President Biden would be barred from delivering the State of the Union address to Congress until he submits a budget request and national security strategy, under legislation introduced Monday by Sen. Joni Ernst.
The Send Us Budget Materials and International Tactics on Time (SUBMIT IT) Act would prevent House and Senate leaders from inviting the president to give the annual address until lawmakers receive those materials.
“Well, folks, actions speak louder than words, and Biden’s budget is late again,” Ernst (R-Iowa) said in a statement obtained by The Post. “If the president is going to be allowed the opportunity to address Congress and the entire nation, he should have a plan in place.”
Ernst, whose bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, cited two federal laws that require the president to present both plans by the first Monday in February.
Biden, 81, will deliver his third State of the Union address on March 7.
Senator Joni Ernst wants President Biden to present a budget request and national security strategy before he delivers his speech. Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
The Constitution requires the president “from time to time to furnish to the Congress information concerning the state of the Union, and to recommend for their consideration such measures as he may deem necessary and expedient.”
The speech does not have to be delivered in person, as every president since Woodrow Wilson has done.
“President Biden accepted President Johnson’s invitation to address a joint session of Congress on March 7, 2024 to report on the state of our union,” a White House official told The Post in response to the proposal. Ernst.
President Biden has already delivered three State of the Union addresses to Congress. AP
“At a time when Americans are facing skyrocketing inflation and the world is on fire, we deserve more than empty rhetoric,” Ernst added. “After all, President Biden himself has said, ‘Don’t show me what you value, show me your budget.’ He may consider this a one month warning… the clock is ticking!”
The Hawkeye State Republican specifically noted that the Budget Act of 1974 requires presidents to submit spending requests on the first Monday in February, although in practice presentations can occur later.
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Ernst also pointed to the National Security Act of 1947 and argued that the law requires the president to present his national security strategy at the same time as the budget request.
The State of the Union marks one of the rare occasions in which a president enters the chambers of Congress. Via REUTERS
Congress has yet to fully fund federal operations for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends September 30.
Lawmakers currently have until March 1 to approve the first tranche of four appropriations bills and until March 8 to approve the remaining eight.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn