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State of the Union message

noun U.S. Government.
  1. an annual message to Congress in which the president reports on the state of the nation and outlines a legislative program: required by the Constitution (Article II, Section 3). Abbreviation: SOTU
Also called State of the Union address.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
state of the union address in Culture

State of the Union address

An annual message delivered to Congress by the president of the United States, in which he describes the condition of the country, outlines the nation's most serious problems, and proposes his annual program of legislation.

Note

The name of the address comes from a provision in the Constitution that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.