VOA慢速英语:The United States Postal Service Warns of Default

The United States Postal Service has a history as long as the nation's. The Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first Postmaster General in seventeen seventy-five.
美国邮政服务跟该国的历史一样悠久。第二次大陆会议于1775年任命富兰克林为第一任邮政总局局长。

This week, current Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe brought an urgent message to a Senate committee. He told the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs that the Post Office could need more money by the end of the month.
本周，现任邮政总局局长帕特里克．多纳霍(Patrick-Donahoe)给参议院委员会带来了一个紧急消息。他告诉参议院国土安全及政府事务委员会，邮政局在本月底之前需要更多资金。

PATRICK DONAHOE: " Without the enactment of comprehensive legislation by September 30, the Postal Service will default on a mandated 5.5 billion dollar payment to the Treasury to pre-fund retirement retiree health benefits. Our situation is urgent."
PATRICK DONAHOE：“如果在9月30日之前不制定出综合的立法，邮政服务将拖欠应支付给财政部退休人员55亿美元的健康福利资金。形势非常紧急。”

The Postal Service had losses of almost six billion dollars for the nine-month period ending in June. That could grow to ten billion for the year. Part of the deficit is a five and a half billion dollar payment to the federal retirement plan for postal workers.
在截至今年6月份的9个月期间，美国邮政已经累计亏损近60亿美元，全年亏损可能增加到100亿美元。该赤字的其中一部分是应支付给联邦退休计划用于邮政工作人员的55亿美元退休工资。

Mister Donahoe is asking Congress to approve huge changes to the Postal Service. He wants to cut over one hundred thousand workers, close thousands of post offices and end Saturday mail delivery. He says the service needs to operate more like a business.
Mister Donahoe请求国会批准邮政服务进行巨大的变革。他希望裁减10万名工人，关闭数千家邮局和结束周六的邮件递送服务。他表示，邮政服务的运作应该更像一家企业。

PATRICK DONAHOE: "As a self-financing entity that depends on the sale of postage for its revenues, the Postal Service requires the ability to operate more as a business does."
PATRICK DONAHOE：“作为一个自负盈亏，依赖邮资收入的实体，邮政服务需要能够更像企业一样来运作。”

The Postal Service is responsible for its own financing and not part of the federal budget. But it does take part in federal retirement and health plans. It says it has paid too much to federal retirement plans and wants at least seven billion dollars returned.
邮政服务应负责其自身的融资，而不是联邦预算的一部分，但它却是联邦退休和医疗计划。邮政服务称，他们已经向联邦退休计划支付了过多资金，希望退还至少70亿美元。

Mister Donahoe also wants to pull the Postal Service out of the federal benefit plans. He says the service's proposals could cut twenty billion dollars by twenty fifteen and return it to profitability.
Mister Donahoe还希望邮政服务退出联邦福利计划。他说，邮政的提议在2015年之前可以节约200亿美元，并重新回到盈利状态。

John Berry is director of the federal Office of Personnel Management which supervises federal retirement and health plans. He said the Obama administration would soon announce its own plan.
John Berry是联邦人事管理局局长，负责监督联邦政府的退休和医疗计划。他说，奥巴马政府将很快宣布自己的计划。

At the hearing, Senator Susan Collins criticized the administration for not having a plan already. Leaders of two labor unions representing postal workers have also criticized the proposed cuts.
在听证会上，参议员Susan Collins批评奥巴马政府还没有出台计划。代表邮政员工的两家工会领导也对削减提议提出了批评。

The United States Postal Service has over five hundred sixty thousand employees.  It reported revenue of sixty-seven billion dollars last year -- more than either of its biggest private competitors, FedEx or UPS.  But as the amount of physical mail decreases, so too have the earnings from Postal Service operations.
美国邮政服务拥有超过56万员工。去年报告收入为670亿美元，超过其两个最大的私企竞争对手FedEx和UPS。但是随着实体邮件的邮寄量锐减，邮政服务的收益也大幅降低。

Committee member Joseph Lieberman noted the need for change.
委员会成员Joseph Lieberman也指出了进行变革的必要性。

JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: "The US Postal Service is not an 18th Century relic. It is a great 21st Century national asset. But times are changing rapidly now, and so too must the Postal Service if it is to survive."
John Berry：“美国邮政服务并不是18世纪的遗物，而是21世纪伟大的国有资产。但是当今时代瞬息万变，因此，如果邮政服务想要生存下去，也必须进行变革。”