Barack Obama speech to joint session of Congress, September 2009 Barack Obama speech to joint session of Congress, September 2009 United States President Barack Obama discussed his plan for health care reform in a speech delivered to a joint session of the 111th United States Congress on September 9, 2009 at 8:00 PM (EDT). The speech was delivered to Congress on the floor of the chamber of the United States House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over the joint session and was accompanied by the President of the United States Senate, Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States. Energy Secretary Steven
Robert S. Rivkin Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. He stayed in that position until 2009. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Rivkin was sworn in as the 21st General Counsel of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) on May 18, 2009, following unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate. A longtime Obama supporter and contributor, Rivkin first met Obama in 1991. While with DOT, Rivkin was counsel to Secretary Ray LaHood and served as DOT's Chief Legal Officer, with authority to resolve all legal questions concerning the Department's policies and programs and its over 55,000 employees and $78 billion budget. In 2009,