February 2009 Barack Obama speech to a joint session of Congress

President Barack Obama addressing the Congress, with Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Date	February 24, 2009 (2009-02-24)
Time	9:00 p.m. EST
Duration	51 minutes
Venue	House Chamber, United States Capitol
Location	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′23″N 77°00′32″W / 38.88972°N 77.00889°W / 38.88972; -77.00889
Type	Unofficial State of the Union Address
Participants	Barack Obama Joe Biden Nancy Pelosi
Previous	2008 State of the Union Address
Next	2010 State of the Union Address

Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, addressed a joint session of the United States Congress on Tuesday, February 24, 2009. It was his first public address before a joint session. Similar to a State of the Union Address, it was delivered before the 111th United States Congress in the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives in the United States Capitol.^[1] Presiding over this joint session was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Joe Biden, the vice president in his capacity as the president of the Senate.

During his speech, President Obama discussed the recently passed $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as well as the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the state of the economy, and the future of the country.^[2]

Attorney General Eric Holder was the designated survivor and did not attend the address in order to maintain a continuity of government. He was sequestered at a secret secure location for the duration of the event.^[3]

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal delivered the Republican response to the address, calling Obama's stimulus plan irresponsible.^[4] Jindal's response received criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans.^[5]

• First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency
• List of joint sessions of the United States Congress

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barack Obama speech to joint session of Congress, February 2009.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Barack Obama's First State of the Union Address

• "Senate" (PDF). Congressional Record. 155 (32). Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office: S2419 – S2423. February 24, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
• "Presidential Economic Address". C-SPAN. February 24, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
• "Presidential Economic Address Response". C-SPAN. February 24, 2009. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
• Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal Delivers Presidential Economic Response (transcript)