Obama to deliver State of the Union address on Jan. 24

House Speaker John Boehner has extended and President Obama has accepted an invitation to address Congress for the annual State of the Union speech.

The date is set for Jan. 24, according to both parties.

The invitation process appeared to go a lot smoother than the last time the president tried to address Congress from the House rostrum. The dust-up over the president’s jobs speech colliding with a GOP primary debate was not something either side wanted to reenact.

“As we work together to end this legislative year by advancing initiatives to help Americas struggling in a difficult economy, we must also look ahead for new opportunities to put solution before politics,” Boehner wrote in a letter extending the invitation.

As the letter was sent, there wasn’t much working together happening on the Hill. The GOP-led House and Democratic-led Senate are at an impasse over how to extend a tax cut to workers. Both sides dug in their heels on Wednesday and talk of a government shutdown as a result escalated.

But Boehner’s letter, in its formality, was hopeful.

Republicans, he wrote, “welcome an opportunity to hear your new ideas for working with Congress.”