Grace Cooper:
The President is scheduled to give the annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 4, 2020. As you probably remember, last year’s State of the Union was delayed during the longest government shutdown in history. Even though this year’s address will be happening more promptly than the last, it will be just as highly anticipated.
After the speech, your constituents will be looking to you for your take on the state of the union. Prepare to respond by familiarizing yourself with the possible talking points of the speech, solidifying your response to those topics, and scheduling an event to speak directly to your constituents. Although we’re still a few days away, here’s what to expect and how your office can respond to its constituents.
What Everyone Will Be Talking About
Although we can’t know exactly what will be in this year’s State of the Union address, Members should be prepared to talk about and respond to important events and legislation from the past year. Have your responses ready ahead of time so that you can respond directly to your constituents as soon as possible.
To help you get ready, here are some hot topics from last year’s address as well as new timely issues that may be part of this year’s speech:
- Paid Family Leave: The Senate recently passed a measure to fund paid family leave for federal employees, making this a possible talking point for this year’s address, just as it was in the last.
- National Security: The President is likely to touch on national security in this year’s address with a focus on recent events in Iran, including the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iran’s retaliatory airstrike on two Iraqi bases.
- Religious Freedom: With the President’s recent move to protect prayer in public schools, religious freedom could be a topic of discussion in this year’s address.
- The Economy: In light of the recent trade deal between the U.S. and China, trade, manufacturing, and the economy in general could all be possible topics in the address.
- Immigration: The 2019 State of the Union address focused heavily on immigration, specifically funding of the border wall. Immigration has continued to be a hot topic in the past year and will probably be a focus of the President’s speech, specifically the administration’s recent decision to target birthright citizenship.
- The Impeachment: With the impeachment trial currently underway in the Senate, this will be on everyone’s mind. Whether the President mentions the ongoing trial or not, your constituents will be waiting to hear about it in your response.
How You Can Respond
Although someone else will be giving the official response to the State of the Union address, that doesn’t mean that your Member can’t give their own just as easily with a telephone town hall. Contact us to schedule an event as soon as possible so that you can give your constituents a response tailored to their interests and needs.
Never held a telephone town hall before? We wrote down everything you need to know.
It’s been an eventful first year for the 116th Congress and, if you haven’t reached out to your constituents lately, now is the time. Although nobody can predict exactly what will be included in the 2020 State of the Union, your office can prepare for the possibilities with well-researched talking points and a telephone town hall event.
