Just hours after President Obama scheduled his big jobs speech at the same time as the first GOP presidential debate featuring Texas Gov. Rick Perry, House Speaker John Boehner is asking that the President delay the speech by a day.
The format the White House requested for the address on September 7 was a big all-whistles-and-bells joint session of Congress. Boehner fired back in a very polite but pointed letter that made no mention of the GOP debate, but asked Obama to delay it until September 8, citing a different source of concern, namely that Congress won’t have time to formally approve the joint resolution of both houses extending the invite for Obama to make the address.
[T]he House will not be in session until Wednesday, September 7, with votes at 6:30 that evening. With the significant amount of time - typically more than three hours - that is required to allow for a security sweep of the House Chamber before receiving a President, it is my recommendation that your address be held the following evening, when we can ensure there will be no parliamentary or logistical impediments that might detract from your remarks.
Reporters earlier noted that the White House had apparently given Boehner only 15 minutes of notice before announcing the Joint Session to the press. CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller tweeted, “Usually, the WH will work out a date in private with the Speaker & Majority Leader before going public with a request.”
Boehner’s suggested time for a Presidential address also clashes with a rather large prescheduled event: the opening night of the NFL.
Read Boehner’s full letter here.
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