January 16, 2019

The President

The White House

1600 Avenue, Northwest
Washington, DC. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On January it was my privilege as Speaker to invite you to deliver the State of the Union
address on January 29th. The Constitution calls for the President to ?from time to time give to the
Congress Information of the State of the Union.? During the 19th Century and up until the
presidency of Woodrow Wilson, these annual State of the Union messages were delivered to
Congress in writing. And since the start of modern budgeting in Fiscal Year 1977, a State of the
Union address has never been delivered during a government shutdown.

In September 2018, Secretary Nielsen designated State of the Union Addresses as National Special
Security Events (N SSEs), recognizing the need for ?the full resources of the Federal Government
to be brought to bear? to ensure the security of these events. The extraordinary demands presented
by NSSES require weeks of detailed planning with dozens of agencies working together to prepare
for the safety of all participants.

The US. Secret Service was designated as the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating,
planning, exercising, and implementing security for National Special Security Events by Public
Law 106-544, December 19, 2000. However, both the US. Secret Service and the Department of
Homeland Security have not been funded for 26 days now with critical departments hamstrung
by furloughs.

Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we
work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address
or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on
January 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,



CY SI
Speaker of the House