[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 17, Chapters 34 - 40]
[Ch. 35. Presidential Messages & Executive Communications]
[Â§ 4. Joint Sessions to Receive Presidential Messages: In General]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 110-114]
 
                               CHAPTER 35
 
           Presidential Messages and Executive Communications
 
Sec. 4. Joint Sessions to Receive Presidential Messages: In General

    The President, under the Constitution,(1) has the duty 
from time to time to give to the Congress information on the state of 
the Union and to recommend the consideration of such measures as he 
considers necessary and expedient. Such ``state of the Union'' messages 
are, in modern practice, delivered in person, but may be transmitted in 
writing.(2) When the President has indicated an intention to 
address Congress in

[[Page 111]]

person, the two Houses provide by concurrent resolution for a joint 
session to receive the message. Such a resolution is held to be of the 
highest privilege.(3)
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 1. U.S. Const. art. II, Sec. 3.
 2. See Sec. 3.3, supra.
 3. 8 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 3335.
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    Topics that the President has covered in messages delivered in 
person to joint sessions of Congress, in addition to state of the Union 
and budgetary matters, have included the threat of war in the 
world,(4) a declaration of war on Japan,(5) the 
results of the Yalta Conference at the close of World War II 
hostilities,(6) the return of a bill regarding military 
pay,(7) a legislative proposal to settle strikes affecting 
the railroads and soft coal mining industries,(8) a 
legislative proposal for comprehensive health care 
reform,(9) the announcement of a Middle East peace 
agreement,(10) and the announcement of the end of military 
operations in the Persian Gulf region.(11)
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 4. 147 Cong. Rec. 17455-57, 107th Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 20, 2001; and 
        86 Cong. Rec. 6242-44, 76th Cong. 3d Sess., May 16, 1940.
 5. 87 Cong. Rec. 9519-38, 77th Cong. 1st Sess., Dec. 8, 1941.
 6. 91 Cong. Rec. 1618-22, 79th Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 1, 1945.
 7. 79 Cong. Rec. 7993-97, 74th Cong. 1st Sess., May 22, 1935.
 8. 92 Cong. Rec. 5752, 5753, 79th Cong. 2d Sess., May 25, 1946.
 9. 139 Cong. Rec. 22141-47, 103d Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 22, 1993.
10. 124 Cong. Rec. 29916, 29917, 95th Cong. 2d Sess., Sept. 18, 1978.
11. 137 Cong. Rec. 5139-42, 102d Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 6, 
        1991.                          -------------------
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Authorizing Resolutions

Sec. 4.1 A joint session of the two Houses for the purpose of receiving 
    a message from the President is arranged by a concurrent 
    resolution.

    On Jan. 7, 1959,(1) the House agreed to a concurrent 
resolution providing for a joint session for the purpose of receiving 
the President's message:
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 1. 105 Cong. Rec. 16, 86th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. [John W.] MCCORMACK [of Massachusetts]. Mr. Speaker, I 
    offer a resolution (H. Con. Res. 1) and ask for its immediate 
    consideration.
        The Clerk read as follows:
        Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
    concurring), That the two Houses of Congress assemble in the hall 
    of the House of Representatives on Friday, January 9, 1959, at 
    12:30 o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of receiving such 
    communications as the President of the United States shall be 
    pleased to make to them.
        The resolution was agreed to.

    The Senate agreed to the concurrent resolution on the next 
day.(2)
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 2. See 105 Cong. Rec. 144, 86th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 8, 1959.

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[[Page 112]]

Sec. 4.2 A concurrent resolution providing for a joint session to 
    receive a message from the President is privileged.

    On Sept. 8, 1971,(1) a privileged concurrent resolution 
was called up from the floor as follows:
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 1. 117 Cong. Rec. 30845, 92d Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. [Thomas P.] O'NEILL [Jr., of Massachusetts]: Mr. Speaker, I 
    offer a privileged concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 395) and ask 
    for its immediate consideration.(2)
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 2. In the Senate, such a measure is a question of high privilege. 
        Riddick/Frumin, Senate Procedure, p. 892, S. Doc. No. 101-28 
        (1992).
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        The Clerk read the concurrent resolution as follows:

                                H. Con. Res. 395

            Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
        concurring), That the two Houses of Congress assemble in the 
        Hall of the House of Representatives on Thursday, September 9, 
        1971, at 12:30 p.m., for the purpose of receiving such 
        communications as the President of the United States shall be 
        pleased to make to them.

        The concurrent resolution was agreed to.

President May Suggest Date for Joint Session

Sec. 4.3 When at the beginning of a new Congress the House has 
    completed its essential organizational business, it informs the 
    President, by committee, that it has established a quorum and is 
    ready to receive any message he may wish to transmit. The 
    committee, when it reports back to the House, sometimes informs the 
    House of the date on which the President desires to address a joint 
    session.

    On Jan. 14, 1975,(1) for example, the Majority Leader, a 
member of the committee appointed to inform the President that the new 
House was prepared to proceed to business, reported and informed the 
House of the date on which the President was prepared to address a 
joint session.
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 1. 121 Cong. Rec. 34, 94th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. [Thomas P.] O'NEILL [Jr., of Massachusetts]. Mr. Speaker, 
    your committee on the part of the House to join a like committee on 
    the part of the Senate to notify the President of the United States 
    that a quorum of each House has been assembled and is ready to 
    receive any communication that he may be pleased to make has 
    performed that duty. The President asked us to report that he will 
    be pleased to deliver his message at 1 p.m., Wednesday, January 15, 
    1975, to a joint session of the two 
    Houses.                          -------------------

           JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS--STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE

        Mr. O'NEILL. Mr. Speaker, I offer a concurrent resolution (H. 
    Con. Res. 1)

[[Page 113]]

    and ask for its immediate consideration.
        The Clerk read the concurrent resolution, as follows:

                                 H. Con. Res. 1

            Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
        concurring), That the two Houses of Congress assemble in the 
        Hall of the House of Representatives on January 15, 1975 at 1 
        o'clock p.m. for the purpose of receiving such communication as 
        the President of the United States shall be pleased to make to 
        them.

        The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
        A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Joint Session to Receive Veto Message Delivered in Person by the 
    President

Sec. 4.4 On one occasion, the President delivered a veto message to a 
    joint session of Congress.

    Although the Senate debated the right of the President to deliver a 
veto message in person,(1) President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
addressed a joint session on May 22, 1935, for that 
purpose.(2)
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 1. 79 Cong. Rec. 7896-912, 74th Cong. 1st Sess., May 21, 1935.
 2. Id. at pp. 7993, 7996.
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        At 12 o'clock and 27 minutes p. m. the President of the United 
    States, escorted by the committee of Senators and Representatives, 
    entered the Hall of the House and stood at the Clerk's desk, amid 
    prolonged applause.
        The SPEAKER.(3) Senators and Representatives of the 
    Seventy-fourth Congress, I have the distinguished honor and 
    privilege of presenting to you the President of the United States. 
    [Applause.]
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 3. Joseph W. Byrns (TN).
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         veto message of the president of the united states--adjusted-
                     service certificates (h. doc. no. 197)

        The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Mr. Speaker and Members of 
    the House of Representatives, 2 days ago a number of gentlemen from 
    the House of Representatives called upon me and with complete 
    propriety presented their reasons for asking me to approve the 
    House of Representatives bill providing for the immediate payment 
    of adjusted-service certificates. In the same spirit of courtesy I 
    am returning this bill today to the House of Representatives. . . .
        As to the right and the propriety of the President in 
    addressing the Congress in person, I am very certain that I have 
    never in the past disagreed, and will never in the future disagree, 
    with the Senate or the House of Representatives as to the 
    constitutionality of the procedure. With your permission, I should 
    like to continue from time to time to act as my own messenger. . . 
    .
        Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I return, without my approval, House of 
    Representatives bill no. 3896, providing for the immediate payment 
    to veterans of the 1945 face value of their adjusted-service 
    certificates.
        Thereupon (at 1 o'clock and 10 minutes p. m.) the President 
    retired from the Hall of the House.

[[Page 114]]

        At 1 o'clock and 12 minutes p.m., the Speaker announced that 
    the joint session was dissolved.
        Thereupon the Vice President and the Members of the Senate 
    returned to their Chamber.

                  action on the veto message of the president

        The SPEAKER. The objections of the President will be entered at 
    large on the Journal, and the message and the bill printed as a 
    House document.
        The question is, Will the House of Representatives, on 
    reconsideration, pass the bill, the objections of the President to 
    the contrary notwithstanding?

    Parliamentarian's Note: The return of a bill in this manner was 
unusual as the message otherwise is delivered to the House originating 
the measure. The other House would be notified only following action by 
the first House. The House here properly waited until the dissolution 
of the joint session and the departure of the Senate before proceeding 
to the reconsideration of the bill.