Congress passes bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday as Biden returns to Washington – live

Congress passes bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday as Biden returns to Washington – live

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Millions of Americans are in a “race against the clock” to receive rental assistance before the end of the month, when a federal eviction moratorium designed to help people cope during the coronavirus pandemic expires.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium ends on 30 June, and some states will still have local renter protections in place. But in the vast majority of states, rental assistance – an essential lifeline for millions – could arrive too late, according to housing advocates.

“At this point it’s a race against the clock to try to get the money to the tenants who need it to keep them stably housed when the eviction moratorium expires,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).

In mid-May, 7.49 million US adults said they were not current on rent or mortgage payments and had slight or no confidence they could make next month’s payment, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

So far, the eviction moratorium has kept many of these families housed. There were 1.55m fewer eviction cases last year than would be filed in a typical year, according to an estimate by the Eviction Lab.

Without the moratorium, they will need access to the $46.55bn in rental assistance allocated by the government to help renters and landlords – though its distribution got off to a slow start.




Here are the 14 House Republicans who voted against the Juneteenth bill:

  • Andy Biggs of Arizona.
  • Mo Brooks of Alabama.
  • Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
  • Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee.
  • Paul Gosar of Arizona.
  • Ronny Jackson of Texas.
  • Doug LaMalfa of California.
  • Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
  • Tom McClintock of California.
  • Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
  • Mike Rogers of Alabama.
  • Matt Rosendale of Montana.
  • Chip Roy of Texas.
  • Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin.

In a statement explaining his vote, Rosendale claimed the bill was an attempt by Democrats to “celebrate identity politics”.

“Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race, and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences, I will vote no,” Rosendale said.




Joe Biden will sign the Juneteenth bill into law at the White House this afternoon, and he and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks about the historic legislation.

Once Biden signs the bill, Juneteenth will officially become the 12th federal holiday in the US, marking the first time a new federal holiday has been created since Martin Luther King Jr Day was first recognized in 1983.




Congress approves federal Juneteenth holiday as Biden returns to Washington

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Congress voted yesterday to make Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America, a federal holiday.

The Senate approved the Juneteenth bill by voice vote on Tuesday, and the House passed the legislation last night in a vote of 412 to 14. (All 14 “no” votes came from Republicans.)

Lawmakers who have been fighting for recognition of Juneteenth celebrated the bill’s passage, which came just three days before the US commemorates the holiday.

“Our federal holidays are purposely few in number and recognize the most important milestones,” said the Democratic congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “I cannot think of a more important milestone to commemorate than the end of slavery in the United States.”

The bill’s passage also came as Joe Biden made his way back to Washington after a week in Europe for the G7 and Nato summits, as well as his first in-person meeting with Vladimir Putin since becoming president.

Despite the success of the Juneteenth bill, Biden’s other legislative priorities are piling up in the Senate, and it’s unclear whether they will be able to advance.

The blog will have more details on that coming up, so stay tuned.

Updated



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