Roy responds after voting against Juneteenth bill
Chip Roy (R-TX-21) recently issued a statement regarding his vote against the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which was passed June 16 with a vote of 415-14-(2).
The act creates a new federal holiday (the first since Martin Luther King Jr. Day) on June 19, the day that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston in 1865 to spread the news that slavery had been abolished.
Roy, who commended those who worked for the bill’s passage, said he ultimately took issue with the bill’s name.
“This name needlessly divides our nation on a matter that should instead bring us together by creating a separate Independence Day based on the color of one’s skin,” said Roy in a statement.
“We asked Democrats to work with us on the floor to change the name to one that properly recognizes the importance of the day without creating a separate ‘Independence Day,’ however, Democrats refused,” Roy continued. “As a country, we must stop dividing ourselves by race and unite in our common pursuit of the ideals set forth in our Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal.”
Roy was one of 14 House members to vote against the bill, all of whom were Republican.
Another Texan, Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13) voted against the proposal, while Rep. Dan Crenshaw (TX-2) was one of two members who did not vote.
The Junetenth bill was authored by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) along with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18).
Juneteenth was already a holiday in Texas, D.C. and every state except North Dakotah, South Dakotah and Hawaii before the bill’s passage, but the bill makes the day a federally recognized holiday.
Cornyn has been the lead author of a resolution honoring Juneteenth each year since 2011.
“The freedom of all Americans that Texas celebrates every Juneteenth should be celebrated all across the nation,” said Sen. Cornyn.
“The passage of this bill represents a big step in our nation’s journey toward equality. I thank my colleagues in the Senate for their support, and my fellow Texans who have been celebrating this important holiday for more than a century.”