VOA常速英语2019--美国妈妈们正在为“家庭友好型国家”而奋斗（在线收听）

Jessica Morrison has a four-year-old daughter and is expecting a second child.She lives in Philadelphia and traveled to Washington for a day to share her story and conditions.“My partner and I both work full time, but our wages aren’t high, and money is tight.One expense we really struggle with this childcare.My daughter is not old enough for school yet, but we can’t afford the unbelievably expensive childcare options in our area.” But there is a talk of change.

Jessica Morrison有一个四岁的女儿，又将迎来第二个孩子。她住在费城，要去华盛顿一天，和人们分享她的故事和情况。“我和我的搭档都是全职工作，但是我们的工资不高，而且手头紧。我们在照顾孩子的开支上就遇到了困难。我女儿还不到上学的年龄，但我负担不起我们那里昂贵到离谱的托儿费用。”有人说国家将会做出调整。

On March 6th, democrats unveiled the latest version of their American Family Act. It addresses issues that MomsRising which was established in 2006 has been pushing for a long time, paid family leave and quality affordable childcare. “It’s very difficult for moms in the US when they have children, because we don’t have a federal paid family leave policy.And most women are shocked by that when they have children and it’s the time in women’s lives when they are likely to dip into poverty, because all soon they have a baby that costs a lot of money and they are leaving work and not having their regular incomes.”

3月6日，民主党公布了最新版的《美国家庭法案》。MomsRising成立于2006年，长期以来提出了许多问题，包括带薪探亲假、高质量的平价托儿服务，最新版的《美国家庭法案》将会解决这些问题。“在美国，当妈妈们有了孩子后，她们会感到非常困难，因为我们没有带薪产假联邦政策。大多数女性都对有了孩子感到震惊，这时女性可能陷入贫困，”因为她们很快就要生孩子了，要花很多钱，而且她们要离开工作岗位，没有正常的收入。

The U.S. is the only developed country without mandated paid maternity leave on the national level.Women with government jobs or those who work in companies with over 50 employees can take three months of unpaid leave or use their vacation and sick days. “And it really took the veil off my eyes about how I had a very fortunate situation and a really good job and I still felt as though my benefits and time to spend with my new-born were mediocre at best.” Things in part to MomsRising does work. A number of states, such as California introduced paid maternity leave.“Often times, it’s easier to pass policies if you can pass them in the state, demonstrate they work in one state,and you can get good data about what the impact of those policies are on the state and then you move it to a federal level.” Today MomsRising does work in variety of issues from healthy school lunches to limiting access to firearms.The organization doesn’t have headquarters, but it’s more than 1 million members and volunteers work together online and locally. Their efforts are getting attention in the US Capitol.“I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to work with them, because not only are they foursquare on the issues,but they have a network out there that mobilizes and helps us to get legislation passed.”From writing lawmakers to taking part in protests to running for political office,observers say MomsRising has emerged as a potent force ready for political battle.

美国是发达国家中唯一一个没有国家级带薪产假规定的国家。在政府部门工作的女性，或者在员工超过50人的公司工作的女性，可以休三个月的无薪假期，或者休年假、病假。“我很幸运，有一份很好的工作，但我仍然感到，我生了孩子之后，我的福利待遇、空闲时间都很有限。”在一定程度上，MomsRising确实发挥了作用。在一些州，如加利福尼亚，已经实行了带薪产假。“通常情况下，如果你能在州内通过政策，并证明它在这个州行之有效，你就能获得这一政策对州的良好作用的数据，然后你把这些数据转移到联邦层面，那么通过这一政策就会更容易。”如今，MomsRising的工作涉及各种各样的问题，从健康的学校午餐到限制枪支的使用。该组织没有总部，但有100多万成员和志愿者在网上、当地共同工作。他们的努力引起了美国国会的关注。“和他们合作，真是太棒了，他们不仅立场坚定，而且他们有一个网络，可以动员我们，帮助我们通过立法。”从给议员写信到参加抗议活动，再到竞选政治职位，观察人士表示，MomsRising已经成为一股政治斗争中的强大的力量。