Members of Congress and guests applaud as President Bush delivers an address. AP photo.

From the tax cut to Social Security to foreign affairs, here is a brief look at the key elements of President George W. Bush's agenda for the nation.

Tax cuts. The centerpiece of President Bush's agenda is his $1.6 trillion tax cut over 10 years. Bush has pushed hard for tax cuts, especially given recent poor economic reports. His plan would abolish the estate tax, which is usually paid by wealthy families looking to pass along big houses and other things to their kids. Tax cuts would also include reductions for married couples and individuals. The House of Representatives voted its approval of a $1.6 trillion cut. The Senate approved a bill for $1.2 trillion. The two differing bills will now go to conference committee for reconciliation. The final result will probably be somewhere in the middle.

Education. President Bush wants to start programs that will guarantee that every kid will able to read by the third grade. He also supports a school-voucher program for parents to be able to send their kids to private schools if their own schools perform poorly. Some say the plan is unrealistic and unfair and that proposed funding is not enough to make it all work. Specific details are yet to be added to the plan, and the school-voucher program does not have enough support in Congress to pass. Political observers say that part of Bush's plan is DOA, or dead on arrival.

School Safety. With the recent school shootings, President Bush has proposed grading schools on how dangerous they are. Dangerous schools would be required to give parents vouchers—or coupons—to help them send their kids to private school.

Prescription drugs. Bush has proposed more money for prescriptions through Medicare, the insurance that people over 65 years of age receive from the federal government. The increase for next year would include $156 billion for prescription drugs over a 10-year period. That amount would also have to pay for reorganizing the Medicare program. Congress says this is not enough money, and may approve double that amount. More money in the Medicare program will mean less money somewhere else.

The military. Bush wants to strengthen the military and raise salaries for servicemen and women. The most controversial part of his plan is his inclusion of money for building a missile defense system. The defense system is to shoot down incoming missiles from enemies. But construction would not be easy. Many say it would be very costly to make and that the technology is not advanced enough to guarantee that it would even work when finished.

Social Security. Bush wants workers to invest some of their social security money in the stock market. Social security is a tax every worker pays into the system to save for retirement. The government keeps the money until you retire, then gives it back to you as monthly payments. But with so many people due to retire in future decades, some say the system will go broke and needs help. Bush says people should be able to invest some of their social security tax in stocks. The recent fall of stock prices might put this idea on hold because people have become afraid of investing.

Faith-based funding. Bush wants to give money to religious groups that help people in need. The proposal faces a lot of opposition, even from those in the religious community. While 75 percent of Americans support the idea, they would not allow it for all groups, according to a recent study by the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life. Most Americans would not want groups such as Buddhists, Muslims, and the Nation of Islam to receive funding. Federal law would require that every religious group would be eligible. Opponents say the plan is a violation of the separation of church and state outlined in the Constitution. The Senate recently announced it will delay consideration of any bill.

The Environment. Bush backed off on his promise to toughen emission standards and wants to drill for oil in the Alaskan wilderness. He is coming under fire from environmentalists and even some moderate Republicans for his plan. They think he is siding with big business at the expense of the environment. Bush says the current energy crisis in California, where fuel prices have skyrocketed and citizens have suffered rolling blackouts, has caused him to rethink his earlier promise to toughen emission standards on power plants. He sites rising gas prices and an impending national energy shortage as the reason for drilling in Alaska.

Foreign Affairs. A spy plane is captured by the Chinese, violence in the Middle East is back in the news, and trouble has erupted again in the Balkans. As a candidate, Bush was attacked by his opponents for his lack of knowledge in the area of foreign affairs. Now he has to deal directly with foreign leaders whose names he had trouble pronouncing during the campaign debates. He has assembled a strong foreign-policy team, which has been immediately put to the test. The recent release of the 24 crew members of a spy plane that was forced to land in China aroused high feelings of patriotism among Americans. Many Republicans felt the President went too far in his apology to the Chinese, however.