It’s not very often that a Constitutional mandate finds its way into the prime time viewing hour, but on January 28, Americans will witness just that. Shortly after 8pm on the evening of the 28th, President George W. Bush will deliver the 219th State of the Union Message before a joint session of Congress, and, thanks to television cameras, the entire nation.
While the specific details surrounding the State of the Union have changed over the years, the origin goes back to Article II, Sec. 3 of the Constitution, which says the President “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” This charge was first fulfilled when George Washington delivered the address before a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1790.
Since that time, every President except William Henry Harrison and James A. Garfield, both of whom died shortly after taking office, has presented the address. Some Presidents, however, opted to deliver their remarks in the form of a written statement to Congress rather than the personal address we are familiar with today. The practice of submitting a written statement started with Thomas Jefferson, who felt personally addressing Congress seemed too much like an exercise for a king. Subsequent Presidents followed in Jefferson’s footsteps, delivering their remarks in writing, until President Woodrow Wilson personally appeared before Congress in 1913.
It was then that the form and function of the address began to develop into what we know it to be today. President Wilson used the address to discuss the activities of his administration, as well as his legislative plan for the year. Last year, when President Bush delivered his address on January 23, he discussed solutions to pertinent issues facing our nation such as energy production and consumption, affordable health care, immigration reform, and national security. Not only did President Bush speak to the impact these issues have today, he delivered specific recommendations for tackling these issues. This year, we can again expect the President to focus on pressing issues for the nation, particularly the economy.
Each year, the State of the Union is delivered in the chamber of the House of Representatives, which is located in the U.S. Capitol. Because our nation’s highest leaders attend the address, including those in the line of Presidential succession, strict security measures are put in place. Each year, one member of the President’s Cabinet does not attend the address, helping ensure that our nation would continue to have a leader if catastrophe struck. Given the heightened security concerns following September 11, two Members of the House of Representatives and two Senators also go to a remote location during the address.
In 2006, 41.7 million people tuned in to watch President Bush deliver the State of the Union. This year’s address will take place shortly after 8pm Central Time on Monday, January 28. I hope you will take time to watch not only this address, but each State of the Union in the future. We may not be able to invite the President over for coffee to discuss the status of the country, but thanks to television, we can invite him in our living rooms and hear him give a message directly to the American people. This annual exercise not only allows us to assess where we stand as a nation, but also where we want to go in the future.
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