Bush's Final State of the Union Address to Focus on Economy

White House aides say the president will focus on discussing plans to keep the U.S. economy from slipping into a recession. He also is expected to announce a plan to cut in half special congressional spending initiatives, called earmarks, blamed for unnecessarily increasing the federal budget.

Mr. Bush is also expected to discuss his plans for a peace deal that would outline the parameters of a Palestinian state. And he plans to discuss the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. Bush is entering the final year of his presidency -- traditionally a time when a president's agenda-setting power weakens as the country prepares to elect his successor.

White House aides say Mr. Bush will discuss reforming the country's immigration laws, but they acknowledge the current Congress is unlikely to act on the issue.

Nearly every high-level official of the U.S. government attends the State of the Union address. Mr. Bush's audience in the Capitol building will include U.S. senators, members of the House of Representatives, justices of the Supreme Court and the nation's top uniformed military officers.
Source: By VOA News