奥巴马演讲视频：奥巴马每周演讲：通过美国就业法案

I’ve spent some time lately traveling the country and talking with folks outside of Washington. And the number one issue for the people I meet is how we can get back to a place where we’re creating good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer some security.

That’s the idea behind the American Jobs Act. It’s a jobs bill that does two simple things: put more people back to work, and more money back in the pockets of people who are working.

This jobs bill puts construction workers back to work rebuilding our roads and bridges and modernizing¹ our schools.

This jobs bill puts teachers back in the classroom, and keeps cops and firefighters on our streets.

This jobs bill gives tax credits to companies that hire our veterans, because if you sign up to fight for our country, the last thing you should have to do is fight for a job when you come home.

This jobs bill connects the long-term unemployed² to temporary work to keep their skills sharp while they look for a job, and it gives hundreds of thousands of young people the hope of a job next summer.

This jobs bill cuts taxes for every small business owner in America. It cuts them even more for small business owners that hire new workers and raise workers’ salaries. And it cuts taxes for every working family in America so that you’ll have more money in your pockets, and businesses know they’ll have customers to buy what they sell.

That’s the American Jobs Act, and you can check it out for yourself on WhiteHouse.gov.

It will create new jobs. It will cut taxes for every worker and small business in the country. And it will not add to the deficit³. It will be paid for.

On Monday, I’ll lay out my plan for how we’ll do that – how we’ll pay for this plan and pay down our debt by following some basic principles: making sure we live within our means and asking everyone to pay their fair share.

But right now, we’ve got to get Congress to pass this jobs bill. Everything in the American Jobs Act is the kind of idea that’s been supported by Democrats⁴ and Republicans⁵ before. And if they’re ideas you agree with, too, every one of you can help make it happen by telling your congressperson to pass this jobs bill right away.

I know some of them would rather wait another year to wage another election than work together right now. But most Americans don’t have the luxury of waiting. It was three years ago this week that a financial crisis⁶ on Wall Street made things much more difficult for working folks on Main Street. And too many are still hurting as a result.

So the time for action is now. No more games or gridlock. No more division or delay. It’s time for the people you sent to Washington to put country before party – to stop worrying so much about their jobs and start worrying more about yours.

It’s time to get to work and show the world once again why the United States of America remains⁷ the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you.

1 modernizing   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的现在分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• Modernizing a business to increase its profitability and competitiveness is a complicated affair. 使企业现代化，从而达到增加利润，增强竞争力的目的，是一件复杂的事情。
• The young engineer had a large share in modernizing the factory. 这位年轻工程师在工厂现代化的过程中尽了很大的“力”。

2 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

3 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 republicans   

拥护共和政体者，共和主义者( republican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• The latest poll gives the Republicans a 5％ lead. 最近的民意调查结果表明共和党领先了五个百分点。

6 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。