Randy Weber: “I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Madam Speaker, today, the House moves to establish June 19 as the Juneteenth…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Madam Speaker, today, the House moves to establish June 19 as the Juneteenth National Independence Day, a national holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. June 19 marks the day Union troops arrived in my district in Galveston, Texas--I wasn't alive back then, let me get that out there-- in the heart of what is now the 14th Congressional District of Texas, the Gulf Coast of Texas. Those troops arrived to announce and enforce the Emancipation Proclamation. On that day, General Gordon Granger delivered the news of President Abraham Lincoln's proclamation, which had abolished slavery more than 2 years before, on January 1, 1863. That was his intent. It was the law, and it should have been done. But we had a ways to go, didn't we, to abolish slavery? We really did. The abolition of slavery was a key milestone toward fulfilling our Founders' promise, underwritten by the self-evident truths of natural law, that all humans are created equal and should enjoy the same protections under the law. Ingrained in Texas culture, my great Texas, this special day has already been recognized, which the chairwoman eloquently spoke about, in 47 of the 50 States here in the United States, and it is long overdue to be recognized as a Federal holiday. I have been working on it myself for several years with my friends, Sheila Jackson Lee and John Cornyn, and others.…”