The following topics are provided for use/distribution within your state. This suggested list is provided as a service. Feel free to add, delete or alter items to suit your purposes especially in light of day-to-day events. Please keep in mind that other states may closely regulate the distribution of these topics. Please refrain from any distribution of the topics outside of your state or by means which may be accessed outside of your state, including the Internet, during the month of November. Domestic NFHS EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING TOPICS November 2018 1. Is the new Congress more prone to impeach President Trump? 2. Will the results of Elizabeth Warren s DNA test help or hurt her future electoral prospects? 3. Will continued revelations into Brett Kavanaugh s past threaten his future on the Supreme Court? 4. With the growing number of jurisdictions legalizing marijuana, is federal legalization soon to follow? 5. Is insurance coverage for pre-existing medical conditions in jeopardy? 6. Will President Trump seal the border with Mexico? 7. Was the United States right to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union treaty? 8. Can the federal Justice Department get to the bottom of Pennsylvania s Catholic Church sex abuse scandal? 9. Should the State of Georgia erase the confederate carving at Stone Mountain? 10. Should pharmacists be allowed to refuse to dispense medications on religious grounds? 11. Have the midterm elections affirmed the importance of women voters? 12. Was the U.S. electoral system able to withstand foreign infiltration in the midterm elections?
2 13. Can Congress be more bipartisan in the second half of President Trump s first term? 1. What is the likely motivation for Nikki Haley s resignation as UN ambassador? 2. What is responsible for the reported decline in U.S. life expectancy ratings? 3. How will the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh impact the #MeToo movement? 4. When will Robert Mueller bring an end to his probe? 5. What explains the Trump administration s continued reluctance to fire Rod Rosenstein? 6. What can Ryan Zinke do to rehabilitate his image? 7. What lessons can analysts draw from the midterm elections? 8. What changes can we expect to the Trump cabinet in the wake of the midterm elections? 9. How should the Supreme Court confirmation process be reformed? 10. How can FEMA better prepare for major hurricanes? 11. What does the demise of Sears say about the American retail industry? 12. How will the removal of Elon Musk from the Chairmanship of Tesla impact the company? International 1. Can Saudi Arabia restore its international reputation after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi? 2. Are the Taliban making significant gains against the Afghan government? 3. Has China solidified its control over the South China Sea? 4. Will Great Britain get an extension on Brexit negotiations? 5. Should NATO fear the buildup of Russian facilities in Kaliningrad?
3 6. Is Germany s Grand Coalition going to collapse? 7. Can Fernando Haddad capture Brazil s presidency? 8. Is the #MeToo Movement gaining ground in India? 9. Can the United States and China avoid an accidental military clash? 10. Can the Middle East Strategic Alliance maintain unity? 11. Does Russia s upgrade to Syrian air defenses threaten Israel s security? 12. Is Iran s government more or less secure than it was a year ago? 1. How will the Trump administration s merger of the U.S. mission to the Palestinians and the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem impact the regional peace process? 2. How should the world community respond to China s use of internment camps to suppress its Uighur population? 3. What can Latin American nations do to better deal with Venezuelan refugees? 4. What can Pakistan do to persuade the IMF to provide the country with a large loan? 5. What can the world community do to deter Bangladesh s move toward authoritarianism? 6. What should the government of Zimbabwe do to stop hyperinflation? 7. What steps must be taken to maintain peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea? 8. Why did the Christian Social Union lose elections in Bavaria? 9. What steps can European nations take to bring an end to the war in Eastern Ukraine? 10. Has Spain s Catalan separatist movement lost its steam? 11. What must the Scottish National Party do to get another Brexit referendum? 12. What must the Saudi royal family do to maintain world trade ties amidst the Khashoggi murder scandal? 13. Why are Central American migrants heading north to the United States?
The following topics are provided for use/distribution within your state. This suggested list is provided as a service. Feel free to add, delete or alter items to suit your purposes especially in light of day-to-day events. Please keep in mind that other states may closely regulate the distribution of these topics. Please refrain from any distribution of the topics outside of your state or by means which may be accessed outside of your state, including the Internet, during the month of December. Domestic NFHS EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING TOPICS December 2018 1. Will President Trump remove John Kelly as his Chief of Staff? 2. Are claims that Melania Trump is exerting too much influence in the West Wing exaggerated? 3. Was the interim Attorney General appointed constitutionally? 4. Should the White House have the right to revoke the pass of a member of the White House Press Corp? 5. Will Congress be able to pass meaningful legislation in the next two years? 6. Will the US government move to distance itself from Saudi Arabia in light of recent revelations about the Crown Prince s role in the killing of a Washington Post journalist? 7. Can we expect a report from Robert Mueller on the Russia investigation during the next month? 8. Should American retailers expect consumers to spend more during this holiday season? 9. Should religious headdress be permitted in the halls of Congress? 10. Is it responsible to use prisoners to fight wildfires? 11. Are federal aid programs for farmers helping to lessen the impact of President Trump s tariffs? 12. Is there evidence of state-level voter suppression in the last election?
2 13. Will Sen. Jeff Flake mount an internal party challenge for the 2020 Republican Presidential nomination? 1. Who should succeed Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House? 2. Who is the most probable nominee to be the permanent Attorney General of the United States? 3. What are the likely causes of increased western wildfires in recent years? 4. What steps can the President take to help curtail anti-semitic activity in the United States? 5. What will be the consequence of widespread parental refusal to get their children flu shots? 6. Why has Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez become the object of so much public and media criticism in the wake of her historic run? 7. Why does Florida continue to have trouble administering its elections? 8. What steps must evangelical political activists take to energize their base for the 2020 elections? 9. Who is currently the leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination? 10. In the new Congress, which Republican will be the greatest thorn in Donald Trump s side? 11. How will the November state legislative races impact American politics in the coming decade? 12. How will the increasing number of states legalizing marijuana impact the enforcement of federal drug laws? International 1. Is China out-performing the United States at capitalism?
3 2. Will Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince survive the scandal rocking his government? 3. Does Pakistan really do nothing for the United States, as President Trump asserts? 4. Can Mexico handle the needs of the migrant caravan about to be stopped at the American border? 5. Will Theresa May survive the conclusion of the Brexit negotiations as Britain s Prime Minister? 6. Should the UK hold a second referendum on Brexit? 7. Should Greece remove clergy from its civil service? 8. Is North Korea meeting its obligations to the United States? 9. Will Imelda Marcos conviction for corruption in the Philippines bring any sense of justice to the victims of the Marcos regime? 10. Will Canada succeed in enacting a broad-based ban on firearms? 11. Is the Shi a Islamic Movement in Nigeria a threat to the Nigerian government? 12. Will the UN s proposed peace plan bring stability to Libya? 13. Will Spain derail Britain s Brexit agreement with the EU over the issue of Gibraltar? 1. What will be the consequences of strained Turkish-Saudi relations for Middle East stability? 2. What steps must Israel s prime minister take to ensure the long-term survival of his governing coalition? 3. What steps must the world community take to further drive down the incidents of malaria? 4. What can be done to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and militants in Gaza? 5. Who will be Germany s next Chancellor? 6. How will the conviction of two former Khmer Rouge leaders of genocide and war crimes in Cambodia impact the healing of the nation?
4 7. What steps should INTERPOL take to protect itself from accusations of political bias? 8. How will the election of Brazil s new President impact the country s economy? 9. What must Sri Lanka s leaders do to bring the nation out of its constitutional crisis? 10. What steps must Uzbekistan take to encourage the world community to lift its resistance toward purchasing Uzbek cotton? 11. What steps can the Chinese government take to satisfy the concerns of protesting PLA veterans? 12. How will warming relations between Israel and the Arab Persian Gulf states impact the Cold War between Iran and its Arab neighbors?