Joint session of the United States Congress
Joint Sessions of the United States Congress are the gathering together of both
House and
Senate which occur on special occasions such as the
State of the Union Address and Presidential
Inauguration.
While any meeting of both House and Senate of the US Congress is commonly called a Joint Session, there is a distinction between the two 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 votes following a Presidential election and the
State of the Union and other
Presidential addresses.
*
Joint Meetings occur with unanimous consent agreements to recess and meet. These are usually convened to hear addresses from US or foreign dignitaries other than the President.
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 House. However, the Constitution requires the
President of the Senate to preside over the counting of electoral votes.
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
British monarch, and is mandated by the Constitution of the United States.
Thomas Jefferson discontinued the original practice of delivering the speech in person before both houses of Congress, deeming it too monarchical. Instead, Jefferson and his successors sent a written message to Congress each year. In
1913, President
Woodrow Wilson reestablished the practice of personally attending to deliver the speech; few Presidents have deviated from this custom since.
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 Heads of State and Heads of Government from 48 countries have addressed Joint Meetings of Congress more than one hundred times. Heads of State or Government from the
United Kingdom have address Joint Meetings most often - eight times. Prime Minister
Winston Churchill addresses Congress three of those eight times.
Twice have Joint Meetings been attended by the Heads of State or Government from two countries. On
September 18,
1978 Congress was addressed by
Anwar Sadat, President of
Egypt and
Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of
Israel. On
July 26,
1994, Congress was addressed by
Hussein I, King of
Jordan and
Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel.
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 US relations with France. The most popular subjects for such addresses are
economic,
military and
foreign policy issues.
Some of these addresses, such as
Bill Clinton's 1993 Economic Address and
George W Bush's Budget Message of
2001 are sometimes wrongly labeled as State of Union Addresses.
Military Leaders
Joint Meetings of Congress are sometimes called to hear addresses by
Generals,
Admirals or other military leaders. Perhaps the most notable example is
Douglas MacArthur's farewell address to Congress.
Astronauts
Six times in the first decade of the
Space Age, Congress jointly met to be addressed by
Astronauts 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 Sherman and
Marquis de La Fayette.
Anniversaries
Congress sometimes meets to mark the anniversary of an historical event or of a Presidential birthday. The first such occassion 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's on
August 27,
2008. It is not yet known whether Congress will hold a Joint Meeting or not.
By definition, any Joint Session is significant.
* The first occurrence of a
Joint Session was
April 6,
1789 in
New York City during the
1st Congress, for the counting of electoral votes.
* The first formally recorded
Joint Meeting occurred in
December 18,
1874 during the
43rd Congress in
Washington, DC, as a reception of
King Kalakaua of
Hawai'i. 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.
*
