WASHINGTON (WBAP/KLIF) – A bill that would’ve recognized Juneteenth as a National holiday was blocked this week in the Senate.
Senator John Cornyn of Texas co-authored the bill surrounding the day slaves in Texas learned they had been freed, which officially marked the end of slavery in the U-S.
Senator Cornyn told his colleagues in the Senate this week that the the bi-partisan legislation represents “reconciliation.”
“This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our concern, our commitment to equal justice and equal treatment under the law by recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday,” said Cornyn. “In Texas, we’ve recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday for forty years — forty years — obviously because of the fact that this occurred as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation being announced in Galveston, Texas.”
Cornyn urged the Senate to pass the bill but it was blocked by Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson who estimated that adding another federal holiday would cost the private sector up to $600 million each year.
Listen to Clayton Neville’s story below:
Copyright 2020. WBAP/KLIF News. All Rights Reserved.
