President Biden would be barred from delivering his State of the Union address to Congress until he sends along his budget request and national security strategy, under legislation introduced Monday by Senator Joni Ernst
The Submit Budget Materials & International Tactics On Time (SUBMIT) Act would prevent House and Senate leadership from inviting the president to give an annual address until lawmakers receive the materials.
“Well, actions speak louder than words, my friends, 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 given the opportunity to address Congress and the rest of the country, he should actually have a plan.”
Ernst, whose bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, cited two federal laws that require the president to sign 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 his budget request and national security strategy before delivering his speech. Michael Brochstein/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
The Constitution requires the president to “from time to time furnish information to the Congress of the States of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall deem necessary and proper.”
There is no need for the speech to be delivered in person, as has been done by every president since Woodrow Wilson.
“President Biden accepted Speaker 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 Ernst’s proposal.
President Biden has given 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,” added Ernst. “After all, President Biden himself has said, ‘Don’t show me what you value, show me your budget.’ He can take this as a month’s warning … the clock is ticking!”
The Hawkeye State Republican specifically noted the Budget Act of 1974 requires the president to submit spending requests by the first Monday in February, although in practice submissions may occur later.
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Ernst also referred to the National Security Act of 1947 and argued that the law mandated the president 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 halls of congress. via REUTERS
Congress has yet to fully fund federal operations for the rest of this fiscal year, which ends on September 30.
Lawmakers currently have until March 1 to pass the first tranche of four appropriations bills and until March 8 to pass the remaining eight.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
