U.S. President Barack Obama is angrily blasting oil industry officials who he says are failing to accept blame for the massive oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. The president says all parties need to take responsibility, including the government.
美国总统奥巴马愤怒指责石油业有关官员，说他们没有为墨西哥湾的大量漏油事件承担罪责。奥巴马总统说：所有各方都必须承担责任，也包括政府。
President Obama says he is angry and frustrated by oil executives' response to the catastrophic spill, after a BP oil rig blew up last month off the Louisiana coast.
奥巴马总统说，上个月在路易斯安那州沿岸水域英国石油公司的一个油井平台发生爆炸事故后，石油公司主管对这次灾难性漏油事件所作的反应让他感到气愤和失望。
In the White House Rose Garden, the president told reporters the finger-pointing needs to stop.
奥巴马总统星期五在白宫玫瑰园对记者说，不能再互相指责了。
"I did not appreciate what I considered to be a ridiculous spectacle during the congressional hearings into this matter," said Obama. "You had executives of BP and Transocean and Halliburton falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else. The American people could not have been impressed with that display, and I certainly was not."
奥巴马说：“我不喜欢在国会为有关事件举行的听证会上所呈现的那种我认为是荒谬的景象。出席听证会的有英国石油公司、越洋公司和哈利伯顿公司的主管，他们相互指责，都说他人应当承担罪责。美国人民不可能对这种表现产生好感，我当然也不会。”
Mr. Obama said some of the blame extends into his own administration. He said he will force government regulators to make it tougher for oil companies to get drilling permits.
奥巴马说，有些批评指向他的政府。他将责成政府监管人员为石油公司获得钻探许可设下更为严格的标准。
"For too long, for a decade or more, there has been a cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill," he added. "It seems as if permits were too often issued based on little more than assurances of safety from the oil companies. That cannot and will not happen anymore."
奥巴马说：“有太长一段时间、有十来年或者更久，石油公司和发放钻探石油许可的联邦机构之间关系亲密，看来经常是只要石油公司提出安全保证，就会发放钻探许可。那种情况不能、也不会再次发生。”
As the president spoke, robots at the bottom of the Gulf tried to move a tube into the pipe that has pumped millions of liters of oil into the water. BP said it hoped to know within hours whether the tube had successfully diverted the oil to a tanker at the surface.
当奥巴马总统发表这番讲话时，在墨西哥湾的海底机器人正试图把一根管道插进油管中，已经有几百万公升的石油从这个油管流入海水中。英国石油公司说，希望在几小时后知道这根管道是否能把石油引到海面上的一个大油箱内。
Mr. Obama admitted that there is uncertainty about exactly how much oil is being spilled. He said government efforts have been geared toward the possibility of a "catastrophic event."
奥巴马承认，还不能确定正在漏出的石油究竟有多少。他说，政府以可能出现“灾难性事件”而进行努力的。
The president said the system "failed and failed badly," and everyone involved bears the responsibility for fixing it.
奥巴马总统说，这个石油钻探系统出了故障，而且是大故障，所有有关人员都有责任来进行修复。
"The oil companies share it; the manufacturers of this equipment share it; the agencies in the federal government in charge of oversight share that responsibility," he added. "I will not tolerate more finger pointing or irresponsibility."
奥巴马说：“石油公司要分担责任，钻井平台的生产商也要分担责任，负责监督的联邦政府机构同样得分担责任。我再也不能容忍指责他人或不负责任的行为了。”
Mr. Obama called on Congress to quickly pass legislation to spend more money to clean up the spill, and to provide unemployment assistance and job training to people affected by the crisis.
奥巴马呼吁国会迅速通过立法，拨出更多资金清理漏油，而且为受这次危机事故影响的人们提供失业补助和就业训练。
After the spill, the president asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reform the government agency that oversees oil drilling. Salazar said this week the part of the agency which permits oil and gas drilling and collects royalties will be separated from the part which inspects the safety of oil rigs.
Mr. Obama said he has enacted other reforms, including re-examining the environmental procedures for oil and gas exploration and development. |