President Bush delivers his State of the Union address. Vice President Dick Cheney is seated behind him. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Gives State of the Union Address

President George Bush says America is addicted to oil. Bush says the best way to break the addiction is through new technology.

The president made the comments at the annual State of the Union speech to Congress on January 31. The State of the Union speech is a chance for the president to tell the nation what he plans to do in the next year and beyond.

This was Bush's fifth State of the Union speech. The speech he gave last year was a few months after he won re-election to a second four-year term.

The latest speech was different from the 2005 speech in many ways. Last year, Bush was more confident after winning re-election. He also called for changes in the Social Security program.

Approval ratings at their lowest

This year, Bush's approval ratings are among the lowest of his time in office. Bush did not show the confidence that he has in the past.

Bush said this year that the nation needs affordable energy to remain competitive. The president also said the nation has a serious problem because some of the oil comes from unstable parts of the world.

Increase spending on other fuel sources

To break the need for oil, Bush said he plans to increase spending by 22 percent on clean-energy research in two important areas. He said the federal government would spend money to develop cleaner coal-fired power plants to fuel homes and businesses.

Electricity can be made by burning coal. However, burning coal also causes pollution.  

He said money also would be spent on solar and wind technologies and in finding cleaner and safer nuclear energy.   Solar energy comes from sunlight.

He said research also would focus on how we power vehicles.   The research program will try to improve batteries for electric and hybrid cars. Hybrid vehicles use both a gasoline engine and a battery.

He plans to make cars that run on hydrogen part of the research program. More funds will be spent on better ways of making ethanol. Ethanol, which often comes from corn, can be used like gasoline.

The research will try to make ethanol from wood chips, plant stalks and grasses. The goal is to make new kinds of ethanol available within six years.

Wants to use less oil from the Middle East

Another goal is to reduce the use of oil from the Middle East. The plan suggested by Bush would replace more than 75 percent of oil imports from the Middle East by the year 2025.

The United States gets about 20 percent of its oil from the Middle East now. Oil also comes from more stable nations such as Canada, Mexico and Venezuela.

Wants more math and science education

Bush said the effort to develop better technologies requires more spending on math and science. Despite deep cuts to the education budget, the president says students need more math and science.

The plan calls for training 70,000 high school teachers to lead advanced classes in math and science. Another 30,000 math and science professionals should be trained to give early help to students who struggle with math.

“If we ensure that America's children succeed in life, they will ensure that America succeeds in the world,” Bush said.

No choice but to stay in Iraq

On another subject, Bush said America faces a difficult job in Iraq. He said America has no choice but to stay in Iraq. Bush said it is possible that more American troops can come home from Iraq. However, he said those decisions will be made by the military leaders, not by elected officials in Washington.