2015_01_21 In State of the Union Speech, a Focus on the Middle Class 奥巴马国情咨文演讲

In State of the Union Speech, a Focus on the Middle Class

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS January 21, 2015

奥巴马国情咨文演讲强调重振中产阶级

MICHAEL D. SHEAR, JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS 2015年01月21日

WASHINGTON —President Obama claimed credit on Tuesday for an improving economy and defiantly told his Republican adversaries in Congress to “turn the page” by supporting an expensive domestic agenda aimed at improving the fortunes of the middle class.

华盛顿——本周二，美国总统奥巴马称政府的举措改善了经济，并用强硬的语气敦促国会的共和党对手“翻开新的一页”，支持一些旨在增加中产阶级财富的需要高额开支的国内举措。

Released from the political constraints of a sagging economy, overseas wars and elections, Mr. Obama declared in his sixth State of the Union address that “the shadow of crisis has passed,” and vowed to use his final two years in office fighting for programs that have taken a back seat. He called on Congress to make community college free for most students, enhance tax credits for education and child care and impose new taxes and fees on high-income earners and large financial institutions.

奥巴马摆脱了疲软的经济、海外战争和选举这些政治制约，在其第六次国情咨文演讲中表示，“危机的阴影已经过去”，在其任期的最后两年，他将致力于推动那些此前遭到忽略的项目。他呼吁国会免除大多数学生在社区学院就读的学费，强化教育和儿童保健方面的税收优惠措施，并对高收入者和大型金融机构征收新的税费。

“We have risen from recession freer to w rite our own future than any other nation on Earth,” Mr. Obama said in an address seen by an estimated 30 million people. “Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates risi ng incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?”

“我们已经从衰退中复苏，目前比世界上其他任何国家都能更加自由地书写自身的未来，”奥巴马在约3000万人观看的讲话中说。“我们要发展一个仅供少数人兴旺发达的经济呢，还是一个可以全面提升收入，每个人只要努力就会有机会的经济？”

The president used the prime-time speech to call on Congress to pass new legislation authorizing the fight against the Islamic State. The president said approval of a resolution granting him that power — something he has argued he does not need to carry out the five-month-old campaign —would send an important signal. “Tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission,'’ Mr. Obama said.

总统在黄金时段发表的这次演讲，呼吁美国国会通过一项授权打击伊斯兰国(Islamic State)的新立法。他表示，批准一项授予他权力的决议——他曾说，开展这次已经持续了五个月的活动并不需要授权——将发出一个重要的信号。“今晚，我呼吁本届国会，向世界展示，我们在这项任务上团结一致，”奥巴马说。

“This effort will ta ke time,” he said of the five-month battle to defeat the Islamic State, the

Sunni militant group that is also known as ISIS or ISIL. “It will require focus. But we will succeed.”

“这项工作需要时间和专注力，但是，我们一定会成功，”他谈到打击伊斯兰国的行动时说。伊斯兰国也被称为ISIS或ISIL，是逊尼派激进组织。

He also urged lawmakers to lift the trade embargo on Cuba as he moves to normalize relations with the Communist island nation.

他还敦促国会解除对古巴的贸易禁运，因为他已经在开始推动美国与这个共产主义岛国的关系正常化。

When he entered the chamber, a smiling Mr. Obama shook hands with members of Congress as he worked his way past six members of the Supreme Court and most of his cabinet. He received several standing ovations in the first few minutes, with members of both parties leaping to their feet as he saluted the “courage and sacrifice of every man a nd woman in this 9/11 generation who has served to keep us safe.”

奥巴马走进会场，在经过最高法院的六名成员，以及他的大部分内阁成员身边时，微笑着与国会议员们握手。在最初几分钟里，他获得了数次起立鼓掌。当他向“‘9.11’这一代的所有人，为了保证我们的安全，所表现出来的勇气，做出的牺牲”致敬时，两党成员均热情地站起身来。

Yet he was facing a skeptical Congress hours after vowing to veto Republican legislation that would restrict abortion and speed the approval of natural gas pipelines, the latest in a series of veto threats that reflect his eagerness to confront conservative ideology despite his party’s major losses in the congressional elections in the fall. He promised on Tuesday night that any attempt to roll back the health care law, stand in the way of Wall Street regulations or delay his executive actions on immigration would meet with the same fate.

然而，在誓言要否决共和党关于限制堕胎、加快天然气管道审批的立法后，他在国会面临着议员们的质疑。之前他就发出过一系列否决立法的威胁，这表明，尽管他的民主党在去年秋季的国会选举遭遇重大挫败，他仍积极与保守派思想对抗。本周二晚上，他发誓说，任何试图逆转他的医疗法案，阻挡华尔街立法，或拖延关于移民的行政行动的做法，都将遭遇同样下场。

The president sought to cement an economic legacy that seemed improbable early in his first term, when the country was nearly in economic collapse. The speech seemed designed in part to live beyond his presidency by helping to starkly define the differences between Democrats and Republicans ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

奥巴马试图巩固自己在经济领域的成就。在他的第一个任期初期，这种成就看似是不可达成的，因为当时美国经济几近崩溃。在一定程度上说，他似乎想让这次演讲的影响扩散至自己总统任期之后，因为他在演讲中明确界定了2016年总统大选之前民主党和共和党之间的差异。