<P> Both the Speaker and the Vice President sit at the Speaker's desk, behind the President for the duration of the speech . If either is unavailable, the next highest - ranking member of the respective house substitutes . Once the chamber settles down from the President's arrival, the Speaker officially presents the President to the joint session of Congress . The President then delivers the speech from the podium at the front of the House Chamber . </P> <P> In the State of the Union the President traditionally outlines the administration's accomplishments over the previous year, as well as the agenda for the coming year, often in upbeat and optimistic terms . Since the 1982 address, it has also become common for the President to honor special guests sitting in the gallery, such as American citizens or visiting heads of state . During that 1982 address, President Ronald Reagan acknowledged Lenny Skutnik for his act of heroism following the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 . Since then, the term "Lenny Skutniks" has been used to refer to individuals invited to sit in the gallery, and then cited by the President, during the State of the Union . </P> <P> State of the Union speeches usually last a little over an hour, partly because of the large amounts of applause that occur from the audience throughout . The applause is often political in tone, with many portions of the speech being applauded only by members of the President's own party . As non-political officeholders, members of the Supreme Court or the Joint Chiefs of Staff rarely applaud in order to retain the appearance of political impartiality . In recent years, the presiding officers of the House and the Senate, the Speaker and the Vice President, respectively, have departed from the neutrality expected of presiding officers of deliberative bodies, as they, too, stand and applaud in response to the remarks of the President with which they agree . </P> <P> For the 2011 address, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado proposed a break in tradition wherein all members of Congress sit together regardless of party, as well as the avoiding of standing; this was in response to the 2011 Tucson Shooting in which Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt . This practice was also repeated during the 2012 address and every address after . </P>

What is the state of the union and when does the president give it