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The legislation has gained momentum since the massive Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd last year and the Democrats’ seizure of the White House and Congress.
But Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson blocked the bill in 2020, saying a day off for federal employees would cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Johnson dropped his objection this week despite his concerns, paving the way for the law to be passed in the Senate.
“Although I strongly support the celebration of emancipation, I have objected to the cost and lack of discussion,” Johnson said in a statement. “While it remains strange that taxpayers are offering federal employees the paid leave now required to celebrate the end of slavery, there is clearly no desire in Congress to further discuss this issue.”
The measure needs to be passed the House and signed by President Joe Biden to become law.
On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, declared the end of slavery in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.
In 1980, Juneteenth became a public holiday for the state of Texas. In the decades since, every state except South Dakota has come to officially celebrate Juneteenth, but only a few states consider it a paid holiday.
Democratic Senator of Massachusetts Ed Markey, Republican Senator of Texas John Cornyn, and Democratic Representative of Texas Sheila Jackson Lee were among the members of Congress who led efforts to make Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday.
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