I 
115TH 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 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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 9, 2017 
Mr. KING of Iowa (for himself, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. 
BARLETTA, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, and Mr. FRANKS of Arizona) 
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 jurisdic-
tion 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 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. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘English Language 
Unity Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds and declares the following: 
(1) The United States is comprised of individ-
uals from diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic 
backgrounds, and continues to benefit from this rich 
diversity. 
(2) Throughout the history of the United 
States, the common thread binding individuals of 
differing backgrounds has been the English lan-
guage. 
(3) Among the powers reserved to the States 
respectively is the power to establish the English 
language as the official language of the respective 
States, and otherwise to promote the English lan-
guage within the respective States, subject to the 
prohibitions enumerated in the Constitution of the 
United States and in laws of the respective States. 
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SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title 4, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new chapter: 
‘‘CHAPTER 6—OFFICIAL LANGUAGE 
‘‘§ 161. Official language of the United States 
‘‘The official language of the United States is 
English. 
‘‘§ 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the offi-
cial language 
‘‘Representatives of the Federal Government shall 
have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the 
role of English as the official language of the Federal Gov-
ernment. Such obligation shall include encouraging great-
er opportunities for individuals to learn the English lan-
guage. 
‘‘§ 163. Official functions of Government to be con-
ducted in English 
‘‘(a) OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS.—The official functions 
of the Government of the United States shall be conducted 
in English. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE.—For the purposes of this section, the 
term ‘United States’ means the several States and the 
District of Columbia, and the term ‘official’ refers to any 
function that (i) binds the Government, (ii) is required 
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by law, or (iii) is otherwise subject to scrutiny by either 
the press or the public. 
‘‘(c) PRACTICAL EFFECT.—This section shall apply 
to all laws, public proceedings, regulations, publications, 
orders, actions, programs, and policies, but does not apply 
to— 
‘‘(1) teaching of languages; 
‘‘(2) requirements under the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act; 
‘‘(3) actions, documents, or policies necessary 
for national security, international relations, trade, 
tourism, or commerce; 
‘‘(4) actions or documents that protect the pub-
lic health and safety; 
‘‘(5) actions or documents that facilitate the ac-
tivities of the Bureau of the Census in compiling any 
census of population; 
‘‘(6) actions that protect the rights of victims of 
crimes or criminal defendants; or 
‘‘(7) using terms of art or phrases from lan-
guages other than English. 
‘‘§ 164. Uniform English language rule for naturaliza-
tion 
‘‘(a) UNIFORM LANGUAGE TESTING STANDARD.—All 
citizens should be able to read and understand generally 
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the English language text of the Declaration of Independ-
ence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States 
made in pursuance of the Constitution. 
‘‘(b) CEREMONIES.—All naturalization ceremonies 
shall be conducted in English. 
‘‘§ 165. Rules of construction 
‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed— 
‘‘(1) to prohibit a Member of Congress or any 
officer or agent of the Federal Government, while 
performing official functions, from communicating 
unofficially through any medium with another per-
son in a language other than English (as long as of-
ficial functions are performed in English); 
‘‘(2) to limit the preservation or use of Native 
Alaskan or Native American languages (as defined 
in the Native American Languages Act); 
‘‘(3) to disparage any language or to discourage 
any person from learning or using a language; or 
‘‘(4) to be inconsistent with the Constitution of 
the United States. 
‘‘§ 166. Standing 
‘‘A person injured by a violation of this chapter may 
in a civil action (including an action under chapter 151 
of title 28) obtain appropriate relief.’’. 
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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 
at the beginning of title 4, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to chapter 5 the fol-
lowing new item: 
‘‘CHAPTER 6. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE’’. 
SEC. 4. GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE TEXTS OF THE LAWS OF THE 
UNITED STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 1, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 9. General rules of construction for laws of the 
United States 
‘‘(a) English language requirements and workplace 
policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be 
presumptively consistent with the laws of the United 
States. 
‘‘(b) Any ambiguity in the English language text of 
the laws of the United States shall be resolved, in accord-
ance with the last two articles of the Bill of Rights, not 
to deny or disparage rights retained by the people, and 
to reserve powers to the States respectively, or to the peo-
ple.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 1, is amended by 
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inserting after the item relating to section 8 the following 
new item: 
‘‘9. General rules of construction for laws of the United States.’’. 
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, within 
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue 
for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform 
testing English language ability of candidates for natu-
ralization, based upon the principles that— 
(1) all citizens should be able to read and un-
derstand generally the English language text of the 
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and 
the laws of the United States which are made in 
pursuance thereof; and 
(2) any exceptions to this standard should be 
limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asy-
lum. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by sections 3 and 4 shall take 
effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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