NFHS EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING TOPICS

May 2024

Domestic

Closed-Ended

1. Will the projected length of the Trump “Hush Money” trial increase or decrease its impact on the effectiveness of the Trump campaign?

2. Should Congress change the rules over vacating the speakership in the House of Representatives?

3. With California hitting important milestones in the production of renewable energy, will other states increase their investments in wind, solar, and hydropower?

4. Will the endorsement of President Biden by prominent members of the Kennedy family blunt the momentum of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr’s third-party bid?

5. Does the failure of GOP attempts to impeach Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas signal a probable failure of similar attempts to impeach President Biden?

6. Should Republican candidates who use Donald Trump’s name turn over a portion of funds raised to the presidential campaign, as Trump has proposed?

7. Will Biden’s proposal to triple tariffs on Chinese steel be good for the US economy?

8. Can Mike Johnson count on Democrats to keep him as the Speaker of the House?

9. Are American college campuses supporting too little or too much free speech?

10. Will Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg's increasingly high profile propel him to a higher position in a future administration?

11. Should political candidates be allowed to self-fund their campaigns?

12. Will Netflix’s decision to ban password sharing improve their bottom line?

13. Will Mike Johnson’s use of Democratic votes to pass the recent foreign aid bill result in more bipartisan cooperation in the House of Representatives?

Open-Ended

1. What steps can states take to better ensure the continuous operation of 911 services?

2. What steps should American port cities take to better ensure the safety of their bridges?

3. What steps can TV and film producers take in their productions to help combat gun violence in the United States?

4. How will the passage of increasingly restrictive abortion measures in some states impact the cohesiveness of the Republican Party?

5. What steps should the United States take to protect its critical infrastructure from a cyberattack?

6. What steps can be taken to create greater parity between the NBA and WNBA salaries?

7. How will allegations about production faults in Boeing aircraft impact travel during the busy summer months?

8. With reports on the Lahaina, Maui fires now emerging, what could have been done, in retrospect, to minimize the damage?

9. What steps should Speaker Mike Johnson take to fend-off opposition from the extreme right of the Republican Party?

10. How will the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East impact gas prices in the United States?

11. How big of a role has Truth Social played in Donald Trump’s recent success?

12. How will student loan forgiveness impact the gap between America’s rich and poor?

International

Closed-Ended

1. Does Ma Ying-jeou still have an important role to play in Taiwanese politics?

2. Should Ukraine stop using drones to attack inside Russian territory?

3. Is Germany’s Free Democratic Party in danger of extinction?

4. Does success by the Turkish opposition in mayoral elections signal declining fortunes for Erdogan’s party in future elections?

5. Will the effort to fully decriminalize abortion in Great Britain succeed?

6. Will Congo’s resumption of the death penalty be used to silence the government’s opposition?

7. Will the apparent lull in military action between Israel and Iran continue for a significant period of time?

8. Should Israel seek to break its dependence on aid from the United States?

9. Will rising tensions between China and the Philippines spill over into open conflict?

10. Can Japan devise a Trump-proof defense strategy in anticipation of his possible election?

11. What can Pakistan’s new government do to fight terrorism within the country?

12. Can Haiti’s transitional government bring peace to the streets of their country?

13. Is Javier Milei taking the right steps to revive Argentina’s economy?

Open-Ended

1. What steps can China’s government take to provide more employment opportunities for its college graduates?

2. Why has Emmanuel Macron become such a strong opponent of Russia?

3. What steps must the German government take to improve its poor-performing schools?

4. What would be the consequences for Western Europe if Russia conquered Ukraine?

5. What steps should Carles Puigdemont take to revitalize Catalan separatism in Spain?

6. Why do a majority of British voters now regret the vote in favor of Brexit?

7. What steps can Tanzania’s opposition take to revive their electoral competitiveness?

8. How will Iran’s recent attack on Israel impact the popularity of the conservative government with its people?

9. What steps must Egypt take to revive its sagging economy?

10. What steps must Nigeria take to revive its sagging oil industry?

11. How can India’s Congress party increase its competitiveness in Indian elections?

12. How can Australia’s government better sell the AUKUS pact to its people?