Claim: Sen. Harry Reid voted "against declaring English our national language, twice.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Political positions of Harry Reid
text: (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) Reid opposed a Constitutional amendment to make English the national language of the United States, calling the proposal "racist." Reid's positions on immigration have changed considerably over a relatively short period of time. Only fifteen years ago his position was in favor of sharply reducing legal immigration and of not amnestying undocumented entrants and overstays. Reid voted in January 1991 to authorize military force in Iraq to liberate Kuwait. On the Senate floor, Reid quoted from John F. Kennedy's 1963 State of the Union speech by saying "the mere absence of war is not Peace".

title: Harry Reid
text: John F. Kennedy's 1963 State of the Union speech on the Senate floor, saying "the mere absence of war is not peace." He also voted in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In March 2007, he voted in favor of "redeploying U.S. troops out of Iraq by March 2008", and later that year, said, "As long as we follow [President Bush's] path in Iraq, the war is lost." Reid is a strong advocate of recognizing the Armenian genocide. Reid advocated outlawing prostitution in Nevada. On May 15, 2013, Reid revealed to reporters that his niece is a lesbian as

title: Emmett Louis Murphy
text: Senate File 160, known as the Foreign Language Bill, which would make illegal the teaching in “private, denominational, parochial, or public schools” of any subject in any language other than English, stating in a speech, “I fought that vicious foreign language bill” ”. He ran 12th in the primary where only 10 would advance to the general election. Although two of the 12 subsequently dropped out, his request to be added to the definition was denied. However his public stature was quite grown, and in February 1937 he was notified that he would be accepted as assistant to the District

title: Scott Reid (politician)
text: the House of Commons and Senate Standing Committees on Official Languages. The comment provoked an immediate reaction from Prime Minister Paul Martin, who warned that Reid’s proposals reflected “the kind of Canada that Stephen Harper wants." Georges Arès, the president of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadiennes, also expressed concern. Reid clarified that his views did not represent Conservative Party policy, and he resigned as the party’s official languages critic later the same day. Some in the media felt that both the controversy and Reid’s reaction had been overblown. An editorial in the "National Post" argued that “perhaps no

title: English-only movement
text: ProEnglish rejects the term "English-only movement" and asks its supporters to refer to the movement instead as "Official English". The U.S. Senate voted on two separate changes to an immigration bill in May 2006. The amended bill recognized English as a "common and unifying language" and gave contradictory instructions to government agencies on their obligations for non-English publications. In what was essentially a replay of the 2006 actions, on June 6, 2007 the US Senate again voted on two separate amendments to a subsequent immigration reform bill that closely resembled the amendments to the 2006 Senate bill. On January 22,

title: Inhofe Amendment
text: diminish or expand any existing rights" regarding multilingual services. It passed 58-39. Inhofe proposed his amendment, saying that there should not be a right to demand that government business be conducted in any other language, that there is a unifying effect with a common language, and indicating the importance of knowing English to get ahead in America. Senator Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada, called the amendment "racist" in a speech before the Senate, arguing that it targeted speakers of Spanish. Senators Bunning (R-KY), Martinez (R-FL), Rockefeller (D-WV) did not vote. Inhofe Amendment The Inhofe Amendment was an amendment to the

title: Bob Menendez
text: for both bills. Menendez voted against Senate Amendment 1151, declaring English as the national language of the Federal government of the United States. He voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006, building 700 miles (1,100 km) of physical barriers and expanding surveillance at the Mexico-United States border, and was a supporter of Senate Amendment 4775, a provision Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2007 which would have appropriated $1.8 billion for the construction of of triple-layered fencing, and of vehicle barriers along parts of the Southwest. On January 28, 2013, Menendez was a member of a bi-partisan group of eight

title: English-only movement
text: States' national language that would have made "American" the national language in order to differentiate the United States's language from that of England. This bill did not pass in Congress despite significant support—especially from Irish immigrants who were resentful of British influence. In 1907, US President Theodore Roosevelt wrote, "We have room for but one language in this country, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house." U.S. English, the nation's oldest and largest organization advocating

title: Scott Reid (politician)
text: the existing system of official bilingualism, adding that its recommendations were "sensible" and "very difficult to refute". The "Calgary Herald" described the book as “a remarkable study: Informed, provocative, even visionary.” In a 1996 essay, "Penumbras for the People", (1996) Reid advocated the adoption of a law that would permit Parliament to invoke Section 33 of the "Charter of Rights" (the so-called "Notwithstanding Clause", which permits Parliament and the provincial legislatures to re-enact laws that have been struck down by the courts as being in violation of the Charter), only if its use had first been authorized in a national

title: Political positions of Harry Reid
text: voted against the bill. "The Wall Street Journal's" editorial page called his vote, in context with his earlier statement, "Reid's "mission accomplished" moment". Reid supports a constitutional amendment to prevent flag desecration. Reid has also criticized Senate Republicans for bringing up anti-desecration legislation, calling it one of "the 'pet' issues of the right wing". Reid strongly supports use of the death penalty, having voted in favor of limiting death penalties appeals and executing criminals who were minors when they committed their crime. Reid supports legislation that would cut $15 billion in tax breaks for large oil companies and put the

title: Political positions of Harry Reid
text: a 27% rating in 2003, as well as a 57% rating by Planned Parenthood in 2006 and an 85% rating in 2013. Reid however has voted against the Nelson-Hatch-Casey amendment in the Senate which proposed to ban federal funding of plans that cover abortion. Reid has voted several times to ban what is known as the "intact dilation and evacuation" or "partial-birth abortion" procedure, a measure supported by Republicans and several Democrats. In 2003, he supported alternate language than the act that eventually passed that would have banned all late-term abortions, while allowing exceptions for the life and health of

title: English-only movement
text: 2009, voters in Nashville, Tennessee rejected a proposal under a referendum election to make "Nashville the largest city in the United States to prohibit the government from using languages other than English, with exceptions allowed for issues of health and safety." The initiative failed by a vote of 57% to 43%. In March 2012, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was criticized by some Republican delegates from Puerto Rico when he publicly took the position that Puerto Rico, a Spanish-speaking territory, should be required to make English its primary language as a condition of statehood. The modern English-only movement has met

title: English Language Unity Act
text: to be the official language of the U.S. Government. If it became a law, it would have required state representatives to conduct official business in English. It would have required that all officials conduct naturalization ceremonies entirely in English as well. Conservative Republican lawmaker Representative Steve King introduced this act to the House of Representatives on March 1, 2005 it was known as the English Language Unity Act of 2005. Before the 109th session ended of congress, the bill accumulated 164 sponsors. The last action on this bill was the introductory remarks on the proposed bill on May 19, 2006.

title: Political positions of Harry Reid
text: According to "The New York Times", the "Senate approved the use of military force by a vote of 52 to 47" with ten out of the fifty-five Senate Democrats voting in support. Reid voted in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In March 2007, he voted in favor of "redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008". Reid said on April 19, 2007 "I believe, myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense, and – you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows – this war is lost and the surge is

title: Olympia Snowe
text: make English the official language of the United States. "In October 2009, Snowe was the sole Republican in the Senate to vote for the Finance Committee’s health care reform bill." However, she stated that she might not support the final bill due to strong reservations. Snowe was one of three Republicans to break with their party and vote with Democrats to end a filibuster of a defense spending bill; the filibuster was meant to delay or stop the vote on health care legislation. In December 2009, Snowe voted against cloture for two procedural motions and ultimately against the Senate Health

title: Harry Reid
text: passed 96–2. In the 111th Congress, Reid shepherded the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) through the Senate. Reid believes that "Roe vs. Wade" should be overturned, and in 1999, voted against an amendment that supported Roe. He stated that he believed in a restricted right to abortion, stating that "abortions should be legal only when the pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered." He voted several times to ban the "intact dilation and evacuation", or "partial-birth abortion" procedure. Reid supported embryonic stem cell research. Regarding same-sex marriage, Reid initially believed that

title: Languages of Illinois
text: in America to pass an official language law, though its first official language was not English but "American". In 1923, Representative Washington J. McCormick of Montana had failed to pass a bill in the United States Congress declaring "American" to be the official language of the United States. Following the bill's failure, Senator Frank Ryan introduced a similar bill to the Illinois General Assembly. The bill passed with the support of Irish and Jewish politicians in Chicago, who, by rejecting the term "English", wanted to show their opposition to British policies in Ireland and Palestine, respectively. In 1969, another act

title: Political positions of Harry Reid
text: against the Federal Marriage Amendment which "would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman. The FMA would also have prevented judicial extension of marriage rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples, as well as preventing polygamy." and against "prohibiting same-sex basic training." He has also voted for "prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation" and for "adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes". Reid supported the original Patriot Act passed shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He opposed the later versions of the act, stating on the Senate floor

title: Frederick Muhlenberg
text: Speaker in 1796. On April 29, 1796, as chairman of the Committee of the Whole, he cast the deciding vote for the laws necessary to carry out the Jay Treaty. In 1794, during Muhlenberg's second tenure as Speaker, the House voted 42-41 against a proposal to translate some of the laws into German. Muhlenberg, who himself abstained from the vote, commented later, "the faster the Germans become Americans, the better it will be." Despite not having voted against the bill, a legend called the Muhlenberg Legend developed in which he was responsible for prohibiting German as an official language of

title: Political positions of Harry Reid
text: and several other pro-gun rights votes. The National Rifle Association has supported Reid in primary elections. In 2014, Gun Owners of America gave an F- rating to Reid. The group rated Reid poorly because Reid refused to strike a law prohibiting doctors from asking their patients about their gun ownership. It also rated Reid poorly because he voted to increase the maximum term of imprisonment for selling firearms or ammunition to any person knowing that the buyer is prohibited from owning such firearms or ammunition. Reid calls "immigration reform" one of his top priorities for the 110th Congress. He supports