Sheila Jackson Lee: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all…”

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that of employer and hired labor. It is a day of freedom. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Rules Committee, Chairman McGovern, and Ranking Member Cole. I want to thank them for their commitment in bringing this to us. I want to thank Majority Leader Hoyer, Speaker Pelosi, the whip, Mr. Clyburn, the chairman, Mr. Jeffries, and all of the leadership on both sides of the aisle that have brought us to this point. Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, and the principal sponsor in the House of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, I rise in strong and enthusiastic support of the Rule and the underlying legislation, S. 475, the Senate companion to the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, which establishes June 19 as a federal holiday. I applaud the U.S. Senate for passing S. 475, Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, companion legislation to H.R.…”