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WeeklyAddress: It's Time to Fill the Vacancy on the Supreme Court
奧巴馬每周電視演講：是填補最高法院空缺的時候了
Hi, folks. Joe Biden here and I'm sitting with Tim Lewis, a retired federal judge who was nominated to the bench by a Republican President
嗨，大家好。與本人喬·拜登坐在一起的是蒂姆·劉易斯一名退休的聯邦法官，他曾是共和黨總統提名，
and confirmed by a Democratic Senate - within four weeks of a presidential election.
并在總統選舉的四周內由民主黨主政的參議院批準的。
Hello, everyone. That's right. And I'm living proof that President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court
各位，你好。是的，我的經歷證明奧巴馬總統提名的最高法院
Chief Judge Merrick Garland-deserves similar consideration by today's Senate.
首席法官麥瑞克·加蘭德，值得今天的參議院考慮。
Not only because Merrick Garland is recognized I might know - without exception - by the right and the left as one of America's sharpest legal minds and a model of integrity.
不僅因為我想我知道麥瑞克·加蘭德得到左右兩派一致肯定，是美國最有鮮明法律思想的正直典范。
But also because that's what the Constitution requires.
還因為這是憲法所要求的。
The sitting President shall-not may-but shall nominate someone to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
現任總統應該，而不是可能，提名人選填補最高法院的空缺，與參議院磋商并獲得通過。
That includes consulting and voting.
包括聽證和投票。
Here's how it works. For 17 years, I was chairman or the ranking member of the top opposition party person and Senate Judiciary Committee, which overseas nominations to the Court, all court, all federal courts.
這是它的工作程序。17 年來，我是反對派成員，也是參議院司法委員會主席及核心成員，審核海外所有法院、所有聯邦法院提名法官。
I presided over nine supreme court nominees-more than anyone alive. Some I supported. Others I didn't.
我經手了九個以上的提名，比任何人都多。有些我支持。另一些我反對。
But every nominee was greeted by committee members.
但每一個被提名的候選人都受到委員會成員的重視。
Every nominee got a committee hearing.
每個被提名者都會安排一次聽證會。
Every nominee got out of the committee to the Senate floor, even when a nominee did'nt receive under the law's majority support in my committee to be reported out.
每一位被提名人都會提交參議院，即使被提名人沒有得到法律規定的委員會多數成員支持。
As I thought the senate should advise the scene not the committee,
而且我認為參議院應該對這一事實提出建議，而不是委員會
And every nominee, including Justice Kennedy - in an election year-got an up or down vote by the Senate.
每位被提名者，包括肯尼迪大法官，在大選之年得以提交參議院直接投票表決。
Not much of the time. Not most of the time. Every single time.
不是多數情況，也不是大多數情況，而是每一次都如此。
That's the Constitution's clear rule of Advice and Consent.
這是憲法明確支持的規則。
And that's the rule being violated today by Senate Republicans.
而今天的參議院共和黨人踐踏這一規則。
Nobody is suggesting that Senators have to vote "yes" on a nominee.
沒有人提議參議員對提名的人選只能投"贊成"票。
Voting "no" is always an option for any senetor.
投票"反對"一直是個選項。
But saying nothing, seeing nothing, reading nothing, hearing nothing, and deciding in advance, to simply to turn your back-is not an option the Constitution leaves open to United States.
但不說、不看、不讀、不聽，前期決定只是背向翻開的憲法不予提交表決。
And it has real consequences for all of us.
這對我們所有人都造成嚴重的后果。
In the four months since Merrick Garland's nomination, we've already seen
麥瑞克·加蘭德法官的提名過去 4 個月了， 我們已看到
how the Senate's refusal to act is preventing the Court from fulfilling its duty of interpreting what the law is and resolving conflicts in lower courts.
參議院拒絕采取行動正在妨礙法院履行其職責：解釋法律、解決下級法院的矛盾。
This historic obstruction is leading to greater litigation costs and delays
歷史性的問題是產生更大的訴訟成本和訴訟拖延，
the burden falling mostly on average Americans rather than corporations with endless resources.
美國人的平均負擔難以降低而讓政府無止境地消耗資源。
Unresolved decisions by the Supreme Court are leading to federal laws that should apply to the whole country being constitutional in some parts but unconstitutional in others.
最高法院未做的裁決正在導致應適用全國的聯邦法律，有些符合憲法還有些卻違憲。
If this continues, our freedom of speech, our freedom to practice our faith, our right to vote, our right to privacy-all could depend on where we happen to live.
如果這種情況繼續下去，言論自由、信仰、選舉權、隱私權等都可能取決于我們生活所在地。
And the longer the vacancy remains unfilled, the more serious the problem-with greater confusion and uncertainty about our safety and security.
首席法官長期空缺的更嚴重的問題是個人和國土安全更加無序而難以確保。
You know, if you have eight Justices on a court, Justice Scalia himself wrote, that it raises the, "possibility that, by reason of a tie vote,
如果在一個法院有八位法官， 法官斯卡利亞本人寫道，會突出這種"可能由于票數的原因，
the Court will find itself unable to resolve the significant legal issues presented by the case."
法院將發現自己無法解決案例提出的重大法律問題。"
And if Republican Senators fail to act, it could be an entire year before a fully staffed Supreme Court can resolve any significant issue before it.
如果共和黨參議員未能采取行動，可能一整年都如此，在滿員的最高法院能夠解決任何重大問題之前。
Folks, there's enough dysfunction in Washington, D.C. Now is not the time for it to spread that dysfunction from the Congress to the Supreme Court.
諸位，華盛頓特區的功能障礙夠多的了，現在不能從國會蔓延到最高法院。
And we're better than what we're seeing.
情況好于比我們所看到的。
As a country, we're only as strong as the traditions we value- that we sustain by dedicating ourselves to something bigger than ourselves.
作為一個國家，我們僅傳統價值觀強大，我們要盡最大努力保持其生命力。
Folks, the defining difference of our great democracy has always been
各位，我們偉大的民主的定義差異可以一直探討，
that we can reason our way through to what ails us and then act as citizens, voters, and public servants to fix it.
以什么方式擺脫困擾，而作為公民、選民和公務員去修復它。
But we have to act in good faith. For unless we can find common ground, we cannot govern.
但我們必須真誠地行動。因為只有找到共同點，我們才能治理。
So for the sake of the country we love-we all have to do our job.
為了我們熱愛的這個國家， 我們都必須盡職盡責。
The President has done his. The Senate Republicans must do theirs.
總統已經做了他份內的事。參議院共和黨人也必須做。
Thanks for listening and hope you have a great weekend.
謝謝大家，祝周末愉快。
