of access to English language and citizenship prepa-
ration classes.
(6) The Immigration and Naturalization Serv-
ice cites lack of English language skills as the pri-
mary reason applicants are denied citizenship.
(7) There is no Federal program that is specifi-
cally targeted to the educational needs of immi-
grants wishing to naturalize.
(8) President Clinton’s fiscal year 1996 budget
proposal requests $7,000,000 for Immigration and
Naturalization Service’s citizenship and relating op-
erating expenses as compared with $1,000,000,000
for border enforcement and assistance to States.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
The following is the sense of the Congress:
(1) The right of citizenship through naturaliza-
tion underlies the greatness of our Nation in the
same way that citizenship by birth does.
(2) The rights accorded by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States upon citizens and
those lawfully in the United States, as well as upon
those who are entitled to seek legal status under
current law, must not be forsaken, weakened, nor
compromised. Reducing rights or services for every-
one undermines our sense of responsibility as a de-
mocracy.
(3) Naturalization should become a national
priority to ensure that all residents are able to par-
ticipate fully in the rights and responsibilities that
go along with United States citizenship. It is the re-
sponsibility of the Federal Government to provide
the services necessary for naturalization.
(4) In order to reduce the backlog of pending
United States citizenship applications in Immigra-
tion and Naturalization Service offices across the
country, the Immigration and Naturalization Service
should increasingly privatize the administration of
the oral English and written civics exam. The Immi-
gration and Naturalization Service should determine
the appropriate agencies experienced in educational
testing to assist with this part of the naturalization
process.
(5) In order to privatize the administration of
the English oral and written civic exams, the Immi-
gration and Naturalization Service should develop a
national standard for each exam. The Immigration
and Naturalization Service should then determine
what the standard will consist of and how to admin-
ister the standard after it has been established.
(6) The Immigration and Naturalization Serv-
ice should publicize the opportunity to take the oral
English and written civics exams with a private
agency authorized by the Immigration and Natu-
ralization Service as an alternative to testing with
the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The in-
clusion of private agencies authorized by the Immi-
gration and Naturalization Service to administer the
English oral and written civics exams will give appli-
cants the opportunity to complete the naturalization
process with greater efficiency.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Immi-
gration and Naturalization Service such sums as may be
necessary for the following:
(1) To restructure and streamline Immigration
and Naturalization Service procedures to reduce
delays in the naturalization process.
(2) To promote local level, cooperative agree-
ments between the Immigration and Naturalization
Service and community organizations and institute
administrative reforms to minimize delays and pro-
mote outreach to the immigrant community.
(3) To expand current services to suburbs and
target populations with special challenges such as
the elderly.
(4) To continue and expand collaborative ar-
rangements among nonprofit, government, and pri-
vate sector entities to deliver citizenship services (in-
cluding outreach and adult education classes) as ef-
fectively and efficiently as possible.
(5) To upgrade equipment and technology used
to report on naturalization statistics and the natu-
ralization application process.
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