14:32
Biden releases proclamation recognizing Juneteenth, ‘a day of profound weight and power’
Joe Biden has released a proclamation in recognition of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America.
The president signed a law yesterday officially making Juneteenth a federal holiday, after the House and the Senate passed the legislation earlier this week.
President Biden
(@POTUS)Juneteenth is officially a federal holiday.
“In its celebration of freedom, Juneteenth is a day that should be recognized by all Americans. And that is why I am proud to have consecrated Juneteenth as our newest national holiday,” Biden said in his proclamation.
“Juneteenth is a day of profound weight and power. A day in which we remember the moral stain and terrible toll of slavery on our country –- what I’ve long called America’s original sin. A long legacy of systemic racism, inequality, and inhumanity.
“But it is a day that also reminds us of our incredible capacity to heal, hope, and emerge from our darkest moments with purpose and resolve.”
Looking ahead to future anti-racism efforts, Biden added, “On Juneteenth, we recommit ourselves to the work of equity, equality, and justice. … There is still more work to do.”
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19, but many offices are observing it today because the 19th falls on a Saturday this year. Federal workers have today off as well.
14:25
Christopher Staudinger reports for the Louisiana Illuminator and Floodlight, a nonprofit that partners with the Guardian:
One morning in September, word of layoffs began to spread quickly through Marathon Petroleum’s refinery in the small industrial community of Garyville, Louisiana.
Seven months into the pandemic, workers at the oil refining plant thought they would be spared the fate of their colleagues at other facilities, who had already been jettisoned into a daunting job market.
“Through the morning, we were seeing people get the phone call and not come back,” said one maintenance engineer, who lost his job after nearly a decade at the facility. “Everybody was on pins and needles waiting for the call.”
Last year, Marathon laid off 1,920 workers across the US despite taking $2.1bn in federal tax benefits meant to cushion the pandemic’s blow to the economy, according to a report from BailoutWatch.
The worker interviewed for this story, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of difficulty finding a job, is still unemployed. He and his wife had plans to start a family, which are now on hold. And he is competing with more than 18,000 oil, gas and manufacturing workers in Louisiana who lost jobs last year.
“I’m a born and raised Louisianan. So I’m very much trying to stay in the area,” he said.
Updated
14:25
Significant hurdles remain for Manchin compromise on voting rights bill
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Most of the city’s attention was focused on the supreme court yesterday, as the justices dismissed a Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act. However, there were also some significant developments on Capitol Hill.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell signaled he would not support the compromise proposed by Democratic senator Joe Manchin on voting rights. Manchin’s proposal incorporates some Republican ideas to help attract bipartisan support, and voting rights leaders like Stacey Abrams have signaled they can get behind the bill.
But it’s seeming very unlikely that any Republicans will back Manchin’s bill after McConnell released a statement denouncing the proposal yesterday.
Leader McConnell
(@LeaderMcConnell)Democrats can change the packaging, but their plan for a power-grab of America’s electoral system is still rotten to the core. My full statement: https://t.co/HLRuDSZ3lS
“Senate Democrats seem to have reached a so-called ‘compromise’ election takeover among themselves. In reality, the plan endorsed by Stacey Abrams is no compromise,” McConnell said.
Comparing the compromise to the For the People Act, Democrats’ original election reform bill, McConnell said, “And it still retains S. 1’s rotten core: an assault on the fundamental idea that states, not the federal government, should decide how to run their own elections.”
It seems possible for Manchin’s proposal to attract the support of all 50 Democratic senators, but unless he can get 10 Republicans to join them, McConnell will be able to successfully filibuster the legislation.
So the question becomes: is Manchin willing to alter or end the Senate filibuster for voting rights? His recent comments indicate he probably wouldn’t, but time will tell.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.