At this moment, our nation is facing a host of big and difficult challenges. And more than anything else, what’s required to meet those challenges right now is a sense of cooperation and common purpose among our leaders.? What we need is a willingness in Washington to put the public’s interests first – a willingness to score fewer political points so that we can start solving more problem.

此刻，我們國家正面臨諸多重大而困難的挑戰(zhàn)。而且尤為重要的是，面對這些挑戰(zhàn)我們需要的是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層的合作協(xié)調(diào)和目標(biāo)一致。我們需要的是華盛頓將公眾利益放在第一位的意愿—不為搶得政治籌碼而著手解決實際問題的意愿。

That’s why I was disappointed this week to see a dreary and familiar politics get in the way of our ability to move forward on a series of critical issues that have a direct impact on people’s lives.

這也是為什么本周我如此失望的原因：無聊的政治手段故技重施，阻礙我們在一系列直接關(guān)系人民生活的重大問題上取得進展。

In the United States Senate, we have legislation that would boost our economic recovery and help Americans who’ve been affected by the worst recession in generations.? We’ve certainly made progress since we were losing 750,000 jobs per month around the time I took office.? Our economy is growing again, and we’ve added jobs for five straight months.?? But there are still millions of Americans out of work, and millions more who are struggling to pay the bills.? The legislation in the Senate right now would extend unemployment benefits to those workers who lost their job through no fault of their own.? It would provide relief to struggling states that would help save the jobs of thousands of teachers and cops and firefighters.? There are also provisions in this legislation that would extend the tax credit for first-time homebuyers, as well as tax cuts to keep research and development jobs here in the United States.

在美利堅合眾國參議院，我們?yōu)檎衽d經(jīng)濟和幫助受幾代人以來最嚴重衰退影響的美國人民渡過難關(guān)制定了法案。自我執(zhí)政之初每月有75萬人失業(yè)到現(xiàn)在，我們?nèi)〉昧撕艽蟮倪M步。我們的經(jīng)濟又開始增長，就業(yè)也連續(xù)五個月呈現(xiàn)增長。但依然有數(shù)百萬美國人處在失業(yè)中，無數(shù)人還在為日常開銷而掙扎。該法案現(xiàn)在將為失業(yè)人員提供的救濟金擴展到非個人原因而失業(yè)的工人。它通過保留數(shù)千教師、警察以及消防員的工作崗位為就業(yè)壓力大的州減輕壓力。同時該法案也為首次買房者提供稅收抵免以及為把研發(fā)崗位留在美國而提供減稅政策。

Unfortunately, the Republican leadership in the Senate won’t even allow this legislation to come up for a vote.? And if this obstruction continues, unemployed Americans will see their benefits stop.? Teachers and firefighters will lose their jobs.? Families will pay more for their first home.

不幸的是，參議院共和黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層甚至不給該法案一個投票表決的機會。如果這種情況繼續(xù)下去，美國的失業(yè)者將失去他們的福利。教師和消防員們將失去他們的工作。無數(shù)家庭將為首套住房支付更多的錢。

All we ask for is a simple up or down vote.? That’s what the American people deserve.? Just like they deserve an up or down vote on legislation that would hold oil companies accountable for the disasters they cause – a vote that is also being blocked by the Republican leadership in the Senate.? Right now, the law places a $75 million cap on the amount oil companies must pay to families and small businesses who suffer economic losses as a result of a spill like the one we’re witnessing in the Gulf Coast.? We should remove that cap.? But the Republican leadership won’t even allow a debate or a vote.

我們需要的僅僅是一個同意或不同意的表決。這是美國人民應(yīng)該得到的。如同就石油公司為他們造成的災(zāi)難負責(zé)的法案進行投票一樣是他們應(yīng)得的—這項投票現(xiàn)在也被參議院的共和黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層所阻撓?，F(xiàn)在，這項法律為石油公司賠付墨西哥海灣沿岸家庭和小企業(yè)在這場我們目睹的石油泄漏中遭受的經(jīng)濟損失設(shè)定了7500萬美元的上限。我們應(yīng)該取消這個上限。但共和黨的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層甚至不讓就此進行辯論或者投票。

And as we speak today, 136 men and women who I’ve nominated for key positions in the federal government are awaiting a vote on the floor of the Senate.? All are highly qualified.? Very few are controversial.? The vast majority already have support from both parties.? But most of them are seeing their nominations intentionally delayed by Republican leaders, or even blocked altogether.? They cannot get a vote.? What this means is that, at a moment when our country is facing so many challenges – a time when we need all hands on deck – we cannot get the qualified people we need to start the jobs they were appointed to do.

如我今天所說，我為聯(lián)邦政府的關(guān)鍵職位提名的136人正在參議院等待投票表決。他們都是非常合適的人選。幾乎沒有有爭議的人選。絕大多數(shù)都得到了兩黨的支持。但他們當(dāng)中的大多數(shù)正目睹共和黨領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層故意推延甚至阻止他們的任命。他們不能獲得投票通過，就意味著在我們國家面臨如此眾多挑戰(zhàn)的時候——一個我們需要準(zhǔn)備大量人手的時候——我們不能得到合適的人選來開展委派給他們的工作。

Look, the nature of our democracy is that we’ll always have disagreements and debates -- even heated ones.? That’s healthy and it’s important.? But let’s argue over genuine differences – over ideas and policies.? And let’s go into those debates with an open mind – a willingness to find common ground and a conviction that, in the end, one way or another, we will have a vote to decide them.? Next week, I’ll be meeting with a bipartisan group of Senators to discuss how we can transition away from our dependence on fossil fuels and embrace a clean energy future.? I don’t expect that we’ll agree on a solution right away.? In fact, I know that there will be plenty of disagreement and different ideas.? But at least it shows that Republicans and Democrats can still sit down together in an attempt to tackle the big challenges facing our nation.

看，我們民主的天性就是我們總是有大量的爭執(zhí)和辯論，甚至是非常激烈的。這是健康的也是重要的。但我們應(yīng)該就真正的異見而辯論——例如不同的想法和政策。讓我們以一種開放的頭腦進入辯論—一種為尋求共同立場的意愿，以及一種信念，最后，無論如何，我們都要進行投票來決定。下周，我將會見參議院的兩黨聯(lián)合工作組來討論我們?nèi)绾螐默F(xiàn)在依賴石化燃料過渡到未來的清潔能源。我不寄希望能馬上就一個解決方案達成共識。實際上，我知道肯定會有大量的爭執(zhí)和不同的想法。但這至少表明共和黨人和民主黨人能坐下來為解決我們國家面臨的挑戰(zhàn)而一起進行嘗試。

I know the political season is upon us in Washington.? But gridlock as a political strategy is destructive to the country.? Whether we are Democrats or Republicans, we’ve got an obligation that goes beyond caring about the next election.? We have an obligation to care for the next generation.? So I hope that when Congress returns next week, they do so with a greater spirit of compromise and cooperation.? America will be watching.

我知道華盛頓馬上要迎來政治熱季（即中期選舉）。但將這種僵持作為一種政治策略是對國家的傷害。無論是民主黨還是共和黨，我們都有超越關(guān)注接下來的選舉的責(zé)任。我們都有關(guān)心下一代的責(zé)任。所以，我希望國會下周的工作能以更加相互妥協(xié)和合作的精神來進行。美國拭目以待。


Notes:
a host of: 大量，許多，一大群
例如：
A host of friends meet him at the railroad station.
一大群朋友在火車站迎接他。

take office: 就職；上任。
例如：
He took office at a difficult time.
他是在困難時刻就職的。

all hands on deck: An order, on board ship, for all seamen of all watches to muster on deck immediately; normally shortened to "All hands"，全體船員集合。這里指，全員上陣。

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