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The On the Hill: Breaking Down DC podcast is a collection of sharing more about what’s happening in DC without the bias, ways for you to get involved with the US government, and interviews with friends, colleagues who can help pull back the proverbial curtain of Washington, DC. Katherine Getty, host of the OTH podcast, is a 10-year Washingtonian who lives and breathes politics.
Katherine Getty 0:01
Hi, and welcome to the on the Hill podcast with me your host, Katherine Getty. Each Thursday, I'll peel back the curtain of what happens in Washington, from breaking down current events without bias, to interviews with fellow political nerds, and even and maybe most importantly, ways for you to get involved with our US government.
Katherine Getty 0:24
Welcome back to another episode of The on the Hill podcast with me your host, Katherine Getty. If you're listening in real time, the State of the Union will be delivered by President Biden this evening, march 7, at 9pm Tune in. And I have to admit that this likely comes as no surprise given, I have an entire podcast talking about the US government, but I have always loved the State of the Union. There's something I don't know there's like pomp and circumstance around it. There's some like special just feel special. And so it's always been a mini holiday in my book, I get really excited about like, ordering takeout watching the pre show, you know, watching the show, it is always past my bedtime, because it typically it airs at 9pm. Again, probably no surprise, I like to go to bed early. So I have to stay up late. It'll come as no surprise that I that staying up late is like a somewhat of a treat. I think the next morning, it hurts a little bit. But it being on a Thursday, it makes it a little bit better. But I am so thrilled about the State of the Union. And I thought given it was timely. I do a couple things. One, I give you an update on where government funding was. So I wouldn't leave Jana on a cliffhanger. And then too, I go into a few things about this Haiti union. So the history why do we even have it? What are some of the traditions surrounding it, and then share a little bit of the insights on you know, after the State of the Union, the opposing party will always have a response. It's typically pre baked, it doesn't really isn't really reflective of the same unit. It's basically their position statement on what they think is important. Okay, so where are we at in government funding, as discussed last week, I shared that we expected to have Congress extend that March 1 deadline for part of funding the government to march 8, and then the remaining March 8 deadlines to go to march 22. With the hope that a greater deal on appropriations for fiscal year 2024, which we are many, many months until would be wrapped up within that time period. So Congress extended those deadlines. We're now kind of in that March 8 to march 22. And the President signed it. And so now we're expecting and As of recording this on Sunday afternoon, you saw the first tranche of bills that needed to be, you know, voted on on March 8, or released for the House to vote on first. So I think this is a really good sign. Hopefully, when it comes to fiscal year 2024 getting wrapped up within the next few months. What happens, time will only tell I feel like this Congress guessing about anything has proven to be wrong. And so a lot of things were not on anyone's bingo card when they started 100 and 18th. Congress which we are in, so more to come but the government is funded, which is a very good thing. All right. So let's transition back to the heart of the episode with State of the Union. The State of the Union really finds its roots. And this will also come as no surprise because I feel like I harken back to the Constitution. Often in this podcast. They say union really finds its roots in Article two, section three, if you're following along of the US Constitution. And the Constitution states that the President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend their consideration such mat measures as he or she shall judge necessary and expedient. The Constitution does he but we know there's going to be a time where there's a woman president. You know, at a functional level, this provision was really intended to ensure there was communication between the President and Congress. If you think back to the founding fathers, there was such a fear of having another monarchy or having another kind of head of state that didn't connect with the legislative body or the branch. And obviously, England is very different than us. But I think that was probably trying to solve for that to ensure that there wasn't some sort of a disconnect there. Even you know further the CTE and really is an annual address now delivered to a joint session of Congress. So that's when the House and the Senate come to the house chambers, which it looks much bigger on TV than it is in real life. If you've ever come to DC I highly recommend coming and looking touring the Capitol, but I was definitely when I first came to DC and first of all the house for I was
Unknown Speaker 5:00
is kind of amazed so many people are able to fit in it. So you think about it, the State of Union has the House, the Senate, members of the Cabinet, the Supreme Court justices, if they want to come, you know, the First Lady will say, or the first, and the first spouses will sit in the box. And you'll see now we'll talk a little bit later about some traditions, but it's this a lot of people. And so to know, that everyone comes for this joint session of Congress is pretty amazing. The State of the Union is also typically in January or February. And if you're thinking, well, it's March, why is the State of the Union so late this year? You know, my best guess is that a lot of the funding debates and deadlines that have been staggered over the last couple months, really probably push that back to some degree. And so we're looking at an early March stay the union. So something may be a little bit new, or something we haven't experienced in some sort of time. And the seat of the union is really an opportunity for the President to not only look back at what happened in the last year, but to lay out a legislative agenda to lay out a vision for what the next year could be. And, you know, look, we have a two party system. And not everyone's going to agree with everything the President says, but it is really important that we have an opportunity as Americans to hear what our president has to say. And I think we should never lose sight of the fact that we have something like this. I mean, look, I know I complained that it was at 9pm on a Thursday. But I am really happy that we as Americans have this opportunity. So a little bit more of the history, talk about kind of the why we talk about some of the logistics of it. It's an annual address to Congress, to talk through not only the past to look toward the future, but some interesting history facts that I found as I was doing research for this podcast episode. So the first day the union was delivered by President George Washington, in January of 7090, in New York City, which was then the capital of the US. And in that, say the union, Washington really set a precedent for future presidents, to provide Congress with updates of the nation's condition and to outline it, John Adams continued that coming in front of Congress and orally providing that update. But interestingly, but also not interestingly enough, Thomas Jefferson chose to write out and provide it in a written format. Knowing that Thomas Jefferson authored many things during the founding of our nation, it doesn't come as a huge surprise. But I thought that was kind of an interesting tidbit, I would say that over time, this a union has really evolved as a really significant event. It's a benchmark, it kind of kicks off, you know, the year to some degree, and it lays out, you also will notice that in an inaugural year, so a year that the President is getting inaugurated, he not only has an inauguration, but then he has a joint session of Congress later in the year. So it gets a little bit confusing. You're probably like, why am I calling that out? But I think it's an interesting tidbit. Because sometimes I'm like, Okay, what year which one are we going to be in? So 2025, we'll have an inaugural address, and then we will have, I think it's called a joint session of Congress. I can confirm that later. So now we've really covered not only kind of the logistics of it. So what the speech is, it's to look back to the cord. It has, you know, all members of the House, the Senate, the cabinet, Supreme Court, has honored guests. But I think that an interesting tidbit is really the opposition speech or the response, the State of the Union. So for this year, for 2024, President Biden will deliver the State of the Union on March 7, at 9pm. I feel like I'm doing advertisement, he'll deliver that. And then following that, you'll get a response from since he's a Democrat, a member of the Republican Party. And there have been some really interesting, you know, responses over the years, I think some that have become memes. But it's always interesting to see what the other party is trying to lay out as a contrast, I think of it often as, okay, the President is likely going to say XY and Z, we're going to create a message and create a different pitch in. And I also think that that's important. And again, staying up so late on a Thursday is really difficult for me, but I think it's important that we hear both sides. And I think that's, to be honest, a big reason I launched this podcast, I want to provide you kind of the lay of the land without the bias of here's what here's what's happening in the US government or here's some history that you may not know, and then allow you to engage with it, how you see fit with your values and your vision. And I think understanding if we have a common definition of what something is
Unknown Speaker 10:00
It helps us communicate better, it helps bring down that temperature. And so, you know, we might be talking about this at noon today. But I hope that if you're listening to this at Union, you also listen to the response. And the first official televised opposition response to the President's CD. And it was in 1966, when Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, who was a Republican of Illinois, and house minority leader, Gerald Ford, you might have heard of him, he becomes president later, who is a Republican in Michigan offered a critique of President Lyndon B. Johnson's annual message. It's super interesting to me, that that's kind of where it started. And if you think to to 1966, TV is really becoming a new mode of communication when it comes to politics. And so I wonder if there is some dynamics there of okay, this is a way that we can also get in front of the camera and provide our feedback to what's happening in America and lay out our vision. Since then, you know, the practice has kind of changed and very the opposition response. And really, in 1982, members of the opposition party have provided an annual response. May that be, you know, when President Obama was in office, it was a Republican when it was President Trump, it was a Democrat. It's typically in a televised format. And it is directly following. And so all of the major networks will carry as well as the news sites, or news stations will carry the seating and they likely will also carry the response. If not, I'm sure there is a way to find it online. So in today's episode, I have not only given you an update on government funding, woohoo, we are funded for a little bit more time, we'll continue to kind of monitor it, and I'll continue to provide you updates on it. But I've also given you some some context of the sacred union, which if you're listening in real time, will be delivered this evening. I am so thrilled that you have an opportunity, I'm so thrilled that us as Americans have an opportunity to not only hear what our president says is happening in our country and lay out a vision. But I'm also excited to see what the opposition says and what their vision is. And I think that's what's really special about America is that we, for the most part feel like we're able to see both sides. Now, we're not going to talk about the media for today because that's it was biased. But I think it's a really good opportunity to engage with your democracy. You can do it from the comfort of your own couch. And just as always, thank you thank you so much. You know my call to action this, this episode will be watch this at the Union and watch the response. In next week's episode, I'll definitely do a recap as well as you know some more some more education on the US government. As always, thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of The on the Hill podcast. It is truly a joy to be able to share with you my love of the US government. I know that sometimes it's hard to love the US government but my love of the US government so they you may engage so that you may have your voice be heard. If you want to learn more about me my handle on Instagram is at Katherine Getty. The podcast handle on Instagram is on the Hill DC podcast. Should there ever be things you want to hear or things you have questions about please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you again and see you next week on another episode of On the hill.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai