II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1815 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prescribe the binding 

oath or affirmation of renunciation and allegiance required to be naturalized as a citizen of the United States, to encourage and support the 

efforts of prospective citizens of the United States to become citizens, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 4, 2005 

Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prescribe 

the binding oath or affirmation of renunciation and allegiance required to be naturalized as a citizen of the 

United States, to encourage and support the efforts of 

prospective citizens of the United States to become citizens, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Amer5 ican Citizenship Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) OATH OF ALLEGIANCE.—The term ‘‘Oath 

4 of Allegiance’’ means the binding oath (or affirma5 tion) of allegiance required to be naturalized as a 

6 citizen of the United States, as prescribed in sub7 section (e) of section 337 of the Immigration and 

8 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1448(e)), as added by sec9 tion 301(a)(2). 

10 (2) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

11 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Home12 land Security. 

13 TITLE I—LEARNING ENGLISH 

14 SEC. 101. ENGLISH FLUENCY. 

15 (a) EDUCATION GRANTS.— 

16 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Chief of the Office 

17 of Citizenship of the Department of Homeland Secu18 rity (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Chief’’) 

19 shall establish a grant program to provide grants in 

20 an amount not to exceed $500 to assist legal resi21 dents of the United States who declare an intent to 

22 apply for citizenship in the United States to meet 

23 the requirements under section 312 of the Immigra24 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1423). 

25 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Grant funds awarded 

26 under this subsection shall be paid directly to an ac-
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1 credited institution of higher education or other 

2 qualified educational institution (as determined by 

3 the Chief) for tuition, fees, books, and other edu4 cational resources required by a course on the 

5 English language in which the legal resident is en6 rolled. 

7 (3) APPLICATION.—A legal resident desiring a 

8 grant under this subsection shall submit an applica9 tion to the Chief at such time, in such manner, and 

10 accompanied by such information as the Chief may 

11 reasonably require. 

12 (4) PRIORITY.—If insufficient funds are avail13 able to award grants to all qualified applicants, the 

14 Chief shall give priority based on the financial need 

15 of the applicants. 

16 (5) NOTICE.—The Secretary, upon relevant reg17 istration of a legal resident with the Department of 

18 Homeland Security, shall notify such legal resident 

19 of the availability of grants under this subsection for 

20 legal residents who declare an intent to apply for 

21 United States citizenship. 

22 (b) FASTER CITIZENSHIP FOR ENGLISH FLUENCY.— 

23 Section 316 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

24 U.S.C. 1427) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(g) A legal resident of the United States who dem2 onstrates English fluency, in accordance with regulations 

3 prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con4 sultation with the Secretary of State, will satisfy the resi5 dency requirement under subsection (a) upon the comple6 tion of 4 years of continuous legal residency in the United 

7 States.’’. 

8 SEC. 102. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

9 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— 

10 (1) modify the English language requirements 

11 for naturalization under section 312(a)(1) of the Im12 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1423(a)(1)); or 

14 (2) influence the naturalization test redesign 

15 process of the Office of Citizenship of the United 

16 States Citizenship and Immigration Services (except 

17 for the requirement under section 301(b) of this 

18 Act). 

19 TITLE II—EDUCATION ABOUT 

20 THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE 

21 SEC. 201. AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

23 competitive grant program to provide financial assistance 

24 for— 
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1 (1) efforts by entities (including veterans and 

2 patriotic organizations) certified by the Office of 

3 Citizenship of the Department of Homeland Security 

4 to promote the patriotic integration of prospective 

5 citizens into the American way of life by providing 

6 civics, history, and English as a second language 

7 courses, with a specific emphasis on attachment to 

8 principles of the Constitution of the United States, 

9 the heroes of American history (including military 

10 heroes), and the meaning of the Oath of Allegiance; 

11 and 

12 (2) other activities approved by the Secretary to 

13 promote the patriotic integration of prospective citi14 zens and the implementation of the Immigration and 

15 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), including 

16 grants— 

17 (A) to promote an understanding of the 

18 form of government and history of the United 

19 States; and 

20 (B) to promote an attachment to the prin21 ciples of the Constitution of the United States 

22 and the well being and happiness of the people 

23 of the United States. 

24 (b) ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS.—The Secretary may ac25 cept and use gifts from the United States Citizenship 
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1 Foundation, if the foundation is established under section 

2 202(a), for grants under this section. 

3 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

5 necessary to carry out this section. 

6 SEC. 202. FUNDING FOR THE OFFICE OF CITIZENSHIP. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary, acting through 

8 the Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration 

9 Services, is authorized to establish the United States Citi10 zenship Foundation (referred to in this section as the 

11 ‘‘Foundation’’), an organization duly incorporated in the 

12 District of Columbia, exclusively for charitable and edu13 cational purposes to support the functions of the Office 

14 of Citizenship, which shall include the patriotic integration 

15 of prospective citizens into— 

16 (1) American common values and traditions, in17 cluding an understanding of the history of the 

18 United States and the principles of the Constitution 

19 of the United States; and 

20 (2) civic traditions of the United States, includ21 ing the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for the flag of 

22 the United States, and voting in public elections. 

23 (b) DEDICATED FUNDING.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 1.5 percent of 

25 the funds made available to the Bureau of Citizen-
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1 ship and Immigration Services (including fees and 

2 appropriated funds) shall be dedicated to the func3 tions of the Office of Citizenship, which shall include 

4 the patriotic integration of prospective citizens 

5 into— 

6 (A) American common values and tradi7 tions, including an understanding of American 

8 history and the principles of the Constitution of 

9 the United States; and 

10 (B) civic traditions of the United States, 

11 including the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for 

12 the flag of the United States, and voting in 

13 public elections. 

14 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

15 Congress that dedicating increased funds to the Of16 fice of Citizenship should not result in an increase 

17 in fees charged by the Bureau of Citizenship and 

18 Immigration Services. 

19 (c) GIFTS.— 

20 (1) TO FOUNDATION.—The Foundation may so21 licit, accept, and make gifts of money and other 

22 property in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the 

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
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1 (2) FROM FOUNDATION.—The Office of Citizen2 ship may accept gifts from the Foundation to sup3 port the functions of the Office. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

6 necessary to carry out the mission of the Office of Citizen7 ship, including the patriotic integration of prospective citi8 zens into— 

9 (1) American common values and traditions, in10 cluding an understanding of American history and 

11 the principles of the Constitution of the United 

12 States; and 

13 (2) civic traditions of the United States, includ14 ing the Pledge of Allegiance, respect for the flag of 

15 the United States, and voting in public elections. 

16 SEC. 203. RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS. 

17 No funds appropriated to carry out a program under 

18 this title may be used to organize individuals for the pur19 pose of political activism or advocacy. 

20 SEC. 204. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

21 The Chief of the Office of Citizenship shall submit 

22 to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen23 sions and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, 

24 and the Committee on Education and the Workforce and 
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1 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep2 resentatives, an annual report that contains— 

3 (1) a list of the entities that have received 

4 funds from the Office of Citizenship during the re5 porting period under this title and the amount of 

6 funding received by each such entity; 

7 (2) an evaluation of the extent to which grants 

8 received under this title and title I successfully pro9 moted an understanding of— 

10 (A) the English language; and 

11 (B) American history and government, in12 cluding the heroes of American history, the 

13 meaning of the Oath of Allegiance, and an at14 tachment to the principles of the Constitution 

15 of the United States; and 

16 (3) information about the number of legal resi17 dents who were able to achieve the knowledge de18 scribed under paragraph (2) as a result of the 

19 grants provided under this title and title I. 
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1 TITLE III—CODIFYING THE OATH 

2 OF ALLEGIANCE 

3 SEC. 301. OATH OR AFFIRMATION OF RENUNCIATION AND 

4 ALLEGIANCE. 

5 (a) REVISION OF OATH.—Section 337 of the Immi6 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1448) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘under section 

9 310(b) an oath’’ and all that follows through ‘‘per10 sonal moral code.’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 

11 310(b), the oath (or affirmation) of allegiance pre12 scribed in subsection (e).’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub14 section: 

15 ‘‘(e)(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the oath 

16 (or affirmation) of allegiance prescribed in this subsection 

17 is as follows: ‘I take this oath solemnly, freely, and without 

18 any mental reservation. I absolutely and entirely renounce 

19 all allegiance to any foreign state or power of which I have 

20 been a subject or citizen. My fidelity and allegiance from 

21 this day forward are to the United States of America. I 

22 will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution and 

23 laws of the United States, and will support and defend 

24 them against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I will bear 

25 arms, or perform noncombatant military or civilian serv-
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1 ice, on behalf of the United States when required by law. 

2 This I do solemnly swear, so help me God.’. 

3 ‘‘(2) If a person, by reason of religious training and 

4 belief (or individual interpretation thereof) or for other 

5 reasons of good conscience, cannot take the oath pre6 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

7 ‘‘(A) with the term ‘oath’ included, the term 

8 ‘affirmation’ shall be substituted for the term ‘oath’; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) with the phrase ‘so help me God’ included, 

11 the phrase ‘so help me God’ shall be omitted. 

12 ‘‘(3) If a person shows by clear and convincing evi13 dence to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that such 

14 person, by reason of religious training and belief, cannot 

15 take the oath prescribed in paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) because such person is opposed to the 

17 bearing of arms in the Armed Forces of the United 

18 States, the words ‘bear arms, or’ shall be omitted; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) because such person is opposed to any 

21 type of service in the Armed Forces of the United 

22 States, the words ‘bear arms, or’ and ‘noncombatant 

23 military or’ shall be omitted. 

24 ‘‘(4) As used in this subsection, the term ‘religious 

25 training and belief’— 
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1 ‘‘(A) means a belief of an individual in relation 

2 to a Supreme Being involving duties superior to 

3 those arising from any human relation; and 

4 ‘‘(B) does not include essentially political, socio5 logical, or philosophical views or a merely personal 

6 moral code. 

7 ‘‘(5) Any reference in this title to ‘oath’ or ‘oath of 

8 allegiance’ under this section shall be deemed to refer to 

9 the oath (or affirmation) of allegiance prescribed under 

10 this subsection.’’. 

11 (b) HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT TEST.—The Sec12 retary shall incorporate a knowledge and understanding 

13 of the meaning of the Oath of Allegiance into the history 

14 and government test given to applicants for citizenship. 

15 (c) NOTICE TO FOREIGN EMBASSIES.—Upon the 

16 naturalization of a new citizen, the Secretary, in coopera17 tion with the Secretary of State, shall notify the embassy 

18 of the country of which the new citizen was a citizen or 

19 subject that such citizen has— 

20 (1) renounced allegiance to that foreign coun21 try; and 

22 (2) sworn allegiance to the United States. 

23 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

24 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date that is 6 

25 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 TITLE IV—CELEBRATING NEW 

2 CITIZENS 

3 SEC. 401. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW CITIZENS AWARD PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a new 

6 citizens award program to recognize citizens who— 

7 (1) have made an outstanding contribution to 

8 the United States; and 

9 (2) were naturalized during the 10-year period 

10 ending on the date of such recognition. 

11 (b) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized 

13 to present a medal, in recognition of outstanding 

14 contributions to the United States, to citizens de15 scribed in subsection (a). 

16 (2) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF AWARDS.—Not more 

17 than 10 citizens may receive a medal under this sec18 tion in any calendar year. 

19 (c) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—The Secretary of the 

20 Treasury shall strike a medal with suitable emblems, de21 vices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the President. 

22 (d) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu23 ant to this section are national medals for purposes of 

24 chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 
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1 SEC. 402. NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu3 rity, in consultation with the Director of the National 

4 Park Service, the Archivist of the United States, and other 

5 appropriate Federal officials, shall develop and implement 

6 a strategy to enhance the public awareness of naturaliza7 tion ceremonies. 

8 (b) VENUES.—In developing the strategy under this 

9 section, the Secretary shall consider the use of outstanding 

10 and historic locations as venues for select naturalization 

11 ceremonies. 

12 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security shall annually submit a report to Con14 gress that contains— 

15 (1) the content of the strategy developed under 

16 this section; and 

17 (2) the progress made towards the implementa18 tion of such strategy. 

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