Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) today led her colleagues in a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The letter urged the Speaker not to limit attendance to this year’s State of the Union Address by President Biden, as has been previously reported.
Recent media reports revealed that Speaker Pelosi plans to impose strict limits on attendance to President Biden’s first State of the Union Address, which historically has taken place in a full House Chamber in front of members of the House, the Senate, the Cabinet, and the Supreme Court, along with numerous other guests. Last year, for President Biden’s first Address to a Joint Session of Congress, Pelosi capped attendance at a total of 200 individuals, despite widespread vaccinations amongst Members of Congress and masking policies.
“One of our top responsibilities in Congress is oversight of the Executive. Actively participating in the President’s State of the Union Address is an important part of fulfilling this responsibility. Choosing to bar Members from attending would be a grave mistake that prevents the American people’s representatives from fulling their duties,” said Tenney. “I urge Speaker Pelosi to immediately reverse any decision to limit attendance amongst Members of Congress and to ensure our constitutionally obligated functions can be fulfilled.”
In part the lawmakers wrote, “The House Chamber and House Gallery can accommodate approximately 950 individuals, and yet it has been reported that you wish to limit attendance to a mere 25 House Members from each party. This is a stunning overcompensation of social distancing that goes beyond the recommendations of even the most severe COVID alarmism. We now find ourselves more than two years after COVID-19 emerged on our shores from China, and the current Omicron variant is far less dangerous than previous strains of the virus. In addition, thanks in large part to Project Warped Speed, vaccines are now widely available to those who want them.”
The letter was also signed by Reps. Louie Gohmert (TX), Victoria Spartz (IN), Bob Gibbs (OH), Mike Waltz (FL), Barry Loudermilk (GA), Nicole Malliotakis (NY), Dan Bishop (NC), Andrew Garbarino (NY), Lauren Boebert (CO), and Madison Cawthorn (NC).
The full text of the letter is available here.
Dear Speaker Pelosi:
It has recently come to light that you plan to limit the number of Members of Congress allowed to attend President Biden’s upcoming State of the Union Address, just as you did for last year’s Joint Address to Congress. It is unacceptable that under your tenure as Speaker, access to the People’s House has been reduced for both the American people and Members of Congress. We urge you to reconsider your ill-advised plan to restrict participation of duly elected Members of Congress in this year’s State of the Union Address.
Your planned prohibition will prevent us, as elected Representatives, to participate in an important function of our roles. Article II, Section 3, Clause I of the Constitution requires the President to provide periodic updates to Congress, and it the duty of Members of Congress to participate fully in this process. It is clear that physically distanced involvement is no substitute for in-person participation. We understand that you may wish to shield our deeply unpopular President from scenes of bipartisan disapproval, however that is no reason to constrain the basic functions of our democracies.
The House Chamber and House Gallery can accommodate approximately 950 individuals, and yet it has been reported that you wish to limit attendance to a mere 25 House Members from each party. This is a stunning overcompensation of social distancing that goes beyond the recommendations of even the most severe COVID alarmism. We now find ourselves more than two years after COVID-19 emerged on our shores from China, and the current Omicron variant is far less dangerous than previous strains of the virus. In addition, thanks in large part to Project Warped Speed, vaccines are now widely available to those who want them.
It is time for the House of Representatives to resume its normal in-person operations, and the State of the Union Address will be a good point to mark this return.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely, ### |