Union Calendar No. 387

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 123

[Report No. 104–723]

A BILL

To amend title 4, United States Code, to declare

ment of the United States.English as the official language of the GovernJULY 30, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 387

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 123

[Report No. 104–723]

To amend title 4, United States Code, to declare English as the official

language of the Government of the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. EMERSON (for himself, Mr. BARR, Mr. WAMP, Mr. DORNAN, Mr. HANSEN, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr.

KINGSTON, Mr. STUMP, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. BUNNING of Kentucky, Mr.

CALVERT, Mr. MONTGOMERY, Mr. ARCHER, Mr. DICKEY, Mr. RAMSTAD,

Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. BEVILL, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. CLINGER, Mr. KING,

Mr. CANADY, Mr. PORTER, Mr. LINDER, Mr. REGULA, Mr. PACKARD,

Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska,

Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. TALENT, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr.

PETRI, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BACHUS, and Mrs. FOWLER) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Economic and

Educational Opportunities

JULY 30, 1996

Additional sponsors: Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. WELLER, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. OXLEY,

Mr. PAYNE of Virginia, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. TAYLOR of

Mississippi, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. WELDON of

Pennsylvania, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. BAKER of California, Mrs. VUCANOVICH, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. CALLAHAN, Mr. QUINN, Mr. COX of California,

Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. MOORHEAD, Mr.

CHRYSLER, Mr. BATEMAN, Mr. COBLE, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr.

HEINEMAN, Mr. LUCAS, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr.

PAXON, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr.

KOLBE, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. ROGERS, Mr.

SHUSTER, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina, Ms. PRYCE, Mr. BURR, Mr.

YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. POMBO, Mr. JONES, Mr. FUNDERBURK, Mr.

SMITH of Texas, Mr. BONO, Mr. LEWIS of California, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr.

FIELDS of Texas, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mrs. CHENOWETH, Mr.

GANSKE, Mr. CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. LIGHTFOOT, Mr. ISTOOK,
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Mr. BREWSTER, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. MYERS of Indiana, Mr.

HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. NEY, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. SAM JOHNSON

of Texas, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mrs. SEASTRAND, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. HUNTER,

Mr. SISISKY, Mr. BROWDER, Mr. PICKETT, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. BILBRAY,

Mr. FORBES, Mr. KIM, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. COMBEST, Mr.

BRYANT of Tennessee, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. HILLEARY, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. QUILLEN, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. CRANE,

Mr. COOLEY of Oregon, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. SANFORD, Mr.

GEKAS, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. ALLARD, Mr.

STOCKMAN, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. PARKER, Ms. GREENE

of Utah, Mr. TORKILDSEN, Mr. ZIMMER, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. FLANAGAN,

Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. SCHAEFER, Mr. HORN, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. KASICH,

Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. HOKE, Mr. EWING, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. MCCOLLUM,

Mr. ZELIFF, Ms. DUNN of Washington, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. CREMEANS,

Mr. METCALF, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr.

SALMON, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. RIGGS, Mr. BAKER of Louisiana, Mr.

TANNER, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. BASS, Mr. KLUG, Mr. ROTH, Mr. TAUZIN,

Mr. HERGER, Mr. WILSON, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. CAMP, Mr.

GALLEGLY, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. DAVIS, Mr.

SHADEGG, Mr. HYDE, Mr. WICKER, Mr. COBURN, Mr. WOLF, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. TIAHRT, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. LATHAM, Ms.

RIVERS, Mr. UPTON, Mr. DELAY, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. FRANKS of New

Jersey, Mr. BLUTE, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. MARTINI, Mr. POMEROY, and

Mr. PORTMAN

JULY 30, 1996

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 4, 1995]

A BILL

To amend title 4, United States Code, to declare English

as the official language of the Government of the United

States.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘English Language

3 Empowerment Act of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds and declares the following:

6 (1) The United States is comprised of individ7 uals and groups from diverse ethnic, cultural, and

8 linguistic backgrounds.

9 (2) The United States has benefited and contin10 ues to benefit from this rich diversity.

11 (3) Throughout the history of the United States,

12 the common thread binding individuals of differing

13 backgrounds has been a common language.

14 (4) In order to preserve unity in diversity, and

15 to prevent division along linguistic lines, the Federal

16 Government should maintain a language common to

17 all people.

18 (5) English has historically been the common

19 language and the language of opportunity in the

20 United States.

21 (6) The purpose of this Act is to help immi22 grants better assimilate and take full advantage of

23 economic and occupational opportunities in the

24 United States.

25 (7) By learning the English language, immi26 grants will be empowered with the language skills and
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1 literacy necessary to become responsible citizens and

2 productive workers in the United States.

3 (8) The use of a single common language in con4 ducting official business of the Federal Government

5 will promote efficiency and fairness to all people.

6 (9) English should be recognized in law as the

7 language of official business of the Federal Govern8 ment.

9 (10) Any monetary savings derived from the en10 actment of this Act should be used for the teaching of

11 the English language to non-English speaking immi12 grants.

13 SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF FEDERAL

14 GOVERNMENT.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 4, United States Code, is

16 amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

17 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—LANGUAGE OF THE

18 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

‘‘Sec.

‘‘161. Declaration of official language of Federal Government

‘‘162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the official language

‘‘163. Official Federal Government activities in English

‘‘164. Standing

‘‘165. Reform of naturalization requirements

‘‘166. Application

‘‘167. Rule of construction

‘‘168. Affirmation of constitutional protections

‘‘169. Definitions
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1 ‘‘§ 161. Declaration of official language of Federal

2 Government

3 ‘‘The official language of the Federal Government is

4 English.

5 ‘‘§ 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the offi6 cial language

7 ‘‘Representatives of the Federal Government shall have

8 an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the role

9 of English as the official language of the Federal Govern10 ment. Such obligation shall include encouraging greater op11 portunities for individuals to learn the English language.

12 ‘‘§ 163. Official Federal Government activities in Eng13 lish

14 ‘‘(a) CONDUCT OF BUSINESS.—Representatives of the

15 Federal Government shall conduct its official business in

16 English.

17 ‘‘(b) DENIAL OF SERVICES.—No person shall be denied

18 services, assistance, or facilities, directly or indirectly pro19 vided by the Federal Government solely because the person

20 communicates in English.

21 ‘‘(c) ENTITLEMENT.—Every person in the United

22 States is entitled—

23 ‘‘(1) to communicate with representatives of the

24 Federal Government in English;
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1 ‘‘(2) to receive information from or contribute

2 information to the Federal Government in English;

3 and

4 ‘‘(3) to be informed of or be subject to official

5 orders in English.

6 ‘‘§ 164. Standing

7 ‘‘A person injured by a violation of this chapter may

8 in a civil action (including an action under chapter 151

9 of title 28) obtain appropriate relief.

10 ‘‘§ 165. Reform of naturalization requirements

11 ‘‘(a) FLUENCY.—It has been the longstanding national

12 belief that full citizenship in the United States requires flu13 ency in English. English is the language of opportunity for

14 all immigrants to take their rightful place in society in the

15 United States.

16 ‘‘(b) CEREMONIES.—All authorized officials shall con17 duct all naturalization ceremonies entirely in English.

18 ‘‘§ 166. Application

19 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the pro20 visions of this chapter shall supersede any existing Federal

21 law that contravenes such provisions (such as by requiring

22 the use of a language other than English for official business

23 of the Federal Government).

24 ‘‘§ 167. Rule of construction

25 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed—
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1 ‘‘(1) to prohibit a Member of Congress or an em2 ployee or official of the Federal Government, while

3 performing official business, from communicating

4 orally with another person in a language other than

5 English;

6 ‘‘(2) to discriminate against or restrict the rights

7 of any individual in the country; and

8 ‘‘(3) to discourage or prevent the use of lan9 guages other than English in any nonofficial capac10 ity.

11 ‘‘§ 168. Affirmation of constitutional protections

12 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to be incon13 sistent with the Constitution of the United States.

14 ‘‘§ 169. Definitions

15 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter:

16 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Federal

17 Government’ means all branches of the national Gov18 ernment and all employees and officials of the na19 tional Government while performing official business.

20 ‘‘(2) OFFICIAL BUSINESS.—The term ‘official

21 business’ means governmental actions, documents, or

22 policies which are enforceable with the full weight and

23 authority of the Federal Government, and includes

24 publications, income tax forms, and informational

25 materials, but does not include—
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1 ‘‘(A) teaching of languages;

2 ‘‘(B) actions, documents, or policies nec3 essary for—

4 ‘‘(i) national security issues; or

5 ‘‘(ii) international relations, trade, or

6 commerce;

7 ‘‘(C) actions or documents that protect the

8 public health and safety;

9 ‘‘(D) actions or documents that facilitate

10 the activities of the Census;

11 ‘‘(E) actions, documents, or policies that are

12 not enforceable in the United States;

13 ‘‘(F) actions that protect the rights of vic14 tims of crimes or criminal defendants;

15 ‘‘(G) actions in which the United States has

16 initiated a civil lawsuit; or

17 ‘‘(H) documents that utilize terms of art or

18 phrases from languages other than English.

19 ‘‘(3) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘United States’

20 means the several States and the District of Colum21 bia.’’.

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters

23 for title 4, United States Code, is amended by adding at

24 the end the following new item:

‘‘6. Language of the Federal Government .................................... 161’’.
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1 SEC. 4. PREEMPTION.

2 This Act (and the amendments made by this Act) shall

3 not preempt any law of any State.

4 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 The amendments made by section 3 shall take effect

6 on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment

7 of this Act.