Bush Acknowledges Economic Woes, Expresses Optimism
布什促美國人民保持信心度過難關

President Bush says he is confident that a series of tax rebates and business incentives will help ease the pain of a slowing U.S. economy.

美國總統布什星期五表示，他確信，退稅和商業刺激措施將有助于緩解美國經濟發展減慢所造成的陣痛。

With the dollar at an all-time low against the Euro and higher prices for food and gasoline depressing retail sales, President Bush says there is no doubt the U.S. economy is going through tough times.

面對美元貶值、食品和能源價格高漲并導致零售下降的局面，布什總統指出，毫無疑問，美國經濟正在經歷一個困難時期。

"The economy shed more than 80,000 jobs in two months," he said. "Prices are up at the gas pump and in the supermarket. Housing values are down. Hard-working Americans are concerned. They are concerned about their families, and they are concerned about making their bills."

布什說：“美國經濟在兩個月當中損失了8萬多個工作。在加油站和超級市場，價格都在上漲。房屋價值正在下滑。辛勤工作的美國人感到擔心。他們為自己的家庭擔心，擔心付不起賬單。”

But Mr. Bush told the Economic Club of New York that he is optimistic because economic fundamentals remain strong and the federal government is acting to ensure that the economy is flexible enough to adjust to adversity and strong enough to attract capital.

布什總統在紐約經濟俱樂部發表這番講話。不過，他對美國經濟的前景表示樂觀，因為美國經濟的基本面保持強壯，而且聯邦政府正在采取措施以確保美國經濟保持彈性和動力，足以在逆境中做出調整，足以吸引更多的資本。

"I believe that we are a resilient economy, and I believe that the ingenuity and resolve of the American people is what helps us deal with these issues," he said. "And it is going to happen again."

布什說：“我相信，我們的經濟是富有彈性的。我相信，美國人民的智慧和決心將幫助我們解決這些問題。我們一定會重振旗鼓。”

The president says his administration recognized the economic slowdown early and took action with Congress to ease its impact.

布什總統表示，行政部門很早就認識到經濟發展減速，而且跟國會一道采取行動，緩解經濟走緩的影響。

Mr. Bush last month signed a temporary stimulus package that gives tax incentives to businesses to make new investments in equipment this year. It also provides tax rebates to more than 130 million households.

上個月，布什總統簽署了一個臨時性的經濟刺激方案，通過稅務減免來刺激工商企業今年在機械設備方面進行新的投資。這個方案還同時向1億3千萬美國家庭發放退稅款。

"The purpose is to boost consumer spending," he said. "The purpose is to try to offset the loss of wealth if the value of your home has gone down. The purpose is to buoy the consumer."

布什總統說：“退稅的目的是促進消費性開支，以抵銷房屋價值縮水所造成的財產損失，對消費者起到支撐作用。”

The Treasury Department says those checks should be mailed by the second week of May, so White House officials expect consumer spending to rise in the second and third quarters.

美國財政部說，退稅款將在5月份的第2個星期寄出。所以白宮官員預期，消費者支出將在第2季度和第3季度上揚。

President Bush again called on Congress to make his record tax cuts permanent and urged lawmakers to pass a free trade agreement with Colombia before the end of the year.

布什總統再次呼吁國會讓他的減稅方案永久化。他還呼吁國會議員在今年年底之前批準美國跟哥倫比亞達成的自由貿易協議。