U.S. lawmakers are reacting to President Barack Obama's proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year that begins in October. Democrats and Republicans commented on the $3.5 trillion budget that would raise the federal deficit to $1.75 trillion.
美国国会议员对总统奥巴马提交的、从10月开始的2010年财政预算做出回应。民主、共和两党议员都对这个将联邦赤字提高到1万7千5百亿美元、总金额达到3万5千亿美元的预算案发表了意见。
As lawmakers assess the budget, the rhetoric about spending and saving projections and priorities heated up.
在议员们评估预算案的同时，有关开支与节流到底何者优先的辩论也不断激化。
Democrats face a heavy lift in implementing the agenda proposed in the president's 140-page outline, which is a precursor of the full budget the president will send Congress in April.
民主党人如何落实奥巴马总统这份长达140页的预算大纲，面临严峻考验。这份大纲只是一个先行草案，奥巴马总统四月份将向国会提交完整的预算案。
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the budget outline shows President Obama is keeping to his pledges of fiscal responsibility.
众议院议长佩洛西表示，预算大纲显示奥巴马总统信守他有关财政责任的承诺。
"The budget is consistent with the president's message of accountability, fiscal responsibility, transparency from the standpoint of how we approach of it. It reflects the values that he conveyed about investing in education and energy and health care, also in how we grow our economy [with] infrastructure and how we support our troops," she said.
佩洛西说，“预算案与总统强调的我们必须以可信度、财政责任以及透明度来处理财政的立场相呼应。预算案也体现了他对投资教育、能源和医保领域的重视，还有我们如何以基础建设推动经济发展，以及如何支持我们的军队。”
A key part of the budget involves health care, with $634 billion proposed over 10 years drawn from tax increases on the wealthy and medical system savings to expand coverage for Americans.
预算案里很重要的一部分是医疗保健，奥巴马政府提出在未来10年，通过给富人增税以及医疗体系的储蓄，用6340亿美元，扩大美国民众的医疗保险。
Republicans say President Obama's plan to raise taxes for families earning more than $250,000 a year would harm small businesses, eliminate jobs, deepen the recession and the national debt.
共和党人批评奥巴马总统对年收入超过25万美元的家庭增税，将伤害小企业，减少工作机会，使经济衰退和国家负债的情况更加恶化。
"It's a spend, tax and borrow our way to prosperity budget. It proposes bigger government with higher spending, higher taxes, and higher debt as a means to produce prosperity in America," said Republican Congressman Paul Ryan.
共和党众议员瑞安和众议院少数党领袖伯纳说：“这是一个通过开支、增税和借贷来实现繁荣的预算，建议扩大政府职能，通过增加开支、提高税率、增加债务来促进美国的繁荣。”
House Minority Leader John Boehner said "there has been too much spending under Republicans over the last several years. But if you begin to look at what has happened over the last month and what is being proposed in this budget, the president is beginning to make [former] President Bush look like a piker when it comes to spending."
伯纳说，“过去几年在共和党执政时，开支已经太多，但如果你仔细看看过去一个月来还有这份预算案的内容，你会发现，奥巴马总统让布什前总统的开支变得微不足道。”
Senator Judd Gregg, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said there are some good technical aspects to the budget, but he assailed proposed tax increases and spending.
参议院预算委员会共和党参议员格雷格说，预算案中有些不错的概念，但是他批评提高税率和增加开支。
"There are massive tax increases in this bill, in this proposal, $1.4 trillion by our calculation. That's a big number. [There is] massive spending in this bill just in the health care area [and] approximately $1.4 trillion of new spending," he said.
他说，“预算案中有大量的增税，我们估计大约有一万四千亿美元。这是很大的一笔钱。预算案里单单针对医疗保健就有庞大的开支，还有大约一万4千亿美元的新开支。”
But President Obama's budget director, Peter Orszag, says Republicans are just wrong in their assertions about the president's tax proposals.
但是奥巴马总统预算办公室主任欧尔萨格说，共和党人对增税计划的看法完全错误。
"The assertion that we are raising taxes in the midst of a recession is just factually wrong. And, in fact, we just cut taxes as part of the [American] Recovery [and Reinvestment] Act which his exactly what is appropriate from a macroeconomic perspective to boost aggregate demand during a downturn," he said.
他说，“他们认为我们在经济衰退中还提高税率，但这种说法是错误的。实际上，在刚刚签署的美国复苏与再投资法案里，我们就有减税的规定。从宏观经济的角度来看，在经济下滑时刺激需求，我们的做法是恰当的。”
House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt says compared to the eight years of the Bush administration, President Obama is directly confronting economic problems.
"President Obama, to his credit, has responded with a budget which shows he is not flinching or stalling, but is meeting the challenge head on," he said.
As they look at legislative action this year to reform health care, Democrats are also assessing how to move forward with long-postponed steps to reform costly government entitlement programs such as social security, as well as the tax system itself.
"To pursue not only reform of the entitlements but reform of the revenue system. There is just too much leakage in the system, and beyond that it does not position us well to compete in a globalized world economy," said Democratic Senator Kent Conrad, who heads the Senate Budget Committee.
Congress is not bound to a president's budget proposals, and this is the first step in a process leading to approval of a budget resolution that sets broad spending, tax and economic goals.
国会还不需要对奥巴马的预算大纲进行表决，这只是未来要通过就开支、税收以及经济设定广泛目标的完整预算案的第一步。
Congressional committees begin hearings on President Obama's budget next week. Between now and October 1 when the 2010 fiscal year begins, lawmakers will also work on the regular appropriations bills to fund government operations.
国会有关委员会将从下星期开始就预算案举行听证会，直到10月1号2010年财政年度开始前，国会议员将讨论表决有关政府机构普通拨款的法案。 |