美国两党对联邦预算依然存在巨大分歧

In Washington, Democrats and Republicans appear no closer to bridging sharp disagreements on reducing America’s trillion-dollar federal deficit and slowing the nation’s ballooning national debt. For now, legislators of both parties are holding firm to partisan budget proposals for current-year federal spending, which ends in September.

在华盛顿，美国国会民主党议员和共和党议员在降低美国几万亿美元的赤字并缓解本国不断高升的国债问题上，看来并没接近于弥合两者之间所存在的巨大分歧。到目前为止，两党的立法人员仍然坚持这一年度的联邦经费预算提案的本党立场。这项预算所涉及时段到今年9月底为止。

Last week, Congress averted a government shutdown by enacting a stop-gap spending measure that funds federal agencies for a two-week period. The rationale was to give legislators and the Obama administration a brief window to negotiate a budget deal for the remainder of the fiscal year.

上星期，国会通过了填补缺口的经费开支措施，避免了在这两星期期间关闭政府部门。这项开支措施的理由是给予立法人员和奥巴马政府这一小段时间，通过谈判达成这一财政年度所剩余时间的预算协议。

But with the clock ticking towards another potential funding expiration, signs of compromise and progress remain elusive. Republicans in the House of Representatives have already passed a funding bill that would slash current spending levels by more than $60 billion. The bill is expected to die in the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.

虽然随着时光流失，经费开支限期终点又一次迫近，但是还是没有达成妥协、取得进展的迹象。众议院的共和党议员已经通过了一项经费议案，该议案会把目前的开支水平降低六百多亿美元。这一议案预计将在参议院遭到否决，民主党在参议院居多数地位。

Appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation program, Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts blasted the Republican budget blueprint as reckless and damaging.

民主党参议员、麻萨诸塞州的克里在哥伦比亚广播公司的“面对全国”节目上露面时，指责共和党人的预算计划是不顾一切、并有破坏作用的。

"I do not believe what we have from the House is a serious economic plan," he said. "I think it is a very dangerous plan. It cuts teachers, it cuts education, it cuts research, it cuts energy research - all the things we need to do to make America number one again and to move into the global marketplace, their [Republican] budget sets us back."

克里说：“我难以相信来自众议院的议案是严肃认真的经济计划。我认为这是一项非常危险的计划。它减少教师人数、削减教育经费、削减研究资金、削减能源研究经费，而这一切都是我们为了让美国再次跃居世界首位并打入全球市场所必须做的事情，然而共和党人的预算却让我们向后倒退。”

Democrats have proposed more modest budget cuts, leaving the two parties tens of billions dollars apart in proposed funding levels. The Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also appeared on Face the Nation.

民主党议员提出了比较温和的预算削减措施，使得这两党的所提议的开支水平相差几百亿美元。参议院共和党领袖、肯塔基州的参议员麦康奈尔也在“面对全国”节目上露面。

"What is reckless is the $1.6-trillion deficit we are running this year," he said. "What is reckless is the $3 trillion we have added to our national debt. Our national debt is not the size of our economy. We begin to look a lot like Greece [in danger of defaulting on debt]."

麦康奈尔说：“今年我们的赤字达一万六千亿美元，这才是不计后果。我们把国债增加了三万亿美元，这是不计后果的行为。我们的国债与我们的经济规模不成比例。我们开始看来与深陷债务的希腊差不多了。”Republicans say deep and painful spending cuts are needed to put America’s fiscal house in order so that the private sector can flourish without the burden of a bloated government sector.

共和党人说，需要作出令人痛苦的、大幅度的开支削减，才能整顿美国的财政机构，以便让私有部门得以繁荣，不至受到膨胀的政府部门的挤压。

Democrats say drastically slashing spending will throw Americans out of work, imperil a fledgling economic recovery, and rob the nation of a better-educated workforce and the technological innovation that will drive economic growth in the future.

民主党议员说，大量削减开支将使得美国人失去工作，危及正开始复苏的经济，并且让国家失去拥有更完善教育的工作队伍 ，也丧失技术革新，而这两者在未来将是经济发展的推动力。

The debate illuminates the classic divide in American politics between conservatives, who see the government as a burden to the free market, and liberals, who see the government as a necessary promoter of progress and the common good.

这场辩论显示出美国的政治传统，即保守派和自由派的分歧。保守派认为政府是自由市场经济的负担，而自由派却认为政府在促进发展和大众利益方面是必不可少的。

Despite partisan differences, the Obama administration insists compromise is possible. White House Chief of Staff William Daley spoke on NBC’s Meet the Press program.

尽管存在党派分歧，但是奥巴马政府坚持说， 有可能达成妥协。白宫幕僚长戴利在全国广播公司的“面对媒体”节目上说：

"We are not that far apart," said Daley. "We [Democrats] are at over $50 billion in cuts. The House passed [a bill] that is $100 billion. So we are over half way there [to a deal]."

“我们并没有多大的分歧。我们民主党人提出削减五百亿美元以上开支，而众议院通过的议案是削减一千亿美元。所以我们在达成协议方面已经走了一半以上的路程了。”

Republicans say the White House’s budgetary math is misleading, noting the administration's cuts come from a proposed 2011 budget that was never enacted and which would have boosted spending.

共和党人说，白宫估算的预算计划有误导作用。他们指出，奥巴马政府是从尚未执行的2011年预算提案中进行削减，而且那原来是增加开支的提案。

Even if current-year spending levels are agreed to and a government shutdown is averted, negotiators have yet to tackle next year’s budget, meaning the current partisan stand-off could be repeated six months from now.

即使两党在这一财政年度的开支水平上达成了一致、而且也避免了关闭政府，但是谈判人员还是得处理下一财政年度的预算问题，那意味目前的党派对峙局面六个月后将会重演。

In addition, neither party has submitted proposals to reform entitlement programs that provide income and medical care for retirees. Those programs are projected to add trillions of dollars to America’s national debt in coming decades.

此外，两党还没有呈交改革政府津贴项目的提议，也就是为退休人员提供收入和医疗照顾的项目。那些项目预计将在几十年后增加几万亿美元的美国国债。