II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 175

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

language of the Government of the United States.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 9, 1995

Mr. SHELBY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Language of Govern5 ment Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds and declares

8 that—
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1 (1) the United States is comprised of individ2 uals and groups from diverse ethnic, cultural, and

3 linguistic backgrounds;

4 (2) the United States has benefited and contin5 ues to benefit from this rich diversity;

6 (3) throughout the history of the Nation, the

7 common thread binding those of differing back8 grounds has been a common language;

9 (4) to preserve unity in diversity, and to pre10 vent division along linguistic lines, the United States

11 should maintain a language common to all people;

12 (5) English has historically been the common

13 language and the language of opportunity in the

14 United States;

15 (6) the use of a single common language in the

16 conduct of the Government’s official business will

17 promote efficiency and fairness to all people; and

18 (7) English should be recognized in law as the

19 language of official business of the Government.

20 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—The amendments made by sec21 tion 3—

22 (1) are not intended in any way to discriminate

23 against or restrict the rights of any individual in the

24 United States;
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1 (2) are not intended to discourage or prevent

2 the use of languages other than English in any

3 nonofficial capacity; and

4 (3) except where an existing law of the United

5 States directly contravenes the amendments made by

6 section 3 (such as by requiring the use of a language

7 other than English for official business of the Gov8 ernment of the United States), are not intended to

9 repeal existing laws of the United States.

10 SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF GOVERN11 MENT.

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

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

14 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—LANGUAGE OF THE

15 GOVERNMENT

‘‘Sec.

‘‘161. Declaration of official language of Government.

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

‘‘163. Official Government activities in English

‘‘164. Standing.

‘‘165. Definitions.

16 ‘‘§ 161. Declaration of official language of Govern17 ment

18 ‘‘The official language of the Government of the

19 United States is English.
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1 ‘‘§ 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the offi2 cial language

3 ‘‘The Government shall have an affirmative obligation

4 to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official

5 language of the United States Government. Such obliga6 tion shall include encouraging greater opportunities for in7 dividuals to learn the English language.

8 ‘‘§ 163. Official Government activities in English

9 ‘‘(a) The Government shall conduct its official busi10 ness in English.

11 ‘‘(b) No person shall be denied services, assistance,

12 or facilities, directly or indirectly provided by the Govern13 ment solely because the person communicates in English.

14 ‘‘(c) Every person in the United States is entitled

15 to—

16 ‘‘(1) communicate with the Government in Eng17 lish;

18 ‘‘(2) receive information from or contribute in19 formation to the Government in English; and

20 ‘‘(3) be informed of or be subject to official or21 ders in English.

22 ‘‘§ 164. Standing

23 ‘‘Any person alleging injury arising from a violation

24 of this chapter shall have standing to sue in the courts

25 of the United States under sections 2201 and 2202 of title
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1 28, United States Code, and for such other relief as may

2 be considered appropriate by the courts.

3 ‘‘§ 165. Definitions

4 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter:

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Government’ means all branches

6 of the Government of the United States and all em7 ployees and officials of the Government of the Unit8 ed States while performing official business.

9 ‘‘(2) The term ‘official business’ means those

10 governmental actions, documents, or policies which

11 are enforceable with the full weight and authority of

12 the Government, but does not include—

13 ‘‘(A) actions or documents that are pri14 marily informational or educational;

15 ‘‘(B) actions, documents, or policies that

16 are not enforceable in the United States;

17 ‘‘(C) actions, documents, or policies nec18 essary for international relations, trade, or com19 merce;

20 ‘‘(D) actions or documents that protect the

21 public health or safety;

22 ‘‘(E) actions that protect the rights of vic23 tims of crimes or criminal defendants; and

24 ‘‘(F) documents that utilize terms of art or

25 phrases from languages other than English.’’.
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1 ‘‘(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap2 ters for title 4, United States Code, is amended by adding

3 at the end the following new item:

‘‘6. Language of the Government ................................................. 161’’.

4 SEC. 4. PREEMPTION.

5 This Act (and the amendments made by this Act)

6 shall not preempt any law of any State.

7 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

8 The amendments made by section 3 shall take effect

9 upon the date of enactment of this Act, except that no

10 suit may be commenced to enforce or determine rights

11 under the amendments until January 1, 1995.

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