Hello, Newport News! Well, it is good to see all of you here today. 纽波特纽斯，大家好！今天见到各位很高兴。
I want to thank your CEO, Mike Petters, for showing me around. I usually don’t get a chance to hang out with nuclear submarines, especially submarines that my wife has sponsored. So right there, that was worth the trip. 我要感谢贵公司的首席执行官迈克·彼得斯带我参观。我通常没有机会和核潜艇待在一起，尤其是我妻子赞助过的潜艇；这一项就已经值得此行了。
But most importantly, it’s a great chance to see the incredible men and women who, every single day, are helping to keep America safe and are just the bedrock of this country’s manufacturing base. Thank you to all of you. 更重要的是，这是一个见到你们这些非凡男女的好机会。你们每天帮助守护美国，也是国家制造业的基石。谢谢大家。
I want to thank our outstanding Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, who’s here. There he is right there -- the good-looking guy over at the end. I want to thank your Mayor, McKinley Price, who served this nation bravely in the U.S. Army. I want to thank two outstanding Congressmen who care about this facility, care about Virginia and care about the country -- Congressman Bobby Scott is here -- and Congressman Scott Rigell is here as well. 我要感谢在场的杰出海军部长雷·马布斯——他就在那边，尽头那位帅哥。我还要感谢市长麦金利·普赖斯，他曾在美国陆军英勇服役；也感谢关心这座设施、弗吉尼亚州和国家的两位杰出议员：鲍比·斯科特和斯科特·里格尔。
Now, the reason I came here today, in addition to seeing just some incredible stuff -- it’s true, every time I come to these places, I don't know how you all do it. It is just amazing work. But the main reason I'm here is to call attention to the important work that you’ree doing on behalf of the nation’s defense, and to let the American people know that this work, along with hundreds of thousands of jobs, are currently in jeopardy because of politics in Washington. 我今天来这里，除了看到了不起的成果——每次到这种地方，我都不知道你们究竟怎么做到的，工作实在惊人——主要是为了让人们关注你们为国防所做的重要工作，并让美国人民知道：华盛顿的政治正使这项工作和数十万个就业岗位岌岌可危。
In a few days, Congress might allow a series of immediate, painful, arbitrary budget cuts to take place -- known in Washington as the sequester. Now, that's a pretty bad name -- sequester. But the effects are even worse than the name. Instead of cutting out the government spending we don’t need -- wasteful programs that don't work, special interest tax loopholes and tax breaks -- what the sequester does is it uses a meat cleaver approach to gut critical investments in things like education and national security and lifesaving medical research. 几天后，国会可能会让一系列立即、生硬而任意的预算削减生效，在华盛顿这叫“自动减支”。这个名字已经够糟，后果更糟。它不是砍掉无效项目、特殊利益税收漏洞和不必要的减免，而是用大刀阔斧的方式削弱教育、国家安全和救命医学研究等关键投资。
And the impact of this policy won’t be felt overnight, but it will be real. The sequester will weaken America’s economic recovery. It will weaken our military readiness. And it will weaken the basic services that the American people depend on every single day. 这一政策的影响不会一夜显现，却真实存在。自动减支会削弱美国的经济复苏、军事战备，以及人民每天依赖的基本服务。
Already, the uncertainty around these cuts is having an effect. Companies are starting to prepare for layoff notices. Families are preparing to cut back on expenses. And the longer these cuts are in place, the greater the damage. 围绕这些削减的不确定性已经在产生影响。企业开始准备裁员通知，家庭准备压缩开支；削减持续得越久，损害就越大。
So here at Newport News Shipbuilding, you guys have made an enormous investment, because we've said in order to maintain the finest Navy that the world has ever known we've got to make sure that there is an orderly process whereby we are continually upgrading our ships, building new ships, maintaining our ships properly. And these are some big ships. So it’s expensive, and it’s complicated. And you’ve got 5,000 suppliers all across the country, and you've got to have some certainty and some knowledge about how things are going to proceed over the long term for Mike and others to plan properly. 在纽波特纽斯造船厂，大家投入巨大。为维持世界上最优秀的海军，我们必须有序地持续升级、建造和维护舰艇。这些都是大船，昂贵且复杂；全国有五千家供应商，迈克和其他人必须对长期安排有确定预期，才能妥善规划。
So you're rightly concerned. Mike is properly concerned about the impact that these cuts will have on not just this company, but companies and small businesses from all 50 states that supply you with parts and equipment. 因此你们的担忧完全合理：这些削减不仅会冲击本公司，也会冲击来自五十州、为你们供应零件设备的企业和小商户。
Mike was telling me that you guys have already made a billion dollars’ worth of capital investment. You've got half a billion dollars in training costs as you recruit and hire new people. Well, those aren't commitments that you make lightly. You've got to have the capacity to plan and have some certainty in terms of what it is that we're going to be doing. And you know that if Congress can’t get together and plan our nation’s finances for the long term, that over time some of your jobs and businesses could be at risk. 迈克告诉我，你们已经投入十亿美元资本，又在招聘培训上投入五亿美元。这些不是轻率作出的承诺，必须能够规划，并对未来的工作有把握。若国会不能共同规划国家长期财政，你们的一些岗位和企业终将面临风险。
Over at the Norfolk Naval Station, the threat of these cuts has already forced the Navy to cancel the deployment, or delay the repair of certain aircraft carriers. One that’s currently being built might not get finished. Another carrier might not get started at all. And that hurts your bottom line. That hurts this community. 在诺福克海军基地，这种威胁已迫使海军取消部署或推迟部分航母维修；一艘在建航母可能无法完工，另一艘可能根本无法开建。这会伤害你们的利润和社区。
Because of these automatic cuts, about 90,000 Virginians who work for the Department of Defense would be forced to take unpaid leave from their jobs. So that’s money out of their pockets, money out of their paychecks. And then that means there’s going to be a ripple effect on thousands of other jobs and businesses and services throughout the Commonwealth, because if they don’t have money in their pockets or less money in their pockets, that means they're less able to afford to buy goods and services from other businesses. So it's not just restricted to the defense industry. 自动削减还会迫使约九万名国防部弗吉尼亚雇员无薪休假，收入减少会波及全州成千上万的工作、企业和服务；这绝不只限于国防业。
All told, the sequester could cost tens of thousands of jobs right here in Virginia. But it doesn’t just stop there. If the sequester goes into effect, more than 2,000 college students would lose their financial aid. Early education like Head Start and Early Start would be eliminated for nearly 1,000 children, and around 18,000 fewer Virginians would get the skills and training they need to find a job. 总计而言，自动减支可能使弗吉尼亚损失数万个工作岗位，而且影响不止于此。若其生效，逾两千名大学生会失去助学金，近一千名儿童会失去“开端计划”等早教服务，约一万八千名弗吉尼亚人会少获得求职所需的技能培训。
Across the country, these cuts will force federal prosecutors to close cases and potentially let criminals go. Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks, and that could cause delays at airports across the country. Tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find child care for their kids. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose access to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings, including more than 3,500 children right here in Virginia. 全国范围内，削减会迫使联邦检察官结案，甚至让罪犯逍遥法外；空管和机场安保缩减可能导致机场延误。数万父母得仓促寻找托育，数十万美国人会失去初级和预防保健，如流感疫苗与癌症筛查，其中包括弗吉尼亚三千五百多名儿童。
So these cuts are wrong. They’ree not smart. They’ree not fair. They’ree a self-inflicted wound that doesn’t have to happen. 所以这些削减是错误的：不明智、不公平，是完全可以避免的自我伤害。
Now, the reason that we're even thinking about the sequester is because people are rightly concerned about the deficit and the debt. But there is a sensible way of doing things and there is a dumb way of doing things. I mean, think about your own family. Let's say that suddenly you've got a little less money coming in. Are you going to say, well, we'll cut out college tuition for the kid, we'll stop feeding the little guy over here, we won't pay our car note even though that means we can't get to work -- that’s not what you do, right? 人们之所以讨论自动减支，是因为确实担心赤字和债务。但做事有理智的方式，也有愚蠢的方式。想想一个家庭突然少了收入：你会砍掉孩子学费、不给小孩吃饭、即使无法上班也不还车贷吗？当然不会。
You step back and you say, what is it that's important -- our child's education, making sure they're healthy, making sure we can get to the job, keeping our house repaired? And then you say, here are the things that aren't so important and you cut those out. You prioritize, and you make smart decisions. Well, we should be doing the same thing. 你会退一步思考什么最重要：孩子教育、健康、上班交通、房屋修缮；再削减不那么重要的项目。你会排定优先次序、作出明智决定。政府也应如此。
Now, I’ve laid out a plan that details how we can pay down our deficit in a way that’s balanced and responsible. We have the plan right on a website, the White House website. Everybody can go see it. It details exactly how we can cut programs that don't work, how we can raise money by closing loopholes that are only serving a few, as opposed to the average American. 我已提出一项兼顾平衡和责任的减赤方案，白宫网站上人人都能查看。它具体说明如何削减无效项目，以及如何关闭只让少数人而非普通美国人受益的漏洞来增加收入。
We detailed $930 billion in sensible spending cuts that we’ree willing to make and $580 billion in wasteful tax loopholes and deductions that we’ree willing to eliminate through tax reform. 我们列出了愿意实行的九千三百亿美元合理支出削减，也列出愿意通过税制改革取消的五千八百亿美元浪费性税收漏洞和扣除项。
And what I've said is if the Republicans in Congress don’t like every detail of my proposal, which I don't expect them to, I’ve told them my door is open. I am more than willing to negotiate. I want to compromise. There's no reason why we can't come together and find a sensible way to reduce the deficit over the long term without affecting vital services, without hurting families, without impacting outstanding facilities like this one and our national defense. There's a way of doing this. 我说过，如果国会共和党人不喜欢我方案的每项细节——我也不期待他们都喜欢——我的门始终敞开。我非常愿意谈判、愿意妥协。我们完全可以共同找到长期减赤的理智办法，不损害关键服务、家庭、这样的优秀设施和国防；办法是有的。
And the fact is there are leaders in both parties throughout this country who want to do the same. I've got to give Scott Rigell credit. He is one of your Republican congressmen who’s with us here today -- and that's not always healthy for a Republican, being with me. 事实上，两党都有领导人希望这样做。我必须肯定斯科特·里格尔：他是今天在场的共和党议员，和我站在一起对共和党人未必总是“健康”。
But the reason he’s doing it is because he knows it's important to you. And he’s asked his colleagues in the House to consider closing tax loopholes instead of letting these automatic cuts go through. He’s concerned about the deficit, and he’s more than prepared to make some really tough cuts, but he wants to do it in a smart way. 但他这样做，是因为他知道这对你们重要。他请众议院同僚考虑堵住税收漏洞，而不是放任自动削减；他关心赤字，准备作艰难削减，但希望以明智方式进行。
Bobby Scott -- same thing. Some of the cuts we've proposed, Bobby might not think are perfect, but he knows that we've got to make some tough decisions. He just wants to make sure that you aren't the ones who are adversely impacted and that we're sharing the sacrifice in bringing down our deficit; we're not just dumping it on a few people and we're not doing it in a dumb way. 鲍比·斯科特也是如此。对我们提出的一些削减，他未必认为完美，但他知道必须作艰难决定。他只希望不让你们承受不利影响，让所有人共同分担减赤代价，而不是把负担丢给少数人，更不能愚蠢行事。
Senators like John McCain have made similar statements to what Scott said. Your Republican Governor along with other governors around the country have said they want Congress to stop the sequester, to stop these cuts. 约翰·麦凯恩等参议员也发表过与斯科特类似的意见。你们的共和党州长和全国其他州长都说，希望国会停止自动减支。
But I just have to be honest with you. There are too many Republicans in Congress right now who refuse to compromise even an inch when it comes to closing tax loopholes and special interest tax breaks. And that's what's holding things up right now. 但我必须坦率：目前国会中有太多共和党人拒绝在关闭税收漏洞和特殊利益减税上作出丝毫妥协，这正是事情停滞的原因。
Keep in mind, nobody is asking them to raise income tax rates. All we’ree asking is to consider closing tax loopholes and deductions that the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, said he was willing to do just a few months ago. He said there were a bunch of loopholes and deductions you could close. He said you could raise $800 billion, a trillion dollars by closing loopholes. 请记住，没人要求他们提高所得税率。我们只是请他们考虑关闭众议院议长约翰·博纳几个月前还说愿意关闭的漏洞和扣除项。他说可以通过堵漏增加八千亿美元甚至一万亿美元收入。
Well, we're not even asking for that much. All we're asking is that they close loopholes for the well-off and the well-connected -- for hedge fund managers, or oil companies, or corporate jet owners who are all doing very well and don’t need these tax loopholes -- so we can avoid laying off workers, or kicking kids off Head Start, or reducing financial aid for college students. 而我们连这么多都没要。我们只要求关闭给富有且关系深厚者的漏洞——对冲基金经理、石油公司、企业喷气机所有者都经营得很好，并不需要这些优惠——这样就能避免裁掉工人、把孩子赶出“开端计划”，或削减大学助学金。
I don’t think that’s too much to ask. I do not think that is partisan. The majority of the American people agree with me. The majority of Newport News agrees with me. We need to get this done. 我不认为这要求过分，也不认为这属于党派之争。多数美国人同意我，多数纽波特纽斯居民也同意。我们必须把它办成。
But the choice is up to Congress. Only Congress has the power to pass a law that stops these damaging cuts and replaces them with smart savings and tax reform. And the second I get that bill on my desk, I will sign it into law. But I've got to get Congress to pass it. 但选择权在国会手中。只有国会能通过法律，停止有害削减，以明智节支和税改取代它；只要法案送到我桌上，我立刻签署。但首先国会得通过它。
None of us will get 100 percent of what we want. Democrats, they've got to make some tough choices too. Democrats like me, we've said we're prepared to make some tough cuts and reforms, including to programs like Medicare. But if we're willing to compromise, then Republicans in the House have to compromise as well. That’s what democracy is about. That’s what this country needs right now. 没有人会得到百分之百想要的结果。民主党也必须作艰难选择；像我这样的民主党人已说好准备对包括医保在内的项目作艰难削减和改革。若我们愿意妥协，众议院共和党人也必须妥协。这就是民主，也是国家现在所需要的。
So let me just make one last point, by the way, for those of you who are following this. Now, lately, some people have been saying, well, maybe we'll just give the President some flexibility. He could make the cuts the way he wants and that way it won't be as damaging. The problem is when you're cutting $85 billion in seven months, which represents over a 10-percent cut in the defense budget in seven months, there's no smart way to do that. 最后提醒关注此事的人：最近有人说，不如给总统一些灵活性，让他自行决定怎么砍，损害就会小些。但在七个月内削减八百五十亿美元、相当于七个月内国防预算削减逾一成时，没有聪明的削法，根本没有。
There's no smart way to do that. You don't want to have to choose between, let's see, do I close funding for the disabled kid, or the poor kid? Do I close this Navy shipyard or some other one? When you're doing things in a way that's not smart, you can't gloss over the pain and the impact it's going to have on the economy. 你不该在残障儿童和贫困儿童之间选择，也不该在关闭这家海军造船厂还是另一家之间选择。愚蠢地做事，无法掩饰给经济带来的痛苦和冲击。
And the broader point is, Virginia, we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. We can’t just cut our way to prosperity. We can't ask seniors and working families like yours to shoulder the entire burden of deficit reduction while asking nothing more from the wealthiest and the most powerful. 更重要的是，弗吉尼亚，我们不能只靠削减走向繁荣。不能要求老年人和像你们这样的工薪家庭承担全部减赤负担，却不要求最富有、最有权势的人多承担一点。
We're not going to grow the middle class just by shifting the cost of health care or college onto families that are already struggling, or forcing communities to lay off more teachers or cops or firefighters or shipbuilders, and then folks who are doing really well don’t have to do anything more. That’s not fair, and it's not good for the economy. 我们不能靠把医疗或大学费用转给已经艰难的家庭，或逼社区再裁教师、警察、消防员、造船工，而让过得很好的人什么也不做，来壮大中产阶级。这不公平，也不利于经济。
And the other thing we've got to do is to stop having these crises manufactured every month. It seems like -- I know you guys must get tired of it. Didn’t we just solve this thing? Now we've got another thing coming up? I mean, think about if Mike Petters ran his business this way -- once every month or two there would be some crisis, and you wouldn’t be sure whether or not you were working or not. 我们还得停止每月人为制造危机。我知道你们一定厌倦了：不是刚解决吗，怎么又来一件？
Even if it got solved eventually or ultimately, it would be pretty discouraging on people. You would be less productive. Ships wouldn’t get built as fast. You would waste money because you don’t know exactly what to expect. Folks aren't sure, am I showing up to work today, or not? 若迈克·彼得斯这样经营企业，每隔一两个月就有危机，你们不知道是否还有工作；即使最终解决，也会令人沮丧、降低生产率，船造得更慢，还会因无法预期而浪费资金，大家甚至不知道当天要不要上班。
If it's not a good way to run a business, it's sure not a good way to run a country. 如果这不是经营企业的好办法，就更不是治理国家的好办法。
Now, all of you, the American people, you’ve worked too hard for too long rebuilding and digging our way out of the financial crisis back in 2007 and 2008 just to see Congress cause another one. The greatest nation on Earth can't keep on conducting its business drifting from one crisis to the next. 你们美国人民长期努力，才从2007、2008年的金融危机中重建和走出来，不能眼看国会再制造一场危机。地球上最伟大的国家不能继续在一场又一场危机之间漂流。
We've got to have a plan. We've got to invest in our common future. Our true north is a growing economy that creates good middle-class jobs; a country that provides its people with the skills they need to get those jobs and make sure that you're getting paid a decent wage for working hard so you can support your families. That’s what we should be focused on right now. Not weakening the economy. Not laying people off. 我们必须有计划，必须投资共同未来。我们的方向应是一种能创造优质中产阶级工作的增长型经济；一个让人民获得这些工作所需技能、让辛勤劳动者得到体面薪酬并养家糊口的国家。这才是现在该关注的，而不是削弱经济、裁掉人们。
That’s what we should be talking about in Washington. And if you agree with me, I need you to make sure your voices are heard. Let your leaders know what you expect of them. Let them know what you believe. Let them know that what this country was built on was a sense of obligation to not just each other but to future generations; that we've got to shoulder those obligations as one nation, and as one people. 这才是华盛顿应该谈的事。若你同意我，我需要你确保自己的声音被听见：告诉领导人你们期待什么、相信什么；告诉他们，这个国家建立在对彼此、也对后代负责的意识上，我们必须作为一个国家、一个人民共同承担这些义务。
I was in a conversation with some of the governors from across the country yesterday and I told them, I said, I've run my last election. Michelle is very happy about that. I'm not interested in spin; I'm not interested in playing a blame game. At this point, all I'm interested in is just solving problems. 昨天我和全国一些州长交谈时说，我已参加完最后一次选举，米歇尔对此很高兴。我不关心粉饰，也不关心互相指责；我只关心解决问题。
All I'm interested in is making sure that when you get up early in the morning, and get to this ship at 5:30 in the morning, that you know if you do a good job and if you work hard and if you're making sure that all the parts to this incredible ship that you're building are where they need to be -- if you're doing what you do, then you can go home feeling satisfied, I did my job, I did my part, I can support my family, I can take pride in what I've done for this country. 我只希望你们清晨五点半到船厂时，知道只要做好工作、努力奋斗、确保所造这艘非凡舰船的每个部件各就各位，就能心满意足地回家，说：我完成了工作、尽了本分，能养家，也能为自己为国家所做的一切感到自豪。
That’s all I want. I want us to be able to look back five years from now, 10 years from now, and say we took care of our business and we put an end to some of these games that maybe, I guess, are entertaining for some but are hurting too many people. 这就是我想要的。我希望五年、十年后回望时，我们能说我们办好了自己的事，结束了一些或许对少数人有娱乐性、却伤害太多人的政治游戏。
But in order for us to make that happen I'm going to need you. The one thing about being President is, after four years you get pretty humble. You’d think maybe you wouldn't, but actually you become more humble. You realize what you don't know. You realize all the mistakes you’ve made. But you also realize you can't do things by yourself. 但要做到这一点，我需要你们。做总统四年后会变得谦卑——你本以为不会，实际上会更谦卑。你会意识到自己的无知和犯过的错误，也会明白无法独自完成事情。
That's not how our system works. You’ve got to have the help and the goodwill of Congress, and what that means is you’ve got to make sure that constituents of members of Congress are putting some pressure on them, making sure they’ree doing the right thing, putting an end to some of these political games. 我们的制度不是这样运作的；需要国会的帮助和善意，这意味着你们必须让国会议员的选民向他们施压，确保他们做正确的事，结束这些政治游戏。
So I need you, Virginia, to keep up the pressure. I need you to keep up the effort. I need you to keep up the fight. If you do, Congress will listen. If you stand up and speak out, Congress will listen. And together, we will unleash our true potential, and we'll remind the world just why it is the United States builds the greatest ships on Earth and is the greatest nation on Earth. 所以，弗吉尼亚，我需要你们继续施压、继续努力、继续奋斗。你们这样做，国会就会听；你们站出来发声，国会就会听。我们将共同释放真正潜力，让世界再次看到，为何美国建造地球上最伟大的舰船，也是地球上最伟大的国家。
Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. 谢谢。愿上帝保佑你们，愿上帝保佑美利坚合众国。