VOA慢速英语：美国官员担心削减预算会影响对外援助

US Officials Worry Budget Cuts Could Hurt Aid Efforts

美国官员担心削减预算会影响对外援助

With over 20 million people nearing starvation in four countries, the United Nations (UN) is asking for $5.6 billion in emergency aid.

由于在4个国家有超过2千万人口接近饥饿，联合国要求提供56亿美元的紧急援助。

For now, UN members have only offered about 20 percent of that amount.

目前联合国成员国只提供了这一数额的20%左右。

Officials say the world is facing one of the biggest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II. The UN's International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has declared a famine in northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. A famine means that a very large number of people are starving because of food shortages.

有关官员表示，世界正面临二战结束以来最大的人道主义危机。联合国儿童基金会宣布尼日利亚东北部、索马里、南苏丹和也门发生了饥荒。饥荒意味着很多人因为粮食短缺饿死了。

The United States provides about 28 percent of the world's humanitarian aid, the most of any nation. But some warn of large cuts if the U.S. Congress approves a Trump administration proposal. It calls for a cut of about $50 billion in the State Department budget.

美国提供了全球约28%的人道主义援助，超出了所有国家。但是有人警告说，如果美国国会批准了川普政府的一项提案，美国的人道主义援助将会大幅削减。川普政府的这项提案要求将国务院预算削减500亿美元。

The State Department oversees foreign assistance programs.

国务院负责管理对外援助项目。

The Republican Party controls both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Top Republicans in the House and Senate say Congress is likely to reject the big cuts in foreign aid proposed by the president.

共和党控制了美国参众两院。参众两院的共和党高层人士表示，国会可能会否决总统提出的大幅削减对外援助。

New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, a Republican, is chairman of a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee. He said his goal is to get more U.S. aid to help starving people.

来自新泽西的共和党议员克里斯·史密斯(Chris Smith)是众议院外事委员会主席。他说，他的目标是要获得更多的美国援助来帮助饥民。

Pregnant women suffering from famine may be too weak to survive pregnancy, Smith said at a subcommittee hearing this week.

史密斯本周在小组委员会的听证会上表示，遭受饥荒的孕妇可能太虚弱而活不过妊娠。

If they survive, he said, their children are likely to be "stunted," meaning well short of normal weight and height.

他说，如果她们幸存下来，她们的孩子可能会面临发育迟缓，意思是远远达不到正常身高和体重。

That makes them more at risk of disease, and people in a weakened condition have a more difficult time surviving, UNICEF officials said. They added that 22 million children are hungry, sick and unable to attend school in the four countries.

儿童基金会官员表示，这使得他们更容易患上疾病，而处于虚弱状态的人们更难以幸存。官员们补充说，这四个国家有2200万儿童处于饥饿、患病和无法上学的状态。

World counts on United States

世界依赖美国

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Democratic Party. Cardin said he is concerned President Trump has not spoken publicly about the starvation crisis and has proposed cuts in foreign aid.

马里兰州参议员本·卡丹(Ben Cardin)就职于参议院外交委员会，也是民主党人。卡丹表示，他关心的是川普总统还没有公开讨论过饥饿危机，并且提出了削减对外援助。

"If the U.S. is not in the leadership, the international community is not going to respond," Cardin said.

卡丹说，“如果美国不挺身而出，国际社会就不会作出回应。”

Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He predicted Congress will not approve the big cuts in foreign aid proposed by President Trump.

参议员鲍勃·科克尔(Bob Corker)是来自田纳西州的共和党人，也是参议院外交委员会主席。他预计国会不会批准川普总统提出的大幅削减对外援助。

But he said action is needed immediately to deal with the starvation crisis, long before a new budget is passed.

但他表示，早在新预算案通过之前，就需要立即采取行动应对饥饿危机。

"We understand that people today as we sit here are dying. What is it that we can do right now today to help try to meet the needs over the next two weeks?" Corker said at a hearing last week.

科克尔上周在听证会上表示，“我们都知道，今天当我们坐在这里的时候，有人在不断死亡。我们现在能做些什么来帮助尽量满足未来两周的需求?”

Gregory Gottlieb is with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He told Corker that if his agency received more flexibility on rules for food aid, it could feed an additional five million people a year.

格里高利·戈特利布(Gregory Gottlieb)就职于美国国际开发署。他对科克尔表示，如果该机构在粮食援助规则上获得更大灵活性，那么每年就能多养活500万人。

Nancy Lindborg is president of the U.S. Institutes of Peace, an independent, federal office. She said a lot of the starvation in the four nations facing famine is a product of war and other conflicts, not food shortages.

南希·林德伯格(Nancy Lindborg)是美国和平研究所的负责人，这是一家独立的联邦机构。她说，面临饥荒的这四个国家的很多饥饿都是战争和其它冲突的产物，而不是粮食短缺。

Lindborg said armed groups are killing livestock, destroying food supplies and closing down markets.

林德伯格表示，武装团伙正在屠宰牲畜，破化粮食供应和关闭市场。

On March 16, one reporter asked Budget Director Mick Mulvaney if the proposed budget cuts will cause, in their words, "some of the most vulnerable people on Earth to suffer?"

3月16日有一名记者问美国预算局局长米克·穆尔范尼(Mick Mulvaney)，拟议的预算削减是否会导致地球上最脆弱的一群人遭受苦难呢?

Mulvaney said that Trump is following up on his campaign promise to put America first.

穆尔范尼表示，川普正在践行自己的竞选承诺，那就是美国优先。

"The President said specifically hundreds of times -- you covered him -- I'm going to spend less money on people overseas and more money on people back home. And that's exactly what we're doing with this budget," Mulvaney said.

穆尔范尼表示，“川普总统说了几百次了，要把钱更多地花在美国国内民众身上，而不是国外。我们如今的财政预算正是要朝这个目标努力。”

I'm Ashley Thompson.

阿什利·汤普森报道。