VOA慢速英語：美國官員擔心削減預算會影響對外援助

US Officials Worry Budget Cuts Could Hurt Aid Efforts

美國官員擔心削減預算會影響對外援助

With over 20 million people nearing starvation in four countries, the United Nations (UN) is asking for $5.6 billion in emergency aid.

由于在4個國家有超過2千萬人口接近饑餓，聯(lián)合國要求提供56億美元的緊急援助。

For now, UN members have only offered about 20 percent of that amount.

目前聯(lián)合國成員國只提供了這一數(shù)額的20%左右。

Officials say the world is facing one of the biggest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II. The UN's International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has declared a famine in northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. A famine means that a very large number of people are starving because of food shortages.

有關官員表示，世界正面臨二戰(zhàn)結(jié)束以來最大的人道主義危機。聯(lián)合國兒童基金會宣布尼日利亞東北部、索馬里、南蘇丹和也門發(fā)生了饑荒。饑荒意味著很多人因為糧食短缺餓死了。

The United States provides about 28 percent of the world's humanitarian aid, the most of any nation. But some warn of large cuts if the U.S. Congress approves a Trump administration proposal. It calls for a cut of about $50 billion in the State Department budget.

美國提供了全球約28%的人道主義援助，超出了所有國家。但是有人警告說，如果美國國會批準了川普政府的一項提案，美國的人道主義援助將會大幅削減。川普政府的這項提案要求將國務院預算削減500億美元。

The State Department oversees foreign assistance programs.

國務院負責管理對外援助項目。

The Republican Party controls both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Top Republicans in the House and Senate say Congress is likely to reject the big cuts in foreign aid proposed by the president.

共和黨控制了美國參眾兩院。參眾兩院的共和黨高層人士表示，國會可能會否決總統(tǒng)提出的大幅削減對外援助。

New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, a Republican, is chairman of a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee. He said his goal is to get more U.S. aid to help starving people.

來自新澤西的共和黨議員克里斯·史密斯(Chris Smith)是眾議院外事委員會主席。他說，他的目標是要獲得更多的美國援助來幫助饑民。

Pregnant women suffering from famine may be too weak to survive pregnancy, Smith said at a subcommittee hearing this week.

史密斯本周在小組委員會的聽證會上表示，遭受饑荒的孕婦可能太虛弱而活不過妊娠。

If they survive, he said, their children are likely to be "stunted," meaning well short of normal weight and height.

他說，如果她們幸存下來，她們的孩子可能會面臨發(fā)育遲緩，意思是遠遠達不到正常身高和體重。

That makes them more at risk of disease, and people in a weakened condition have a more difficult time surviving, UNICEF officials said. They added that 22 million children are hungry, sick and unable to attend school in the four countries.

兒童基金會官員表示，這使得他們更容易患上疾病，而處于虛弱狀態(tài)的人們更難以幸存。官員們補充說，這四個國家有2200萬兒童處于饑餓、患病和無法上學的狀態(tài)。

World counts on United States

世界依賴美國

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Democratic Party. Cardin said he is concerned President Trump has not spoken publicly about the starvation crisis and has proposed cuts in foreign aid.

馬里蘭州參議員本·卡丹(Ben Cardin)就職于參議院外交委員會，也是民主黨人?？ǖけ硎荆P心的是川普總統(tǒng)還沒有公開討論過饑餓危機，并且提出了削減對外援助。

"If the U.S. is not in the leadership, the international community is not going to respond," Cardin said.

卡丹說，“如果美國不挺身而出，國際社會就不會作出回應。”

Senator Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He predicted Congress will not approve the big cuts in foreign aid proposed by President Trump.

參議員鮑勃·科克爾(Bob Corker)是來自田納西州的共和黨人，也是參議院外交委員會主席。他預計國會不會批準川普總統(tǒng)提出的大幅削減對外援助。

But he said action is needed immediately to deal with the starvation crisis, long before a new budget is passed.

但他表示，早在新預算案通過之前，就需要立即采取行動應對饑餓危機。

"We understand that people today as we sit here are dying. What is it that we can do right now today to help try to meet the needs over the next two weeks?" Corker said at a hearing last week.

科克爾上周在聽證會上表示，“我們都知道，今天當我們坐在這里的時候，有人在不斷死亡。我們現(xiàn)在能做些什么來幫助盡量滿足未來兩周的需求?”

Gregory Gottlieb is with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He told Corker that if his agency received more flexibility on rules for food aid, it could feed an additional five million people a year.

格里高利·戈特利布(Gregory Gottlieb)就職于美國國際開發(fā)署。他對科克爾表示，如果該機構(gòu)在糧食援助規(guī)則上獲得更大靈活性，那么每年就能多養(yǎng)活500萬人。

Nancy Lindborg is president of the U.S. Institutes of Peace, an independent, federal office. She said a lot of the starvation in the four nations facing famine is a product of war and other conflicts, not food shortages.

南希·林德伯格(Nancy Lindborg)是美國和平研究所的負責人，這是一家獨立的聯(lián)邦機構(gòu)。她說，面臨饑荒的這四個國家的很多饑餓都是戰(zhàn)爭和其它沖突的產(chǎn)物，而不是糧食短缺。

Lindborg said armed groups are killing livestock, destroying food supplies and closing down markets.

林德伯格表示，武裝團伙正在屠宰牲畜，破化糧食供應和關閉市場。

On March 16, one reporter asked Budget Director Mick Mulvaney if the proposed budget cuts will cause, in their words, "some of the most vulnerable people on Earth to suffer?"

3月16日有一名記者問美國預算局局長米克·穆爾范尼(Mick Mulvaney)，擬議的預算削減是否會導致地球上最脆弱的一群人遭受苦難呢?

Mulvaney said that Trump is following up on his campaign promise to put America first.

穆爾范尼表示，川普正在踐行自己的競選承諾，那就是美國優(yōu)先。

"The President said specifically hundreds of times -- you covered him -- I'm going to spend less money on people overseas and more money on people back home. And that's exactly what we're doing with this budget," Mulvaney said.

穆爾范尼表示，“川普總統(tǒng)說了幾百次了，要把錢更多地花在美國國內(nèi)民眾身上，而不是國外。我們?nèi)缃竦呢斦A算正是要朝這個目標努力。”

I'm Ashley Thompson.

阿什利·湯普森報道。