MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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connected.

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The constitutional text

Article II · Section 3

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

He 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; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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Article II, section 3 (teaching subdivision b)

Recommending legislation without enacting it

Current text
and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;

What it means

The President recommends measures judged necessary and expedient for Congress’s consideration. The recommendation power gives the executive an agenda-setting role without transferring Congress’s legislative power.

Historical setting

The officer responsible for executing laws is positioned to identify administrative problems and propose remedies. The Constitution connects that practical knowledge to legislative deliberation rather than requiring complete separation of communication.

What it does

A recommendation invites Congress to act through its own constitutional process. The President cannot make the proposal law solely because it appears in a message or is described as urgent.

Debate & interpretation

Executive initiative can make government more coherent while allowing the President to dominate public attention. The constitutional distinction between proposing and deciding remains important even when the executive sets much of the political agenda.

A common misreading

A presidential policy proposal or budget request is not itself an enacted statute or appropriation.

Think it through

Why allow the executive to recommend laws while requiring another branch to decide whether to pass them?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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