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【President Obama Makes a Statement on Averting Tax Hikes for Middle Class Families】
奥巴马就避免中产阶级家庭增税讲话
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. For the past couple of months, I’ve been working with leaders of both parties to try and forge an agreement that would grow our economy and shrink the deficit -- a balanced plan that would cut spending in a responsible way but also ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more, and, above all, protect our middle class and everybody who is striving to get into the middle class.
各位下午好。在过去的几个月里，我一直与两党领导人试图达成一项协议，促进我国经济增长，减少财政赤字——平衡方案不仅规定合理削减开支，而且需要美国最富有的人承担更多的税收，并且，最重要的是，保护我们的中产阶级以及正努力进入中产阶级的人群。
I still want to get this done. It’s the right thing to do for our families, for our businesses, and for our entire economy. But the hour for immediate action is here. It is now.
我仍然想把这事干好。对于我们的家庭、企业以及整个经济，这都是要做的正确事情。但立即采取行动的时刻是在这里，就是现在。
We’re now at the point where, in just four days, every American’s tax rates are scheduled to go up by law. Every American’s paycheck will get considerably smaller. And that would be the wrong thing to do for our economy, it would be bad for middle-class families, and it would be bad for businesses that depend on family spending. Fortunately, Congress can prevent it from happening if they act right now.
按照法律规定，四天后所有美国人的税率都将增加。每个人的薪水会少很多。对于我国经济，这是不正确的做法，将对中产阶级以及依赖家庭开销的企业产生糟糕的影响。幸运的是，如果国会立即采取行动，可以防止这种事情发生。
I just had a good and constructive discussion here at the White House with Senate and House leadership about how to prevent this tax hike on the middle class, and I’m optimistic we may still be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses in time. Senators Reid and McConnell are working on such an agreement as we speak.
就如何防止中产阶级增税，在白宫我与参众两院领导人刚刚进行了一次不错而且富有建设性的讨论。我乐观的认为，在规定的时间内我们仍能达成能通过两院的协议。当我们说话之际，参议员里德和麦康奈尔正致力于这样一项协议。
But if an agreement isn’t reached in time between Senator Reid and Senator McConnell, then I will urge Senator Reid to bring to the floor a basic package for an up-or-down vote –- one that protects the middle class from an income tax hike, extends the vital lifeline of unemployment insurance to two million Americans looking for a job, and lays the groundwork for future cooperation on more economic growth and deficit reduction.
但如果参议员里德和麦康奈尔到时没能达成协议，随后我将督促参议员里德让议员席进行投票表决这样一个基本方案——防止对中产阶级增税，扩大仍在寻求工作的二百万美国人的重要生命保障—失业保险，奠定未来在经济增长和赤字削减上更多的合作。
I believe such a proposal could pass both houses with bipartisan majorities as long as those leaders allow it to actually come to a vote. If members of the House or the Senate want to vote no, they can –- but we should let everybody vote. That’s the way this is supposed to work. If you can get a majority in the House and you can get a majority in the Senate, then we should be able to pass a bill.
我相信，如果领导人允许进行投票，有两党多数人的支持，议案就能通过两院。如果众议院或参议院的成员想投反对票，他们可以——但是我们应该让大家都投票。本就该如此。如果在众议院和参议院都能得到大部分人的支持，那么我们应该能够通过一项法案。
So the American people are watching what we do here. Obviously, their patience is already thin. This is déjà vu all over again. America wonders why it is that in this town, for some reason, you can't get stuff done in an organized timetable; why everything always has to wait until the last minute. Well, we're now at the last minute, and the American people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. Not right now.
所以美国人民在看着我们的一举一动。显然，他们的耐心已经消耗。这似曾相识。美国人民好奇为什么在市政里，总有一些原因，让不能在规定的时间里完成任务；为什么事情总要等到最后一分钟才去做。好吧，我们现在在紧要关头，这种强加于我国经济上的政治伤害，美国人民也不会有任何耐心了。
