Why Easter Monday should be a federal holiday — and I'm fighting to make it happen



Last year, as millions of Americans were preparing to celebrate the Resurrection, President Biden took the opportunity to add a new holy day to the national calendar.

March 31, 2024 — previously known as “Easter” — would now double as the “Transgender Day of Visibility,” Biden’s proclamation declared. (This was a separate event from the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which fell on November 20.) “Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans,” the president wrote. “You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong.”

One year later, as Christians gathered again to celebrate one of Christianity’s most holy holidays, a new president issued a very different proclamation.

“During this sacred week, we acknowledge that the glory of Easter Sunday cannot come without the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross,” President Trump wrote. “In His final hours on Earth, Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all His creation. Through His suffering, we have redemption. Through His death, we are forgiven of our sins. Through His Resurrection, we have hope of eternal life.”

What a difference one year can make.

The Trump administration’s commemoration of this Holy Week didn’t just strike a contrast with Biden. President Trump has taken Easter more seriously than any other president in modern American history. That’s a good thing. Easter is the holiest day on the Christian calendar, “celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ — the living Son of God who conquered death, freed us from sin, and unlocked the gates of Heaven for all of humanity,” as the president’s proclamation put it.

This is not a radical idea. Nor is it some boutique left-wing micro-holiday, dreamed up five minutes ago in a sociology classroom.

Even more broadly, Easter is deeply rooted in the traditions and folkways of the American nation itself. Some 80% of Americans celebrate this holiday — a larger number than the nearly two-thirds of Americans who identify as Christian.

Last week, I introduced legislation that would establish Easter Monday as a federal holiday. This is long overdue. Easter Monday is already recognized as a public holiday in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Western Europe. The United States is one of the only nations in the West that doesn’t formally recognize it as such.

My bill, which I was proud to introduce with Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.V.), would fix that, giving millions of Americans the chance to more fully celebrate the defining moment of the faith that shaped our nation.

This simple addition to the federal holiday calendar is pro-faith, pro-family, and pro-worker. March and April are the only back-to-back months without an official federal holiday. A federal holiday would add a three-day weekend to the two-month stretch from Presidents' Day to Memorial Day, providing American workers and families a much-needed opportunity to gather and relax.

At the same time, it comes with its own economic benefits. Easter weekend already generates around $15 billion for our economy. A three-day weekend could boost that by an estimated 10% to 15%, adding up to $2 billion in economic activity.

This is not a radical idea. Nor is it some boutique left-wing micro-holiday, dreamed up five minutes ago in a sociology classroom, commemorating “Trans Visibility” or “Indigenous Day of Mourning.” It is a federal recognition of a tradition that is inextricably linked to our way of life itself — a tradition that already unites more than three-quarters of Americans.

For generations, many American school calendars gave students the day off for both Good Friday and Easter Monday. We already have a “National Day of Prayer,” signed into law by Missouri’s own President Harry Truman. A federal Easter Monday holiday would go a step farther, allowing Americans to celebrate one of the most extraordinary days in world history: Easter — the day of Christ’s Resurrection.

Our holidays and traditions are part of the story we tell about ourselves. This is not a partisan idea. Easter is not a “Republican” or “Democrat” holiday. Easter is an American holiday. It’s time our federal calendar recognized it as such.

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Congress can’t legislate away unintended consequences



Sometimes, bipartisanship is a great meeting of the minds. Other times, it’s a meeting of minds that don’t understand economics. The latter is the case with recently proposed legislation to cap credit card interest rates, introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and her reliably misguided counterpart, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Let’s start with common ground. Most people agree that credit card interest rates, which now average well above 20%, are excessive. No one should pay 20% or 30% interest annually unless facing a true emergency, and even then, that debt should be paid off as quickly as possible.

Policies that sound good in theory often fail in practice, and capping credit card interest rates is one of them.

Pricing serves as a signal, providing consumers with critical information. A high interest rate should send a clear message: Avoid carrying a credit card balance. Paying off the full amount each month prevents the burden of excessive interest charges.

However, in typical fashion, lawmakers who put political appeal over economic literacy ignore the unintended consequences of their policies. Proposing a cap on interest rates disrupts this pricing signal and creates a cascade of negative effects.

The most immediate consequence is reduced access to credit. High credit card interest rates exist largely because lenders assume the risk of defaults, including the possibility that borrowers may discharge their debt through bankruptcy. To compensate for this risk, lenders adjust costs accordingly.

Capping credit card interest rates while maintaining the bankruptcy “out” forces lenders to adjust their underwriting process. As a result, many borrowers — including those with poor credit and even some with decent credit — will lose or be denied access to credit from traditional sources. To compensate for lost revenue, lenders will likely introduce additional fees, making borrowing more expensive in other ways.

Predictably, lawmakers like Luna and Ocasio-Cortez will then complain about financial discrimination against low-income borrowers who suddenly find themselves locked out of the credit system.

Without access to traditional credit, many of these individuals will turn to riskier, more expensive alternatives, such as payday lenders or even black-market sources, further exacerbating the problem policymakers claim to be solving.

Ultimately, Congress cannot legislate away unintended consequences. In fact, Congress is typically a source of unintended consequences.

Some may argue that restricting credit access is beneficial for certain individuals, but denying access doesn’t mean people won’t seek credit elsewhere — often from riskier, more expensive sources.

More importantly, what gives the government the authority to regulate financial responsibility? Should Congress also prevent people from buying cars they can’t afford, placing sports bets, purchasing designer clothes, or enjoying steak dinners?

Financial responsibility cannot be legislated, especially in a country with minimal financial literacy education.

And let’s not forget that Congress itself has accumulated $36.5 trillion in national debt. Hardly a role model for fiscal responsibility.

Policies that sound good in theory often fail in practice, and capping credit card interest rates is one of them. Instead of creating more financial hurdles, Congress should focus on fixing its own fiscal mismanagement and addressing affordability issues. People shouldn’t feel forced to borrow at insane rates just to make ends meet.

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