Jackson Defends His Vote Against Making Juneteenth A National Holiday
President Joe Biden on Thursday signed into law legislation that will make Juneteenth a new National Holiday. The legislation passed in the Senate without any opposition, but in the House, there were 14 House Republicans that voted against it. Two were from Texas. Rep. Chip Roy and Rep. Ronny Jackson.
As KFYO previously reported, Roy was against the name of the legislation being passed as he thought it would continue to divide the United States.
On the floor of the U.S. House, Congressman Roy said in part, "... I would offer an amendment, embracing the recognition of this important day, June 19, 1965, and what that meant, for the actual end of slavery."
He continued, ".. And I think it would be important and I believe and it's been referred to in our history as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, (and) Freedom Day. I would be amenable to any of those names. I don't believe that the title 'National Independence Day' works."
Representative Ronny Jackson issued a statement on Thursday saying he had no problem with recognizing the date, but he voted against the legislation because he didn't believe federal employees needed another day off.
“Juneteenth is an important part of our history, especially in Texas. I support Texas’ Juneteenth holiday and I support all Americans who celebrate it. However, I do not support more days off for federal employees. Many Americans feel like the federal government is not doing a good job for them as it is. For example, over 60 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress’ job performance. I do not know of any other organization that would reward employees with additional days off with that poor of a job evaluation. We need to create jobs, grow our economy and combat global threats like China, not create more days off for people who have been totally inadequate at delivering for the American people.”
Biden signed the legislation on Thursday meaning many federal employees will have the day off on Friday.
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