http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_...GIqfug2V52s0NUE
Bush to hold news conference
1 hour, 15 minutes ago - 4.29.8
WASHINGTON - President Bush aimed Tuesday to address mounting anxieties about U.S. economic problems as energy prices soar and more Americans lose their homes in foreclosures.
The president planned to talk about those and other subjects in a news conference at 10:30 a.m. EDT in the Rose Garden. His eight-minute opening statement was deal with energy prices, food costs and farm legislation, bills to help more Americans keep their homes and giving the federal government more authority to buy student loans.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said Bush would discuss "American's understandable anxiety about issues affecting their pocketbook." The president will "call upon Congress to send him sensible and effective bills that will help Americans weather this difficult period and keep our country moving forward," she said.
That includes sweeping energy legislation Bush has long sought that would increase investment in alternative energy sources. The White House has acknowledged the measure would do nothing to address the current energy price squeeze affecting consumers. Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel on Monday, and the price of gas averaged $3.60 a gallon in the United States.
Bush also was to ask lawmakers to reform farm programs, pass broad housing legislation and give the federal government greater authority to buy federal student loans, Perino said.
It has been two months since Bush's last solo news conference with reporters.