If there is going to be peace in legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just does not work that way. We must be united at home to defeat our adversaries abroad. This new era of cooperation can start with finally confirming the more than 300 highly qualified nominees who are still stuck in the Senate, in some cases years and years waiting— not right.

如果立法机构要和平，就不能有战争和调查。但现在不是这样的。攘外必先安内。这一全新的合作时代可以从最终确认300多名仍然滞留在参议院（批准过程中）的高素质候选人开始——在某些情况下，他们等待了一年又一年——这是不对的。

The Senate has failed to act on these nominations, which is unfair to the nominees, and very unfair to our country. Now is the time for bipartisan action. Believe it or not, we have already proven that is possible.

参议院没有对这些提名采取行动，这对被提名者是不公平的，对我国也是非常不公平的。现在是两党行动的时候了。信不信由你，我们已经证明这是可能的。

In the last Congress, both parties came together to pass unprecedented legislation to confront the opioid crisis, a sweeping new farm bill, historic VA reforms, and after four decades of rejection, we passed a VA accountability, so we can finally terminate those who mistreat our wonderful veterans.

在上届国会，两党齐聚一堂，通过了前所未有的立法，以应对阿片类药物危机，还有一项全面的新农业法案，历史性的退伍军人改革，经过40年的抗拒，我们终于通过了退伍军人责任制，因此我们最终可以遏制那些虐待我们出色的退伍军人的人。

And just weeks ago, all parties united for groundbreaking criminal justice reform. They said it couldn't be done.

就在几周前，各方都为突破性的刑事司法改革而团结一致。而他们曾经说这做不到。

Last year, I heard through friends, the story of Alice Johnson. I was deeply moved. In 1997, Alice was sentenced to life in prison as a first-time, nonviolent drug offender. Over the next 22 years, she became a prison minister, inspiring others to choose a better path. She had a big impact on that prison population and far beyond. Alice's story underscores the disparities and unfairness that can exist in criminal sentencing, and the need to remedy this total injustice.

去年，我从朋友们那里听说了爱丽丝·约翰逊的故事。我被深深地感动了。1997年，爱丽丝作为首次犯罪的非暴力性毒品罪犯被判处终身监禁。在接下来的22年里，她成为了一名监狱里的牧师，激励其他人选择一条更好的道路。她对监狱里的人产生了很大的影响，而且远不止于此。爱丽丝的故事强调了在刑事判决中可能存在的差异和不公平，以及纠正这种完全不公正的必要性。

She served almost 22 years, and had expected to be in prison for the remainder of her life. In June, I commuted Alice's sentence. When I saw Alice's beautiful family greet her at the prison gates, hugging and kissing and crying and laughing, I knew I did something right. Alice is with us tonight, and she is a terrific woman. Terrific. Alice, please. Alice, thank you for reminding us that we always have that power to shape— the power to shape our own destiny. Thank you very much.

她服了将近22年的刑，本打算在监狱里度过余生。6月，我改判了爱丽丝的刑期。当我看到爱丽丝美丽的家人在监狱门口迎接她，拥抱，亲吻，哭泣，大笑，我就知道我做了正确的事情。爱丽丝今晚和我们在一起，她是个很棒的女人。好极了。爱丽丝，请吧……爱丽丝，谢谢你提醒我们，我们总是有塑造自己命运的力量。非常感谢。

Inspired by stories like Alice's, my administration worked closely with members of both parties to sign the First Step Act into law. Big deal. That is a big deal. This legislation reformed sentencing laws that have wrongly and disproportionately harmed the African-American community. The First Step Act gives nonviolent offenders the chance to reenter society as productive, law-abiding citizens. Now, states across the country are following our lead. America is a nation that believes in redemption.

在爱丽丝这样的故事的启发下，我的政府与两党成员密切合作，签署了“第一步法案”(First Step Act)，使之成为法律。大事，这是件大事。这项立法对非裔美国人社区错误和不成比例伤害的量刑法律进行了改革。“第一步法案”使非暴力罪犯有机会作为富有成效、守法的公民重返社会。现在，全国各州都在追随我们的脚步。美国是一个相信救赎的国家。