Weekly Address: Calling on Congress to Extend Unemployment Benefits this Holiday Season

每周演讲：呼吁国会这个假期季节延长失业补助

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama said that before Congress leaves for vacation, they should extend unemployment benefits for 1.3 million hardworking Americans who will lose this lifeline at the end of the year. For families, unemployment benefits can mean the difference between hardship and catastrophe, and it is also one of the most effective ways to boost our economy. This holiday season, Congress should do the right thing for the American people and make it easier for our economy to keep growing and adding jobs.

华盛顿——在本周的演讲中，奥巴马总统表示，国会在去度假前，应该为130万在今年底失去工作的勤劳美国人延长失业补助。对于家庭，失业补助可能意味着窘困和灾难的区别，这也是提振美国经济最有效的方式之一。这个假期季节，国会应该为美国人民做正确的事情，让我们的经济继续增长和增加工作更加容易。

Remarks of President Barack Obama

Weekly Address

The White House

December 7, 2013

巴拉克.奥巴马总统讲话

每周演讲

白宫

2013年12月7日

Hi, everybody. The holiday season is a time for remembering the bonds we share, and our obligations to one another as human beings.

大家好！假期季节，是一个记住我们所共同拥有的关系和作为人类彼此担负的责任的时刻。

But right now, more than one million of our fellow Americans are poised to lose a vital economic lifeline just a few days after Christmas if Congress doesn’t do something about it.

但就在此刻，如果国会不采取行动，圣诞节后仅数天，超过一百万的美国同胞就随时可能失去极其重要的经济生命线。

Our top priority as a country should be restoring opportunity and broad-based economic growth for all Americans. And yesterday, we learned that our businesses created about 200,000 jobs in the month of November. That’s more than 8 million new jobs in the last 45 months. And the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in five years.

作为一个国家，我们最优先考虑的事情，应该是为所有美国人恢复机会和恢复有广泛基础的经济增长。昨天，我们了解到，我们的企业11月创造了约200,000个工作。在最近45个月，我们的企业创造了8百万个新工作。失业率降到了五年来的最低水平。

But we need to do everything we can to help businesses create more good jobs that pay good wages even faster. Because the hole that we’re still digging out of means that there are still millions of Americans looking for work – often because they’ve been laid off through no fault of their own.

但我们还是要尽我们所能，帮助企业更快地创造更多工资条件不错的好工作。因为我们正试图摆脱的困境意味着，还有数百万美国人正在找工作——经常因为他们并非自己的过错而被解雇。

We also have to look out for the Americans working hard to get those jobs. That’s why, as a country, we offer temporary unemployment insurance – so that job-seekers don’t fall into poverty, and so that when they get that job, they bounce back more quickly.

我们也不得不照顾辛勤付出获得这些工作的美国人。正是出于这一理由，作为一个国家，我们提供临时失业保险——这样，求职者不会陷入贫穷，这样，当他们得到工作时，他们会更快地恢复元气。

For many families, it can be the difference between hardship and catastrophe. It makes a difference for a mother who suddenly doesn’t know if she’ll be able to put food on the table for her kids. It makes a difference for a father who lost his job and is looking for a new one. Last year alone, it lifted 2.5 million people out of poverty, and cushioned the blow for many more.

对许多家庭，这可能是窘困和灾难的区别。这对突然不知道自己是否还能把食物放到孩子桌上的母亲非常重要。这对失去工作并正在寻找新工作的父亲非常重要。单是去年，它使250万人脱离贫穷，对更多人，它减轻了失业所带来的打击。

But here’s the thing: if Members of Congress don’t act before they leave on their vacations, 1.3 million Americans will lose this lifeline. These are people we know. They’re our friends and neighbors; they sit next to us in church and volunteer in our communities; their kids play with our kids. And they include 20,000 veterans who’ve served this country with honor.

但问题是，如果国会成员不在去度假前行动，130万美国人将失去这一生命线。有我们认识的人。他们是我们的朋友和邻居；他们在教堂就坐在我们身边，他们在我们的社区做义务工作；他们的孩子跟我们的孩子一起玩耍。他们还包括20,000名以优异表现为国家服务过的老兵。

If Congress refuses to act, it won’t just hurt families already struggling – it will actually harm our economy. Unemployment insurance is one of the most effective ways there is to boost our economy. When people have money to spend on basic necessities, that means more customers for our businesses and, ultimately, more jobs. And the evidence shows that unemployment insurance doesn’t stop people from trying hard to find work.

如果国会拒绝行动，这不仅会伤害已经在奋力挣扎的家庭——事实上还会伤害美国经济。失业保险是提振经济的最有效方式之一。当人们拥有钱购买基本必需品时，这意味着我们的企业拥有更多顾客，最终更多的工作。证据显示，失业保险并不会使人们停止试图努力寻找工作。

Just this week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that allowing benefits to expire will be a drag on our economic growth next year. A report by the Department of Labor and my Council of Economic Advisors estimated that it could cost businesses 240,000 jobs. And without the ability to feed their families or pay the bills, many people currently looking for work could stop looking for good.

就在本周，无党派国会预算办公室预测称，让补贴到期失效会拖累明年的经济增长。劳工部和总统经济顾问委员会提出的一份报告估计，这可能会让企业失去240,000个工作。如果无力供养家庭或支付账单，目前寻找工作的许多人，可能会停止寻找更美好生活的尝试。

So extending unemployment insurance isn’t just the right thing to do for our families – it’s the smart thing to do for our economy. And it shouldn’t be a partisan issue. For decades, Congress has voted to offer relief to job-seekers – including when the unemployment rate was lower than it is today.

所以，延长失业保险不只是为我们的家庭所做的正确事情——它也是为我们的经济所采取的明智之举。它不应该是个党派问题。数十年来，国会一直投票同意向求职者提供救济——包括在失业率低于今天水平的时期。

But now that economic lifeline is in jeopardy. All because Republicans in this Congress – which is on track to be the most unproductive in history – have so far refused to extend it.

但现在，这一经济生命线处于危险之中。完全因为本届国会中的共和党人目前为止还是拒绝延长它——本届国会正在成为有史以来最无所作为的国会。

So this holiday season, let’s give our fellow Americans who are desperately looking for work the help they need to keep on looking. Let’s make it easier for businesses to attract more customers, and our economy to grow. And together, let’s keep doing everything we can to make this country a place where anyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead.

所以，这个假期季节，让我们给予正拼命寻找工作的美国同胞继续寻找所需要的帮助吧！让我们使企业吸引更多顾客、美国经济增长变得更容易些吧！让我们携起手来继续尽我们所能，使美国成为一个努力工作的人都有机会获得成功的国家吧！

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

谢谢！祝周末愉快！