FILE- In this June 19, 2020, file photo, protesters chant as they march after a Juneteenth rally at the Brooklyn Museum, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. /AP Photo/John Minchillo
Ronald J. Hansen | Arizona Republic
For the second time in as many days, Arizona Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar were on the short end of lopsided votes for popular measures, opposing making Juneteenth, the informal end of slavery, a new federal holiday.
The Arizona Republicans were among the few members in the House and Senate to oppose the measure, which now heads to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it into law.
It passed in the House by a vote of 415-14. It passed the Senate on Tuesday with unanimous consent.
On Tuesday, Biggs and Gosar were among the 21 Republicans who opposed awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to all members of law enforcement for their service during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Biggs indicated in a tweet before his vote that he didn’t like the name of the Juneteenth bill, which commemorates the end of slavery in Texas in 1865.
The approved bill is called the “Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.” Biggs said he favored “Juneteenth National Emancipation Day.”
