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New Federal Holiday Would Cost $918 Million, Group Estimates

9/10/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimates a new federal holiday would cost $918 million.
There are currently twelve permanent federal holidays, including Inauguration Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving.
Juneteenth, added in 2021, was the first federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
Patriot Day, designated in 2001, became a National Day of Service in 2009, allowing federal grants for community programs.

History

Historical Context

President Grover Cleveland signed the Labor Day Act on June 28, 1894, making the first U.S. statutory workers’ holiday while federal troops prepared to quell the Pullman Strike, which mobilized roughly 250,000 railroad workers and cost the economy about $80 million. Earlier parades led by Peter J. McGuire in 1882 and support from Samuel Gompers helped cement the holiday’s national adoption.

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Story summary

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimates a new federal holiday would cost $918 million.
There are currently twelve permanent federal holidays, including Inauguration Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving.
Juneteenth, added in 2021, was the first federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
Patriot Day, designated in 2001, became a National Day of Service in 2009, allowing federal grants for community programs.

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