奥巴马演讲:奥巴马签署紧急法案缓解教师失业
President Obama urges Congress to pass legislation that will help states avoid layoffs of emergency personnel and will save the jobs of 160,000 teachers across the nation in remarks from the Rose Garden.
【Transcript】
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. One of the biggest challenges of this recession has been its impact on state and local communities. With so many Americans unemployed or struggling to get by, states have been forced to balance their budgets with fewer tax dollars, which means that they’ve got to cut critical services and lay off teachers and police officers and firefighters.
It’s one thing for states to get their fiscal houses in order and tighten their belts like families across America — because families have been doing it, there’s no reason that states can’t do it, too. That’s a welcome thing. But we can’t stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe. That doesn’t make sense. And that’s why a significant part of the economic plan that we passed last year provided relief for struggling states — relief that has already prevented hundreds of thousands of layoffs.
And that’s why today we’re trying to pass a law that will save hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in the coming year. It will help states avoid laying off police officers, firefighters, nurses and first responders. And it will save the jobs of teachers like the ones who are standing with me today. If we do nothing, these educators won’t be returning to the classroom this fall. And that won’t just deprive them of a paycheck, it will deprive the children and parents who are counting on them to provide a decent education. It means that students in Illinois and West Virginia who count on Rachel and Shannon are going to be not getting the education that they deserve. It will deprive countless cities and towns of the law enforcement officials and first responders who risk their lives to keep us out of harm’s way. It will cost us jobs at a time when we need to be creating jobs. In other words, it will take us backwards at a time when we need to keep this country moving forward.
Now, this proposal is fully paid for, in part by closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas. So it will not add to our deficit. And the money will only go toward saving the jobs of teachers and other essential professionals.
It should not be a partisan issue. I heard the Republican Leader in the House say the other day that this is a special interest bill. And I suppose if America’s children and the safety of our communities are your special interests, then it is a special interest bill. But I think those interests are widely shared throughout this country — a challenge that affects parents, children and citizens in almost every community in America should not be a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. It is an American problem.
I’m grateful that two Republicans joined Democrats to pass this proposal in the Senate last week. And I’m equally grateful that Speaker Pelosi has called back the House of Representatives to a special session so that they can vote as well.
I urge members of both parties to come together and get this done so that I can sign this bill into law. I urge Congress to pass this proposal so that the outstanding teachers who are here today can go back to educating our children. America is watching and America is waiting for Washington to act. So let’s show the nation that we can.
I want to thank Rachel as well as Shannon not only for being here today, but for the extraordinary work that they’re doing each and every day with special education children, with kindergarteners so they’re getting off to a right start. And I also want to thank Arne Duncan, who has been doing as much as anybody all across the country to try to emphasize how important it is to make sure that we are providing a first-class education to every single one of our children.
This bill helps us do that. And so it’s time for Democrats and Republicans to come together and get it done.
Thank you very much, everybody.
END
11:48 A.M. EDT
【相关中文报道】
美国众议院10日投票通过了一项总额为260亿美元的紧急法案,以挽救约30万教师、警察及其他非联邦政府公共事务雇员的就业机会。
美国总统奥巴马当天签署了该法案。奥巴马称,对于面临失业的教师和警察,“我们不能袖手旁观”。该法案由民主党议员发起,美国参议院上周四以微弱多数通过了这一法案,众议院10日投票结果为247票支持、161票反对。
该法案将提供100亿美元,帮助各地学区重新雇用那些已被辞退的教师,或是确保在新学年开始之前不再裁员。据美国教育部估计,这一措施可能挽救16万个教师职位。教育部长邓肯称,他们将简化申请程序,使资金迅速分配到各个学区。此前,美国有四分之三的学区表示,因财政困难,他们将在新学年开始前进一步裁减教师职位。
新法案另外将投入160亿美元,用于减轻各州在公共医疗补助项目上的负担,使各州能够保住15万警察、护士和其他公共事务雇员的工作。这一措施得到美国州长协会的支持。目前,美国五分之三的州面临财政困难,2010年至2012年间的财政缺口达1160亿美元。
该法案所需资金将来自对在美跨国企业税收漏洞的清理,以及逐步减少金融危机以来联邦政府增加的食品券。法案计划使联邦政府的食品券支出于2014年恢复到金融危机以前的水平,节省约120亿美元的预算支出。
此间媒体分析认为,该法案是民主党针对今秋中期选举的一项重要举措。共和党人表示,民主党此举是把教师、警察当作“棋子”来玩政治游戏,这是民主党在财政开支上不节制的又一例证,势必在中期选举中受到选民惩罚。
该法案中减少食品券发放的措施引起了较大社会争议,在民主党内部也出现了不同声音。目前美国有约4000万低收入人口领取食品券,一些非政府机构减少食品券发放,将使一些低收入家庭更加无力购买健康食品。
（本段文字来源：新民网）
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