1982 State of the Union Address 1982 State of the Union Address The 1982 State of the Union address was given by President Ronald Reagan to a joint session of the 97th United States Congress on Tuesday, January 26, 1982. The speech was the first State of the Union address of President Reagan's first term. The speech lasted 40 minutes and 14 seconds and contained 5154 words. The address was broadcast live on radio and television. The speech was the first to acknowledge a special guest, Lenny Skutnik. Taking the place of Supreme Court Justice Byron White was retired Justice Potter Stewart. The Democratic Party response
State of the Union none has done so since Jimmy Carter sent a written message in 1981. In 1953 and 1961, Congress received both a written State of the Union message from the outgoing president and a separate State of the Union speech by the incoming president. Since 1989, in recognition that the responsibility of reporting the State of the Union formally belongs to the president who held office during the past year, newly inaugurated Presidents have not officially called their first speech before Congress a "State of the Union" message. In 1936, President Roosevelt set a precedent when he delivered the address at