Thank you very much, Madam President. And thank you to the distinguished Senator from Connecticut not only for yielding time, but also for the extraordinarily hard work that he's put in over the last several days and, in fact, over a -- a week. And I want to thank his counterparts on the other side, including Senator Gregg, for their hard work. 非常感谢，主席女士。也感谢来自康涅狄格州的尊敬的参议员，他不仅让出了时间，还在过去几天里，事实上是过去一周里，付出了非凡的辛勤努力。我还要感谢另一边的同僚们，包括格雷格参议员，感谢他们的辛勤工作。
Now, the fact that we're even here voting on a plan to rescue our economy from the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street and some in Washington is an outrage. It's an outrage to every American who works hard, pays their taxes, is doing their best every day to make a better life for themselves and their families. And understandably, people are frustrated and they're angry that Wall Street's mistakes have put their tax dollars at risk. And they should be. I'm frustrated and angry, too. 现在，我们竟然要在这里投票通过一项计划，以拯救我们的经济免受华尔街和华盛顿某些人的贪婪与不负责任之害，这一事实本身就令人愤慨。对于每一位辛勤工作、按时纳税、每天尽最大努力为自己和家人创造更好生活的美国人来说，这都是令人愤慨的。可以理解，人们感到沮丧和愤怒，因为华尔街的错误让他们的税金面临风险。他们理应如此。我也感到沮丧和愤怒。
But while there's plenty of blame to go around -- and many in Washington and Wall Street who deserve it, all of us -- all of us have a responsibility to solve this crisis, because it affects the financial well-being of every single American. There will be time to punish those who set this fire, but now is not the time to argue about how it got set, or did the neighbor sleep in his bed, or leave the stove on. Right now we want to put out that fire; and now's the time for us to come together and do that. 虽然责任可以分摊到很多人头上——华盛顿和华尔街确实有很多人难辞其咎，但我们所有人——我们所有人都有责任解决这场危机，因为它影响着每一个美国人的财务福祉。将来会有时间惩罚那些纵火者，但现在不是争论火是怎么烧起来的、邻居是不是在床上睡觉、或者忘了关炉子的时候。现在我们要做的是扑灭这场大火；现在正是我们团结起来采取行动的时候。
When the House of Representatives failed to act on Monday, we saw the single largest decline in the stock market in two decades. Over one trillion dollars of wealth was lost by the time the markets closed. And it wasn't just the wealth of a few CEOs or Wall Street executives. The 401(k)s and retirement accounts of millions became smaller. The state pension funds of teachers and government employees lost billions upon billions of dollars. Hard-working Americans who invested their nest egg to watch it grow saw it diminish and in some cases disappear. 当众议院周一未能采取行动时，我们目睹了二十年来股市最大的一次单日下跌。到收盘时，超过一万亿美元的财富化为乌有。受影响的不仅仅是少数首席执行官或华尔街高管的财富。数百万人的401(k)账户和退休账户缩水。教师和政府雇员的州养老基金损失了数十亿美元。那些把毕生积蓄投入其中、期望它增值的辛勤工作的美国人，眼睁睁看着它缩水，有的甚至消失殆尽。
And while that decline was devastating, the consequences of the credit crisis that caused it will be even worse if we do not act now. We're in a very dangerous situation, where financial institutions across this country are afraid to lend money. And if all that meant was the failure of a few banks in New York, that would be one thing. But that's not what it means. What it means is, if we don't act, it will be harder for Americans to get a mortgage for their home or loans they need to buy a car or send their children to college. 虽然那次下跌是毁灭性的，但如果我们现在不采取行动，造成这次下跌的信贷危机的后果将会更加严重。我们正处于一个非常危险的境地，全国各地的金融机构都不敢放贷。如果这只意味着纽约几家银行的倒闭，那倒是一回事。但情况并非如此。这意味着，如果我们不采取行动，美国人将更难获得购房抵押贷款，也更难获得买车或送孩子上大学所需的贷款。
What it means is that businesses won't be able to get the loans they need to open a new factory or make payroll for their workers. And if they can't make payroll on Friday, then workers are laid off on Monday. And if workers are laid off on Monday, then they can't pay their bills or pay back their loans to somebody else. And it will go on and on and on, rippling through the entire economy. And potentially we could see thousands of businesses close, millions of jobs could be lost, and a long and painful recession could follow. 这意味着企业将无法获得开设新工厂或支付工人工资所需的贷款。如果他们周五发不出工资，周一工人就会被解雇。如果工人周一被解雇，他们就无法支付账单，也无法偿还别人的贷款。这种情况会一直持续下去，波及整个经济。我们可能看到数千家企业倒闭，数百万人失业，随之而来的可能是漫长而痛苦的衰退。
In other words, this is not just a Wall Street crisis; it's an American crisis. And it's the American economy that needs this rescue plan. 换句话说，这不仅是华尔街的危机；这是美国的危机。而正是美国经济需要这项救助计划。
I understand completely why people would be skeptical when this President asks for a blank check to solve this problem. I was, too, as was Senator Dodd and a whole bunch of us here. And that's why, over a week ago, I demanded that this plan include some specific proposals to protect taxpayers, protections that the Administration eventually agreed to, and, thanks to the hard work of Senator Dodd and Republican counterparts like Senator Gregg, we here in the Senate have agreed to, and now hopefully the House will agree to, as well. 我完全理解为什么当这位总统要求开一张空白支票来解决这个问题时，人们会持怀疑态度。我也持怀疑态度，多德参议员和我们在场的许多人都一样。正因如此，一个多星期前，我要求这项计划包括一些保护纳税人的具体提案，这些保护措施政府最终同意了；而且由于多德参议员和格雷格参议员等共和党同僚的辛勤工作，我们参议院已经同意了，现在希望众议院也会同意。
Let me just go over those principles: 让我简单回顾一下这些原则：
Number one, I said we needed an independent board to provide oversight and accountability for how and where this money is spent at every step of the way. 第一，我说过我们需要一个独立的委员会，在每一个步骤上对这笔钱如何使用、用在哪里提供监督和问责。
Number two, I said that we cannot help banks on Wall Street without helping the millions of innocent homeowners who are struggling to stay in their homes. They deserve a plan, too. 第二，我说过我们不能只帮助华尔街的银行，而不帮助数百万正努力保住自己房屋的无辜房主。他们也应该有一份计划。
Number three, I said that I would not allow this plan to become a welfare program for Wall Street executives, whose greed and irresponsibility got us into this mess. 第三，我说过我不会允许这项计划成为华尔街高管的福利计划，正是他们的贪婪和不负责任使我们陷入了这个困境。
And, finally, I said that, if American taxpayers are financing this solution, then they have to be treated like investors. They should get every penny of their tax dollars back once the economy recovers. 最后，我说过，如果美国纳税人资助这一解决方案，那么他们必须被当作投资者对待。一旦经济复苏，他们应该收回每一分钱的税款。
Now, this last part is important, because it's been the most misunderstood and poorly communicated part of this plan. This is not a plan to just hand over 700 billion dollars of taxpayer money to a few banks. If this is managed correctly -- and that's an important "if" -- we will hopefully get most or all of our money back and possibly even turn a profit on the government's intervention, every penny of which will go directly back to the American people. And if we fall short, we will levy a fee on financial institutions so that they can repay for the losses that they caused. 最后这一点很重要，因为它是该计划中最被误解、传达最不充分的部分。这不是一项简单地把7000亿美元纳税人资金交给几家银行的计划。如果处理得当——这是一个重要的"如果"——我们有望收回大部分或全部资金，甚至可能从政府的干预中获利，每一分钱都将直接返还给美国人民。如果出现不足，我们将向金融机构征收费用，让它们为自己造成的损失做出赔偿。
Now, let me -- let's acknowledge, even with all these taxpayer protections, this plan is not perfect. Democrats and Republicans in Congress have legitimate concerns about it. Some of my closest colleagues, people I have the greatest respect for, still have problems with it and may choose to vote against this bill, and I think that we can respectfully disagree. I understand their frustrations. 现在，让我——让我们承认，即使有所有这些保护纳税人的措施，这项计划也不完美。国会中的民主党人和共和党人都对其有合理的担忧。我一些最亲密的同事，一些我最为尊敬的人，仍然对它有疑虑，可能选择投票反对这项法案，我认为我们可以体面地表示不同意。我理解他们的挫败感。
I also know that many -- many Americans share their concerns. But it's clear that, from my perspective, this is what we need to do right now to prevent the possibility of a crisis turning into a catastrophe. It is conceivable -- it's possible that if we did nothing everything would turn out okay. It's -- There -- There's a possibility that that's true. And there's no doubt that there may be other plans out there that, had we had two or three or six months to develop, might be even more refined and might serve our purposes better. 我也知道许多——许多美国人与他们有同样的担忧。但很明显，在我看来，这正是我们现在需要做的，以防止危机演变成灾难。可以想象——如果我们什么都不做，一切也可能变好，这是可能的。这——有——有可能确实如此。毫无疑问，可能还有其他计划，如果我们有两三个月或六个月的时间来制定，可能会更加完善，更符合我们的目的。
But we don't have that kind of time. And we can't afford to take a risk that the economy of the United States of America and, as a consequence, the worldwide economy could be plunged into a very, very deep hole. So to Democrats and Republicans who've opposed this plan, I say: Step up to the plate. Let's do what's right for the country at this time, because the time to act is now. 但我们没有那么多时间。我们也不能冒这样的风险，让美利坚合众国的经济，进而让全球经济陷入一个非常非常深的坑。所以对那些反对这项计划的民主党人和共和党人，我说：挺身而出吧。让我们在这个时候为国家的利益做正确的事，因为行动的时刻就是现在。
I know many Americans are wondering what happens next. And passing this bill can't be the end of our work to strengthen our economy; it must be the beginning. 我知道许多美国人都在想接下来会发生什么。通过这项法案不能是我们加强经济工作的终点；它必须是一个起点。
Because one thing I -- I think all of us who may end up supporting this bill understand is that, even if we get this in place, we could still have enormous problems and probably will have big problems in the economy over the next several months and potentially longer; because the fact is, is that we have seen some mismanagement of the fundamentals of the economy for a very long time, and we are not going to dig ourselves out of that hole immediately. 因为有一件事我——我想所有最终可能支持这项法案的人都明白，即使我们把这个计划落实到位，我们在未来几个月甚至可能更长时间内，仍然可能面临巨大的问题，而且很可能会有重大经济问题；因为事实是，长期以来我们一直看到经济基本面存在管理不善的情况，我们不可能立刻从那个坑里爬出来。
So this is not the end. This is the beginning. As soon as we pass this rescue plan, we need to move aggressively with the same sense of urgency to rescue families on Main Street who are struggling to pay their bills and keep their jobs. They've been in crisis a lot longer than Wall Street has. 所以这不是终点。这是起点。一旦我们通过这项救助计划，我们就需要以同样的紧迫感积极地行动起来，去救助主街上那些正努力支付账单、保住工作的家庭。他们陷入危机的时间比华尔街长得多。
I've said it before and I say it again: We need to pass an economic stimulus package that will help ordinary Americans cope with rising food and gas prices, that can save one million jobs rebuilding our schools, and roads, and our infrastructure, and help states and cities avoid budget cuts and tax increase[s], a -- a plan that would extend expiring unemployment benefits for those Americans who've lost their jobs and cannot find new ones. That's the right thing to do at a time when consumer confidence is down and we are in great danger of slipping into a big recession. 我之前说过，我现在再说一遍：我们需要通过一项经济刺激方案，帮助普通美国人应对不断上涨的食品和汽油价格，通过重建学校、道路和基础设施来保住一百万个工作岗位，帮助各州和各城市避免削减预算和增税，这项方案还要为那些失去工作又找不到新工作的美国人延长即将到期的失业救济。在消费者信心下降、我们面临陷入严重衰退危险的时期，这是正确的做法。
We also must do more in this rescue package in order to help homeowners stay in their homes. I will continue to advocate bankruptcy reforms. I know my colleague from Illinois, Dick Durbin, has been a strong champion of this, as have many. It is the right thing to do to change our bankruptcy laws so that people have a better chance of staying in their homes and we're not seeing communities devastated all across the country. And we should encourage Treasury to study the option of buying individual mortgages, like we did successfully in the 1930s. 我们在这项救助方案中也必须采取更多措施，帮助房主保住他们的房屋。我将继续倡导破产改革。我知道我来自伊利诺伊州的同事迪克·德宾一直是这件事的坚定拥护者，许多其他人也是如此。修改我们的破产法是正确的事情，这样人们就有更好的机会保住自己的房屋，我们也不会看到全国各地的社区遭到破坏。我们还应该鼓励财政部研究收购个人抵押贷款的方案，就像我们上世纪30年代成功做过的那样。
And finally, while we all hope that this rescue package succeeds, we should be prepared to take more vigorous actions in the months ahead to rebuild capital, if it's necessary. 最后，虽然我们都希望这项救助方案取得成功，但我们应该做好准备，在未来的几个月里，如果有必要，采取更有力的行动来重建资本。
Now, just as families are planning for their future in tough times, Washington's going to have to do the same. Runaway spending and record deficits are not how families run their budgets. It can't be how Washington handles people's tax dollars. So we're going to have to return to the fiscal responsibility we had in the 1990s. And the next White House and the next Congress is going to have to work together to make sure that we go through our budget, we get rid of programs that don't work, that we make the ones that do work better and cost less. 现在，就像家庭在困难时期为未来做规划一样，华盛顿也将不得不这样做。失控的开支和创纪录的赤字不是家庭管理预算的方式。它也不能成为华盛顿处理人民税款的方式。所以我们将不得不回到上世纪90年代的财政责任。下一届白宫和下一届国会必须共同努力，确保我们仔细审查预算，砍掉那些无效的项目，让有效的项目做得更好、成本更低。
With less money flowing into the Treasury, some useful programs or policies might need to be delayed. And some might be -- need to be stretched out over a longer period of time. 由于流入财政部的资金减少，一些有用的项目或政策可能需要推迟。一些可能需要——需要分摊到更长的时间内实施。
But there are certain investments in our future that we cannot delay, precisely because our economy is in turmoil. 但是有一些对未来的投资是我们不能推迟的，恰恰是因为我们的经济正处于动荡之中。
Mr. President, I've exceeded the time a little bit. I would like unanimous consent for a couple more minutes. 主席先生，我稍微超时了一点。我请求一致同意再给我几分钟时间。
[Cross talk from the Floor] [会场中的交叉交谈]
Senate President: Is there objection? Seeing no objection -- 参议院主席：有人反对吗？没有看到反对——
Senator Obama: Thank you. 奥巴马参议员：谢谢。
There are certain investments in our future that we can't delay precisely be -- because the economy's in turmoil. We can't wait to help Americans keep up with rising costs and shrinking paychecks, and we're going to do that by making sure that we are giving our workers a middle-class tax cut. 有一些对未来的投资是我们无法推迟的，正是因为——因为经济正处于动荡之中。我们不能坐视不理，要帮助美国人应对不断上涨的成本和缩水的薪水，我们将通过确保为中产阶级工人减税来实现这一点。
We can't wait to relieve the burden of crushing health care costs. We can't wait to create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our roads and our bridges, and investing in broadband lines in rural communities, and fixing our electricity grid so we can get renewable energy to population centers that need them. And we need to develop an energy policy that prevents us from sending 700 billion dollars a year to tyrants and dictators for their oil. We can't wait to educate the next generation of Americans with the skills and knowledge they need to compete with any workers anywhere in the world. 我们不能坐等减轻沉重的医疗费用负担。我们不能坐等通过重建道路和桥梁、在乡村社区投资宽带线路、修复我们的电网以便将可再生能源输送到需要的人口中心，来创造数百万个新就业岗位。我们需要制定一项能源政策，避免每年向暴君和独裁者送去7000亿美元购买他们的石油。我们不能坐等用所需的知识和技能教育下一代美国人，使他们能够与世界各地的任何劳动者竞争。
These are the priorities we cannot delay. 这些是我们不能推迟的优先事项。
Now, let me just close by saying this: I do not think this is going to be easy. It's not going to come without costs. We are all going to need to sacrifice. We're all going to need to pull our weight, because now, more than ever, we are all in this together. That's part of what this crisis has taught us -- that in the end of the day, there's no real separation between Wall Street and Main Street. There's only the road we're traveling on as Americans. And we will rise or fall on that journey as one nation and as one people. 现在，让我用下面这段话作为结尾：我不认为这会很容易。它不会没有代价。我们都需要做出牺牲。我们都需要尽自己的本分，因为现在比以往任何时候都更是如此，我们大家都在同一条船上。这是这场危机教给我们的部分教训——归根结底，华尔街和主街之间并没有真正的隔阂。只有我们作为美国人正在走的这条路。在这段旅程中，我们将作为一个国家、一个民族同甘共苦、同起同落。
I know that many Americans are feeling anxiety right now about their jobs, about their homes, about their life savings. But I also know this, that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. We are -- always have. During the great financial crisis of the last century, in his first fireside chat, FDR told his fellow Americans that, 我知道许多美国人现在对自己的工作、房屋和毕生积蓄感到焦虑。但我也知道，我们能够驾驭自己走出这场危机。我们——一直都能。在上个世纪的大金融危机期间，罗斯福总统在他的第一次炉边谈话中告诉他的美国同胞：
Let us unite in banishing fear. Together we cannot fail. We cannot fail, not now, not tomorrow, not next year. 让我们团结起来驱散恐惧。只要齐心协力，我们就不会失败。我们不会失败，不是现在，不是明天，也不是明年。
This is a nation that's faced down war and depression, great challenges and great threats. And at each and every moment, we have risen to meet up these challenges, not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans, with resolve and with confidence, with that fundamental belief that, here in America, our destiny is not written for us, it's written by us. And that's who we are. And that's the country I know we can be right now. 这是一个曾直面战争和萧条、巨大挑战和巨大威胁的国家。在每一个时刻，我们都奋起迎接这些挑战，不是作为民主党人，不是作为共和党人，而是作为美国人，带着决心和信心，带着那种根本的信念：在美国，我们的命运不是别人为我们书写的，而是由我们自己书写的。这就是我们。这就是我知道我们此刻能够成为的国家。
I want to thank again the extraordinary leadership of Chairman Dodd and Banking -- the Banking Committee, as well as Chairman Baucus and Majority Leader Reid. They have worked tirelessly. I want to thank the leadership in the House of Representatives. 我想再次感谢多德主席和银行——银行业委员会的卓越领导，以及鲍卡斯主席和里德多数党领袖。他们不知疲倦地工作。我还要感谢众议院的领导层。
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation, understanding that this will not solve all our problems. It is a necessary but not sufficient step to make sure that this economy once again works on behalf of all Americans in their pursuit of the American dream. 我敦促我的同事们与我一起支持这项重要的立法，同时要理解这并不能解决我们所有的问题。这只是确保经济再次为所有美国人服务、帮助他们追求美国梦的一个必要但不充分的步骤。
Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor. 谢谢您，主席先生。我把发言权交还。
