I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 997

To declare English as the official language of the United States, to establish 

a uniform English language rule for naturalization, and to avoid misconstructions of the English language texts of the laws of the United 

States, pursuant to Congress’ powers to provide for the general welfare 

of the United States and to establish a uniform rule of naturalization 

under article I, section 8, of the Constitution. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2003

Mr. KING of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To declare English as the official language of the United 

States, to establish a uniform English language rule for 

naturalization, and to avoid mis-constructions of the 

English language texts of the laws of the United States, 

pursuant to Congress’ powers to provide for the general 

welfare of the United States and to establish a uniform 

rule of naturalization under article I, section 8, of the 

Constitution.

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 Unity Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds and declares the following: 

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

8 backgrounds, and continues to benefit from this rich 

9 diversity. 

10 (2) Throughout the history of the United 

11 States, the common thread binding individuals of 

12 differing backgrounds has been the English lan13 guage. 

14 (3) Among the powers reserved to the States 

15 respectively is the power to establish the English 

16 language as the official language of the respective 

17 States, and otherwise to promote the English lan18 guage within the respective States, subject to the 

19 prohibitions enumerated in the Constitution of the 

20 United States and in laws of the respective States. 

21 SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED 

22 STATES. 

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

24 amended by adding at the end the following new chapter: 
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—OFFICIAL LANGUAGE 

2 ‘‘§ 161. Official language of the United States 

3 ‘‘The official language of the United States is 

4 English. 

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

7 ‘‘Representatives of the Federal Government shall 

8 have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the 

9 role of English as the official language of the Federal Gov10 ernment. Such obligation shall include encouraging great11 er opportunities for individuals to learn the English lan12 guage. 

13 ‘‘§ 163. Official functions of Government to be con14 ducted in English 

15 ‘‘(a) OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS.—The official functions 

16 of the Government of the United States shall be conducted 

17 in English. 

18 ‘‘(b) SCOPE.—For the purposes of this section, the 

19 term ‘United States’ means the several States and the 

20 District of Columbia, and the term ‘official’ refers to any 

21 function that (i) binds the Government, (ii) is required 

22 by law, or (iii) is otherwise subject to scrutiny by either 

23 the press or the public. 

24 ‘‘(c) PRACTICAL EFFECT.—This section shall apply 

25 to all laws, public proceedings, regulations, publications, 
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1 orders, actions, programs, and policies, but does not apply 

2 to—

3 ‘‘(1) teaching of languages; 

4 ‘‘(2) requirements under the Individuals with 

5 Disabilities Education Act; 

6 ‘‘(3) actions, documents, or policies necessary 

7 for national security, international relations, trade, 

8 tourism, or commerce; 

9 ‘‘(4) actions or documents that protect the pub10 lic health and safety; 

11 ‘‘(5) actions or documents that facilitate the ac12 tivities of the Bureau of the Census in compiling any 

13 census of population; 

14 ‘‘(6) actions that protect the rights of victims of 

15 crimes or criminal defendants; or 

16 ‘‘(7) using terms of art or phrases from lan17 guages other than English. 

18 ‘‘§ 164. Uniform English language rule for naturaliza19 tion

20 ‘‘(a) UNIFORM LANGUAGE TESTING STANDARD.—All 

21 citizens should be able to read and understand generally 

22 the English language text of the Declaration of Independ23 ence, the Constitution, and the Laws of the United States 

24 made in pursuance of the Constitution. 
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1 ‘‘(b) CEREMONIES.—All naturalization ceremonies 

2 shall be conducted in English. 

3 ‘‘§ 165. Rules of construction 

4 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed—

5 ‘‘(1) to prohibit a Member of Congress or any 

6 officer or agent of the Federal Government, while 

7 performing official functions, from communicating 

8 unofficially through any medium with another per9 son in a language other than English (as long as of10 ficial functions are performed in English); 

11 ‘‘(2) to limit the preservation or use of Native 

12 Alaskan or Native American languages (as defined 

13 in the Native American Languages Act); 

14 ‘‘(3) to disparage any language or to discourage 

15 any person from learning or using a language; or 

16 ‘‘(4) to be inconsistent with the Constitution of 

17 the United States. 

18 ‘‘§ 166. Standing 

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

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

21 of title 28) obtain appropriate relief.’’. 

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

23 at the beginning of title 4, United States Code, is amended 

24 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 5 the fol25 lowing new item:

‘‘Chapter 6. Official Language.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH 

2 LANGUAGE TEXTS OF THE LAWS OF THE 

3 UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 1, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 8. General rules of construction for laws of the 

8 United States 

9 ‘‘(a) English language requirements and workplace 

10 policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be 

11 presumptively consistent with the Laws of the United 

12 States; and 

13 ‘‘(b) Any ambiguity in the English language text of 

14 the Laws of the United States shall be resolved, in accord15 ance with the last two articles of the Bill of Rights, not 

16 to deny or disparage rights retained by the people, and 

17 to reserve powers to the States respectively, or to the peo18 ple.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 1, United States 

21 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

22 section 7 the following new item:

‘‘8. General Rules of Construction for Laws of the United States.’’.

23 SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 

24 The Department of Justice shall, within 180 days 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, issue for public 
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1 notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing 

2 English language ability of candidates for naturalization, 

3 based upon the principles that (a) all citizens should be 

4 able to read and understand generally the English lan5 guage text of the Declaration of Independence, the Con6 stitution, and the Laws of the United States which are 

7 made in pursuance thereof, and (b) any exceptions to this 

8 standard should be limited to extraordinary cir9 cumstances, such as asylum. 

10 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 The amendments made by sections 3 and 4 shall take 

12 effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act.

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