I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6783 
To withhold Federal funds from schools that permit or require the recitation 
of the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem in a language other 
than English. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 1, 2008 
Mr. BROUN of Georgia (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BURTON of Indi-
ana, Mr. GOODE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. BARTLETT
of Maryland, Mrs. 
BACHMANN, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. 
ADERHOLT, and Mrs. MYRICK) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To withhold Federal funds from schools that permit or re-
quire the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance or the 
national anthem in a language other than English. 
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 ‘‘Pledge Language is 
English Declaration and Government Endorsement Act of 
2008’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) One of the fundamental strengths of the 
United States is a shared commitment to certain 
principles of democracy, freedom, and national 
unity, and this commitment is reinforced periodically 
by certain officially recognized rituals and practices, 
including the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance 
and the singing of the national anthem. One purpose 
of these officially recognized rituals is national unity. 
That goal is expressed in the Pledge of Allegiance as 
‘‘one nation under God, indivisible’’ in section 4 of 
title 4, United States Code. 
(2) The recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance is 
one of these officially recognized national unity rit-
uals. Congress recognized the Pledge of Allegiance in 
law in 1942 in section 4 of title 4, United States 
Code, and Federal law prescribes certain methods 
for reciting and recognizing the Pledge of Allegiance 
in English. 
(3) Another officially recognized national unity 
ritual is the recitation or singing of the national an-
them. Inspired by the sight of the American flag still 
waving at Fort McHenry after 25 hours of continual 
bombardment by British forces, Francis Scott Key 
wrote the words of the Star-Spangled Banner in 
English in 1814. In 1931, Congress declared that 
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the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem of 
the United States in section 301 of title 36, United 
States Code. 
(4) The vast majority of Americans are immi-
grants or the descendants of immigrants, respectful 
of their ancestral home, but also proud to be Amer-
ican. According to sections 1423 and 1448 of title 
8, United States Code, to become citizens of the 
United States, lawful permanent residents of the 
United States must, among other requirements, re-
nounce allegiance to the government of their country 
of origin, swear allegiance to the laws and Constitu-
tion of the United States, and demonstrate an un-
derstanding of the English language. 
(5) Millions of Americans speak or study lan-
guages other than English, but English is the com-
mon language of the United States. The people of 
the United States are united, not by race, ancestry, 
or origin, but by a common language—English—and 
by a common belief and allegiance to democratic 
principles prescribed by the founding documents of 
the Nation. 
(6) The Government may, from time to time, 
take steps to reinforce national unity, including 
using its funding to promote national unity. The 
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Government may also take steps to limit the use of 
its resources for purposes that may be seen as un-
dercutting national unity or misrepresenting its sup-
port for those rituals that it believes are essential to 
promoting national unity. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro-
tect and to preserve national unity by restricting Federal 
funds from being used to undercut national unity. In par-
ticular, this Act withholds Federal funds from schools that 
permit or require the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance 
or the national anthem in a language other than English. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION, ENFORCEMENT, AND PRIVATE RIGHT 
OF ACTION. 
(a) PROHIBITION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—No State educational agency 
or local educational agency may have a policy or 
practice that requires or permits the Pledge of Alle-
giance (as defined in section 4 of title 4, United 
States Code), or the national anthem (as defined in 
section 301 of title 36, United States Code) to be re-
cited or sung in any language other than English in 
any elementary school or secondary school under its 
jurisdiction. 
(2) EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION.—The prohibi-
tion in paragraph (1) shall not apply to the author-
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ized meetings, events, or unofficial activities held by 
individuals or organizations that are not affiliated 
with, or sponsored by, a State educational agency or 
local educational agency, unless such individuals or 
organizations reasonably give an impression to an 
objective observer that a State educational agency or 
a local educational agency has required the recita-
tion or singing of the Pledge of Allegiance or the na-
tional anthem in any language other than English at 
such authorized meetings, events, or unofficial ac-
tivities. 
(b) ENFORCEMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF EDU-
CATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If, after notice and a reason-
able opportunity to respond, the Secretary of Edu-
cation finds that a State educational agency or local 
educational agency has violated subsection (a)— 
(A) no Federal funds appropriated by Con-
gress for the next fiscal year after such finding 
may be provided by grant or contract to such 
State educational agency or local educational 
agency; and 
(B) the Secretary shall— 
(i) submit a report, entitled ‘‘Report 
to Congress of State Educational Agencies 
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or Local Educational Agencies that have 
Violated Protection for Pledge of Alle-
giance or Star Spangled Banner’’, of such 
finding to each House of Congress; and 
(ii) publish in the Federal Register a 
list of each State educational agency and 
local educational agency that is subject to 
the withholding of Federal funds under 
paragraph (1). 
(2) EXCEPTION TO WITHHOLDING OF FEDERAL 
FUNDS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—A State educational 
agency or local educational agency that the Sec-
retary has found under paragraph (1) of this 
subsection to have violated subsection (a) shall 
not be subject to a withholding of funds under 
such paragraph if such funds are contained in 
an appropriation enacted after the date of the 
Secretary’s finding and such funds are appro-
priated specifically for such State educational 
agency or local educational agency. 
(B) NOTATION
REQUIREMENT.—The ap-
propriation in subparagraph (A) shall contain a 
notation of the date on which the report relat-
ing to such State educational agency or local 
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educational agency was submitted under para-
graph (1)(B)(i) and the page number of the 
Federal Register on which such State edu-
cational agency or local educational agency was 
listed under paragraph (1)(B)(ii). 
(c) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person injured 
by a violation of section (a) may obtain appropriate relief, 
including a declaratory judgment under chapter 151 of 
title 28, United States Code, in a civil action. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following terms apply: 
(1) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘elemen-
tary school’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(2) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(3) SECONDARY
SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec-
ondary school’’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Education. 
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(5) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘State education agency’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 9101 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 
Æ 
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