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President Outlines 2007 Agenda, 1/24/07 Reading Comprehension Questions: 1. What topics did President Bush focus on in his sixth State of the Union address? 2. When was the first such speech given and what requires the president to give this speech to Congress? 3. Name two new challenges for the president faces at the time of the speech. 4. What recent policy move did the president spend much of his speech time defending? 5. The president asked to increase the size of the military. How will it be increased? 6. How is President Bush proposing to stop the increase in greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles? 7. What is the name of the President's health insurance initiative? And what effect does the White House say it will have? 8. Name two foreign policy goals that the president had previously set? 9. Name the law that aims to increase student achievement and that the president wants Congress to renew. 10. The Senate is considering a resolution that would undermine the president's Iraq policy. What would the resolution say? Discussion Activity (more research might be needed): 1. What do you think are the most important issues that the U.S. Congress should be dealing with this year? How closely does your agenda match the president's? Predict which issues the president will be successful in implementing and why. 2. Why is it important for the president to outline his agenda each year in the State of the Union address? Explain your answer. 3. This was President Bush's sixth State of the Union speech. How is it similar or different from those he gave in earlier years? How successful was he in implementing his past agendas? Write a 300-500 word essay on either of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra (extra@newshour.org). Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site. |