Joint session of the United States Congress 2667749 226100178 2008-07-16T20:42:47Z NuclearWarfare 5697725 clean up using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] [[Image:State of the Union.jpg|thumb|300px|Congress in Joint Session.]] '''Joint sessions of the United States Congress''' are the gatherings together of both [[Chambers of parliament|houses]] of the [[United States Congress]] (the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and [[United States Senate|Senate]]). Joint sessions are held on special occasions such as the [[State of the Union Address]] and [[Inauguration Day|presidential inaugurations]]. == Forms of joint session and joint meeting == While any meeting of both House and Senate of the U.S. Congress is commonly called a joint session, there is a distinction between the terms '''''joint session''''' and '''''joint meeting''''': * ''Joint session'' of congress requires a [[concurrent resolution]] from both House and Senate to meet. Joint sessions include the counting of [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] following a presidential election and the [[State of the Union]], as well as other addresses by the [[President of the United States|President]]. * ''Joint meetings'' occur with [[unanimous consent]] to [[Recess (break)|recess]] and meet. These are usually convened to hear addresses from U.S. officials other than the President, or for foreign dignitaries. Meetings of Congress for presidential inaugurations are a special case called '''''formal joint gatherings''''', but may also be joint sessions if both houses are in session at the time. Joint sessions and joint meetings are traditionally presided over by the [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] and take place at the House chamber. However, the Constitution requires the [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] (as [[President of the Senate]]) to preside over the counting of electoral votes. == State of the Union == At some time during the first two months of each session, the President customarily delivers the [[State of the Union Address]], a speech in which he assesses the situation of the country and outlines their legislative proposals for the congressional session. The speech is modeled on the [[Speech from the Throne]], given by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British monarch]]. The Constitution of the United States requires that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union," but does not specify whether the information should be given in a speech or a written report. The first two presidents, [[George Washington]] and [[John Adams]], delivered the speech in person before both houses of Congress, but that practice was discontinued under [[Thomas Jefferson]], who deemed it too monarchical and sent written reports instead. Written reports were standard until 1913, when [[Woodrow Wilson]] reestablished the practice of personally attending to deliver the speech. Few Presidents have deviated from this custom since. [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php] ==Subjects of joint sessions and meetings == In addition to State of the Union Addresses, inaugurals and counting of electoral votes, Joint Sessions usually fall into one of several topics. === Foreign dignitaries === Foreign [[Head of state|heads of state]] and [[Head of state|heads of government]] from 48 countries have addressed joint meetings of Congress more than a hundred times. Heads of state or government from the [[United Kingdom]] have addressed joint meetings the most often (eight times); [[Prime Minister of the United States|Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] addressed Congress three of those eight times. Joint meetings have been addressed four times by [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] heads of government&ndash;by [[Taoisigh]] (Prime Ministers) [[Liam Cosgrave]], Dr. [[Garret FitzGerald]], [[John Bruton]] and [[Bertie Ahern]]&mdash;and twice by Irish heads of state, [[President of Ireland|Presidents]] [[Éamon de Valera]] and [[Seán T. O'Kelly]].<ref>RTÉ One television, Six One News, 19 February 2008</ref> Twice have joint meetings been attended by dignitaries from two countries: On [[September 18]], [[1978]], when Congress was addressed by [[President of Egypt|Egyptian President]] [[Anwar Sadat]] and [[Prime Minister of Israel|Israeli Prime Minister]] [[Menachem Begin]], and on [[July 26]], [[1994]], when Congress was addressed by [[Hussein of Jordan|King Hussein of Jordan]] and Israeli Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]]. === Presidential addresses === In addition to State of the Union Addresses, Presidents deliver addresses to Congress on specific subjects. The first such speech was delivered by [[John Adams]] on the subject of [[U.S. relations with France]]. The most popular subjects for such addresses are [[Economy of the United States|economic]], [[Military of the United States|military]] and [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] issues. Some of these addresses, such as [[Bill Clinton]]'s 1993 Economic Address and [[George W. Bush|George W. Bush's]] Budget Message of 2001, are sometimes wrongly labeled as State of Union Addresses. [http://www.c-span.org/executive/transcript.asp?cat=current_event&code=bush_admin&year=1993] [http://www.c-span.org/executive/transcript.asp?cat=current_event&code=bush_admin&year=2001] === Military leaders === Joint sessions are sometimes called to hear addresses by [[General (United States)|general]]s, [[Admiral (United States)|admirals]], or other military leaders. Perhaps the most notable example is [[Douglas MacArthur|Douglas MacArthur's]] [[wikisource:MacArthur's Farewell Speech to Congress|farewell address]] to Congress. === Astronauts === Six times in the first decade of the [[Space Age]], Congress jointly met to be addressed by [[astronaut]]s after their trips in space. ===Memorials=== Nine times, Congress has jointly met to hold a memorial service for a deceased President or former President. Congress has also met to memorialize Vice President [[James S. Sherman|James Sherman]] and the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette|Marquis de Lafayette]]. ===Anniversaries=== Congress sometimes meets to mark the anniversary of an historical event or of a presidential birthday. The first such occasion was the centennial of George Washington's first inauguration in 1889. Congress has met to mark the centennial of the birth of each President since [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]. The next Presidential centennial will be [[Lyndon Johnson|Lyndon Johnson's]] on [[August 27]], [[2008]]. It is not yet known whether Congress will hold a joint meeting or not. ==Historic joint sessions== * The first occurrence of a ''joint session'' was on [[April 6]], [[1789]] at [[Federal Hall]] in [[New York City]] during the [[1st United States Congress|1st Congress]], for the counting of electoral votes. * The first formally recorded ''joint meeting'' occurred in [[December 18]], [[1874]] during the [[43rd United States Congress|43rd Congress]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], as a reception of [[Kalākaua]] of the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]]. Because of a severe cold and hoarseness, the King could not deliver his speech, which was read by former Representative [[Elisha Hunt Allen]], then serving as Chancellor and Chief Justice of the Hawaiian Islands. ==References== <references /> * {{cite web | title=Joint Meetings, Sessions, Inaugurations | publisher=Office of the Clerk, House of Representatives, US Capitol | work=Congressional History | url=http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/Joint_Meetings/index.html | accessmonthday=January 23 | accessyear=2007 }} {{USCongress}} [[Category:Legislative branch of the United States government]]