The Obama administration is defending its proposals to massively boost government spending in the wake of a congressional report that projects record federal deficits and a doubling of America's national debt in coming years. Republicans and even some Democrats say the administration's ambitious spending plans will have to be curtailed. At the same time, economic adviser to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says a congressional plan to tax executive bonuses of companies that received federal bailout money may be unconstitutional.
奥巴马政府正在为它大规模增加政府支出的提议进行辩护。在此之前，国会的一份报告预测，奥巴马的预算提议将产生创记录的联邦赤字，并使未来几年美国国债加倍。共和党人，甚至一些民主党人也表示，政府雄心勃勃的开支计划必须加以遏制。
For weeks, President Obama has maintained that his record-breaking $3.6-trillion budget for the next fiscal year makes vital investments in energy, health care, and education that will pay dividends once the nation emerges from a deep economic recession.
几个星期以来，奥巴马总统一直表示，他为下个财政年度提出的创记录的3.6万亿预算将大大增加对能源、医疗保险以及教育的投资，一旦美国经济走出衰退，这些投资就会产生极大的收益。
But selling the proposed budget on Capitol Hill became harder after Friday's report from the Congressional Budget Office, which projects significantly higher budget deficits than the administration estimates over the next decade, adding trillions of dollars to the national debt.
但是自从国会预算办公室星期五公布了一份报告后，在国会推销提议中的预算就愈加困难了。国会报告对国家今后十年预算赤字的预测大大高于政府的估计，美国国债也会因此增加数万亿美元。
The president's top economic advisor, Christina Romer, defended the administration's proposed spending blueprint, arguing that future economic growth will be more vibrant than the CBO assumes. Romer appeared on Fox News Sunday.
总统的高级经济顾问罗默为政府提议的开支计划进行辩护。她说，未来经济的增长要比预算办公室的估计更为强劲。罗默在接受福克斯星期天新闻采访时说：
"When you get out five, 10 years, they are assuming that real GDP [U.S. gross domestic product] is only going to grow 2.2 or 2.3 percent a year," said Romer. "And that is just lower than private forecasters [project]; it is lower than the Federal Reserve. We think it is just too pessimistic."
“再过5年，10年，他们预测，美国国内生产总值仅以每年2.2 %到2.3%的速度增长。这个比率低于私营机构的预测，也比美联储的预测要低。我们认为这种预测太悲观。”
But Republicans in Congress appear united in their opposition to the president's budget as it now stands. Maine Senator Susan Collins was one of only three Republicans to back Mr. Obama's economic-stimulus package last month. Speaking on ABC's This Week program, Collins said she cannot vote for the president's budget.
但是，国会共和党人看来是团结一致地反对总统目前的预算计划。缅因州参议员科林斯是上个月支持奥巴马经济刺激计划的仅有三名共和党人之一。科林斯在接受美国广播公司本周节目采访时说，她不能票赞成总统的预算方案。
"It brings our debt levels to an unprecedented level," said Collins "It would double the public debt in five years, triple it in ten years - the highest percentage of GDP since after World War II. That is not sustainable. It poses a threat to the basic health of our economy."
“这将使我们的债务达到前所未有的水平。这将使得国家债务在五年内加倍，十年内增加三倍，占国内生产总值的比率将是二战以来最高的。这样是无法维持的。这对我们经济的基本健康构成威胁。”
But it is not only Republicans who are questioning President Obama's budget numbers. The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, says the economy has worsened since the administration crafted its budget, meaning that revenue shortfalls will be greater than Mr. Obama had assumed.
但是，不仅仅是共和党人对总统的预算数字表示怀疑。参议院预算委员会主席、来自北达科他州的康拉德说，奥巴马政府公布预算案以来，经济每况愈下。这意味着财政收入减少的幅度要大于奥巴马政府的预想。
"In fairness to this administration, they locked down their forecasts three months ago. There has been a lot of bad news since [then]. So we have a worsening [fiscal] situation that requires adjustments across a broad front," said Conrad.
“公平地说，奥巴马政府三个月前就下调了经济预测。但是，从那以后，负面消息还是源源不断。我们的财政局势在恶化，这需要在广泛的层面上进行调整。”
Conrad also appeared on This Week.
康拉德也是在接受本周节目采访时发表上述讲话的。
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress power over the nation's purse strings. Although Democrats control both houses of the legislature, their Senate majority is not large enough to prevent Republicans from blocking legislation through parliamentary maneuvers.
根据美国宪法，国会有权控制财政支出。尽管民主党控制了参众两院，但是他们在参议院中的票数不足以阻止共和党人利用国会的一些手段来制止议案的通过。
Administration officials say they are prepared to negotiate with Congress on final budget numbers, but will not abandon national goals Mr. Obama set forth during his presidential campaign last year: promoting energy independence, reforming America's health care system, and boosting educational opportunities.
奥巴马政府的官员说，他们已经准备好与国会就最后的预算数字进行谈判，但是不会放弃奥巴马在去年总统竞选时定下的全国目标，那就是推进能源独立，改革美国的医疗保险体系，并增加教育机会。 |