美國各界支持兩黨達成預算協議

US congressional leaders and business groups raced to rally support yesterday for a bipartisan budget deal designed to provide stability to America’s fiscal policy for the next two years and spur recovery.

美國國會領導人和商界團體昨日紛紛表態支持一項兩黨預算協議，該協議旨在給美國未來兩年的財政政策帶來穩定，推動經濟復甦。

The high-stakes agreement sealed on Tuesday night by Patty Murray and Paul Ryan, the Democratic and Republican budget negotiators, will be taken up by the House of Representatives as soon as today, to be followed by the Senate.

美國民主黨和共和黨預算談判代表帕蒂•默裏(Patty Murray)和保羅•瑞安(Paul Ryan)週二夜間達成了這一至關重要的協議，衆議院將最早於今日開始對其進行討論，之後將提交參議院投票表決。

Economists welcomed the deal, suggesting it raised the chances that the US Federal Reserve could begin its “tapering” of asset purchases as early as next week.

經濟學家們對這項預算協議表示歡迎，他們表示，這加大了美聯儲(Fed)最早於下週開始縮減其資產購買的可能性。

Despite dissatisfaction on both sides with aspects of the agreement, there was growing confidence on Capitol Hill that it would be approved, even if narrowly. The biggest question mark surrounded the level of support within the Republican majority in the House, where conservative lawmakers have taken hard lines against compromise in recent years.

儘管美國兩黨都對協議的某些方面仍有不滿，但國會議員們對於協議將獲得通過（即便以微弱多數通過）的信心日益增強。最大的問題是，在衆議院佔多數的共和黨內部有多少人支持該協議？近年保守派的國會議員一直立場強硬，不願妥協。

Several influential conservative groups – including the Club for Growth and Heritage Action – rejected the agreement, saying it should not have increased short-term spending in exchange for deficit reduction over a decade. But they were sharply rebuked by John Boehner, the House speaker, yesterday morning.

幾個頗具影響力的保守組織——包括Club for Growth和Heritage Action——反對該協議，它們表示，不應該用增加短期支出來換取未來10年的減赤。但衆議院議長約翰•博納(John Boehner)昨日上午對此進行了尖銳反駁。

“They’re using our members and they’re using the American people for their own goals. This is ridiculous,” Mr Boehner said. “Listen, if you’re for more deficit reduction, you’re for this agreement,” he added.

“他們正在利用我們的議員，他們正在利用美國人民爲自己的目標服務。這太荒謬了，”博納表示，“聽着，如果你支持更多減赤，那麼你就要支持這項協議。”

Because some Republicans will oppose the deal, Democratic votes will be needed. Before the agreement, many members of President Barack Obama’s party complained that it did not extend jobless benefits and was too harsh on federal workers, but some of those objections evaporated.

由於一些共和黨人將投票反對該協議，民主黨議員投票支持將十分必要。在達成該協議之前，美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)所在政黨的很多成員曾抱怨稱，協議沒有延長失業救濟期限，而且對於聯邦僱員過於嚴厲，但一些反對的聲音後來煙消雲散。

Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House budget committee, called it a “small step in the right direction”.

衆議院預算委員會民主黨一號人物克里斯•範•霍倫(Chris Van Hollen)稱，這是“邁向正確方向的一小步”。

The Business Roundtable, which lobbies for corporate America, urged both parties to support the legislation. Louis Chenevert, chief executive of United Technologies, and head of the BRT’s tax and fiscal policy committee, said the agreement would “clear the pathway to focusing on a longer-term growth agenda”.

代表美國企業遊說的商業圓桌會議(Business Roundtable)敦促兩黨支持該法案。美國聯合技術公司(United Technologies)首席執行官、商業圓桌會議稅收和財政政策委員會主席路易•謝納沃(Louis Chênevert)表示，該協議將“爲關注較長期增長議程掃清道路”。

The deal equates to about 0.4 per cent of GDP. “While it is very small in scope . . .[it] would provide some much-needed stability to the fiscal outlook,” wrote Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics. He added that it “further increases the chances” that the Federal Reserve might next week start scaling back its asset purchases.

該協議的規模相當於美國國內生產總值(GDP)的0.4%左右。凱投宏觀(Capital Economics)首席美國經濟學家保羅•阿什沃思(Paul Ashworth)寫道：“儘管涉及範圍很小……但（它）將爲財政前景帶來一些亟需的穩定性。”他補充稱，該協議“進一步提高了”美聯儲在下週開始縮減資產購買的可能性。

The deal raises spending over the next two years by $63bn, relieving some of the pressure imposed by sequestration, the automatic budget cuts that took effect in March.

該協議將未來兩年的支出增加630億美元，這緩解了今年3月生效的自動減支(sequestration)舉措所帶來的部分壓力。

But it includes new savings and revenues worth $85bn over a decade, ranging from higher fees for airline security to bigger pension contributions from federal workers.

但這包括未來10年價值850億美元的新的節省和財政收入，從提高機場安全收費，到加大聯邦僱員的養老金自付比例。

In the long run, it would reduce the deficit by $23bn. Mr Ryan and Ms Murray argued that the deal was the best that could be achieved in a divided government.

長期而言，該協議將削減230億美元的赤字。瑞安和默裏辯稱，該協議是一個意見分歧的政府能夠取得的最好成果。

“We know that this budget agreement doesn’t come close to achieving what we want to achieve, our ultimate fiscal goals,” said Mr Ryan.

瑞安表示：“我們知道，這項預算協議遠未實現我們希望實現的目標，我們的終極財政目標。”