Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, addressed a joint session of the United States Congress on Wednesday, February 18, 1981. It was his first public address before a joint session. Like a State of the Union Address, it was delivered before the 97th United States Congress in the Chamber of the United States House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Tip O'Neill, accompanied by George H. W. Bush, the vice president in his capacity as the president of the Senate.