奥巴马2023国情咨文
当地时间1月28日晚上9点（北京时间29日上午10点），美国总统奥巴马在首都华盛顿的国会发表年度国情咨文演讲。
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, my fellow Americans:
议长先生，副总统先生，国会议员们，美国同胞们：
Today in America, a teacher spent extra time with a student who needed it, and did her part to lift America's graduation rate to its highest level in more than three decades.
今天，在美国教师会花费额外时间帮助有需要的学生，并为将美国学生的毕业率提高到30多年来的最高水平尽职尽责。
An entrepreneur flipped on the lights in her tech startup, and did her part to add to the more than 8 million new jobs our businesses have created over the past four years.
企业家在其技术创业公司夜以继日，为过去4年来增加800万新的就业岗位尽职尽责。
An autoworker fine-tuned some of the best, most fuel-efficient cars in the world, and did his part to help America wean itself off foreign oil.
汽车工人在改进世界上最好最节油的汽车，为帮助美国减少对外国石油的依赖尽职尽责。
A farmer prepared for the spring after the strongest five-year stretch of farm exports in our history. A rural doctor gave a young child the first prescription to treat asthma that his mother could afford. A man took the bus home from the graveyard shift, bone-tired but dreaming big dreams for his son. And in tight-knit communities across America, fathers and mothers will tuck in their kids, put an arm around their spouse, remember fallen comrades, and give thanks for being home from a war that, after twelve long years, is finally coming to an end.
农民在我国历史上5年来最强劲的农业出口后准备春耕。农村医生为幼儿开出他妈妈承担得起的药方，治疗哮喘。男人下班回家虽精疲力竭，但却怀着对儿子更大的希望。在美国各地的社区，父母为孩子盖好被子，与自己的伴侣互相拥抱。人们缅怀逝去的同事，感谢那场12年的战争终于结束，终于平安回到家中。
Tonight, this chamber speaks with one voice to the people we represent: It is you, our citizens, who make the state of our union strong.
今晚，这个大厅用一个声音对我们代表的人民说，正是你们——我们的公民——创造了我们强大的联邦。
Here are the results of your efforts: The lowest unemployment rate in over five years. A rebounding housing market. A manufacturing sector that's adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s. More oil produced at home than we buy from the rest of the world - the first time that's happened in nearly 20 years. Our deficits - cut by more than half. And for the first time in over a decade, business leaders around the world have declared that China is no longer the world's No. 1 place to invest; America is.
这是你们奋斗的结果：失业率5年来最低、房地产市场反弹、制造业的就业岗位自上世纪90年代以来首次增加、近20年来国产石油产量首次超过进口。我们的赤字削减一半还多。10年来，世界商界领袖第一次宣布世界首选投资地点是美国而非中国。
That's why I believe this can be a breakthrough year for America. After five years of grit and determined effort, the United States is better-positioned for the 21st century than any other nation on Earth.
这就是为何我相信今年将是美国突破之年。在坚强拼搏5年后，美国比地球上任何其他国家都为21世纪准备得更好。
The question for everyone in this chamber, running through every decision we make this year, is whether we are going to help or hinder this progress. For several years now, this town has been consumed by a rancorous argument over the proper size of the federal government. It's an important debate - one that dates back to our very founding. But when that debate prevents us from carrying out even the most basic functions of our democracy - when our differences shut down government or threaten the full faith and credit of the United States - then we are not doing right by the American people.
留给这个大厅里所有人的问题是，我们今年做出的每个决定是有利于还是有碍于这种进步。多年来，这座城市忙于争执联邦政府的规模。这是可以追溯到我们建国时期的重要的辩论。但当辩论阻止我们发挥民主的最基本功能、当我们的分歧迫使政府关门、威胁美国的信仰和声誉时，我们做的并不正确。
As president, I'm committed to making Washington work better, and rebuilding the trust of the people who sent us here. I believe most of you are, too. Last month, thanks to the work of Democrats and Republicans, this Congress finally produced a budget that undoes some of last year's severe cuts to priorities like education. Nobody got everything they wanted, and we can still do more to invest in this country's future while bringing down our deficit in a balanced way. But the budget compromise should leave us freer to focus on creating new jobs, not creating new crises.
作为总统，我致力于让华盛顿工作得更好，重建将我们送到这里的人民的信心。我相信你们大多数人也是如此。上月，由于民主党人和共和党人的努力，这个国会终于通过预算，一举扭转削减教育等优先项目资金的态势。没有人能够得到他想要的一切，但我们依然能够为投资国家未来做得更多，同时以平稳的方式减少我们的赤字。不过，预算妥协应当让我们放手增加新的就业，而非增加新的危机。
In the coming months, let's see where else we can make progress together. Let's make this a year of action. That's what most Americans want - for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations. And what I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all - the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead.
在未来的几个月，让我们看看在哪些地方我们可以共同进步。让今年成为行动之年。这是大多数美国人想要的，身处这个会议厅里的每一个人，都关注他们的生活，他们的希望，他们的愿望。而我相信，不分种族，地域和党派，不论老少贫富，将这个国家的人民团结在一起的就是一条简单深刻的信念：只要你努力工作，勇于承担责任，你就能够出人头地。
Let's face it: that belief has suffered some serious blows. Over more than three decades, even before the Great Recession hit, massive shifts in technology and global competition had eliminated a lot of good, middle-class jobs, and weakened the economic foundations that families depend on.
让我们面对现实：这种信念遭受了一些严重的打击。超过30年的时间里，甚至在经济大衰退之前，技术和全球竞争的巨大变化已经削减了中产阶级的许多好的工作机会，并削弱了中产家庭依赖的经济基础。
Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by - let alone get ahead. And too many still aren't working at all.
现在，经过4年的经济增长，企业利润和股价均开始上升，而那些身处高位的人从来没有做的更好。平均工资却几乎没有变化。社会不平等加深，向上流动几近停滞。冰冷而又无法回避的事实是，即使是在复苏之中，太多的美国人还是在勉强度日，更不用说出人头地。还有许多人仍然没有工作。
Our job is to reverse these trends. It won't happen right away, and we won't agree on everything. But what I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class. Some require congressional action, and I'm eager to work with all of you. But America does not stand still - and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do.
我们的工作就是要扭转这些趋势。虽然局势不会马上好转，我们也不会就所有事情达成一致。但是，我今晚提出的是一组促进增长、壮大中产阶级的具体实际的方案。有些需要国会采取行动，我渴望与大家合作。不过，美国不会停滞不前，我也不会。所以无论何时何地，我都要采取不必立法的措施去为更多美国家庭扩大机会，这就是我要做的。
As usual, our first lady sets a good example. Michelle's Let's Move partnership with schools, businesses, and local leaders has helped bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in thirty years - an achievement that will improve lives and reduce health care costs for decades to come. The Joining Forces alliance that Michelle and Jill Biden launched has already encouraged employers to hire or train nearly 400,000 veterans and military spouses. Taking a page from that playbook, the White House just organized a College Opportunity Summit where already, 150 universities, businesses, and nonprofits have made concrete commitments to reduce inequality in access to higher education - and help every hardworking kid go to college and succeed when they get to campus. Across the country, we're partnering with mayors, governors and state legislatures on issues from homelessness to marriage equality.
像往常一样，我们的第一夫人就是一个范例。米歇尔的“让我们继续前进”活动与学校、企业和地方领导人合作，30年来第一次降低了儿童肥胖率 。这一成就将改善他们的生活质量，并降低未来几十年的医疗成本。米歇尔和副总统拜登推出的“联合力量(Joining Forces)”活动已经鼓励雇主雇用或培训近40万名退伍军人及其配偶。比如，白宫刚刚举办了“大学教育峰会”， 会议期间，150所大学、企业和非营利组织已作出具体承诺，以减少接受高等教育的不均等状况， 帮助每一个勤奋的孩子去上大学，确保他们上大学后能够获得成功。在全国范围内，我们正在与市长、州长和州议员合作解决从无家可归到婚姻平等的问题。
The point is, there are millions of Americans outside Washington who are tired of stale political arguments, and are moving this country forward. They believe, and I believe, that here in America, our success should depend not on accident of birth, but the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams. That's what drew our forebears here. It's how the daughter of a factory worker is CEO of America's largest automaker; how the son of a barkeeper is speaker of the House; how the son of a single mom can be president of the greatest nation on Earth.
问题的关键是，在华盛顿之外有成千上万的美国人厌倦了陈腐的政治争论，正是他们在推进这个国家前行。他们相信，我也相信，在这里，在美国，我们的成功不应取决于出身，而是要依赖于我们的工作伦理和我们的梦想。这正是吸引我们祖先之所在。这就是一个工人的女儿如何成为美国最大的汽车制造商的CEO 的原因，也是一个酒吧老板的儿子怎么成为众议院议长，一个单身母亲的儿子又如何成为地球上最伟大国家总统之所在。
Opportunity is who we are. And the defining project of our generation is to restore that promise.
机会属于我们自己。而我们这一代人的目标就是恢复这一承诺。
We know where to start: the best measure of opportunity is access to a good job. With the economy picking up speed, companies say they intend to hire more people this year. And over half of big manufacturers say they're thinking of insourcing jobs from abroad.
我们知道从哪里开始：促进就业是创造机会的最佳措施。随着经济增长，企业表示有意在这一年雇佣更多员工。超过半数的大型制造商表示正在考虑让海外的就业岗位回归美国。
So let's make that decision easier for more companies. Both Democrats and Republicans have argued that our tax code is riddled with wasteful, complicated loopholes that punish businesses investing here, and reward companies that keep profits abroad. Let's flip that equation. Let's work together to close those loopholes, end those incentives to ship jobs overseas, and lower tax rates for businesses that create jobs here at home.
那么，让我们促使更多企业更轻松地做出这样的决定吧。民主党人和共和党人都认为，我们的税法充满复杂的漏洞，效率低下，使得在美国投资的企业受损，把利润留在国外的企业受益。让我们扭转这样的局面。让我们一起努力，填补这些漏洞，消除将就业包给海外的诱因。为了在这里，在祖国创造就业的企业，让我们降低税率。
Moreover, we can take the money we savefrom this transition to tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes - because in today's global economy, first-class jobs gravitate to first-class infrastructure. We'll need Congress to protect more than three million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways bills this summer. But I will act on my own to slash bureaucracy and streamline the permitting process for key projects, so we can get more construction workers on the job as fast as possible.
还有，我们在税制改革中节约的资金可以用于创造就业岗位，可以修路、升级港口、疏导交通。在今天的全球经济中，一流的基础设施吸引一流的工作。我们需要国会今年夏天完成运输和水路法案，保护超过300万的就业岗位。而我会尽最大努力，消除官僚作风，使重要工程的审批程序更合理。这样我们就能让更多的建设者尽快走上岗位。
We also have the chance, right now, to beat other countries in the race for the next wave of high-tech manufacturing jobs. My administration has launched two hubs for high-tech manufacturing in Raleigh and Youngstown.
我们现在也有机会、有权利在下一轮高科技制造业岗位的竞争中战胜其他国家。我的政府已经在罗利和扬斯敦开始运行高科技制造业中心。
Where we've connected businesses to research universities that can help America lead the world in advanced technologies. Tonight, I'm announcing we'll launch six more this year. Bipartisan bills in both houses could double the number of these hubs and the jobs they create. So get those bills to my desk and put more Americans back to work.
把商业和帮助美国引领世界先进技术的研究型大学联系起来。今晚，我宣布我们将着手建设运营另外6个这样的中心。两院、两党的法案能够让这些中心的数量翻一番，让中心带来的就业岗位翻一番。那么，让这些法案放上我的办公桌吧，让更多的美国人回到工作中。
Let's do more to help the entrepreneurs and small business owners who create most new jobs in America. Over the past five years, my administration has made more loans to small business owners than any other. And when ninety-eight percent of our exporters are small businesses, new trade partnerships with Europe and the Asia-Pacific will help them create more jobs. We need to work together on tools like bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect our workers, protect our environment, and open new markets to new goods stamped "Made in the USA." China and Europe aren't standing on the sidelines. Neither should we.
让我们给予企业家和小企业主更多帮助，美国多数新岗位都是他们创造的。在过去的5年中，政府向小企业主发放的贷款数额之多，前所未有。我们98%的出口商都是小企业，与欧洲和亚太的新贸易伙伴关系会帮助他们创造更多就业。我们需要共同努力，通过两党的权威与合作，以贸易促进等方式保护我们的工人，保护我们的环境，向标有“美国制造”的新产品开放新市场。中国和欧洲都在积极行动，我们也应该行动起来。
We know that the nation that goes all-in on innovation today will own the global economy tomorrow. This is an edge America cannot surrender. Federally funded research helped lead to the ideas and inventions behind Google and smartphones. That's why Congress should undo the damage done by last year's cuts to basic research so we can unleash the next great American discovery - whether it's vaccines that stay ahead of drug-resistant bacteria, or paper-thin material that's stronger than steel. And let's pass a patent reform bill that allows our businesses to stay focused on innovation, not costly, needless litigation.
我们知道，今天在创新方面锐意进取的国家明天将主宰世界经济。这是美国不能放弃的战线。联邦政府资助的研究帮扶了谷歌和智能手机背后的发明和创意。因此，国会应该缓解由去年削减基础研究资金带来的伤害，这样我们就能解放美国人的下一个伟大发现——不论是能对付耐药菌的疫苗，还是纸一样纤薄，钢一样强硬的材料。让我们通过专利改革法案，让我们的商界长期专注于创新，不为毫无必要却花销巨大的诉讼分神。
Now, one of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we've been in decades.
现在，我们对美国能源的承诺是将更多工作带回美国的关键因素之一。我在几年前宣布的所有能源策略都在起作用。今天，美国比近10年来任何时候都接近能源独立。
One of the reasons why is natural gas - if extracted safely, it's the bridge fuel that can power our economy with less of the carbon pollution that causes climate change. Businesses plan to invest almost $100 billion in new factories that use natural gas. I'll cut red tape to help states get those factories built, and this Congress can help by putting people to work building fueling stations that shift more cars and trucks from foreign oil to American natural gas. My administration will keep working with the industry to sustain production and job growth while strengthening protection of our air, our water, and our communities. And while we're at it, I'll use my authority to protect more of our pristine federal lands for future generations.
