I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3850

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

language of the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 18, 1996

Mr. CUNNINGHAM introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities

A BILL

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 ‘‘English Language

5 Empowerment Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds and declares the following:

8 (1) The United States is comprised of individ9 uals and groups from diverse ethnic, cultural, and

10 linguistic backgrounds.
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1 (2) The United States has benefited and contin2 ues to benefit from this rich diversity.

3 (3) Throughout the history of the United

4 States, the common thread binding individuals of

5 differing backgrounds has been a common language.

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

7 to prevent division along linguistic lines, the Federal

8 Government should maintain a language common to

9 all people.

10 (5) English has historically been the common

11 language and the language of opportunity in the

12 United States.

13 (6) The purpose of this Act is to help immi14 grants better assimilate and take full advantage of

15 economic and occupational opportunities in the

16 United States.

17 (7) By learning the English language, immi18 grants will be empowered with the language skills

19 and literacy necessary to become responsible citizens

20 and productive workers in the United States.

21 (8) The use of a single common language in

22 conducting official business of the Federal Govern23 ment will promote efficiency and fairness to all peo24 ple.
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1 (9) English should be recognized in law as the

2 language of official business of the Federal Govern3 ment.

4 (10) Any monetary savings derived from the en5 actment of this Act should be used for the teaching

6 of non-English speaking immigrants the English

7 language.

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

9 GOVERNMENT.

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

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

12 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—LANGUAGE OF THE

13 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. Rule of construction.

‘‘167. Definitions.

14 ‘‘§ 161. Declaration of official language of Federal

15 Government

16 ‘‘The official language of the Federal Government is

17 English.

18 ‘‘§ 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the offi19 cial language

20 ‘‘The Federal Government shall have an affirmative

21 obligation to preserve and enhance the role of English as
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1 the official language of the Federal Government. Such ob2 ligation shall include encouraging greater opportunities for

3 individuals to learn the English language.

4 ‘‘§ 163. Official Federal Government activities in Eng5 lish

6 ‘‘(a) CONDUCT OF BUSINESS.—The Federal Govern7 ment shall conduct its official business in English.

8 ‘‘(b) DENIAL OF SERVICES.—No person shall be de9 nied services, assistance, or facilities, directly or indirectly

10 provided by the Federal Government solely because the

11 person communicates in English.

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

13 States is entitled—

14 ‘‘(1) to communicate with the Federal Govern15 ment in English;

16 ‘‘(2) to receive information from or contribute

17 information to the Federal Government in English;

18 and

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

20 orders in English.

21 ‘‘§ 164. Standing

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

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

24 of title 28) obtain appropriate relief.
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1 ‘‘§ 165. Reform of naturalization requirements

2 ‘‘(a) FLUENCY.—It has been the longstanding na3 tional belief that full citizenship in the United States re4 quires fluency in English. English is the language of op5 portunity for all immigrants to take their rightful place

6 in society in the United States.

7 ‘‘(b) CEREMONIES.—All authorized officials shall

8 conduct all naturalization ceremonies entirely in English.

9 ‘‘§ 166. Rule of construction

10 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed—

11 ‘‘(1) to prohibit a Member of Congress, an em12 ployee or official of the Federal Government, while

13 performing official business, from communicating

14 orally in a foreign language with another person.

15 ‘‘(2) to discriminate against or restrict the

16 rights of any individual in the country;

17 ‘‘(3) to discourage or prevent the use of lan18 guages other than English in any nonofficial capac19 ity; and

20 ‘‘(4) except where an existing Federal law di21 rectly contravenes the amendments made by such

22 section (such as by requiring the use of a language

23 other than English for official business of the Fed24 eral Government), to repeal existing Federal laws.

25 ‘‘§ 167. Definitions

26 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter:
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1 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Fed2 eral Government’ means all branches of the Federal

3 Government and all employees and officials of the

4 Federal Government while performing official busi5 ness.

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

7 business’ means governmental actions, documents,

8 or policies which are enforceable with the full weight

9 and authority of the Federal Government, and in10 cludes publications, income tax forms, informational

11 materials, and the contents of franked mail (as de12 scribed in section 3210 of title 39, United States

13 Code), but does not include—

14 ‘‘(A) teaching of foreign languages;

15 ‘‘(B) actions, documents, or policies nec16 essary for international relations, trade, or com17 merce;

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

19 public health and safety;

20 ‘‘(D) actions, documents, or policies that

21 are not enforceable in the United States;

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

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 Federal 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 chapter 6 of title 4, United States Code, until the

12 date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this

13 Act.

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