美国总统呼吁美国国会延长紧急失业保险法案英语演讲稿

Well, welcome to the White House,everybody. And that was one of the best introductions I’ve ever had. (Applause.) So we’re so proud of Kiara for the introduction and for sharing yourstory, and you’re just so poised. And Iknow Geoff Canada is just out there all excited -- (laughter) -- and proud, andI know your mom is proud. I know she is. She should be.

Kiara and the rest of these youngpeople grew up in a 97-square-block section of Harlem. It’s a place where the odds used to bestacked against them every single day, even just graduating from high schoolwas a challenge. But with the help ofsome very dedicated adults and a program called the Harlem Children’s Zone,they’re right on track to go to college. Together, students, teachers, administrators, parents, community, they’rechanging the odds in this neighborhood. And that’s what we’re here to talk about today -– changing the odds forevery American child so that no matter who they are, no matter where they areborn, they have a chance to succeed in today’s economy.

Now, the good news is that,thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the American people all across thecountry over the last five years, our economy has grown stronger. Our businesses have now created more than 8million new jobs since the depths of the recession. Our manufacturing, our housing sectors arerebounding. Our energy and technologyand auto industries are booming. We’vegot to keep our economy growing. We’vegot to make sure that everybody is sharing in that growth. We’ve got to keep creating jobs, and then we’vegot to make sure that wages and benefits are such that families can rebuild alittle bit of security. We’ve got tomake sure this recovery, which is real, leaves nobody behind. And that’s going to be my focus throughoutthe year.

This is going to be a year ofaction. That’s what the American peopleexpect, and they’re ready and willing to pitch in and help. This is not just a job for government; thisis a job for everybody.

Working people are looking forthe kind of stable, secure jobs that too often went overseas in the past coupleof decades. So next week, I’ll join companies and colleges and take action toboost high-tech manufacturing -- the kind that attracts good new jobs and helpsgrow a middle class. Business owners areready to play their part to hire more workers. So this month, I’m going to host CEOs here at the White House not once,but twice: First to lay out specificsteps we can take to help more workers earn the skills that they need for today’snew jobs; second, they’re going to announce commitments that we’re making toput more of the long-term unemployed back to work.

And on January 28th, in my Stateof the Union address -- which I want all the legislators here to know I’m goingto try to keep a little shorter than usual -- (laughter) -- they’re cheeringsilently -- (laughter) -- I will mobilize the country around the nationalmission of making sure our economy offers every American who works hard a fairshot at success. Anybody in this countrywho works hard should have a fair shot at success, period. It doesn’t matter where they come from, whatregion of the country, what they look like, what their last name is -- theyshould be able to succeed.

And obviously we’re coming off ofa rancorous political year, but I genuinely believe that this is not a partisanissue. Because when you talk to the American people, you know that there arepeople working in soup kitchens, and people who are mentoring, and people whoare starting small businesses and hiring their neighbors, and very rarely arethey checking are they Democrat or Republican. There’s a sense of neighborliness that’s inherent in the American people-- we just have to tap into that.

And I’ve been very happy to seethat there are Republicans like Rand Paul, who’s here today, who are ready toengage in this debate. That’s a goodthing. We’ve got Democratic andRepublican elected officials across the country who are ready to roll up theirsleeves and get to work. And this shouldbe a challenge that unites us all.

I don’t care whether the ideasare Democrat or Republican. I do carethat they work. I do care that they aresubject to evaluation, and we can see if we are using tax dollars in a certainway, if we’re starting a certain program, I want to make sure that young peoplelike Kiara are actually benefiting from them.

Now, it’s one thing to say weshould help more Americans get ahead, but talk is cheap. We’ve got to actually make sure that we doit. And I will work with anybody who’swilling to lay out some concrete ideas to create jobs, help more middle-classfamilies find security in today’s economy, and offer new ladders of opportunityfor folks to climb into the middle class.