*updated
Speaker of the House John Boehner sent a letter back to President Obama regarding the president’s request for a joint session of Congress on September 7. However, Mr. Boehner told the president that the date of September 7 would not be available and proposed September 8 instead. Below is an excerpt of the letter:
Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Speaker Boehner, sent out a statement regarding rumors about whether or not Rep. Boehner knew about and approved of the proposed September 7 date before the president announced it:
“No one in the Speaker’s office - not the Speaker, not any staff - signed off on the date the White House announced today. Unfortunately we weren’t even asked if that date worked for the House. Shortly before it arrived this morning, we were simply informed that a letter was coming. It’s unfortunate the White House ignored decades - if not centuries - of the protocol of working out a mutually agreeable date and time before making any public announcement.”
