I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1984
To reaffirm 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
MAY 24, 2001
Mr. BARR of Georgia (for himself, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. JENKINS, Mr.
SHOWS, and Mr. COBLE) 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 deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To reaffirm 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘English Language
Unity Act of 2001’’.
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.
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:
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‘‘(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.
‘‘§ 163. Uniform English language rule for naturaliza-
tion
‘‘(a) UNIFORM LANGUAGE TESTING STANDARD.—All
citizens should be able to read and understand generally
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.
‘‘§ 164. 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-
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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 other than
English or to discourage any person from learning
or using a language other than English; or
‘‘(4) to be inconsistent with the Constitution of
the United States.’’.
(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:
‘‘§ 8. 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
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presumptively consistent with the Laws of the United
States; and
‘‘(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, United States
Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to
section 7 the following new item:
‘‘8. General Rules of Construction for Laws of the United States.’’.
SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.
The Department of Justice 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 naturalization,
based upon the principles that (a) all citizens should be
able to read and understand generally the English lan-
guage text of the Declaration of Independence, the Con-
stitution, and the Laws of the United States which are
made in pursuance thereof, and (b) any exceptions to this
standard should be limited to extraordinary cir-
cumstances, such as asylum.
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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 enact-
ment of this Act.
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