Thank you, everybody, for being here. 感谢大家出席。
As we all know, our country has endured the deepest recession we've faced in generations. And much of the turmoil was caused by irresponsibility on the part of banks and financial institutions. Firms took reckless risks in pursuit of short-term profits and soaring bonuses, triggering a financial crisis that nearly pulled the economy into a second Great Depression. 众所周知，我国经历了数代人以来最严重的衰退。而这场动荡很大程度上是由银行和金融机构的不负责任行为所引发的。这些企业为了追求短期利润和高额奖金而铤而走险，引发了一场几乎把经济拖入第二次大萧条的金融危机。
It was little more than a year ago that we stood on that precipice. Several of the world's largest financial institutions had already failed. Credit markets froze and banks refused to lend. Trillions of dollars in household savings evaporated as stocks, pensions, and home values plummeted. And we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs each month. It was at this time that many large financial firms -- those left standing -- teetered on the brink of collapse, overwhelmed by the consequences of their irresponsible decisions. 就在一年多前，我们还站在那道悬崖边缘。当时若干全球最大的金融机构已经倒闭。信贷市场冻结，银行拒绝放贷。随着股票、养老金和房价暴跌，数以万亿计的家庭储蓄化为乌有。我们每月流失数十万个就业岗位。正是在那时，许多尚存的大型金融公司在自身不负责任决策的后果的重压下摇摇欲坠，濒临崩溃。
Now, even though these firms were largely facing a crisis of their own making, their failure could have led to an even greater calamity for the country. So the Federal Reserve and other agencies took emergency measures to prevent that outcome. And the previous Administration started a program -- the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP -- to provide these financial institutions with funds to survive the turmoil that they had helped unleash. It was a distasteful but necessary thing to do. 尽管这些公司面临的危机很大程度上是它们自己造成的，但它们的倒闭本可能给国家带来更大的灾难。因此，美联储和其他机构采取了紧急措施以防止那种结果。上一届政府启动了一项计划——即"问题资产救助计划"，简称TARP——向这些金融机构提供资金，帮助它们在自身助长的动荡中存活下来。这是一件令人厌恶却又不得不做的事。
Now, we've worked over the last year to manage this program effectively, to hold firms accountable, and to recoup as much tax money as possible. Many originally feared that most of the 700 billion dollars in TARP money would be lost. But because of the management of this program by Secretary Geithner and my economic team, we've now recovered the majority of the funds provided to banks. 过去一年里，我们致力于有效管理这项计划，追究企业责任，并尽可能多地收回税款。许多人原本担心TARP中7000亿美元的大部分都会损失掉。但由于盖特纳部长和我的经济团队对这项计划的管理，我们现在已经收回了提供给银行的绝大部分资金。
As far as I'm concerned, however, that's not good enough. My commitment is to the taxpayer. My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed. And my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people -- folks who have not been made whole, and who continue to face real hardship in this recession. 然而，就我而言，这还远远不够。我的承诺是对纳税人负责。我的承诺是收回美国人民应得的每一分钱。当我看到一些公司——它们的存续全靠美国人民的援助——报告巨额利润和骇人听闻的奖金时，我实现这一目标的决心只会更加坚定；而那些至今仍未得到补偿、在这场衰退中继续承受真正苦难的普通百姓，更让我坚定了这一决心。
We want our money back. And we're going to get it. 我们要拿回我们的钱。而且我们一定会拿回来。
And that's why I'm proposing a "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee" to be imposed on major financial firms until the American people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street. If these companies are in good enough shape to afford massive bonuses, they are surely in good enough shape to afford paying back every penny to taxpayers. 正因如此，我提议设立一项"金融危机责任费"，对大型金融公司征收，直到美国人民为他们向华尔街提供的非常规援助获得全额补偿。如果这些公司状况好到足以支付巨额奖金，那它们必然也状况良好到足以把每一分钱都偿还给纳税人。
Now, our estimate is that the TARP program will end up costing taxpayers around 117 billion dollars -- obviously a lot less than the 700 billion that people had feared, but still a lot of money. The fee will be in place for 10 years, or as long as it takes to raise the full amount necessary to cover all taxpayer losses. This will not be a cost borne by community banks or small financial firms. 据我们估算，TARP计划最终将给纳税人造成约1170亿美元的损失——显然比人们当初担心的7000亿美元少得多，但仍然是一大笔钱。这项费用将征收10年，或在筹集到覆盖所有纳税人损失所需全额之前持续征收。这笔成本不会由社区银行或小型金融公司承担。
Only the largest firms with more than 50 billion dollars in assets will be affected. And the size of the fee each bank owes will be based on its size and exposure to debt, so that we are recovering tax dollars while promoting reform of the banking practices that contributed to this crisis. 只有资产超过500亿美元的最大型公司才会受到影响。每家银行应缴费用的规模将根据其规模和债务风险敞口确定，以便我们在收回税款的同时，推动改革那些导致这场危机的银行业做法。
Now, the fact is these financial institutions are essential to our economy. They provide capital and credit to families purchasing homes, students attending college, businesses seeking to start up or expand. And that's why the rescue program was as necessary as it was unfortunate. And that is why, through this fee and broader reforms that we seek, our goal is not to punish Wall Street firms, but rather to prevent the abuse and excess that nearly caused the collapse of many of these firms and the financial system itself. 事实上，这些金融机构对我国经济至关重要。它们为购房家庭、上大学的学生、寻求创办或扩张的企业提供资本和信贷。这也正是为何这项救助计划虽然令人遗憾却同样必要。正因如此，通过这项费用和我们寻求的更广泛改革，我们的目标不是惩罚华尔街公司，而是防止那些几乎导致许多此类公司及金融体系本身崩溃的滥用与过度行为。
We cannot go back to "business as usual." And when we see reports of firms once again engaging in risky bets to reap quick rewards, when we see a return to compensation practices that seem not to reflect what the country has been through, all that looks like business as usual to me. The financial industry has even launched a massive lobbying campaign, locking arms with the opposition Party, to stand in the way of reforms to prevent another crisis. That, too, unfortunately, is business as usual. 我们不能回到"一切照旧"的状态。当我们看到有关公司再次进行高风险押注以谋取快速回报的报道，当我们看到薪酬做法似乎并未反映这个国家所经历的一切，这一切在我看来都是"一切照旧"。金融业甚至发起了一场大规模游说活动，与反对党联手，阻挠旨在防止另一场危机的改革。不幸的是，那同样也是"一切照旧"。
And we're already hearing a hue and cry from Wall Street suggesting that this proposed fee is not only unwelcome but unfair -- that by some twisted logic it is more appropriate for the American people to bear the costs of the bailout, rather than the industry that benefited from it, even though these executives are out there giving themselves huge bonuses. 我们已经听到华尔街发出一片叫嚷，声称这项拟议的费用不仅不受欢迎而且有失公允——按某种扭曲的逻辑，他们认为由美国人民来承担救助成本比由从中获益的行业来承担更合适，尽管这些高管们还在给自己发放巨额奖金。
What I'd say to these executives is this: Instead of sending a phalanx of lobbyists to fight this proposal, or employing an army of lawyers and accountants to help evade the fee, I suggest you might want to consider simply meeting your responsibilities. And I'd urge you to cover the costs of the rescue not by sticking it to your shareholders or your customers or fellow citizens with the bill, but by rolling back bonuses for top earners and executives. 我想对这些高管说的是：与其派出一大批说客来反对这项提案，或雇佣一大批律师和会计师来帮助逃避这项费用，我建议你们不妨考虑一下，干脆就履行你们的责任。我敦促你们承担救助成本的方式，不是把账单转嫁给你们的股东、客户或同胞，而是削减高层收入者和管理人员的奖金。
And more broadly, I am continuing to call on these firms to put greater effort into helping families stay in their homes, to provide small businesses with needed loans, and to embrace -- rather than fight -- serious financial reform. 更广泛地说，我继续呼吁这些公司加大力度，帮助家庭保住他们的住房，为小企业提供所需的贷款，并拥抱——而非抵制——严肃的金融改革。
Ultimately, it is by taking responsibility -- on Wall Street, here in Washington, all the way to Main Street -- that we're going to move past this period of turmoil. That's how we're going to avoid the cycles of boom and bust that have caused so much havoc. That's how we're going to promote vibrant markets that reward innovation and entrepreneurship and hard work. That's how we're going to create sustained growth without the looming threat of another costly crisis. That's not only in the best interests of the economy as a whole; it's actually in the interest of these large banks. 归根结底，只有通过承担责任——在华尔街、在华盛顿这里、一直到主街——我们才能走出这段动荡时期。这样我们才能避免造成如此多破坏的繁荣与萧条的循环。这样我们才能促进充满活力的市场，奖励创新、创业精神和辛勤工作。这样我们才能创造持续增长，而不必面临另一场代价高昂的危机的隐忧。这不仅符合整体经济的最佳利益；实际上也符合这些大银行自身的利益。
So, I'm going to be working closely with Congress on this proposal. 因此，我将就这项提案与国会密切合作。
And on behalf of the American people, I look forward to signing it into law. 我代表美国人民，期待着将其签署为法律。
Thank you very much. 非常感谢。