奧巴馬號召政府節省開支 削減40億經費

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."美國總統貝拉克•奧巴馬本週三要求政府機構削減40億美元開支，比如用於差旅、印刷、以及咖啡杯等的開銷，這也是奧巴馬迴避國會、幫助經濟恢復的最新舉措。

奧巴馬最近推出了一系列無需國會批准的小規模刺激措施，白宮削減開支的要求是最新一項。

通過採取這些行政舉措，奧巴馬正試圖給反對黨派的共和黨人施壓，與自己合作開展4470億美元的就業刺激計劃，以及其他的立法建議，並指責共和黨沒能以國家利益爲上。

奧巴馬本週三還要求各機構使用電話會議和視頻會議，通過電子化辦公，削減差旅費和打印費用。

此外，他還鼓勵政府機構限制發放給員工的筆記本電腦、普通手機、智能手機和其他設備的數量，以減少不必要開銷。

奧巴馬在白宮告訴記者，這項措施將減少目標區域20%的花銷。

他在一個簡短的簽字儀式上說：“現在美國的家庭都不得不減少開支，不得不作出艱難的決定，減少不必要的開支纔有錢投資。我們覺得政府機構嘗試根除浪費很有必要，不管規模大小。”

在與政府運作有關的預算項目方面，奧巴馬還要求大家減少“贓物”，比如有時用稅收購買的作爲獎勵的衣服，名牌咖啡杯，以及其他物件和紀念品。

一位政府官員透露，通過這些措施節省的大約40億經費將重新投資於“大事”，比如“幫助促進經濟增長，創造就業機會的全美基礎設施建設”。