On Wednesday evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act with a vote of 415-14. The bill now heads to President Joe Biden for him to sign. On Tuesday, as Landon reported, the bill unanimously passed in the U.S. Senate.
The legislation will make Juneteenth a federal holiday on June 19, which is already recognized in most other states. On that date in 1865, slaves in the Confederacy learned of their freedom over two and a half years after it was granted by President Abraham Lincoln when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. The June 19 order came from Galveston, Texas.
Two of the bill's main proponents were Texans, including Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee who sponsored the House bill, and Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican who co-sponsored Ed Markey's (D-MA) bill in the Senate.
As Marty Johnson with The Hill reported, "The House vote operated under a closed rule that was ironed out by the House Rules Committee early Wednesday afternoon in an effort to stop any last-minute bad-faith efforts to stop the legislation from passing."
All 14 votes against came from Republicans, with one in particular getting attention after Sen. Cornyn called his reasons for opposition "kooky."
"Let’s call an ace an ace. This is an effort by the Left to create a day out of whole cloth to celebrate identity politics as part of its larger efforts to make Critical Race Theory the reigning ideology of our country. Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race, and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences, I will vote no," Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) said in a press release.
The press release expanded upon such concerns even further, as did a Twitter thread from the Congressman's account.
Their intent is to replace the Fourth of July with this new day, one that will inevitably focus on America's darkest moments.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) June 16, 2021
We're not perfect as a country, but we are a great nation, morally, economically, culturally, and in many other ways besides. I will never support efforts to pull down that legacy and replace it with self-hatred.
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) June 16, 2021
Rep. Jackson Lee presided over the House passage over her bill.
Joyful to preside over House passage of Juneteenth holiday bill, which now goes to @POTUS for signing. Thanks to all who worked to make Juneteenth the living symbol of Lincoln’s promise that this nation, under God, "would have a new birth of freedom.” #Juneteenth @HouseDemocrats pic.twitter.com/GmvlImIx1d
— Sheila Jackson Lee (@JacksonLeeTX18) June 17, 2021