President’s Topic Is State of Budget, Not State of the Union

It has been more than a year since the last State of the Union report to Congress, but President Bush’s address to a joint session Thursday night was billed merely as a speech about his budget priorities.

The Constitution requires that 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.”

The last State of the Union address to Congress was given by former President Ronald Reagan on Jan. 25, 1988. At the time, the White House said it was the last State of the Union address Reagan would make in person but that he would deliver a written report before leaving office.

As it turned out, Reagan did not prepare a written State of the Union report. Instead, he gave what was called a farewell address from the Oval Office that was broadcast to the nation last month.

“We do not consider this a State of the Union address because it’s largely focused on the budget and not the state of the world affairs,” White House Deputy Press Secretary B. Jay Cooper said in discussing Bush’s address.

Despite the White House disclaimer, the House and Senate last week adopted a resolution “providing for a joint session of Congress to receive a message from the President on the State of the Union.”

Although there has not been an official State of the Union address in more than a year, Cooper noted that there have been three major presidential addresses, including Reagan’s farewell, Bush’s inaugural speech and Bush’s budget address.