U.S. President Barack Obama has unveiled his first federal budget - outlining his spending priorities for the 2010 fiscal year. The proposal totals more than $3.5 trillion. The White House predicts the United States will enter the new fiscal year with the largest budget deficit since World War II.
美国总统奥巴马星期四公布了他的第一个联邦预算计划，列出了在2010财政年度中政府开支的优先项目。这个预算计划的总金额超过3.5万亿美元。白宫预计，在进入新的财政年度时，美国政府的预算赤字将是第二次世界大战以来最为庞大的。
The president says he wants to invest billions in high priority programs in areas such as education, health care and energy.
奥巴马总统说，他要在教育、卫生和能源等领域的高优先项目中投入数十亿美元。
But he says he still intends to bring the deficit down over time.
尽管如此，他仍然希望逐步削减预算赤字。
"While we must add to our deficits in the short term to provide immediate relief to families and get our economy moving, it is only by restoring fiscal discipline over the long run that we can produce sustained growth and shared prosperity," said President Obama.
他说：“尽管在短期内我们必须增加预算赤字以给美国家庭提供急需的救济和推动我们的经济，但是从长期来看，只有通过恢复严格的财政管理我们才能取得持续性的增长和大家共享的繁荣。”
The White House says the United States will go into the 2010 fiscal year with a $1.75 trillion deficit. That is the largest budget shortfall - adjusted for inflation - since 1945.
白宫说，在进入2010财政年度时，美国联邦政府的预算赤字将高达1.75万亿美元。把通货膨胀因素考虑在内，这个预算赤字是1945年以来最为庞大的。
Mr. Obama says that means everyone will have to compromise, and there will be tough choices ahead. But he stresses that certain needs cannot be ignored.
奥巴马总统说，这意味着每个人都必须做出妥协，而且今后还必须做出艰难的选择。但是他强调，某些特别的需要是不能忽视的。
"Just as a family has to make hard choices about where to spend and where to save, so do we as a government," he said.
他说：“正像一个家庭必须做出艰难的选择，以决定在哪些方面花钱，在哪些方面省钱一样，我们作为一个政府也必须这样做。”
President Obama says he wants to put the money into programs that will pay off in the long run, such as a plan to overhaul the nation's health care system to guarantee availability and affordability.
奥巴马总统说，他要把钱花在那些从长远来看能够取得成功的项目上，比如大力调整国家保健系统的计划，以确保人们既能随时获得医疗保健服务，而且能够负担得起。
Many Americans now get health care insurance from their employers. But with medical costs soaring, and businesses feeling the weight of the recession, the system is strained.
很多美国人现在都是靠他们的雇主提供医疗保险。可是随着医疗费用的不断高涨，特别是企业受到经济衰退的沉重压力，美国的医保体系显得十分吃紧。
"With this budget we are making an historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform," he said. "It's a step that will not only make families healthier and companies more competitive but over the long term it will also help us bring down our deficit."
他说：“然而有了这笔预算，我们将承担起一个历史性的责任--对医保体系进行全面的改革。这一步骤不但会使家庭更加健康，公司更有竞争力，而且从长期来看，也有利于帮助我们减少预算赤字。”
The president put forward the broad outlines of the budget during a brief appearance at the Old Executive Office Building Thursday. He says a detailed spending plan will be submitted to Congress in April, once the White House has completed a review of every single government program.
奥巴马总统是星期四在白宫旁边的老办公大楼发表简短讲话时宣布了这个预算计划的大致内容的。他说，一旦白宫完成了对每一个政府项目的审查之后，详细的开支计划将在4月份送交国会。
"Having inherited a trillion-dollar deficit that will take a long time for us to close, we need to focus on what we need to move the economy forward, not on what is nice to have," said President Obama.
他说：“由于我们继承了上万亿美元的预算赤字，我们需要很长的时间才能补上这个缺口，因此我们现在必需把精力集中在那些能够推动经济向前发展的项目上，而不是任何奢侈的东西。”
Mr. Obama said once again that the White House has already identified $2 trillion in potential savings over the next decade.
奥巴马总统再次表示，白宫已经确认了在今后的十年中从哪些项目上可能节省两万亿美元。
He said ineffective programs will be cut and tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans will end.
他说，那些无效无用的项目将被削减，最富裕美国人的税收优惠将被取消。
The White House is also predicting some savings as U.S. forces are drawn down in Iraq. Officials project the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will be reduced from $130 billion in 2010, to $50 billion annually over several years.
白宫还预计，随着美国在伊拉克的驻军逐步减少，政府也能节省一些开支。有关官员估计，用于阿富汗和伊拉克的战争费用在今后的几年中将从2010年的1300亿美元逐步减少到每年500亿美元。 |