President Biden failed to submit a budget request to Congress yesterday. He also failed to submit a national security strategy. By law, both are to be submitted to Parliament on the first Monday of February.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) are tired of a president who ignores the law. Yesterday, they introduced the Send Budget Materials and International Tactics on Time (SUBMIT IT) Act, which would condition the president's State of the Union address on submitting the year's budget request and security strategy to Congress. did.

This is a smart way for Congress to hold the president accountable.

Congress needs that information for budget, appropriations, and national defense authorization bills. Indeed, most of the president's policy proposals areDead on arrival” But the details give Congress the basis for budget legislation and defense legislation. (Related: Stephen Moore: The Biden administration is once again trying to fix what isn't broken)

Delays in reporting from the executive branch hold everything back and make it less likely that Congress' annual legislation will be successful.

Unfortunately, the president's budget proposals are chronically delayed. The Budget Act stipulates as follows: The president must submit it by the first Monday in February. President George W. Bush was only able to achieve his goals in his first year in office. President Barack Obama's budgets ranged from on schedule (twice) to 65 days late. Two of President Donald Trump's budget proposals were delayed by just a week, while the other two were submitted in March. President Biden's deadlines are 116, 49 and 31 days late.

The president is even more sloppy. national security strategy.Instead of the annual updates required along with the budget request, simply One per presidential term And whenever I feel like it. That's not acceptable. The world is constantly changing, and security and budgeting go hand in hand.

Incredibly, Congress continues to invite the president to deliver a flashy State of the Union address before getting a budget request, let alone a security strategy.Usually the Speaker of the House first I invite you Approved by the President and Congress solution Toward a joint session of Congress.

Presidents love to give the State of the Union address. This is where the president can advance his agenda and feel special, before a joint session of Congress attended by his Cabinet members and Supreme Court justices, broadcast nationally to millions. .

The Constitution does not require this. It simply states that the president “shall provide Congress with information regarding the State of the Union from time to time.” The president can easily submit that information in writing. If the president wants to deliver this much-anticipated annual address, he needs to provide Congress with the information it needs to begin enacting legislation by the deadline.

It makes sense for the president to introduce budget and national security proposals before the State of the Union address. When the president proposes outlandish policies or ignores important priorities, members of Congress can respond with hard evidence that the president's priorities are misplaced. This would improve accountability in the executive branch and make the president more accountable for his requests to Congress.

This approach is standard in most states.Governor's state address This is usually done after or at the time of submission of the budget proposal. This is one reason state budgeting is healthier than the federal budget.

Sen. Ernst and Rep. Carter's SUBMIT IT Act would bring Congress back to the center of the constitutional order by leveraging what the president desperately needs to support the policy process.

Kurt Couchman is a senior fellow in fiscal policy at Americans for Prosperity.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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