The White House order on cost-cutting is the latest in a series of small-scale initiatives Obama has been carrying out that do not require congressional approval.(Agencies) |
President Barack Obama asked government agencies on Wednesday to slash $4 billion in spending on things like travel, printing and coffee mugs, in his latest effort to sidestep Congress and help the economy. The White House order on cost-cutting is the latest in a series of small-scale initiatives Obama has been carrying out that do not require congressional approval. By taking the executive actions, the Democrat is trying to put pressure on opposition Republicans to work with him on his $447 billion jobs package and other legislative proposals, and blame them for failing to act in the country's best interest. Wednesday's order urges agencies to use teleconferences and videoconferences to cut down on travel and to reduce printing costs by making more information available electronically. Government bodies are also being encouraged to limit the number of laptops, cellphones, smart phones and other devices issued to bureaucrats and workers to cut unnecessary costs. Obama told reporters at the White House the order would cut spending in the targeted areas by 20 percent. "At a time when families have had to cut back, have had to make some tough decisions about getting rid of things that they don't need in order to make the investments that they do, we thought that it was entirely appropriate for our governments and our agencies to try to root out waste, large and small," he said during a short signing ceremony. In attention to operations-related budget items, the order also calls for less spending on "swag" -- promotional clothing, branded coffee mugs and other gadgets and memorabilia that government agencies sometimes buy with tax dollars. An administration official said the estimated $4 billion saved by the measure would be reinvested in "things that really matter" like "our nation's infrastructure to help grow the economy and create jobs." (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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美國(guó)總統(tǒng)貝拉克?奧巴馬本周三要求政府機(jī)構(gòu)削減40億美元開(kāi)支,比如用于差旅、印刷、以及咖啡杯等的開(kāi)銷(xiāo),這也是奧巴馬回避?chē)?guó)會(huì)、幫助經(jīng)濟(jì)恢復(fù)的最新舉措。 奧巴馬最近推出了一系列無(wú)需國(guó)會(huì)批準(zhǔn)的小規(guī)模刺激措施,白宮削減開(kāi)支的要求是最新一項(xiàng)。 通過(guò)采取這些行政舉措,奧巴馬正試圖給反對(duì)黨派的共和黨人施壓,與自己合作開(kāi)展4470億美元的就業(yè)刺激計(jì)劃,以及其他的立法建議,并指責(zé)共和黨沒(méi)能以國(guó)家利益為上。 奧巴馬本周三還要求各機(jī)構(gòu)使用電話會(huì)議和視頻會(huì)議,通過(guò)電子化辦公,削減差旅費(fèi)和打印費(fèi)用。 此外,他還鼓勵(lì)政府機(jī)構(gòu)限制發(fā)放給員工的筆記本電腦、普通手機(jī)、智能手機(jī)和其他設(shè)備的數(shù)量,以減少不必要開(kāi)銷(xiāo)。 奧巴馬在白宮告訴記者,這項(xiàng)措施將減少目標(biāo)區(qū)域20%的花銷(xiāo)。 他在一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)短的簽字儀式上說(shuō):“現(xiàn)在美國(guó)的家庭都不得不減少開(kāi)支,不得不作出艱難的決定,減少不必要的開(kāi)支才有錢(qián)投資。我們覺(jué)得政府機(jī)構(gòu)嘗試根除浪費(fèi)很有必要,不管規(guī)模大小?!?/p> 在與政府運(yùn)作有關(guān)的預(yù)算項(xiàng)目方面,奧巴馬還要求大家減少“贓物”,比如有時(shí)用稅收購(gòu)買(mǎi)的衣服、名牌咖啡杯、以及其他物件和紀(jì)念品等公關(guān)禮品。 一位政府官員透露,通過(guò)這些措施節(jié)省的大約40億經(jīng)費(fèi)將重新投資于“大事”,比如“幫助促進(jìn)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng),創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)的全美基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)”。 相關(guān)閱讀 研究:美國(guó)人更喜歡高個(gè)子領(lǐng)導(dǎo) 奧巴馬就債務(wù)上限談判發(fā)表演講(中英文對(duì)照) 公開(kāi)的秘密:美總統(tǒng)簽名多為機(jī)器代勞 美國(guó)公布白宮公務(wù)員年薪 今年人均8.2萬(wàn) 奧巴馬公開(kāi)出生證明 回應(yīng)競(jìng)選資格質(zhì)疑 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: sidestep:躲避打擊,回避問(wèn)題 root out: 徹底根除 swag: 掠奪品,贓物 |