Lunar New Year Day Act would make it a federal holiday
Is this bill more like a waxing or a waning moon?
Context
There are 11 federal holidays. The most recent was enacted just last year: Juneteenth (June 19), a historically important day particularly in the black community, commemorating the 1865 date when slaves in Texas were informed of their freedom.
Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian countries including China, Vietnam, and South Korea, plus among many in the Asian-American population. As its name suggests, it marks the first day of those cultures’ new year — for example, the current Chinese calendar celebrates the “year of the tiger.” (Previously was the year of the ox, while coming up next is the year of the rabbit.)
New York City declared it an official school holiday starting in 2016. Just this year, Philadelphia also declared it a school holiday.
What the bill does
The Lunar New Year Day Act would establish it as a federal holiday. It’s now too late to take effect for this year, since the holiday already occurred on February 1, but next year’s holiday isn’t until January 22, 2023.
It was introduced in the House on January 28 as H.R. 6525, by Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY6).
What supporters say
Supporters argue that the holiday plays a significant part in the culture for an increasingly-larger percentage of the nation.
“For Asian-Americans, Lunar New Year is an incredibly important, festive and deeply traditional holiday,” Rep. Meng said in a press release. “It’s the most significant time of year for the Asian-American community, and is celebrated in the U.S. and across the globe. It has also been observed for thousands of years.”
“With Asian-Americans being the fastest growing population in our country, and with the popularity of the holiday continuing to grow, it makes sense to make Lunar New Year a federal holiday. The time has come to make this happen,” Rep. Mang continued. “My bill… would demonstrate that the holiday celebrated by millions is also valued by their government.”
What opponents say
GovTrack Insider was unable to locate any explicit statements of opposition. But opponents might contend that the numbers just aren’t there to justify a holiday for the entire nation.
Although an estimated 1.5 billion people celebrate the holiday worldwide, a Pew Research Center survey found that about 68 percent of Asian-Americans celebrate it. (And Asian-Americans themselves comprise 5.9 percent of the U.S. population, albeit rising.)
Odds of passage
This federal holiday bill has attracted 48 cosponsors, all Democrats. It awaits a potential vote in the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Every year since 2014, Rep. Meng has introduced symbolic resolutions recognizing Lunar New Year, but this appears to be the first time she’s introduced anything with actual public policy changes.
For what it’s worth, none of those symbolic resolutions have passed the House, nor even received a committee vote. However, after hovering between 11 and 25 cosponsors between 2014–18, the last three years’ versions have attracted a considerably larger 70, 66, and 78 cosponsors respectively.
None of the three House Republicans cosponsoring 2022’s symbolic recognition resolution — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA1), Young Kim (R-CA39), or Michelle Steel (R-CA48) — have signed on to the federal holiday proposal.
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This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.
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