- Biden was scheduled to submit his budget plan and national security policy proposals on February 5, but that submission is almost always delayed until March
- The SUBMIT IT Act would prohibit Congress from inviting the president to a joint session until he submits his budget and national security plan.
As President Biden continues the tradition of missing 2025 budget deadlines, Republicans in Congress are trying to force the president to submit his plan before he delivers his annual address to Congress.
President Biden is scheduled to submit his budget plan and national security policy proposals on February 5, but that submission is almost always delayed until March.
The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires a president to submit his budget request to Congress no later than the first Monday in February. The National Security Act of 1947 requires him to submit a national security proposal to initiate the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) process the same day.
The SUBMIT IT Act, released earlier this month, would ban Congress from inviting the president to a joint session until he submits both plans. The bill would not come into effect until 2025.
The SUBMIT IT Act, led by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., would ban Congress from inviting the president to a joint session until he submits both plans. The bill would not come into effect until 2025.
The President’s budget and national security requests will not become law; they serve merely as guidelines for Congress to craft spending and defense legislation. Republicans in Congress are likely to give little weight to Biden’s proposals.
“The president has a duty to submit an annual budget and national security strategy. “If the President, regardless of political party, does not get these vital documents to the Legislature in a timely manner, he or she has no business serving in Congress,” Carter said in a statement.
“Actions speak louder than words, folks, and Biden’s budget is late again,” Ernst said. “If the president gets a chance to address Congress and the entire nation, he should have a plan in place.”
Biden’s budgets for the past three years were 115, 49 and 31 days late. In any case, the previous four presidents – Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton – all missed budget deadlines as well.
President Biden is scheduled to submit his budget plan and national security policy proposals on February 5, but that submission is almost always delayed until March.
Demanding a timely 2025 budget from the president, Congress has still not passed long-term legislation to fund the government in the 2024 budget year, which began four months ago.
They have passed three emergency laws to advance the deadline, one of which expires on Friday.
March 1 is the deadline for Congress to fund four of the twelve government agencies. They must pass legislation by March 8 to fund the other eight agencies.
With no clear path forward, the prospects of a government shutdown loom large.
Biden has invited Congress’ “Big Four” leaders, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY., the chairman of the House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N. .Y., to the White House on Monday.
Congressional leaders had hoped to release the text for the first four spending bills, Agriculture, Energy and Water, MilCon-Va and Transportation-HUD, which expire Sunday evening, but that has not yet happened.