Ocala Star-Banner More bipartisan votes Congress passed the bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday on a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote (all U.S. senators and all but 14 Republican members of the House of Representatives). The bill commemorates the end of the Civil War’s root cause: slavery in the confederate states. How did such a bipartisan vote happen, and can it happen again? There are important issues facing our country, and Congress was elected to address them. We need agreement on rebuilding infrastructure, addressing climate change, gun control and, most important, voter rights. Now that there is agreement that the Civil War ended in 1865, let’s find agreement on the things that will improve the lives of all Americans. We all need safe roads and bridges, clean water, access to safe and secure Internet and access to the ballot box for free and fair elections. Let’s agree on uniform standards for voter ID and access to voting. Let’s mediate our differences and agree on our common interests.