President Obama Makes a Statement on the Fiscal Cliff

　　奥巴马就财政悬崖发表讲话

　　Good afternoon, everybody. Over the last few weeks I’ve been working with leaders of both parties on a proposal to get our deficit under control, avoid tax cuts — or avoid tax hikes on the middle class, and to make sure that we can spur jobs and economic growth — a balanced proposal that cuts spending but also asks the wealthiest Americans to pay more; a proposal that will strengthen the middle class over the long haul and grow our economy over the long haul.

　　各位下午好。在过去几周，我与两党领导人就控制财政赤字、避免减税或避免对中产阶级征税提出议案，以确保能刺激就业，增长经济——所提出的议案权衡各方面，即要削减开支，又要求美国最富有的人群缴纳更多的税收，从长远而言，将巩固中产阶级，发展我国的经济。

　　During the course of these negotiations, I offered to compromise with Republicans in Congress. I met them halfway on taxes, and I met them more than halfway on spending. And in terms of actual dollar amounts, we’re not that far apart.

　　在谈判的进程中，我愿意在国会向共和党做出妥协。在税收问题上我做出了部分让步，在开支问题上，我做了大部分让步。但就实际金额而言，相差并不是很大　　　　

　　As of today, I am still ready and willing to get a comprehensive package done. I still believe that reducing our deficit is the right thing to do for the long-term health of our economy and the confidence of our businesses. I remain committed to working towards that goal, whether it happens all at once or whether it happens in several different steps.

　　　截至今天，我仍然准备并计划实施一个综合的方案。我仍然相信，为了经济长远健康发展，为了树立企业信心，削减财政赤字仍是我们要做的正确事情。我将继续致力于这个目标，无论是一步到位，还是分步进行。

　　But in 10 days, we face a deadline. In 10 days, under current law, tax rates are scheduled to rise on most Americans. And even though Democrats and Republicans are arguing about whether those rates should go up for the wealthiest individuals, all of us — every single one of us — agrees that tax rates shouldn’t go up for the other 98 percent of Americans, which includes 97 percent of small businesses. Every member of Congress believes that. Every Democrat, every Republican. So there is absolutely no reason — none — not to protect these Americans from a tax hike. At the very least, let’s agree right now on what we already agree on. Let’s get that done.

　　但是我们快到期限了，只剩十天了。在这十天内，根据现行法律大部分美国人将面临税率增加。尽管民主党和共和党就是否应对最富有的个人增税争论不休，但我们每个人都同意，不应该向其它98%的美国人增税，其中包括97%的小企业。国会里每个人都确信这点，无论民主党，还是共和党。所以，绝对没有理由，没有任何理由对这些美国人增税。至少，让我们现在已达成的共识，让我们行动起来r-=J1X6.rGl。

　　I just spoke to Speaker Boehner and I also met with Senator Reid. In the next few days, I’ve asked leaders of Congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class Americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million Americans, and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction. That’s an achievable goal. That can get done in 10 days.

　　我刚刚和博纳议长进行了会谈，也会见了参议员里德。在接下来的几天里，我要求国会领导人努力制定这样的方案，既要防止对美国中产阶级征税，保护200万美国人的失业保险，又要为进一步经济增长，赤字削减奠定。这是一个可以实现的目标，可以在10天内完成。

　　Once this legislation is agreed to, I expect Democrats and Republicans to get back to Washington and have it pass both chambers. And I will immediately sign that legislation into law, before January 1st of next year. It’s that simple.

　　这项立法一旦同意，我希望民主党和共和党人回到华盛顿，两院共同通过它。在明年1月1日前，我将立即签署这项法案成为法律，就这么简单。

　　Averting this middle-class tax hike is not a Democratic responsibility or a Republican responsibility. With their votes, the American people have determined that governing is a shared responsibility between both parties. In this Congress, laws can only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. And that means nobody gets 100 percent of what they want. Everybody has got to give a little bit, in a sensible way. We move forward together, or we don’t move forward at all.