Every state in the nation has established Veterans Day as a state holiday, except for Wisconsin – but local Democratic lawmakers recently introduced a bill to hopefully change that.
Veterans Day, which falls on Nov. 11, is a federal holiday, which means all federal employees, government offices, banks and the post office are closed. With a state holiday, similarly, all state employees, government offices and public schools close.
Sen. Jodi Habush Sinyin (D-Whitefish Bay) introduced The Veterans Promise, where Wisconsin would align with the federal observance of Veterans Day.
“I am proud to introduce, together with my Democratic colleagues, the Veterans Promise Package, which includes meaningful legislation to support and honor the over 300,000 veterans here in Wisconsin,” said Sinyin. “I am hearing directly from veterans in my district and around Wisconsin about the need to address challenges that veterans are facing–including health care, housing and mental health challenges.”
This is not the first time a bill has been introduced to make Veterans Day a state holiday in Wisconsin. In 2017, Iraq War veteran state Sen. Roger Roth sponsored a bill that would have established Nov. 11 as a state holiday, but after being passed through the Senate, it was never scheduled for a vote in the Assembly.
Wisconsin state employees currently receive a floating personal holiday in acknowledgment of Veterans Day, but if this bill is approved, it would become one of the other nine state holidays employees receive off. Those holidays include: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“Our veterans have showed up when our country needed them — time and time again — it’s far past time that Wisconsin shows up for them,” said Sinyin.
Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on November 11, 1919, which was the first anniversary of the end of WWI. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov.11 became a national holiday in 1938.
Unlike Memorial Day, which took shape after the Civil War and is considered a day to honor those who were killed in or as a result of a battle, Veterans Day is a day to honor all veterans, both living and deceased, who have or continue to serve this country.