servants for three years, and proposed cutting programs I care about deeply, like community action programs in low-income neighborhoods. I’m not taking these steps lightly – but I’m taking them because our economic future demands it.
现在，将这项预算冻结付诸实施需要一些艰难的抉择。我将辛劳的联邦公务员的薪水冻结三年，并提议削减我深切关注的计划，比方说帮助低收入者的社区行动计划，原因都在于此。我谈论这些计划时并不轻松，但因为我们的经济未来需要这样，我不得不说。
Still, a freeze in annual domestic spending is just a start. If we’re serious about tackling our long-run fiscal challenges, we also need to cut excessive spending wherever we find it – in defense spending, spending in Medicare and Medicaid, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.
然而，冻结年度国内开支仅仅是个开始。如果我们想认真解决财政面临的长期挑战，我们还需要削减我们在任何地方发现的多余的支出——国防支出，医疗保险和医疗互助支出，减税支出以及各种漏洞。
I’m willing to consider any serious ideas to help us reduce the deficit – no matter what party is proposing them. But instead of cutting the investments in education and innovation we need to out-compete the rest of the world, we need a balanced approach to deficit reduction. We all need to be willing to sacrifice, but we can’t sacrifice our future.
我愿意考虑任何可以帮助我们降低赤字的严肃认真的想法——无论是哪个党派提出来的。但我们不能削减在教育和创新上的投资，我们需要这些来赢得与世界其他国家的竞争，因此我们需要找到削减赤字的平衡方式。我们都需要肯付出牺牲，但我们不能牺牲我们国家的未来。
Next week, Congress will focus on a short-term budget. For the sake of our people and our economy, we cannot allow gridlock to prevail. Both Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate have said they believe it’s important to keep the government running while we work together on a plan to reduce our long-term deficit.
下周，国会将重点讨论短期预算方案。为了我们的人民和我们的经济考虑，我们不能陷入僵局。参议院和众议院的民主党及共和党领导人都说，让政府在双方共同努力下运转，基于一个统一计划削减长期赤字很重要。
Given that, I urge and expect them to find common ground so we can accelerate, not impede, economic growth. It won’t be easy. There will be plenty of debates and disagreements, and neither party will get everything it wants. Both sides will have to compromise.
既然这样，我敦促并期待他们可以寻求到共同立场，这样我们才能加速而不是阻碍经济的增长。事情不会简单。会有大量的辩论和争论，任何一方都不会得到所有想要的一切。双方都需要做出一定的妥协。
That’s what it will take to do what’s right for our country. And I look forward to working with members of both parties to produce a responsible budget that cuts what we can’t afford, sharpens America’s competitive edge in the world, and helps us win the future. Thanks everyone, and have a nice weekend.
这是我们将要做的对我们国家有利的事情。我也期待与两党成员一起努力制定出一项负责任的预算计划，削减我们不能承受的支出，提高美国在全球前沿竞争的能力，并帮助我们赢得未来。谢谢各位，周末愉快。
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