U.S. State of the Union Address & President Biden’s Budget

Prior to President Biden presenting the State of the Union, much was said about Biden’s age. Many pollsters ask questions about whether people were concerned about his age—Biden is 81. Most voters, both Republicans and Democrats, stated concerns about the President’s age. The age issue exploded when the Special Counsel investigating President Biden for taking secret documents from the White House said he would not prosecute because a jury would view President Biden as “an elderly man with a poor memory.”

With this backdrop, President Biden entered the U.S. Capitol to present the annual State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress of the House and Senate. As many reports have stated, President Biden was both feisty and engaging. Generally, the public response was positive, and Democrats were enthusiastic. In his speech, President Biden outlined what his administration had accomplished in the past three years of his presidency and outlined his priorities for the future.

The President’s speech began by setting the stakes very high. He reflected on President Roosevelt at a time when democracy was threatened across the globe. President Biden went on to explain that now, like then, democracy is threatened in many countries, including here at home in the United States. He could not have set the stakes any higher.

Much was also written about the Republican response to the address. Unfortunately, the worse position for anyone to be in is having to respond to any sitting president’s State of the Union address. It is an unenviable task. This year was no different when the junior U.S. Senator from Alabama, Katie Britt, gave the Republican response. Oddly, the response was criticized by Republicans, and became a parody for the opening monologue of the much-watched weekly Saturday Night Live television program.

A few days after his State of the Union address, President Biden sent his 2025 Budget to Congress. This practice, required by law, set forth President Biden’s priorities, including reducing the cost of prescription drugs, providing support for childcare and housing, improving access to education, and enhancing the social safety net for those in need. This chart by Politico Pro shows how President Biden has allocated funds.

In the U.S., it is the United States Congress which appropriates funds, so Congress will have the final word on how the government is funded, although with the Democrats’ leadership in the Senate, many of President Biden’s priorities will survive.

As we have noted in our previous reports, Congress has only approved a small cache of the 2024 appropriations bill, and it must fund the rest of the government by March 22, 2024. Congress is far behind in its work. As soon as Congress finalizes 2024 funding, it will focus on 2025 funding priorities. We have a long road ahead because Republicans in the House, while being against President Biden’s budget priorities, have yet to outline their priorities.