1994 State of the Union Address

Speech by US President Bill Clinton February 2026 February 2025 1994 State of the Union Address The 1994 State of the Union (Address to a Joint Session of the Congress).webm Full video of the speech as published by the White House 9:00 p.m. EST 1 hour, 3 minutes 1994 01 25 House Chamber, United States Capitol Washington, D.C. 38 53 23 N 77 00 32 W region:US-DC_type:event inline,title State of the Union Address Bill Clinton Al Gore Tom Foley Previous 1993 Joint session speech Next 1995 State of the Union Address The 1994 State of the Union Address was given by the 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton, on January 25, 1994, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 103rd United States Congress. It was Clinton's first State of the Union Address and his second speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was House speaker Tom Foley, accompanied by Vice President Al Gore, in his capacity as the president of the Senate. The president discussed the federal budget deficit, taxes, defense spending, crime, foreign affairs, education, the economy, free trade, the role of government, campaign finance reform, welfare reform, and promoting the Clinton health care plan. President Clinton threatened to veto any legislation that did not guarantee every American private health insurance. He proposed for policies to fight crime: a three strikes law for repeat violent offenders; 100,000 more police officers on the streets; expand gun control to further prevent criminals from being armed and ban assault weapons; additional support for drug treatment and education. The president began the speech with an acknowledgment of former Speaker Tip O'Neill, who died on January 5, 1994. While discussing additional community policing, the president honored Kevin Jett, a New York City cop attending the address who had been featured in a New York Times story in December 1993.https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3DF1338F931A25751C1A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 One Cop, Eight Square Blocks Norman Michael December 12, 1993 New York Times The speech lasted 63 minuteshttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou_minutes.php Length of State of the Union Messages and Addresses (in minutes) The American Presidency Project Woolley John Peters Gerhard 2011-02-20 and consisted of 7,432 words.http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou_words.php Length of State of the Union Messages and Addresses (in words) The American Presidency Project Woolley John Peters Gerhard 2011-02-20 It was the longest State of the Union speech since Lyndon B. Johnson's 1967 State of the Union Address. Republican Representative Henry Hyde criticized the speech as "interminable". The Republican Party response was delivered by Senator Bob Dole of Kansas.http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou_response.php List of Opposition Responses to State of the Union Addresses The American Presidency Project Woolley John Peters Gerhard 2011-02-20 Dole argued that health care in the United States was not in crisis, the Republican opposition to Clinton's plans in the previous year had been popular, and the deficit reduction was the temporary result of tax increases.https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/26/us/state-union-republicans-gop-response-clinton-dole-denies-there-crisis-health.html STATE OF THE UNION: The Republicans; In G.O.P. Response to Clinton, Dole Denies There Is 'Crisis' in Health Care January 26, 1994 Clymer Adam New York Times Mike Espy, the Secretary of Agriculture, served as the designated survivor. Contrary to common belief,Wolf Z. Byron https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/04/telemprompter-inventor-hub-schlaflly-dies-device-changed-public-address-in-america/ Telemprompter Inventor "Hub" Schlafly Dies; Device Changed Public Address in America The Note ABC News 15 January 2012 Clinton did not have to recite the speech from memory because the teleprompter was loaded with the wrong speech. This had happened the previous year: in a speech Clinton gave to Congress on 22 September 1993 detailing the Clinton health care plan, the teleprompter was loaded with the wrong speech. Specifically, the one he gave to a joint session of Congress on 17 February 1993 shortly after he was sworn in. Teleprompter operators practiced with the old speech and it was accidentally left in, forcing Clinton to ad-lib for almost ten minutes.Baker Peter https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/world/americas/05iht-prompt.4.20623004.html?pagewanted=all The (very) scripted president The New York Times 5 March 2009 9 April 2013https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-26-mn-15503-story.html THE STATE OF THE UNION : The State of the TelePrompTer Los Angeles Times 26 January 1994 9 April 2013http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-11-2013/george-stephanopoulos George Stephanopoulos The Daily Show 11 February 2013 9 April 2013Wolf Z. Byron https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/anecdotes/ Anecdotes PBS 9 April 2013 The two incidents are often conflated. What happened is that President Clinton simply referenced the September 1993 incident. See also 1994 United States House of Representatives elections References External links Bill Clinton's Second State of the Union Address 1994 State of the Union Address House of Representatives January 25, 1994 Congressional Record United States Government Publishing Office Washington, DC 140 1 114–119 Bound https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1994-pt1/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1994-pt1-1-2.pdf August 19, 2024 1994 State of the Union Address January 25, 1994 C-SPAN https://www.c-span.org/video/?54050-1/1994-state-union-address August 19, 2024 State of the Union Response January 25, 1994 C-SPAN https://www.c-span.org/video/?54051-1/state-union-response August 19, 2024 1994 State of the Union Response (transcript) 1993 joint session speech 1995 State of the Union Address State of the Union addresses 1 1994 State of the Union Address 1994 State of the Union Address State of the Union Address State of the Union Address State of the Union Address Category:Presidency of Bill Clinton Category:Speeches by Bill Clinton Category:Articles containing video clips Category:1990s State of the Union addresses