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Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2024
President Joe Biden delivered his third State of the Union address on March 7, 2024. He accepted an invitation from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on January 6.[1]
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) delivered the Republican Party's response.[2]
For more information about preceding presidential addresses, click on the links below:
State of the Union address
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The following text is a transcript of Biden's address:[3]
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Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Members of Congress. My Fellow Americans. In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation. He said, “I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union.” Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe. President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary moment. Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world. Tonight I come to the same chamber to address the nation. Now it is we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union. And yes, my purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress, and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either. Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today. What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time. Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not. But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I am determined to keep it that way. But now assistance for Ukraine is being blocked by those who want us to walk away from our leadership in the world. It wasn’t that long ago when a Republican President, Ronald Reagan, thundered, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Now, my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, “Do whatever the hell you want.” A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader. It’s outrageous. It’s dangerous. It’s unacceptable. America is a founding member of NATO the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II to prevent war and keep the peace. Today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever. We welcomed Finland to the Alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their Prime Minister is here tonight. Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known. I say this to Congress: we must stand up to Putin. Send me the Bipartisan National Security Bill. History is watching. If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm.
My message to President Putin is simple. We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down. History is watching, just like history watched three years ago on January 6th. Insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger at the throat of American democracy. Many of you were here on that darkest of days. We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots.
January 6th and the lies about the 2020 election, and the plots to steal the election, posed the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War. But they failed. America stood strong and democracy prevailed. But we must be honest the threat remains and democracy must be defended. My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th. I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies. And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win. As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask you all, without regard to party, to join together and defend our democracy! Remember your oath of office to defend against all threats foreign and domestic. Respect free and fair elections! Restore trust in our institutions! And make clear –political violence has absolutely no place in America! History is watching. And history is watching another assault on freedom. Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama. 14 months ago tonight, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF. She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. She was told her dream would have to wait. What her family has gone through should never have happened. And unless Congress acts, it could happen again. So tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers! To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide! Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right. And I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more. But my predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned. He’s the reason it was overturned. In fact, he brags about it. Look at the chaos that has resulted. Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and mother from Dallas. When she became pregnant again, the fetus had a fatal condition. Her doctors told Kate that her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act. Because Texas law banned abortion, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get the care she needed. What her family has gone through should never have happened as well. But it is happening to so many others. There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors, and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need. Many of you in this Chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. My God, what freedoms will you take away next? In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court majority wrote, “Women are not without – electoral or political power.” No kidding. Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America. They found out though when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again, in 2024. If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again! America cannot go back. I am here tonight to show the way forward. Because I know how far we’ve come. Four years ago next week, before I came to office, our country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century. Remember the fear. Record job losses. Remember the spike in crime. And the murder rate. A raging virus that would take more than 1 million American lives and leave millions of loved ones behind. A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness. A president, my predecessor, who failed the most basic duty. Any President owes the American people the duty to care. That is unforgivable. I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. And we have. It doesn’t make the news but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told. So let’s tell that story here and now. America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down, investing in all of America, in all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind! The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer. Turning setback into comeback. That’s America! I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is the envy of the world! 15 million new jobs in just three years – that’s a record! Unemployment at 50-year lows. A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses and each one is an act of hope. With historic job growth and small business growth for Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans. 800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America and counting. More people have health insurance today than ever before. The racial wealth gap is the smallest it’s been in 20 years. Wages keep going up and inflation keeps coming down! Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% – the lowest in the world! And trending lower. And now instead of importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs – right here in America where they belong!
And the American people are beginning to feel it. Consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring. Buy American has been the law of the land since the 1930s.
Not any more. On my watch, federal projects like helping to build American roads bridges and highways will be made with American products built by American workers creating good-paying American jobs! Thanks to my Chips and Science Act the United States is investing more in research and development than ever before. During the pandemic a shortage of semiconductor chips drove up prices for everything from cell phones to automobiles. Well instead of having to import semiconductor chips, which America invented I might add, private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America! Creating tens of thousands of jobs many of them paying over $100,000 a year and don’t require a college degree. In fact my policies have attracted $650 Billion of private sector investments in clean energy and advanced manufacturing creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America! Thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced across your communities – modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, and public transit systems. Removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without risk of getting brain damage. Providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where you live. Urban, suburban, and rural communities — in red states and blue. Record investments in tribal communities. Because of my investments, family farms are better be able to stay in the family and children and grandchildren won’t have to leave home to make a living. It’s transformative.
The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get those jobs back. And together, we succeeded! Instead of an auto factory shutting down an auto factory is re-opening and a new state-of-the art battery factory is being built to power those cars. Instead of a town being left behind it’s a community moving forward again! Because instead of watching auto jobs of the future go overseas 4,000 union workers with higher wages will be building that future, in Belvidere, here in America! Here tonight is UAW President, Shawn Fain, a great friend, and a great labor leader. And Dawn Simms, a third generation UAW worker in Belvidere. Shawn, I was proud to be the first President in American history to walk a picket line. And today Dawn has a job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity. Showing once again, Wall Street didn’t build this country! The middle class built this country! And unions built the middle class! When Americans get knocked down, we get back up! We keep going! That’s America! That’s you, the American people! It’s because of you America is coming back! It’s because of you, our future is brighter! And it’s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the State of our Union is strong and getting stronger!
A future where the days of trickle-down economics are over and the wealthy and biggest corporations no longer get all the breaks. I grew up in a home where not a lot trickled down on my Dad’s kitchen table. That’s why I’m determined to turn things around so the middle class does well the poor have a way up and the wealthy still does well. We all do well. And there’s more to do to make sure you’re feeling the benefits of all we’re doing. Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere else. It’s wrong and I’m ending it. With a law I proposed and signed and not one Republican voted for we finally beat Big Pharma! Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin seniors with diabetes only have to pay $35 a month! And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it! For years people have talked about it but I finally got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs just like the VA does for our veterans. That’s not just saving seniors money. It’s saving taxpayers money cutting the federal deficit by $160 Billion because Medicare will no longer have to pay exorbitant prices to Big Pharma. This year Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis. Now it’s time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 drugs over the next decade. That will not only save lives it will save taxpayers another $200 Billion! Starting next year that same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $2,000 a year even for expensive cancer drugs that can cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000 a year. Now I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone! Folks Obamacare, known as the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal. Over one hundred million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act I won’t let that happen! We stopped you 50 times before and we will stop you again! In fact I am protecting it and expanding it. I enacted tax credits that save $800 per person per year reducing health care premiums for millions of working families. Those tax credits expire next year. I want to make those savings permanent! Women are more than half of our population but research on women’s health has always been underfunded. That’s why we’re launching the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill who is doing an incredible job as First Lady. Pass my plan for $12 Billion to transform women’s health research and benefit millions of lives across America! I know the cost of housing is so important to you. If inflation keeps coming down mortgage rates will come down as well. But I’m not waiting. I want to provide an annual tax creditthat will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgage when they buy a first home or trade up for a little more space. My Administration is also eliminating title insurance fees for federally backed mortgages. When you refinance your home this can save you $1,000 or more. For millions of renters, we’re cracking down on big landlords who break antitrust laws by price-fixing and driving up rents. I’ve cut red tape so more builders can get federal financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million housing units nationwide. Now pass my plan to build and renovate 2 million affordable homes and bring those rents down! To remain the strongest economy in the world we need the best education system in the world. I want to give every child a good start by providing access to pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds. Studies show that children who go to pre-school are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a 2- or 4-year degree no matter their background. I want to expand high-quality tutoring and summer learning time and see to it that every child learns to read by third grade. I’m also connecting businesses and high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college. And I want to make college more affordable. Let’s continue increasing Pell Grants for working- and middle-class families and increase our record investments in HBCUs and Hispanic and Minority-serving Institutions I fixed student loan programs to reduce the burden of student debt for nearly 4 Million Americans including nurses firefighters and others in public service like Keenan Jones a public-school educator in Minnesota who’s here with us tonight. He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college now he can help his own daughter pay for college. Such relief is good for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home start a business even start a family. While we’re at it I want to give public school teachers a raise! Now let me speak to a question of fundamental fairness for all Americans. I’ve been delivering real results in a fiscally responsible way. I’ve already cut the federal deficit by over one trillion dollars. I signed a bipartisan budget deal that will cut another trillion dollars over the next decade. And now it’s my goal to cut the federal deficit $3 trillion more by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their fair share. Look, I’m a capitalist. If you want to make a million bucks – great! Just pay your fair share in taxes. A fair tax code is how we invest in the things – that make a country great, health care, education, defense, and more. But here’s the deal. The last administration enacted a $2 Trillion tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the very wealthy and the biggest corporations and exploded the federal deficit. They added more to the national debt than in any presidential term in American history. For folks at home does anybody really think the tax code is fair? Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion in tax breaks? I sure don’t. I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair! Under my plan nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in federal taxes. Nobody. Not one penny. In fact the Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in HALF. Restore the Child Tax Credit because no child should go hungry in this country! The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and the very wealthy finally pay their share. In 2020 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 Billion in profits and paid zero in federal income taxes. Not any more! Thanks to the law I wrote and signed big companies now have to pay a minimum of 15%. But that’s still less than working people pay in federal taxes. It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21% so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share. I also want to end the tax breaks for Big Pharma, Big Oil, private jets, and massive executive pay! End it now! There are 1,000 billionaires in America. You know what the average federal tax rate for these billionaires is? 8.2 percent! That’s far less than the vast majority of Americans pay. No billionaire should pay a lower tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, a nurse! That’s why I’ve proposed a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires. Just 25%. That would raise $500 Billion over the next 10 years. Imagine what that could do for America. Imagine a future with affordable child care so millions of families can get the care they need and still go to work and help grow the economy. Imagine a future with paid leave because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of yourself or a sick family member. Imagine a future with home care and elder care so seniors and people living with disabilities can stay in their homes and family caregivers get paid what they deserve! Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors! Many of my Republican friends want to put Social Security on the chopping block. If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age I will stop them! Working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do. It’s not fair. We have two ways to go on Social Security. Republicans will cut Social Security and give more tax cuts to the wealthy. I will protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share! Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits charging you more and more for less and less. That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging or deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing. In fact, snack companies think you won’t notice when they charge you just as much for the same size bag but with fewer chips in it. Pass Senator Bob Casey’s bill to put a stop to shrinkflation! I’m also getting rid of junk fees those hidden fees added at the end of your bills without your knowledge. My administration just announced we’re cutting credit card late fees from $32 to just $8. The banks and credit card companies don’t like it. Why? I’m saving American families $20 billion a year with all of the junk fees I’m eliminating. And I’m not stopping there. My Administration has proposed rules to make cable travel utilities and online ticket sellers tell you the total price upfront so there are no surprises. It matters. And so does this. In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators. The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country. That bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officers. 100 more immigration judges to help tackle a backload of 2 million cases. 4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in 6 months instead of 6 years. 100 more high-tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles from smuggling fentanyl into America. This bill would save lives and bring order to the border. It would also give me as President new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming. The Border Patrol Union endorsed the bill. The Chamber of Commerce endorsed the bill. I believe that given the opportunity a majority of the House and Senate would endorse it as well. But unfortunately, politics have derailed it so far. I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill. He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him. It’s not about him or me. It’d be a winner for America! My Republican friends you owe it to the American people to get this bill done. We need to act. And if my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it! We can do it together. But here’s what I will not do. I will not demonize immigrants saying they “poison the blood of our country” as he said in his own words. I will not separate families. I will not ban people from America because of their faith. Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure the border, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and so much more. Because unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans. We are the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new. Home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years. Home to people from every place on Earth. Some came freely. Some chained by force. Some when famine struck, like my ancestral family in Ireland. Some to flee persecution. Some to chase dreams that are impossible anywhere but here in America. That’s America, where we all come from somewhere, but we are all Americans. We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now! A transformational moment in our history happened 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama. Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, to claim their fundamental right to vote. They were beaten bloodied and left for dead. Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was at the march. We miss him. Joining us tonight are other marchers who were there including Betty May Fikes, known as the “Voice of Selma”. A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday, to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law.
Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering. John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time for more than just talk. Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act! And stop denying another core value of America our diversity across American life. Banning books. It’s wrong! Instead of erasing history, let’s make history! I want to protect other fundamental rights! Pass the Equality Act, and my message to transgender Americans: I have your back! Pass the PRO Act for workers rights! And raise the federal minimum wage because every worker has the right to earn a decent living! We are also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it. I’m taking the most significant action on climate ever in the history of the world. I am cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030. Creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs, like the IBEW workers building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations. Conserving 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. Taking historic action on environmental justice for fence-line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution. And patterned after the Peace Corps and Ameri Corps, I’ve launched a Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work at the forefront of our clean energy future. I’ll triple that number this decade. All Americans deserve the freedom to be safe, and America is safer today than when I took office. The year before I took office, murders went up 30% nationwide the biggest increase in history. That was then. Now, through my American Rescue Plan, which every Republican voted against, I’ve made the largest investment in public safety ever. Last year, the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history, and violent crime fell to one of the lowest levels in more than 50 years. But we have more to do. Help cities and towns invest in more community police officers, more mental health workers, and more community violence intervention. Give communities the tools to crack down on gun crime, retail crime, and carjacking. Keep building public trust, as I’ve been doing by taking executive action on police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land, directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, and expunging thousands of convictions for mere possession, because no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana! To take on crimes of domestic violence, I am ramping up federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act, that I proudly wrote, so we can finally end the scourge of violence against women in America! And there’s another kind of violence I want to stop. With us tonight is Jasmine, whose 9-year-old sister Jackie was murdered with 21 classmates and teachers at her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Soon after it happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde and spent hours with the families. We heard their message, and so should everyone in this chamber do something. I did do something by establishing the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House that Vice President Harris is leading. Meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he’s proud he did nothing on guns when he was President. After another school shooting in Iowa he said we should just “get over it.” I say we must stop it. I’m proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years! Now we must beat the NRA again! I’m demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines! Pass universal background checks! None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners. As we manage challenges at home, we’re also managing crises abroad including in the Middle East. I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, the Palestinian people, and so many here in America. This crisis began on October 7th with a massacre by the terrorist group Hamas. 1,200 innocent people women and girls men and boys slaughtered, many enduring sexual violence. The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. 250 hostages taken. Here in the chamber tonight are American families whose loved ones are still being held by Hamas. I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring their loved ones home. We will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul, Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. Israel has a right to go after Hamas. Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th. Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population. But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. Most of whom are not Hamas. Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children. Girls and boys also orphaned. Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displaced. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine. It’s heartbreaking. We’ve been working non-stop to establish an immediate ceasefire that would last for at least six weeks. It would get the hostages home, ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis, and build toward something more enduring. The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Tonight, I’m directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. No U.S. boots will be on the ground. This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day. But Israel must also do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the cross fire. To the leadership of Israel I say this. Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority. As we look to the future, the only real solution is a two-state solution. I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel and the only American president to visit Israel in wartime. There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and democracy. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live with peace and dignity. There is no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia. Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran. That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. I’ve ordered strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities and defend U.S. Forces in the region. As Commander in Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel. For years, all I’ve heard from my Republican friends and so many others is China’s on the rise and America is falling behind. They’ve got it backward. America is rising. We have the best economy in the world. Since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up. And our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade. We’re standing up against China’s unfair economic practices. And standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. I’ve revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific. I’ve made sure that the most advanced American technologies can’t be used in China’s weapons. Frankly for all his tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do that. We want competition with China, but not conflict. And we’re in a stronger position to win the competition for the 21st Century against China or anyone else for that matter. Here at home I’ve signed over 400 bipartisan bills. But there’s more to do to pass my Unity Agenda. Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking. Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online. Harness the promise of A.I. and protect us from its peril. Ban A.I. voice impersonation and more! And keep our one truly sacred obligation, to train and equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home, and when they don’t. That’s why I signed the PACT Act, one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins and who now are battling more than 100 cancers. Many of them didn’t come home. We owe them and their families. And we owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency called ARPA-H and remind us that we can do big things like end cancer as we know it! Let me close with this. I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while. And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before. I know the American story. Again and again I’ve seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation. Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future. My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America. Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story. An American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me. I was born amid World War II when America stood for freedom in the world. I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware among working people who built this country. I watched in horror as two of my heroes, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated and their legacies inspired me to pursue a career in service. A public defender, county councilman, elected United States Senator at 29, then Vice President, to our first Black President, now President, with our first woman Vice President. In my career I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old. Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures. Our North Star. The very idea of America, that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I won’t walk away from it now. My fellow Americans the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are it’s how old our ideas are? Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are among the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back. To lead America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future of what America can and should be. Tonight you’ve heard mine. I see a future where we defend democracy not diminish it. I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect other freedoms not take them away. I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy finally have to pay their fair share in taxes. I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence. Above all, I see a future for all Americans! I see a country for all Americans! And I will always be a president for all Americans! Because I believe in America! I believe in you the American people. You’re the reason I’ve never been more optimistic about our future! So let’s build that future together! Let’s remember who we are! We are the United States of America. There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together! May God bless you all. May God protect our troops. [4] |
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| —President Joe Biden (D)[3] | ||
Invitations
The president and members of Congress have the opportunity to invite guests to attend the State of the Union address. See the table below to view who Biden invited to the 2024 address.
| President Joe Biden's (D) guests at the 2024 State of the Union | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invited by | Guest | Description | Mention in address | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Latorya Beasley Birmingham, Alabama |
Woman whose in vitro fertilization treatments were canceled after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling on frozen embryos[5] | "Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama. 14 months ago tonight, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to the miracle of IVF. She scheduled treatments to have a second child, but the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. She was told her dream would have to wait. What her family has gone through should never have happened. And unless Congress acts, it could happen again. So tonight, let’s stand up for families like hers! To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide!."[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Kris Blackley Fort Mill, South Carolina |
Oncology nurse and director of patient navigation at the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Jazmin Cazares Uvalde, Texas |
Carares' sister was killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, Cazares advocated for gun violence prevention[5] | "With us tonight is Jasmine, whose 9-year-old sister Jackie was murdered with 21 classmates and teachers at her elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Soon after it happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde and spent hours with the families. We heard their message, and so should everyone in this chamber - do something."[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Kate Cox Dallas, Texas |
Cox was the plaintiff in a Texas lawsuit where she sought legal permission to receive an abortion under the state's life of the mother exception[5] | "Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, a wife and mother from Dallas. When she became pregnant again, the fetus had a fatal condition. Her doctors told Kate that her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she didn’t act. Because Texas law banned abortion, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get the care she needed. What her family has gone through should never have happened as well. But it is happening to so many others. There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors, and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need. Many of you in this Chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. My God, what freedoms will you take away next?"[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Samantha Ervin-Upsher Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
Apprentice with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 432 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Shawn Fain Metro Detroit, Michigan |
President of the United Auto Workers (UAW)[5] | "Here tonight is UAW President, Shawn Fain, a great friend, and a great labor leader. And Dawn Simms, a third generation UAW worker in Belvidere. Shawn, I was proud to be the first President in American history to walk a picket line. And today Dawn has a job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity. Showing once again, Wall Street didn’t build this country! The middle class built this country! And unions built the middle class!"[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Bettie Mae Fikes Selma, Alabama |
Singer and civil rights advocate who participated in the 1965 protest at Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama[5] | "Joining us tonight are other marchers who were there including Betty May Fikes, known as the “Voice of Selma”. A daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday, to help shake the nation’s conscience. Five months later, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law. But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time. Voter suppression. Election subversion. Unlimited dark money. Extreme gerrymandering. John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here. But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it’s time for more than just talk. Pass and send me the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act!"[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Steven Hadfield Matthews, North Carolina |
Has a form of blood cancer and diabetes, the price of his medications was reduced by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Garnett L. Johnson Augusta, Georgia |
Mayor of Augusta, Georgia[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Keenan Jones Plymouth, Massachusetts |
Public school teacher whose student loans were eliminated through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program[5] | "I fixed student loan programs to reduce the burden of student debt for nearly 4 Million Americans including nurses firefighters and others in public service like Keenan Jones a public-school educator in Minnesota who’s here with us tonight. He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college now he can help his own daughter pay for college. Such relief is good for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home start a business even start a family. While we’re at it I want to give public school teachers a raise!"[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Natalie King Detroit, Michigan |
Founder and CEO of Dunamis Charge, the first African American women-owned electric vehicle charger manufacturing company in the U.S.[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Ulf Kristersson | Prime Minister of Sweden[5] | "Today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever. We welcomed Finland to the Alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined NATO, and their Prime Minister is here tonight. Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known. I say this to Congress: we must stand up to Putin. Send me the Bipartisan National Security Bill. History is watching. If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm."[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Stephen Roe Lewis Sacaton, Arizona |
Governor of the Gila River Indian Community[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Shelby Nikitin Wakefield, Massachusetts |
U.S. Navy officer who was deployed to the Red Sea to combat Houthi attacks on shipping vessels[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Justin Phillips Indianapolis, Indiana |
Founder and CEO of Overdose Lifeline, a nonprofit seeking to reduce the stigma of substance use disorder and prevent deaths resulting from opioid overdoses[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Kameryn Pupunu Lahaina, Hawaii |
Police officer from Lahaina, Hawaii, who served during the August 2023 wildfires in the area[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Maria Shriver Los Angeles, California |
Author, journalist, and founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, former California First Lady[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Dawn Simms Davis Junction, Illinois |
Member of the UAW working at the Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant re-opened after the UAW's 2023 contract negotiations[5] | "Here tonight is UAW President, Shawn Fain, a great friend, and a great labor leader. And Dawn Simms, a third generation UAW worker in Belvidere. Shawn, I was proud to be the first President in American history to walk a picket line. And today Dawn has a job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity. Showing once again, Wall Street didn’t build this country! The middle class built this country! And unions built the middle class!"[3] | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Rashawn Spivey Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
Founder and owner of Hero Plumbing, used federal funding to replace lead pipes[5] | - | ||||
| President Joe Biden (D) | Tiffany Zoeller Fayetteville, North Carolina |
Military spouse and medical coder at Fort Liberty’s Womack Army Medical Center[5] | - | ||||
Republican response: U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.)
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) delivered the Republican response to Biden's 2024 State of the Union address.[2]
Video
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Text
The following text is a transcript of Britt's address:[2]
| “ |
Good evening, America. My name is Katie Britt, and I have the honor of serving the people of the great state of Alabama in the United States Senate. However, that’s not the job that matters most. I’m a proud wife and mom of two school-aged kids. My daughter, Bennett, and my son, Ridgeway, are why I ran for the Senate. I am worried about their future — and the future of children in every corner of our nation. That’s why I invited you into our home tonight. Like so many families across America, my husband, Wesley, and I just watched President Biden’s State of the Union Address from our living room. What we saw was the performance of a permanent politician who has actually been in office for longer than I’ve even been alive. One thing was clear: President Biden just doesn’t get it. He’s out of touch. Under his administration, families are worse off. Our communities are less safe, and our country is less secure. I wish he understood what real families are facing around kitchen tables just like this. This is where our family has tough conversations and where we make hard decisions. It’s where we share the good, the bad, and the ugly of our days. It’s where we laugh together. It’s where we hold each other’s hands and pray for God’s guidance. And, many nights, it’s where Wesley and I worry. I know we’re not alone. Tonight, the American family needs to have a tough conversation, because the truth is, we’re all worried about the future of our nation. The country we know and love seems to be slipping away. It feels like the next generation will have fewer opportunities — and less freedom — than we did. I worry my own children may not even get a shot at living their American Dreams. My American Dream allowed me, the daughter of two small business owners from rural Enterprise, Alabama, to be elected to the U.S. Senate at the age of 40. Growing up sweeping the floor at my dad’s hardware store and cleaning the bathroom at my mom’s dance studio, I never could have imagined what my story would entail. To think what the American Dream can do across just one generation, in just one lifetime, is truly breathtaking. But right now, the American Dream has turned into a nightmare for so many families. The true, unvarnished State of our Union begins and ends with this: Our families are hurting. Our country can do better. And you don’t have to look any further than the crisis at our southern border to see it. President Biden inherited the most secure border of all-time. But minutes after taking office, he suspended all deportations, halted construction of the border wall, and announced a plan to give amnesty to millions. We know that President Biden didn’t just create this border crisis. He invited it with 94 executive actions in his first 100 days. When I first took office, I did something different. I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas, where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped. The cartels put her on a mattress in a shoebox of a room, and they sent men through that door, over and over again, for hours and hours on end. We wouldn’t be OK with this happening in a third-world country. This is the United States of America, and it’s past time we start acting like it. President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable. From fentanyl poisonings to horrific murders … there are empty chairs tonight at kitchen tables just like this one because of President Biden’s senseless border policies. Just think about Laken Riley. In my neighboring state of Georgia, this beautiful, 22-year-old nursing student went out on a jog one morning. But she never got the opportunity to return home. She was brutally murdered by one of the millions of illegal border crossers President Biden chose to release into our homeland. That could’ve been my daughter. It could’ve been yours. Tonight, President Biden finally said her name. But he refused to take responsibility for his own actions. Mr. President, enough is enough. Innocent Americans are dying. And you only have yourself to blame. Fulfill your oath of office. Reverse your policies. End this crisis. And stop the suffering. Sadly, we know President Biden’s failures don’t stop there. His reckless spending dug our economy into a hole and sent the cost-of-living through the roof. The worst inflation in 40 years. The highest credit card debt in history. Hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet today. And with soaring mortgage rates and sky-high childcare costs, they’re also struggling to plan for tomorrow. The American people are scraping by while the President proudly proclaims Bidenomics is working! Bless his heart. We know better. I’ll never forget stopping at a gas station in Chilton County one evening. The gentleman working the counter told me that after retiring, he had to pick up that job in his 70s so he didn’t have to choose between going hungry or going without his medication. He said, “I did everything right, everything I was told to do — I worked hard, I saved, I was responsible.” He’s not alone. I hear similar concerns from fellow parents when I’m walking with my friends or at one my kids’ games. But let’s be honest — it’s been a minute since Joe Biden pumped gas, ran carpool, or pushed a grocery cart. Meanwhile, the rest of us see every day that our dollar doesn’t go as far. And despite what he tells you, our communities are not safer. For years, the left has coddled criminals and defunded the police — all while letting repeat offenders walk free. The result is tragic but foreseeable — from our small towns to America’s most iconic city streets, life is getting more and more dangerous. Unfortunately, President Biden’s weakness isn’t just hurting families here at home. He’s making us a punchline on the world stage. Where I’m from, your word is your bond. But for three years, this President has demonstrated that America’s word doesn’t mean what it used to. From abandoning allies in his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to desperately pushing another dangerous deal with Iran, President Biden has failed. We’ve become a nation in retreat. And the enemies of freedom see an opportunity. Putin’s brutal aggression in Europe has put our allies on the brink. Iran’s terrorist proxies have slaughtered Israeli Jews and American citizens. They’ve targeted commercial shipping. And they’ve attacked our troops nearly 200 times since October, killing three U.S. soldiers and two Navy SEALs. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party is undercutting America’s workers. China is buying up our farmland, spying on our military installations, and spreading propaganda through the likes of TikTok. The CCP knows that if it conquers the minds of our next generation, it conquers America. And what does President Biden do? He bans TikTok for government employees, but creates an account for his own campaign. You can’t make this stuff up! Look, we all recall when Presidents faced national security threats with strength and resolve. That seems like ancient history. Right now, our Commander in Chief is not in command. The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader. America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation. Just ask yourself, are you better off now than you were three years ago? There is no doubt we’re at a crossroads. We all feel it. But here’s the good news: we the People are still in the driver’s seat. We get to decide whether our future will grow brighter, or whether we settle for an America in decline. Well, I know which choice our children deserve — and the choice the Republican Party is fighting for. We are the Party of hardworking parents and families. We want to give you and your children the opportunities to thrive — and we want families to grow. It’s why we strongly support continued nationwide access to invitro fertilization. We want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world. Wesley and I believe there is no greater blessing in life than our children. And that’s why tonight, I want to make a direct appeal to the parents out there — and in particular, to my fellow moms. Many of whom will be tossing and turning at 2 a.m. wondering how they are going to be three places at once tomorrow and somehow still get dinner on the table. First of all, we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you. I know you’re frustrated. I know you’re probably disgusted by most of what you see going on in Washington. And I’ll be really honest with you — you’re not wrong for feeling that way. Look, I get it. The task in front of us isn’t an easy one. But I can promise you one thing: it is worth it. So, I am asking you, for the sake of your kids and your grandkids, get into the arena. Every generation has been called to do hard things. American greatness rests in the fact that we always answer that call. It’s who we are. Never forget, we’re steeped in the blood of patriots who overthrew the most powerful empire in the world. We walk in the footsteps of pioneers who tamed the wild. We now carry forward the same flame of freedom as the liberators of an oppressed Europe. We draw courage from those who bent the moral arc of the universe. And when we gaze upon the heavens, never forget that our DNA contains the same ingenuity that put man on the Moon. America has been tested before, and every single time, we’ve emerged unbowed and unbroken. Our history has been written with the grit of men and women who got knocked down. But we know their stories because they did not stay down. We are here because they stood back up. So now it’s our turn -- our moment to stand up and prove ourselves worthy of protecting the American Dream. Together, we can reawaken the heroic spirit of a great nation. Because Americans don’t just have a rendezvous with destiny — we take destiny’s hand, and we lead it. Our future starts around kitchen tables just like this. With moms and dads just like you. And you are why I believe with every fiber of my being that despite the current State of our Union, our best days are still ahead. May God bless you, and may God continue to bless these United States of America.[4] |
” |
| —U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala)[2] | ||
Designated survivor
Each year, a member of the president's Cabinet is chosen to stay in an undisclosed location outside of Washington, D.C. to assume the presidency in case of an attack on Congress, the president, and other high-ranking officials.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was the designated survivor for this address.[6]
Background
The following table provides a list of annual and other presidential addresses delivered to joint sessions of Congress between 1790 and 2025. It does not include inaugurations. Click the link in the Occasion or topic column to read more about each address. The information was compiled from the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Historian.[7]
- President Woodrow Wilson (D), whose administration overlapped with World War I, delivered the most addresses: 23.
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) followed with 19 addresses, which included a joint speech with the ambassador of France in 1934 and an address read before Congress on his behalf in 1945. World War II took place during his administration.
- President Harry S. Truman had the third-most addresses at 16. His administration covered the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.
- Among presidents who served between 1981 and 2025, Presidents Ronald Reagan (R) and Barack Obama (D) delivered the most addresses with 11 and 10, respectively.
| Presidential addresses to joint sessions of Congress | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Session of Congress | Occasion or topic | President and other speaking dignitaries | |
| March 4, 2025 | 119th Congress | Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| March 7, 2024 | 118th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| February 7, 2023 | 118th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| March 1, 2022 | 117th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| April 28, 2021 | 117th Congress | Address | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. | |
| Feb. 4, 2020 | 116th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Feb. 5, 2019 | 116th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Jan. 30, 2018 | 115th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Feb. 28, 2017 | 115th Congress | Address | President Donald J. Trump | |
| Jan. 12, 2016 | 114th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 20, 2015 | 114th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 28, 2014 | 113th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Feb. 12, 2013 | 113th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 24, 2012 | 112th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Sept. 8, 2011 | 112th Congress | Address on American Jobs Act | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 25, 2011 | 112th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 27, 2010 | 111th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Sept. 8, 2009 | 111th Congress | Address on Health Care Reform | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Feb. 24, 2009 | 111th Congress | Address | President Barack H. Obama | |
| Jan. 28, 2008 | 110th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Jan. 23, 2007 | 110th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Jan. 31, 2006 | 109th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Feb. 2, 2005 | 109th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush | |
| Jan. 20, 2004 | 108th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush. | |
| Jan. 28, 2003 | 108th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush. | |
| Jan. 29, 2002 | 107th Congress | State of the Union Address | President George W. Bush. | |
| Sept. 20, 2001 | 107th Congress | Address on the War on Terrorism | President George W. Bush. | |
| Feb. 27, 2001 | 107th Congress | Budget Message | President George W. Bush. | |
| Jan. 27, 2000 | 106th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 19, 1999 | 106th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 27, 1998 | 105th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Feb. 4, 1997 | 105th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 23, 1996 | 104th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 24, 1995 | 104th Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 25, 1994 | 103rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Sept. 22, 1993 | 103rd Congress | Address on Health Care Reform | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Feb. 17, 1993 | 103rd Congress | Economic Address | President William J. Clinton. | |
| Jan. 28, 1992 | 102nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President George Bush. | |
| Mar. 6, 1991 | 102nd Congress | Conclusion of Persian Gulf War | President George Bush. | |
| Jan. 29, 1991 | 102nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President George Bush. | |
| Sept. 11, 1990 | 101st Congress | Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq | President George Bush. | |
| Jan. 31, 1990 | 101st Congress | State of the Union Address | President George Bush. | |
| Feb. 9, 1989 | 101st Congress | Address on Building a Better America | President George Bush. | |
| Jan. 25, 1988 | 100th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 27, 1987 | 100th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Feb. 4, 1986 | 99th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Nov. 21, 1985 | 99th Congress | Address on Geneva Summit | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Feb. 6, 1985 | 99th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 25, 1984 | 98th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Apr. 27, 1983 | 98th Congress | Address on Central America | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 25, 1983 | 98th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 26, 1982 | 97th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Apr. 28, 1981 | 97th Congress | Address on Economic Recovery--inflation | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Feb. 18, 1981 | 97th Congress | Address on Economic Recovery | President Ronald Reagan. | |
| Jan. 23, 1980 | 96th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| June 18, 1979 | 96th Congress | Address on Salt II agreements | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Jan. 23, 1979 | 96th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Sept. 18, 1978 | 95th Congress | Address on Middle East Peace agreements | President Jimmy Carter; Joint session attended by Anwar El Sadat, President of Egypt, and by Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel. | |
| Jan. 19, 1978 | 95th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Apr. 20, 1977 | 95th Congress | Address on Energy | President Jimmy Carter. | |
| Jan. 12, 1977 | 95th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Jan. 19, 1976 | 94th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Apr. 10, 1975 | 94th Congress | Address on State of the World | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Jan. 15, 1975 | 94th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Oct. 8, 1974 | 93rd Congress | Address on the Economy | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Aug. 12, 1974 | 93rd Congress | Assumption of office | President Gerald R. Ford. | |
| Jan. 30 1974 | 93rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| June 1, 1972 | 92nd Congress | Address on Europe trip | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 20, 1972 | 92nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Sept. 9, 1971 | 92nd Congress | Address on Economic policy | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 22, 1971 | 92nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 22, 1970 | 91st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Richard M. Nixon. | |
| Jan. 14, 1969 | 91st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 17, 1968 | 90th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 10, 1967 | 90th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 12, 1966 | 89th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Mar. 15, 1965 | 89th Congress | Voting rights | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 4, 1965 | 89th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 8, 1964 | 88th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Nov. 27, 1963 | 88th Congress | Assumption of office | President Lyndon B. Johnson. | |
| Jan. 14, 1963 | 88th Congress | State of the Union Address | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| Jan. 11, 1962 | 87th Congress | State of the Union Address | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| May 25, 1961 | 87th Congress | Urgent national needs: foreign aid, defense, civil defense, and outer space | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| Jan. 30, 1961 | 87th Congress | State of the Union Address | President John F. Kennedy. | |
| Jan. 7, 1960 | 86th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 9, 1959 | 86th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 9, 1958 | 85th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 10, 1957 | 85th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 5, 1957 | 85th Congress | Address on the Middle East | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 6, 1955 | 84th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Jan. 7, 1954 | 83rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| Feb. 2, 1953 | 83rd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Dwight D. Eisenhower. | |
| June 10, 1952 | 82nd Congress | Address on Steel Strike | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 9, 1952 | 82nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 8, 1951 | 82nd Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 4, 1950 | 81st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 5, 1949 | 81st Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| July 27, 1948 | 80th Congress | Address on inflation, housing, and civil rights | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Apr. 19, 1948 | 80th Congress | Address on 50th anniversary, liberation of Cuba | President Harry S. Truman; Guillermo Belt, Ambassador of Cuba. | |
| Mar. 17, 1948 | 80th Congress | National security and conditions in Europe | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 7, 1948 | 80th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Nov. 17, 1947 | 80th Congress | Address on Aid to Europe | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Mar. 12, 1947 | 80th Congress | Address on Greek-Turkish aid policy | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Jan. 6, 1947 | 80th Congress | State of the Union Address | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| May 25, 1946 | 79th Congress | Address on Railroad Strike | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Oct. 23, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Universal Military Training | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| May 21, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Bestowal of Congressional Medal of Honor to Tech. Sgt. Jake William Lindsey | General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Apr. 16, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Assumption of Office and War | President Harry S. Truman. | |
| Mar. 1, 1945 | 79th Congress | Address on Yalta Conference | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1945 | 79th Congress | Annual Message | President Roosevelt was not present. His message was read before the Joint Session of Congress. | |
| Jan. 11, 1944 | 78th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 7, 1943 | 78th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1942 | 77th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Dec. 8, 1941 | 77th Congress | Address on the "Day of Infamy" | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1941 | 77th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| May 16, 1940 | 76th Congress | Address on National Defense | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 3, 1940 | 76th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Sept. 21, 1939 | 76th Congress | Address on Neutrality | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Mar. 4, 1939 | 76th Congress | Address on Sesquicentennial of the 1st Congress | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 4, 1939 | 76th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 3, 1938 | 75th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 6, 1937 | 75th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 3, 1936 | 74th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| May 22, 1935 | 74th Congress | Address on Budget Bill Veto | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Jan. 4, 1935 | 74th Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| May 20, 1934 | 73rd Congress | Address on 100th anniversary of the death of the Marquis de Lafayette | Andre de Laboulaye, Ambassador of France; President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; ceremony attended by Count de Chambrun, great-grandson of Lafayette. | |
| Jan. 3, 1934 | 73rd Congress | Annual Message | President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. | |
| Feb. 22, 1932 | 72nd Congress | Address on bicentennial of George Washington's birth | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 6, 1932 | 72nd Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 8, 1931 | 72nd Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 2, 1930 | 71st Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 3, 1929 | 71st Congress | Annual Message | President Herbert Hoover. | |
| Dec. 4, 1928 | 70th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Feb. 22, 1927 | 70th Congress | Address on upcoming George Washington birthday bicentennial | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 6, 1927 | 70th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 6, 1926 | 69th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 8, 1925 | 69th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 6, 1924 | 68th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Dec. 3, 1923 | 68th Congress | Annual Message | President Calvin Coolidge. | |
| Feb. 7, 1923 | 67th Congress | Address on British debt due to the United States | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Dec. 8, 1922 | 67th Congress | Annual Message | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Nov. 21, 1922 | 67th Congress | Address on promotion of the American Merchant Marine | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Aug. 18, 1922 | 67th Congress | Address on coal and railroad strikes | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Feb. 28, 1922 | 67th Congress | Address on maintenance of the Merchant Marine | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Dec. 6, 1921 | 67th Congress | Annual Message | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Apr. 12, 1921 | 67th Congress | Federal problem message | President Warren G. Harding. | |
| Aug. 8, 1919 | 66th Congress | Cost of living message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 2, 1918 | 65th Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Nov. 11, 1918 | 65th Congress | Terms of armistice signed by Germany | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| May 27, 1918 | 65th Congress | War finance message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Feb. 11, 1918 | 65th Congress | Peace message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Jan. 8, 1918 | 65th Congress | Program for world's peace | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Jan. 4, 1918 | 65th Congress | Federal operation of transportation systems | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 4, 1917 | 65th Congress | Annual Message/War with Austria-Hungary | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Apr. 2, 1917 | 65th Congress | War with Germany | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Feb. 26, 1917 | 64th Congress | Arming of merchant ships | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Feb. 3, 1917 | 64th Congress | Severing diplomatic relations with Germany | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 5, 1916 | 64th Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Aug. 29, 1916 | 64th Congress | Railroad message (labor-management dispute) | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 7, 1915 | 64th Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 8, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Sept. 4, 1914 | 63rd Congress | War tax message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Apr. 20, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Mexico message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Mar. 5, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Panama Canal tolls | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Jan. 20, 1914 | 63rd Congress | Trusts message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Dec. 2, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Annual Message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Aug. 27, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Mexican affairs message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| June 23, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Currency and bank reform message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Apr. 8, 1913 | 63rd Congress | Tariff message | President Woodrow Wilson. | |
| Nov. 22, 1800 | 6th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| Dec. 3, 1799 | 6th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| Dec. 8, 1798 | 5th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| Nov. 23, 1797 | 5th Congress | Annual Message | President John Adams. | |
| May 16, 1797 | 5th Congress | Relations with France | President John Adams. | |
| Dec. 7, 1796 | 4th Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Dec. 8, 1795 | 4th Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Nov. 19, 1794 | 3rd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Dec. 3, 1793 | 3rd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Nov. 6, 1792 | 2nd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Oct. 25, 1791 | 2nd Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Dec. 8, 1790 | 1st Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
| Jan. 8, 1790 | 1st Congress | Annual Message | President George Washington. | |
See also
- Joe Biden presidential administration
- Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2023
- Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2022
- Joe Biden's address to joint session of Congress (April 28, 2021)
Footnotes
- ↑ Twitter, "Joe Biden on January 6, 2024," accessed January 9, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Associated Press, "Alabama Sen. Katie Britt to deliver Republican State of the Union response," February 29, 2024 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "britt" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 The White House, "Remarks of President Joe Biden – State of the Union Address as Prepared for Delivery," March 7, 2024
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 White House, "The White House Announces Guest List for the First Lady’s Box for the 2024 State of the Union Address," March 7, 2024
- ↑ CBS News, "Who was the designated survivor for the 2024 State of the Union address?" March 7, 2024
- ↑ United States House of Representatives, "Joint Meetings, Joint Sessions, & Inaugurations," accessed June 14, 2021
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