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【奥巴马】2011国情咨文——2011年1月25日美国众议院

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2018年05月13日

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2011国情咨文——2011年1月25日美国众议院

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague—and our friend—Gabby Giffords.

It’s no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that’s a good thing. That’s what a robust democracy demands. That’s what helps set us apart as a nation.

But there’s a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater—something more consequential than party or political preference.

We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled. That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation.

Now, by itself, this simple recognition won’t usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. I believe we can. I believe we must. That’s what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they’ve determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all—for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.

At stake right now is not who wins the next election—after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It’s whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It’s whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but a light to the world.

We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again. But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children. That’s the project the American people want us to work on. Together.

We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans’ paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of the new investments they make this year. These steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private sector jobs created last year. But we have more work to do. The steps we’ve taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession—but to win the future, we’ll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making.

Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You didn’t always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you’d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits, and the occasional promotion. Maybe you’d even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company.

That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful. I’ve seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts of once busy Main Streets. I’ve heard it in the frustrations of Americans who’ve seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear—proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game. They’re right. The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an internet connection.

Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They’re investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world’s largest private solar research facility, and the world’s fastest computer.

So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember—for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth.

What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea—the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like “What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.” Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age. Now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future. And tonight, I’d like to talk about how we get there.

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.

None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn’t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do—what America does better than anyone—is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living. Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it’s not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That’s what planted the seeds for the Internet. That’s what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS. Just think of all the good jobs —from manufacturing to retail—that have come from those breakthroughs.

Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik? We had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.

This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology—an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.

Already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert’s words, “We reinvented ourselves.”

That’s what Americans have done for over two hundred years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we’ve begun to reinvent our energy policy. We’re not just handing out money. We’re issuing a challenge. We’re telling America’s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we’ll fund the Apollo Projects of our time.

At the California Institute of Technology, they’re developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they’re using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.

We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.

Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they’re selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all—and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.

Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success. But if we want to win the future—if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas—then we also have to win the race to educate our kids. Think about it. Over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school degree. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’t even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us—as citizens, and as parents—are willing to do what’s necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.

That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It’s family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it’s not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.

Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools don’t meet this test. That’s why instead of just pouring money into a system that’s not working; we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all fifty states, we said, “If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we’ll show you the money.” Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. These standards were developed, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what’s best for our kids.

You see, we know what’s possible for our children when reform isn’t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals; school boards and communities. Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado; located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97% of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their family to go to college. And after the first year of the school’s transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said “Thank you, Mrs. Waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it.”

Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders.” Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. And over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child—become a teacher. Your country needs you.

Of course, the education race doesn’t end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within reach of every American. That’s why we’ve ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. And this year, I ask Congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit—worth $10,000 for four years of college.

Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today’s fast-changing economy, we are also revitalizing America’s community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she’s earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. As Kathy said, “I hope it tells them to never give up.”

If we take these steps—if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they’re born until the last job they take—we will reach the goal I set two years ago: by the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense. Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult and take time. But tonight, let’s agree to make that effort. And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses, and further enrich this nation.

The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information—from high-speed rail to high-speed internet.

Our infrastructure used to be the best—but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation’s infrastructure, they gave us a “D.”

We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the interstate highway system. The jobs created by these projects didn’t just come from laying down tracks or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town’s new train station or the new off-ramp.

Over the last two years, we have begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. Tonight, I’m proposing that we redouble these efforts.

We will put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what’s best for the economy, not politicians.

Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying—without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.

Within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans. This isn’t just about a faster internet and fewer dropped calls. It’s about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It’s about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It’s about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.

All these investments—in innovation, education, and infrastructure—will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success.

Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change.

So tonight, I’m asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years—without adding to our deficit.

To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014—because the more we export, the more jobs we create at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor; Democrats and Republicans, and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible.

Before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers, and promote American jobs. That’s what we did with Korea, and that’s what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia, and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks.

To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I’ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the American people. That’s what we’ve done in this country for more than a century. It’s why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It’s why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It’s why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies, and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. And it’s why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients.

Now, I’ve heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law. So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses. What I’m not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. I’m not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I’m not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small business owner from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents’ coverage. So instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and move forward.

Now, the final step—a critical step—in winning the future is to make sure we aren’t buried under a mountain of debt.

We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people’s pockets. But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same. So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.

This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we have frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. I’ve proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without. I recognize that some in this Chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I’m willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let’s make sure that we’re not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. And let’s make sure what we’re cutting is really excess weight. Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may feel like you’re flying high at first, but it won’t take long before you’ll feel the impact.

Now, most of the cuts and savings I’ve proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12% of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won’t. The bipartisan Fiscal Commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don’t agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it—in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.

This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. Health insurance reform will slow these rising costs, which is part of why nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I’m willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year: medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.

To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. And we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans’ guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market.

And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break. It’s not a matter of punishing their success. It’s about promoting America’s success.

In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them.

So now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides and both houses of Congress—Democrats and Republicans—to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future. Let me take this one step further. We shouldn’t just give our people a government that’s more affordable. We should give them a government that’s more competent and efficient. We cannot win the future with a government of the past. We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there’s my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they’re in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked.

Now, we have made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We’re selling acres of federal office space that hasn’t been used in years, and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote—and we will push to get it passed.

In the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done: put that information online. And because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren’t larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: if a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it.

A 21st century government that’s open and competent. A government that lives within its means. An economy that’s driven by new skills and ideas. Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs.

Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West; no one rival superpower is aligned against us. And so we must defeat determined enemies wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. America’s moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice, and dignity. And because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America’s standing has been restored.

Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high; where American combat patrols have ended; violence has come down; and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America’s commitment has been kept; the Iraq War is coming to an end.

Of course, as we speak, al Qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family.

We have also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan Security Forces. Our purpose is clear—by preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe-haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11. Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.

In Pakistan, al Qaeda’s leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe-havens are shrinking. And we have sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.

American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START Treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists.

Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.

This is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO, and increased our cooperation on everything from counter-terrorism to missile defense. We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like India. This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the Americas. Around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility—helping farmers grow more food; supporting doctors who care for the sick; and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity.

Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power—it must be the purpose behind it. In South Sudan—with our assistance —the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: “This was a battlefield for most of my life. Now we want to be free.”

We saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people.

We must never forget that the things we’ve struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country. Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they have served us—by giving them the equipment they need; by providing them with the care and benefits they have earned; and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.

Our troops come from every corner of this country—they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all of our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and the ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation.

We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools; changing the way we use energy; reducing our deficit—none of this is easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The cost. The details. The letter of every law. Of course, some countries don’t have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they get a railroad—no matter how many homes are bulldozed. If they don’t want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn’t get written. And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn’t a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth.

We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything’s possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.

That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working class kid from Scranton can stand behind me. That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father’s Cincinnati bar can preside as Speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth.

That dream—that American Dream—is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It’s what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher.

Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pennsylvania that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. One day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them. But Brandon thought his company could help. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. And Brandon left for Chile. Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000 foot hole into the ground, working three or four days at a time with no sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. But because he didn’t want all of the attention, Brandon wasn’t there when the miners emerged. He had already gone home, back to work on his next project. Later, one of his employees said of the rescue, “We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things.”

We do big things.

From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That’s how we win the future.

We are a nation that says, “I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I’m not sure how we’ll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we’ll get there. I know we will.”

We do big things.

The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.

Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America.

众议院议长先生、副总统先生、各位国会议员、尊敬的客人们、同胞们:

今晚我想首先向美国第112届国会的男女议员、你们的新议长约翰·博纳表示祝贺。在我们庆祝这一时刻时,我们仍然很清楚一位国会议员的座位是空着的,让我们为我们的同事、我们的朋友加布里埃尔·吉福兹的健康祈祷。

我们这些今晚出席这一活动的人在过去两年曾存在分歧,这不是秘密。辩论是非常激烈的,我们为我们各自的观点进行了激烈的斗争。这是一件好事,这是强有力的民主所要求的。这种争论帮助美国成为区别于其他国家的民主国家。

但图森市的悲剧给了我们一个停止争论的理由,我们进行的公共辩论引发了噪音、情绪、怨恨。图森的悲剧提醒我们,不管我们是谁、来自何方,我们中的每一个人都是一个更伟大事务的一部分,它比政党或者政治倾向更具必然性。

我们是美国大家庭的组成部分。我们相信在这个各种种族、信仰、观点并存的国家,我们仍是一个团结在一起的民族。我们拥有共同的希望和信条,图森小女孩的梦想与我们自己孩子的梦想没有什么差别,这些梦想都应有获得实现的机会。这也是使我们作为一个国家产生分歧的原因。

现在,简单地认识到这一点本身将不会开启一个合作的新时代。这一时刻所能产生的成果取决于我们。这一时刻所产生的成果将不会由我们是否今晚坐在一起而决定,它将被我们明天是否合作所决定。我认为我们能够实现合作,我认为我们必须这样。这是那些把我们送到这里的人们所期望的。他们通过他们的选票决定,执政将是两党共同的责任,新的法案只有在获得民主党和共和党议员的支持下才能通过。在面对比党派或者政治更大的挑战面前,我们将一起前行,或者原地不动。

现在的利害不是谁将赢得下次选举,毕竟,我们刚刚举行完一次选举。现在的利害是新的就业机会和新的行业是否会在美国生根或者在其他地方。这事关我们人民的辛劳工作和行业是否能得到回报。这事关我们是否能继续保持领导能力,这种领导能力使美国不只局限于地图上的某一个地方,美国因为这种领导能力而成为世界的灯光。

我们做好了前进的准备。在我们大多数人经历最为糟糕的经济衰退两年后,股市已再次大幅上升,公司赢利在增加,经济在再次增长。但我们从不只以这些标准来衡量进展,我们以我们人民的成功来评估进展。通过他们所能找到的工作和这些工作所提供的生活质量,通过小企业主把好点子的梦想转变成兴旺发达的企业的前景,通过我们给我们孩子更好生活的机遇。这是一个美国人民想让我们从事的事业,美国人民想让我们共同致力于这项事业。

我们去年12月做了这方面的工作。由于我们通过的减税法案,美国人今天收到的支票金额要比过去多。所有的企业都可以把它今年所作投资的全部开支注销。这些由民主党人和共和党人合作采取的措施将使经济增长,增加就业岗位,私人行业去年已创造一百多万个就业岗位。但我们有更多的工作要做。我们在过去两年所采取的措施可能已克服了经济衰退的主要困难,但是为了赢得未来,我们必须直接应对那些在过去数十年来一直积累起来的挑战。

许多观看今晚演讲的人可能还记得那个找到好工作意味着在附近工厂或者市中心商业区就业的时候,你并不总是需要获得一个学位,你的竞争基本只限于你的邻居。如果你努力工作,你可能会终身拥有这个职位,这个工作会给你带来体面的收入,好的福利,有时还会升职。你可能还会拥有看到你的孩子在同一公司工作的自豪感。

世界已发生了变革。对于许多人来说,变革是痛苦的。在曾经一度业务繁忙的工厂面临关闭时,我透过百叶窗看到了这种痛苦;在一度繁忙的商业街道空空如也的店门前,我看到了这种痛苦;在那些看到收入不断缩水或者失业美国人的绝望言论中,我听到了这种痛苦。这就好像在比赛进行到一半时,表现出色而又颇感自豪的运动员发现规则突然改变了。他们是正确的,规则发生了变化。仅仅用了一代人的时间,技术革命已改变了我们的工作、生活和做生意的方式。一度需要一千名工人的钢铁厂现在用一百名工人就可以完成同样的工作。今天,任何一家公司都可以设立商店、雇佣员工、把产品销售给有互联网连接的所有地方。

与此同时,中国和印度等国已意识到,他们在做出一些变革后将能够在新世界里与其他国家进行竞争。所以,他们开始对他们的孩子进行更早和更长时间的教育,更加重视数学和科学。他们投资于研发和新技术。就在不久之前,中国已拥有世界上最大的私营太阳能研究设施,世界上运行速度最快的计算机。

所以,是的,世界发生了变革。就业岗位的竞争是真实存在的,但这不应当使我们灰心,它应当成为激励我们的动力。请记住,尽管我们在过去几年遭受到了巨大打击,尽管所有的悲观者预言美国在衰落,但美国仍是世界上最大、最繁荣的经济体。我们工人的劳动生产率是最高的,我们的公司是最成功的,我们的投资者和企业家所拥有的专利数是最多的。我们拥有世界上最好的院校和大学,来美国就读的学生超过任何其他国家。

更为重要的是,我们是首个以思想立国的国家,这个思想是我们中的每个人都应当有机会来塑造自己的命运。这就是为什么先驱们和移民们数个世纪以来不惜冒着失去一切的风险来到美国的原因。这就是我们的学生不只是记住方程式,而是会提出“你认为这个想法如何?你想如何改变世界?当你长大后你想成为什么样的人”等问题。

我们将赢得未来,但为了实现这一点,我们不能原地踏步。正如罗伯特·肯尼迪所说的那样“未来不是一个礼物,它是一个成就”。维持美国梦从来不是墨守成规。它需要每一代人作出牺牲、斗争,满足新时代的要求。现在轮到我们这一代人了。我们知道在我们的时代为工作和行业进行竞争需要什么。我们需要在创新、教育和建设方面超越其他国家。我们要使美国成为商业环境最好的国家。我们需要对我们的赤字负责任,对我们的政府进行改革。这就是我们的人民实现繁荣的方法。这就是我们如何赢得未来的方法。今晚,我想谈谈我们如何做到这些。

赢得未来的首个步骤是鼓励美国人创新。

我们所有人都无法肯定地预言下一个主要行业将是什么行业或者新的就业岗位来自哪里。三十年前,我们不知道一个被称作互联网的东西会引发经济革命。我们所能做的是争取在激发美国人民的创造性和想象力这些方面比其他国家的人做得更好。我们是一个将车开到车道上、把计算机放在办公室的国家,是一个拥有爱迪生、莱特兄弟的国家,是一个拥有谷歌和脸谱的国家。在美国,创新不只改变我们的生活,更重要的是这是我们赖以谋生的方法。我们的自由企业制度驱动着创新,但是由于公司投资基础研究并不总是有利可图,在历史上,我们的政府向一流的科学家和发明家提供了他们所需要的支持。这些支持种下了互联网的种子,这些支持帮助制造出计算机芯片和全球定位仪这样的东西。想想所有的好工作,从制造业到零售业都来自于这些突破。

半个世纪之前,当苏联人发射一颗名为“伴侣号”的人造卫星从而在太空竞赛领域击败我们时,我们不知道我们如何在登月方面击败他们。那方面的科学当时还不存在,美国宇航局当时甚至都还未组建。但在更好的研究和教育方面投资后,我们不仅超过了苏联人,我们还推动了一系列的创新,这些创新创造了新的行业和数百万个新就业岗位。

这是我们那一代人创造的“伴侣号”走在世界前沿的时刻。我在两年前说过,我们需要将研发拓展到自太空竞赛高峰后再也没有出现过的新层次上。我将在未来几周内向国会提交一份预算案,它将帮助我们实现这一目标。我们将投资于生物医药研究、信息技术,尤其是清洁能源技术,这一投资将会强化我们的安全、保护我们的地球、为我们的人民创造无数新就业岗位。

我们已看到了可再生能源的潜力。罗伯特·阿伦和加里·阿伦是一对在密歇根州经营屋顶公司的兄弟。他们在“9·11”恐怖袭击事件后志愿派出他们最好的装修屋顶员工来帮助维修五角大楼,但是他们工厂的半个厂区没有开工,经济衰退重创了他们的工厂。今天,在政府贷款的帮助下,空闲的厂房被用于制造销往全球各地的太阳能电池板。用罗伯特的话说:“我们再造了自己。”

这就是美国人在过去两百多年里一直在做的事情,再造自我。为了推动更多像阿伦兄弟这样的成功故事,我们已开始再造我们的能源政策。我们将不只提供款项,我们还将提供挑战。我们将告诉美国的科学家和工程师,如果他们组建他们领域最好的科学家小组,致力解决清洁能源最困难问题,我们将向我们时代的“阿波罗项目”提供资金支持。

在加州理工学院,科学家正在寻找一种将太阳光和水转换成汽车燃料的方法。在橡树岭国家实验室,科学家们正在通过超级计算机以使从我们的核设施获得更多能量。在进行更多的研究和激励措施后,我们可以用生物燃料来打破我们对石油的依赖,成为在2015年前首个拥有一百万电动汽车上路的国家。

我们需要找到创新背后的要素。为了向创新提供经费支持,我将请求国会取消向石油公司所提供的数十亿美元税款补贴。我不知道你是否注意到这一情况,石油公司自身运营得很不错。所以,与其向昨天的能源业提供补贴,我们不如投资于未来的能源。

现在,清洁能源领域的技术突破只有在业界知道有销售市场的情况下才会转变成清洁能源业的工作岗位。所以,今晚,我想让你们和我一起来制订一个新目标:争取在2035年之前使美国85%的电力供应量来自清洁能源。一些人想要风力和太阳能,其他人想要核电、清洁煤炭和天然气。为了实现这一目标,我们将需要所有这些清洁能源。我呼吁民主党人和共和党人通过合作来实现这一目标。

保持我们在研究和技术领域的领导地位对于美国的成功至关重要。如果我们想拥抱未来,如果我们想让创新在美国而不是海外创造就业岗位,那么我们必须赢得教育我们孩子的竞赛。思考一下吧,在未来十年,近半数新就业岗位将需要拥有高中以上的教育程度。虽然如此,美国仍有近四分之一的学生甚至未完成中学教育。我们教育和科学的教育质量落后于许多国家,美国年轻人拥有大学学位比例的排行已降至世界第九位。所以问题是我们所有的人,作为公民,作为父母,是否愿意做那些必要的事情以便让每个孩子都有成功的机会?

这一责任不仅是在我们的教室内开始的,也是在我们的家庭和社区里开始的。是家庭首先培养了孩子爱好学习的习惯,只有父母在确保关掉电视的情况下,孩子的家庭作业才会完成。我们需要教育我们的孩子,不仅是超级碗比赛的获胜者值得庆祝,那些科学大赛的赢家也应当值得庆祝。成功不是名气或者公共关系所带来的,它是由辛劳的工作和自律造就的。

我们的学校也有责任。当一名儿童步入教室,它就应当是一个被寄予厚望和拥有很高教学能力的地方,但是太多的学校未能达到这一标准。这就是为什么我们没有向教育系统注入大笔资金原因,我们启动了一个名为“冲顶赛跑”的竞争。我们对所有五十个州说:“如果你们能够向我们展示提高教师质量和学生成就的最具创新力的方案,我们将向你们提供款项。”“冲顶赛跑”是我们公共学校在十年内所进行的最有意义的改革。它只使用了不到我们每年教育开支的1%的经费,但它已使四十个州提高了教学和学习标准。这些标准不是由华盛顿所决定的,它是由美国各个州的共和党和民主党州长们所决定的。“冲顶赛跑”应当成为我们今年所采取的方法。我们今年将用一个更为灵活、专注于用给我们的孩子带来最大益处的法律来取代《不让一个儿童落后法》。

你们应该知道,当改革不仅仅是从上到下的指示时,我们的孩子所能够取得的成绩有多大。改革措施将由当地的教师和校长、校董事会和社区来决定。以丹佛的布鲁斯·兰多夫学校为例,它在三年前被评为科罗拉多州最差的学校之一,它位于两个敌对黑帮争夺的地盘内。但在去年五月,该校97%的高三学生获得了毕业证,大多数人将是他们家庭中上大学的第一人。在学校实现转变后的第一年,一位学生的话使这一切成为现实的校长流下了眼泪。这个学生说:“感谢你,威特斯女士,感谢你向我们表明,我们是聪明的,我们能够成功。”

让我们也记住,除了父母之外,对一个孩子成功的最大影响来自于站在教室前的男女教师们。在韩国,教师们被称作“国家建造者”。在美国,现是我们该以同样程度的尊重对待那些教育我们孩子的人的时候了。我们应当奖励好教师,停止为糟糕的教师找借口。在未来十年,由于非常多的婴儿潮,一代教师将退休,我们将需要准备十万名科学、技术、工程和数学学科教师。事实上,对于今晚收听讲演的、正在考虑职业选择的年轻人,如果你想让我们国家前途有所不同,如果你想让一个孩子的生命有所不同,成为一位教师吧。你的国家需要你。

当然,教育竞赛不会止步于高中毕业证,为了竞争必须让每位美国人都有接受高等教育的机会。这就是我们为什么结束向银行提供没有充分根据的税款补贴,用节省下来的钱来使数百万学生能有能力上大学。我今年将请求国会采取进一步措施,使我们的学费税收抵免永久化,对一个人四年的大学来说,这笔钱相当于1万美元。

由于人们需要在今天快速变化的经济领域里接受新工作和职业的培训,我们也将重新使美国的社区学院恢复活力。我上个月看到了北卡罗来纳州福费斯社区技术学院的潜力,学院的许多学生曾在现在已搬离城镇的附近工厂就业。凯西·普罗克托是一位两个孩子的母亲,她十八岁就开始在家具业工作。她告诉我,现年55岁的她正在攻读生物技术学位,不只是因为家具业的工作没有了,而是因为她想鼓励她的孩子也追求他们的梦想。凯西说:“我希望这将能教会他们永不放弃。”

如果我们采取这些措施,如果我们提高对每个孩子的期望值,给他们在教育方面最好的机遇,从他们出生至他们最后的就业岗位,我们将实现我在两年前确定的目标:在这个十年结束的时候,美国将再度成为拥有大学生比例最高的国家。

有关教育的最后一点。今天,我们的学校里有数百万学业优秀的非美国公民。一些人是非法工人的孩子,他们与他们父母的行为没有任何关系。他们是以美国人的身份长大的,宣誓效忠美国,但却每天生活在将被驱逐的威胁之下。其他人来自海外,在我们的院校和大学里学习,但他们一旦获得学位,我们就把他们送回国和我们进行竞争。这没有道理。现在,我强烈地认为,我们应当立即解决非法移民的问题。我做好了与共和党人和民主党人合作以保护我们边境的准备,执行我们的法律,解决数百万生活在阴影之下的非法移民问题。我知道,这方面的辩论将是艰难的,将需要时间。但是今晚,让我们就开始作出努力达成共识。停止驱逐那些有才能、负责任的年轻人,他们可以在我们的实验室工作、创业、给美国带来新的财富。

赢得未来的第三步是重建美国。为了吸引新的行业来到美国,我们需要运送人员、商品、信息最快捷、最可靠的方法,从高速铁路至高速互联网等基础设施。

我们的基础设施曾经是世界上最棒的,但现在我们的领先优势已经下滑。韩国家庭的互联网接入比例已超过了美国。欧洲国家和俄罗斯在公路和铁路的投资额超过了美国。中国正在建造更快的火车和新机场。与此同时,当我们自己的工程师给我们的基础设施打分时,他们给我们打了一个“D”。

我们必须做得更好,美国是一个建设了州际铁路,将电力输往乡村社区,建设了州际高速公路的国家。这些项目创造的工作不只来自于铺设铁轨或者路面,工作机会也来自在镇里新建火车站或者新外匝道附近开设的行业。

在未来两年,我们已开始为二十一世纪进行重建。这个项目已为遭到沉重打击的建筑业带来了数千个好工作。今晚,我提议我们加倍这方面的努力。

我们将让更多的美国人从事修理年久失修的道路和桥梁工作。我们将确保这方面的工作有充分的经费保证,吸引私人投资,根据项目对经济而不是对政治家的最佳益处来选择项目。

在未来二十五年内,我们的目标是使80%的美国人能够拥有高速铁路,这将使你乘高速铁路出行的时间比开车出行的时间减少一半。对于一些旅程来说,它将比乘飞机出行更快,而且没有严格的安检措施。在我们讲话之时,加州和中西部地区的高铁线路已在建设之中。

在未来五年内,我们将使业界向98%的美国人提供下一代高速无线网络连接成为可能。这并不只是更快的互联网和更少的漏接电话。这使美国的各个地区都进入数字化时代。这事关衣阿华州或者阿拉巴马州乡村社区的农民和小企业主能够向全世界出售他们的产品,这事关消防队员能够用手持装置来下载着火建筑物的设计图。这事关一名学生可以用数字教科书上课或者一位病人能够与她的医生进行面对面的视频聊天。

所有这些投资,在创新、教育、基础设施方面的投资将为美国带来更好的商业环境并且创造就业。但是为了帮助我们的公司竞争,我们还必须打破那些阻碍他们成功的障碍物。

多年以来,众多的游说人士利用税法来为某些公司和行业谋利,那些在这一系统中就业的会计师或者律师最终什么税都不交,而所有其他人则要承受世界上最高的公司税率。这毫无道理,这需要改变。

所以,今晚我请求民主党和共和党人简化税率,根除漏洞,实现公平竞争。用这些节省下来的钱来降低公司税率,这将是二十五年来的第一次,而且是在不增加我们赤字的情况下。

为了帮助商业界向海外出售更多的产品,我们确定了在2014年将出口额翻一倍的目标,因为我们出口的越多,在国内创造的就业岗位就会越多。我们的出口额已经开始上升。我们最近与印度和中国签署了协议,这些协议将为美国二十五万多个就业岗位提供支持。我们上个月与韩国完成了贸易协议的最后文本,它将支持至少七万个美国就业岗位。这一协议获得来自行业和劳工组织、民主党人和共和党人前所未有的支持。我请求国会尽早通过这一协议。

在我就职之前,我明确表示我们将执行我们的贸易协议。我将只会签署那些对美国工人有信心、增加美国就业岗位的协议。我们与韩国签署协议时就是这样做的,我想在与巴拿马和哥伦比亚寻求签署类似协议时也会这样做,在继续与我们的亚太和全球贸易会谈时持同样立场。

为了降低增长和投资的障碍,我已下令对政府规则进行重新评估。当我们发现那些给行业带来不必要负担的规则时,我们将会修改这些规则。我将毫不迟疑地设立或者强制执行常识性的保护性规则,以保护美国人民。我们在过去一个多世纪一直是这样做的。这就是为什么我们的食物、水、空气是安全的。这就是我们为什么去年对信用卡公司隐藏资费和惩罚规定采取消费者保护措施,为了避免新的金融危机采取新规则的原因。这就是我们为什么最终通过改革法案以防止医保行业剥削病人的原因。

现在,我听说了有关你们中的一些人对新的医保法律有一些担心的传闻。所以让我来首先说,所有的事情都有改善的可能。如果你有使医疗护理更加高质量或者更便宜的想法,我很愿意与你合作。我们现在可以着手开始解决法案中给小企业带来不必要记账负担的缺陷,但我不愿意去做的事情是重返保险公司以先决条件为由来否决一些人获得医疗保险的时代。我不愿意告诉来自得州的脑癌患者詹姆斯·霍华德,医保公司可能不会支付他的治疗费用。我不愿意告诉俄勒冈州的小企业主吉姆·豪斯,他还得多支付5000美元来使他的雇员获得医保。就在我们讲话时,这一法案正使给老年人所开的处方药更为便宜,使没有医疗保险的学生有继续享受他们父母医保的机会。所以,与其重开过去两年在这方面的斗争,不如让我们纠正需要纠正的地方向前走。

现在,赢得未来的最后一步,也是最关键的一步,是确保我们不会葬身于如山的债务之中。

几乎从十年前开始,赤字财政就一直与我们形影相随。在金融危机爆发后,这在一定程度上对于保持银行流动性、保护就业以及增加人民收入来说是必要的。但现在经济衰退的最糟时刻已经结束,我们必须直面政府财政入不敷出的现实。这是不可持续的。每天美国的家庭在节衣缩食以保证营收平衡,他们的政府也应如此。所以,今晚我建议从今年开始冻结未来五年部分年度国内项目支出。这将使美国财政赤字在未来十年减少4000多亿美元,进而使政府可自由支配的开支所占经济的比例降低到艾森豪威尔总统时期以来的最低水平。

冻结需要进行痛苦的削减。我们已经冻结了未来两年辛劳工作的联邦雇员的工资水平。我也建议削减我一直非常关注的一些项目的支出,比如社区行动项目。国防部长也已同意削减他与他的将军们认为对我们军事影响不大的数百亿美元的军费支出。我承认在座各位中有些人已提出了进一步削减开支的提案,我愿意删除任何的确可节省的开支。不过我们必须确保不加重最脆弱的民众的负担,而且我们还要确保所削减开支属真正超重部分。通过减少对改革和教育的投资来实现赤字削减,就相当于拆除发动机以实现超载飞机减重的目的。这样做或许可能让你一开始觉得飞得很高,但没过多久,你就会感受到冲击。

现在,我提出的大部分削减和节省提案只包括在年度国内支出中,而这种开支仅占我国预算的12%多一点。为了取得进一步进展,我们必须停止仅削减此类开支就已足够的臆测,这还不够。去年我组建的两党联立财政委员会已经明确了这一点。我并不认同他们的全部提案,但他们的确取得了重大进步。他们的结论是解决我国赤字问题的唯一办法是削减我们能够发现的所有过度消费,包括国内项目开支、国防开支、医疗开支等。

这就意味着进一步降低卫生保健开支,包括像医疗保险和医疗补贴这样我国长期赤字最大单一来源项目。医疗保险改革将减缓这些开支的上升,这就是无党派经济学家认为废止卫生保健法会使我国赤字增加2500亿美元的部分原因。我很愿意看到其他降低开支的想法,包括去年共和党的一项提案:进行医疗事故改革,降低草率的医疗诉讼发生率。

为了构建坚实的基础,我们还应制定两党解决方案,强化后代社会保障。在这一点上,我们不应危及当前退休人员,最易受到伤害的人群,或残疾人,不应有损后代利益,不应使美国退休收入保障受制于充满不确定性的股市。

如果我们真的关心我们的赤字,我们就不能允许永久延长有关2%最富裕美国人的减税法案。在削减学校资金或学生的奖学金之前,我们应该让那些百万富翁们放弃他们的减税优惠。这不是惩罚他们所取得的成功。而是要促进美国的成功。

实际上,在税收方面,我们能为所有美国人做得最好的事莫过于简化个人税码。这将会是一项艰巨的工作,不过两党成员已经表示有意从事这项工作,而且我也准备加入他们。

所以,现在是时候采取行动了。现在是时候两党及国会两院在原则上做出让步,共同从事这项工作了。如果我们现在做出这一艰难决定,从而严加控制我们的赤字,那么我们便能够进行赢得未来所需的投资。更进一步地说,我们的政府不能负担得更多。我们应该给人民一个更强有力、更高效的政府。过去的政府无法赢得未来。我们生活和工作在信息时代,但上一次政府大规模重组却还是在黑白电视机的时代。涉及出口的有十二个机构。涉及住房政策的则至少有五个实体。我常举的一个例子是大马哈鱼在淡水中时由内政部负责,而在咸水中时则由商业部负责。而我听说一旦被熏烤之后情况就更复杂。

现在,我们已经在过去的两年里,在利用技术以及消灭浪费方面实现了突飞猛进。退伍军人现在点一下鼠标,就能下载他们的电子病历。我们正在出售几英亩数年都未曾使用的联邦办公地点,而且我们将去除繁文缛节以便摆脱更多负担。不过,我们需要考虑更多。未来的几个月里,我的政府将会提出一项建议,以最有助于实现打造更具竞争力美国的目标的方法,合并、巩固并整顿联邦政府。我将会把这一建议提交给国会进行投票,我们将会推动这一建议的通过。

未来一年里,我们将继续努力重建人民对政府机构的信任。因为你们应当确切知道你们所缴的税花在哪里,花了多少,你们也将能够在第一时间登录网站获得这些信息。因为你们应当知道自己选出的官员何时会见游说团体,我已要求国会按照白宫已经在做的将这些信息公布上网。而且因为美国人民应当知道,特殊利益不能穿插在小项目的立法中,国会中的两党议员应该知道这一点:如果呈现在我案头的法案中存在“特殊专款”(注:一般是指国会议员各自根据其选区或者集团需要插入预算报告中的“相关项目专款”),我将会予以否决。

一个具备公开和竞争力的二十一世纪政府,一个量入为出的政府。一个由新技术与理念驱动的经济体系。要在这个不断变化的新世界中取得成功,我们需改革、责任和创新。这还需要我们在外交事务中通过新方法接触世界。

正如就业和商贸现在可以跨越国界一样,新威胁和新挑战也是如此。隔在东西方之间的不是一堵墙,与我们为敌的也不是某个超级大国。所以,我们必须战胜敌人,无论他们在哪里,并建立跨越地区、种族和宗教界线的联盟。美国的道德榜样必需始终照耀着渴望自由、正义和尊严的所有人。因此我们已经开始了这项工作,所以今晚我们能够说美国领导阶层已经复兴,美国的地位已经恢复。

看看伊拉克,我们有近十万勇敢的男女士兵已经昂首挺胸撤离伊拉克,美国的战斗任务也已经结束。在那里,暴力现象已经开始下降,新政府已经组建。今年,我们的民众将与伊拉克人民建立持久伙伴关系,与此同时,我们从伊拉克撤军的工作也将结束。美国遵守了承诺,伊拉克战争即将结束。

当然,诚如我们所言,基地组织及其附属组织仍在计划攻击我们。感谢我们的情报和执法人员,我们正在挫败他们阴谋,保护我们的城市和天空。对于极端分子激发我们国内暴力行动的企图,我们正以社区力量、对法规的尊重,以及对美国穆斯林是我们美国大家庭一份子的坚定信仰作出回应。

我们也同基地组织及其海外盟友展开了战斗。在阿富汗,我们的军队已经占据了塔利班的根据地,并且训练了阿富汗安全部队。我们的目标很明显:通过阻止塔利班再次压榨阿富汗人民,我们将会阻止基地组织获得充当“9·11”起点的避风港。经过英勇的军队及平民的奋战,只剩下少数阿富汗人仍处于塔利班这一叛乱组织的控制之下。摆在前面的将会是激烈的战斗,而且阿富汗政府需要进行更好的管制。不过,我们正在增强阿富汗人民的力量,并与他们构建持久的伙伴关系。今年,我们将会同近五十个国家一起,开始向由阿富汗主导的状态过渡。今年7月,我们将开始撤军。

在巴基斯坦,基地组织领导阶层承受着比2001年以来任何时候都要大的压力。他们的首领和骨干正在被清除出战场,他们的避风港正在收缩。而且,我们已经从阿富汗边界向阿拉伯半岛以及全球各地的恐怖分子发出警告:我们不会留情,我们不会动摇,我们将击败你们。

美国领导人也在努力确保最厉害战争武器的安全。因为共和党和民主党通过了新《削减战略武器条约》,可部署的武器和发射器会更少。因为我们要重振世界,要在各大洲限制核材料,以免落入恐怖分子手中。

因为美国也在通过外交努力坚持要求伊朗履行其义务,所以伊朗政府现在面临着比以往更加严厉的制裁。在朝鲜半岛上,我们与盟国韩国站在一起,坚持朝鲜践行其放弃核武器的诺言。

这仅是我们重塑世界、维护世界和平和繁荣所作出努力的一部分。我们与欧洲同盟一道,在努力恢复北约的活力,增加从反恐到导弹防御等各方面的合作。我们已经重新设定了与俄罗斯的关系,强化亚洲同盟,并与印度等国家建立了新的伙伴关系。今年三月,我将访问巴西、智利和萨尔瓦多,打造美洲新的进步同盟。在全球,我们与那些负责任的国家一道,帮助农民生产更多的粮食,支持医治伤患的医生,并与败坏社会风气和掠夺人民财富的腐败行为作斗争。

最近的事件告诉我们,使我们与众不同的不仅是我们的力量,也必然还有其后的目的。在我们的帮助下,南苏丹人民在经历了多年的战争后,最终能够投票选择自己的独立。他们在黎明前排起了数千人的长队,人民在大街上欢舞。一名在战争中失去了四名兄弟的男子在描述他身边的景象时这样说道,“这曾是我生命大多时间中的战场,现在我们希望自由”。

我们在突尼斯看到了同样的要求自由的愿望,在那里,事实证明人民的意志比独裁者的敕令更有力量。今晚,我们要明确宣示:美利坚合众国人民与突尼斯人民站在一起,并支持全体人民的民主愿望。

我们绝对不能忘记我们为之努力、为之奋斗、所有人都铭记心中的事情。我们必须永远记住,在这场斗争中负担最为沉重的美国人正是那些报效我们祖国的男男女女。今晚,让我们共同重申,我们的国家会团结一致地支持我们的军队及其家人。让我们为他们服务,就像他们为我们服务那样,给予他们需要的装备,为他们提供应得的保健和福利,并在建设祖国的伟大任务中,为退伍军人提供支持。

我们的军人来自这个国家的每一个角落。他们是黑人、白人、拉丁裔、亚裔和印第安人。他们是基督教教徒、印度教教徒、犹太教教徒和穆斯林。的确,我们知道其中有一些人是同性恋。从今年开始,美国人都不会因为他们的爱人而被禁止报效其所爱的国家。接下来,我呼吁所有大学校园向我们的军方征兵人员和后备军官训练队敞开大门。现在,是时候和过去的分裂斗争说再见了。我们应该作为一个民族向前迈进。

我们不应该对摆在我们面前的工作心存任何幻想。改革学校、改变能源使用方式、减少赤字,这一切都并非易事,这需要时间。我们会围绕一切事情展开争论,这会使难度变得更高,成本、细节、每一个法律条文。当然,有些国家不存在这个问题,如果中央政府说要建一条铁路,他们就会建成一条铁路,无论这需要拆除多少个家庭的房屋;如果他们不希望一件坏事见报,就没人会去写报道。可是,尽管我们的民主有时可能引起争议、令人沮丧乃至像一团乱麻,但我知道在场的各位没有一个人会愿意与地球上任何其他国家的人交换位置。

我们在政策上可能有分歧,但对于我们的宪法所赋予的权利我们都深信不疑;我们可能有不同的见解,但我们都坚持一个共同的信念:在这个国家里,只要你努力尝试,你就有可能成功;我们可能来自不同的背景,但我们抱有同一个梦想:在这个国家里,任何想法都可能成为现实,无论你是谁,也无论你来自何方。

正是这个梦想使我今晚能够站在这里、站在你们面前。正是这个梦想使一名来自斯克兰顿的劳工子弟能够端坐在我身后。正是这个梦想使一个最初曾在他父亲于辛辛那提开设的酒吧里扫地的人后来能够在这个地球上最伟大的国家里当上众议院议长。

这个梦想——美国梦驱使着艾伦兄弟为了一个新时代而彻底改造了他们的屋顶工程公司。这个梦想驱使着那些在佛塞斯技术社区学院求学的学生们学习新技术,为了未来努力奋斗。这个梦想也驱使一个名为布兰登·费舍尔的小企业主有了自己的故事。

布兰登在宾夕法尼亚州的柏林市开设了一家公司,专攻新型钻探技术。去年夏季的一天,他看到新闻,智利矿井中有三十三人被困,无人知道如何营救。但布兰登认为他的公司可以帮忙,他设计了一套营救方案称为B计划。他的员工二十四小时工作,生产所需的钻探设备。然后布兰登前往智利。他同其他人一起钻了一个2000英尺的洞,连续不眠不休工作了三四天。三十七天后B计划成功,矿工获救。但布兰登不想引起注意,矿工升井后,他并没有在那里,他已经回家开始致力于下一个项目了。后来,他的一名雇员在谈到这次救援行动时说:“森特·罗克是一家小公司,但我们做的却是大事情。”

我们做的是大事情。

自建国之初起,美国一直在讲述敢于追求远大理想的普通人的故事。未来我们也将因此而成功。

我们是一个会这样说话的民族:“我或许没有巨款,但是我有成立一家新公司的高见。我或许没有出生在一个拥有大学学历的家庭,但我将会成为这个家庭里第一个获得大学学历的人。我或许并不认识那些处于困境中的人们,但我认为我能够帮助他们,而且我需要试一试。虽然我不确定我们将如何超越地平线到达更好的地方,但我知道我们将会到达那里。我知道我们能够做到。”

我们做的是大事情。

美国的理念经久不衰。我们的命运依然取决于我们的选择。今晚,在两个多世纪之后,正因为有了我们的人民,我们的未来才充满希望,我们的征程才一路向前,我们的国家才强大繁盛。

谢谢大家。愿上帝保佑你们,愿上帝保佑美利坚合众国。


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