President Barack Obama on Tuesday said he has enough votes in the U.S. Senate to pass financial reform legislation. The president said several opposition Republicans and conservative Democrats have agreed to support the bill.
美国总统奥巴马星期二说，他已经在参议院获得足够多的支持通过金融改革法案。奥巴马说，几位反对派共和党议员和保守派民主党议员已同意支持该法案。
President Obama said Senate Democrats now have the 60 votes they need to force big U.S. financial firms to change the way they do business.
奥巴马总统说，参议院民主党现在已有他们所需的60票，足以通过金融改革法案，以迫使美国大型金融公司改变他们的经营方式。
"Three Republican senators have put politics and partisanship aside to support this reform," he said. "And I am grateful for their decision as well as all the Democrats who have worked so hard to make this reform a reality."
他说：“三位共和党参议员已抛开政治和党派分歧，来支持金融改革。我感谢他们的决定以及所有为实现金融改革而努力的民主党人。”
Mr. Obama said the legislation will prevent another financial crisis by strengthening Wall Street regulations. Weak regulations have been blamed for the 2008 financial crisis that led to the current global economic recession.
奥巴马说，这项法案将通过加强对华尔街的监管来防止另一场金融危机。人们普遍将导致目前全球经济衰退的2008年金融危机归咎于对金融业的监管不力。
Republican Senators Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Scott Brown announced their support for the bill, as did conservative Democrat Ben Nelson, who earlier had expressed concerns about it.
共和党参议员奥林匹亚·斯诺、苏珊·柯林斯和斯科特·布朗宣布支持该法案。另外，之前对该法案表示担忧的保守派民主党议员本·尼尔森也宣布支持法案。
At the White House, President Obama also introduced reporters to his nominee for budget director, Jacob Lew.
奥巴马总统在白宫还向记者介绍了他提名担任预算局局长的雅各布·卢。
The Deputy Secretary of State had been budget director under former President Bill Clinton. "If there was a hall of fame for budget directors, then Jack Lew surely would have earned a place for his service in that role under President Clinton, when he helped balance the federal budget after years of deficits," said the president.
现任国务院副国务卿的雅各布·卢曾担任前总统克林顿的预算局局长。奥巴马总统说：“如果有一个预算局局长名人堂的话，雅各布·卢肯定名列其中，他在担任克林顿总统的预算局局长时帮助联邦政府在经过多年赤字后平衡了预算。”
If he is confirmed by the Senate to the Cabinet-level post, Lew would inherit a deficit of more than $1 trillion for the first three-quarters of this fiscal year, with more deficits to come.
如果卢的提名获得参议院确认，他将接手本财政年度头三个季度超过1万亿美元的赤字，以及今后进一步增加的财政赤字。
Mr. Obama said shrinking that shortfall would be the top priority for his new budget director. "Jack's challenge over the next few years is to use his extraordinary skill and experience to cut down that deficit and put our nation back on a fiscally responsible path. And I have the utmost faith in his ability to achieve this goal as a central member of our economic team," he said.
奥巴马说，削减赤字将是新任预算局局长的首要任务。他说：“雅各布在接下来几年面临的挑战是利用他卓越的才能和经验来削减赤字，使国家回到财政上负责的道路上来。雅各布作为我们经济团队的中心成员，我对他完成此目标的能力充满信心。”
Lew would replace Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, who is stepping down this month.
雅各布·卢将接替本月将辞职的白宫行政管理和预算局局长彼得·欧尔萨格。
The president made the announcements as a new opinion poll shows public confidence in him has sunk to a new low. The survey, conducted by The Washington Post newspaper and ABC News, shows that almost 60 percent of U.S. voters say they lack faith in Mr. Obama's ability to lead the nation. It also says that only 43 percent of voters approve of the president's handling of the nation's economy.
奥巴马宣布新的预算局局长人选之际，一项新的民意调查显示，公众对总统的信心降至新低。这项由《华盛顿邮报》和美国广播公司联合进行的民意调查显示，有近60%的美国选民说，他们对奥巴马领导国家的能力缺乏信心。民调还说，只有43%的选民支持奥巴马处理经济问题的做法。 |