Good morning, everybody. This morning, I sent a budget to Congress for the coming year. It's a budget that reflects the serious challenges facing the country. We're at war. Our economy has lost 7 million jobs over the last two years. And our government is deeply in debt after what can only be described as a decade of profligacy. 各位早上好。今天上午，我向国会提交了下一财政年度的预算。这份预算反映了国家当前面临的严峻挑战。我们正处于战争之中。过去两年我国经济失去了七百万个就业岗位。而在经历了只能用"十年挥霍"来形容的时期之后，我们的政府已深陷债务之中。
The fact is, 10 years ago, we had a budget surplus of more than $200 billion, with projected surpluses stretching out toward the horizon. Yet over the course of the past 10 years, the previous administration and previous Congresses created an expensive new drug program, passed massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and funded two wars without paying for any of it -- all of which was compounded by recession and by rising health care costs. As a result, when I first walked through the door, the deficit stood at $1.3 trillion, with projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. 事实是，十年前，我们拥有超过两千亿美元的预算盈余，且预计盈余将一路延伸至可见的未来。然而在过去十年间，上届政府和往届国会推出了一项昂贵的新处方药计划，通过了针对富人的大规模减税，并为两场战争提供了资金却未偿付任何费用——所有这些又因经济衰退和不断攀升的医疗成本而雪上加霜。结果，当我刚走进办公室大门时，赤字已高达1.3万亿美元，未来十年预计赤字更将达8万亿美元。
If we had taken office during ordinary times, we would have started bringing down these deficits immediately. But one year ago, our country was in crisis: We were losing nearly 700,000 jobs each month, the economy was in a free fall, and the financial system was near collapse. Many feared another Great Depression. So we initiated a rescue, and that rescue was not without significant cost; it added to the deficit as well. 如果我们在正常时期接任，本会立即开始削减这些赤字。但一年前，我国正处于危机之中：我们每月失去近七十万个就业岗位，经济自由落体式下滑，金融体系濒临崩溃。许多人担心会再度陷入大萧条。因此我们启动了一项救援，而这项救援并非没有重大代价，它同样加重了赤字。
One year later, because of the steps we've taken, we're in a very different place. But we can't simply move beyond this crisis; we have to address the irresponsibility that led to it. And that includes the failure to rein in spending, as well a reliance on borrowing -- from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street -- to fuel our growth. That's what we have to change. We have to do what families across America are doing: Save where we can so that we can afford what we need. 一年之后，由于我们所采取的各项措施，局面已大不相同。但我们不能简单地跨过这场危机；我们必须正视导致危机的责任缺失。这其中包括未能控制支出，以及从华尔街到华盛顿再到主街，都依靠借贷来推动增长。这正是我们必须改变的。我们必须像全美各地的家庭那样行事：能省则省，方能负担所必需的开支。
Now, I think it's very important to understand: We won't be able to bring down this deficit overnight, given that the recovery is still taking hold and families across the country still need help. We will continue, for example, to do what it takes to create jobs. That's reflected in my budget; it's essential. The budget includes new tax cuts for people who invest in small businesses, tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers, investments that will create jobs repairing roads and bridges, and tax breaks for retrofitting homes to save energy. 现在，我认为非常重要的是要理解：考虑到经济复苏仍在起步阶段、全国各地家庭仍需帮助，我们无法一夜之间削减这一赤字。例如，我们将继续尽一切努力创造就业。这已体现在我的预算中，这是必不可少的。预算包括针对小企业投资者的新减税政策、为招聘新员工的小企业提供税收抵免、用于维修道路和桥梁从而创造就业的投资，以及为改造住宅以节约能源而提供的税收优惠。
We also continue to lay a new foundation for lasting growth, which is essential as well. Just as it would be a terrible mistake to borrow against our children's future to pay our way today, it would be equally wrong to neglect their future by failing to invest in areas that will determine our economic success in this new century. 我们也在继续为持久增长奠定新基础，这同样至关重要。正如以借贷透支子孙后代的未来来应付今日开支是严重错误一样，忽视他们的未来、不去投资将决定我们新世纪经济成败的领域，同样也是错误的。
That's why we build on the largest investment in clean energy in history, as well as increase investment in scientific research, so that we are fostering the industries and jobs of the future right here in America. 正因如此，我们在历史上最大规模的清洁能源投资基础上继续加码，并增加科研投资，以便在美国本土培育未来的产业和就业岗位。
That's why I've proposed a more than 6 percent increase in funding for the Education Department. And this funding is tied to reforms that raise student achievement, inspire students to excel in math and science, and turn around failing schools which consign too many young people to a lesser future -- because in the 21st century there is no better anti-poverty program than a world-class education. 正因如此，我提议将教育部的资金提高6%以上。并且这笔资金与一系列改革挂钩，以提高学生成绩、激励学生在数学和科学领域追求卓越，并扭转那些将太多年轻人推向黯淡前途的失败学校——因为在21世纪，没有哪种扶贫方案比一流的教育更为有效。
And that's why we eliminate a wasteful subsidy to banks that lend to college students, and use that money to revitalize community colleges and make college more affordable. This will help us reach the goal I've set for America: By 2020 we will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. 正因如此，我们取消了向发放大学生贷款的银行提供的一项浪费性补贴，并将这笔资金用于振兴社区学院、让上得起大学的人更多。这将有助于我们实现我为美国设定的目标：到2020年，我国将再次拥有全球最高比例的大学毕业生。
These are the investments we must make to create jobs and opportunity now and in the future. And in a departure from the way business had been done in Washington, we actually show how we pay for these investments while putting our country on a more fiscally sustainable path. 这些是我们必须进行的投资，以在当下和未来创造就业和机会。与华盛顿以往行事方式不同的是，我们这一次明确展示了如何为这些投资买单，同时让国家走上财政更可持续的道路。
I've proposed a freeze in government spending for three years. This won't apply to the benefits folks get through Social Security, Medicaid, or Medicare. And it won't apply to our national security -- including benefits for veterans. But it will apply to all other discretionary government programs. And we're not simply photocopying last year's budget; freezing spending does not mean we won't cut what doesn't work to pay for what does. 我已提议将政府支出冻结三年。这不会影响民众通过社会保障、医疗补助或医疗保险所领取的福利。也不会影响我们的国家安全支出，包括退伍军人的福利。但这将适用于所有其他可支配政府项目。而且我们并非简单复印去年的预算；冻结支出并不意味着我们不会削减无效项目来为有效项目腾出资源。
We have gone through every department's spending line by line, item by item, looking for inefficiency, duplication, and programs that have outlived their usefulness. That's how we freeze discretionary spending. Last year, we found $17 billion in cuts. This year, we've already found $20 billion. 我们逐条逐项地审查了每个部门的支出，寻找低效、重复以及已失去存在意义的项目。这就是我们冻结可支配支出的方式。去年，我们削减了170亿美元。今年，我们已经削减了200亿美元。
Now, some of these cuts are just common sense. For example, we cut $115 million from a program that pays states to clean up mines that have already been cleaned up. We're also cutting a Forest Service economic development program that strayed so far from any mission that it funded a music festival. And we're saving $20 million by stopping the refurbishment of a Department of Energy science center that the Department of Energy does not want to refurbish. 其中一些削减纯属常识。例如，我们从一项支付各州清理已清理完毕矿山的项目中削减了1.15亿美元。我们还在削减一项林务局经济发展项目，该项目已偏离任何使命到如此程度，竟为一场音乐节提供资金。我们还将节省2000万美元，方法是停止翻新一座能源部科学中心，而能源部本身并不想翻新它。
Other cuts, though, are more painful, because the goals of the underlying programs are worthy. We eliminate one program that provides grants to do environmental clean up of abandoned buildings. That's a mission I support, but there are other sources of private and public funds to achieve it. We also eliminated a $120 million program that allows folks to get their Earned Income Tax Credit in advance. I am a big supporter of the Earned Income Tax Credit. The problem is 80 percent of people who got this advance didn't comply with one or more of the program's requirements. 不过另一些削减更为艰难，因为相关项目本身的目标是值得肯定的。我们取消了一个为废弃建筑环境清理提供拨款的项目。这是我支持的一项使命，但有其他公私资金来源可以实现它。我们还取消了一项1.2亿美元的项目，该计划允许人们提前领取劳动所得税抵免。我是劳动所得税抵免的坚定支持者。问题在于，领取这种预付款的人中有80%未遵守该项目的一项或多项要求。
So I'm willing to reduce waste in programs I care about, and I'm asking members of Congress to do the same. I'm asking Republicans and Democrats alike to take a fresh look at programs they've supported in the past to see what's working and what's not, and trim back accordingly. 因此，我愿意在我所关注的项目中削减浪费，我也要求国会议员们同样如此。我请求共和党人和民主党人一起，重新审视他们过去所支持的项目，看看哪些行之有效、哪些并非如此，并相应地加以削减。
Like any business, we're also looking for ways to get more bang for our buck, by promoting innovation and cutting red tape. For example, we consolidate 38 separate education programs into 11. And last fall, we launched the "SAVE Awards" to solicit ideas from federal employees about how make government more efficient and more effective. I'm proud to say that a number of these ideas -- like allowing Social Security appointments to be made online -- made it into our budget. 正如任何企业一样，我们也在通过推动创新、削减繁文缛节，寻找让每一分钱花得更值的方法。例如，我们将38个独立的教育项目整合为11个。去年秋天，我们推出了"SAVE奖"，向联邦员工征集如何使政府更高效、更卓有成效的建议。我自豪地说，其中不少建议——例如允许在线预约社会保障服务——已纳入我们的预算。
I also want to note even though the Department of Defense is exempt from the budget freeze, it's not exempt from budget common sense. It's not exempt from looking for savings. We save money by eliminating unnecessary defense programs that do nothing to keep us safe. 我还要指出，尽管国防部免于预算冻结，但并不能免于预算常识。它也不能免于寻求节约。我们通过取消那些对保障我们安全毫无作用的不必要国防项目来节省资金。
One example is the $2.5 billion that we're spending to build C-17 transport aircraft. Four years ago, the Defense Department decided to cease production because it had acquired the number requested -- 180. Yet every year since, Congress had provided unrequested money for more C-17s that the Pentagon doesn't want or need. It's waste, pure and simple. 其中一个例子是我们花费25亿美元建造C-17运输机。四年前，国防部决定停产，因为它已采购了所需数量——180架。然而此后每年，国会都为五角大楼既不想要也不需要的更多C-17拨付未经申请的资金。这就是纯粹的浪费。
And there are other steps we're taking to rein in deficits. I've proposed a fee on big banks to pay back taxpayers for the bailout. We're reforming the way contracts are awarded, to save taxpayers billions of dollars. And while we extend middle-class tax cuts in this budget, we will not continue costly tax cuts for oil companies, investment fund managers, and those making over $250,000 a year. We just can't afford it. 我们还在采取其他措施来遏制赤字。我已提议对大型银行征收费用，以偿还纳税人的救助资金。我们正在改革合同授予方式，以为纳税人节省数十亿美元。同时，尽管我们在预算中延长了中产阶级减税政策，但我们不会继续为石油公司、投资基金经理以及年收入超过25万美元的人提供代价高昂的减税。我们实在负担不起。
Finally, changing spending-as-usual depends on changing politics-as-usual. And that's why I've proposed a bipartisan fiscal commission: a panel of Democrats and Republicans who would hammer out concrete deficit reduction proposals over the medium and long term, but would come up with those answers by a certain deadline. 最后，要改变"照常花钱"的局面，就有赖于改变"照常搞政治"的局面。正因如此，我提议设立一个两党财政委员会：由民主党人和共和党人组成的专门小组，将在中长期内敲定具体的赤字削减方案，并须在规定期限前拿出答案。
I should point out, by the way, that is an idea that had strong bipartisan support, was originally introduced by Senators Gregg on the Republican side and Conrad on the Democratic side; had a lot of Republican cosponsors to the idea. I hope that, despite the fact that it got voted down in the Senate, that both the Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican Leader in the House John Boehner go ahead and fully embrace what has been a bipartisan idea to get our arms around this budget. 顺便说一下，我应当指出，这一想法曾得到强有力的两党支持，最初由共和党参议员格雷格和民主党参议员康拉德共同提出，并获得许多共和党人的联署。我希望，尽管该提案在参议院被否决，参议院共和党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔和众议院共和党领袖约翰·博纳仍能完全拥抱这一两党共识的方案，以共同驾驭我们的预算。
That's also why we're restoring pay-as-you-go: a simple rule that says Congress can't spend a dime without cutting a dime elsewhere. This rule helped lead to the budget surpluses of the 1990s, and it's one of the most important steps we can take to restore fiscal discipline in Washington. 这也正是我们要恢复"量入为出"规则的原因：一项简单规则规定，国会不削减一元就不得新增一元支出。这一规则曾促成了上世纪90年代的预算盈余，也是我们可在华盛顿恢复财政纪律的最重要举措之一。
You can read more about the budget at budget.gov -- very easy to remember -- budget.gov. But the bottom line is this: We simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences; as if waste doesn't matter; as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like Monopoly money; as if we can ignore this challenge for another generation. We can't. 你可以在budget.gov上读到更多关于预算的内容——很好记——budget.gov。但归根结底是这样一个事实：我们绝不能继续挥霍，仿佛赤字不带来后果；仿佛浪费无关紧要；仿佛美国人民辛苦挣来的税金可以当作大富翁游戏里的纸币；仿佛我们可以让下一代人来应对这一挑战。我们不能。
In order to meet this challenge, I welcome any idea, from Democrats and Republicans. What I will not welcome -- what I reject -- is the same old grandstanding when the cameras are on, and the same irresponsible budget policies when the cameras are off. It's time to hold Washington to the same standards families and businesses hold themselves. It's time to save what we can, spend what we must, and live within our means once again. 为应对这一挑战，我欢迎任何来自民主党人和共和党人的建议。我所不愿看到的——我所拒绝的——是镜头前的那套老做派的政治作秀，以及镜头关闭后那套不负责任的预算政策。是时候让华盛顿遵循家庭和企业所奉行的同一标准了。是时候能省则省、该花则花，并重新量入为出了。
Thanks very much. 非常感谢。
