[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4766 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4766

 To require the Secretary of Education to conduct a study and submit a 
  report regarding the availability of educational instruction in the 
  English language to student citizens in the Commonwealth of Puerto 
                                 Rico.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 9, 1998

Mr. Burton of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was referred 
            to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Education to conduct a study and submit a 
  report regarding the availability of educational instruction in the 
  English language to student citizens in the Commonwealth of Puerto 
                                 Rico.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``English Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Government provides more than $10,000,000,000 to 
        the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (referred to in this Act as 
        ``Puerto Rico'') annually with a significant portion of such 
        amount provided through Federal assistance for education.
            (2) The Government should ensure that it is not subsidizing 
        an education system in which student citizens of the United 
        States in Puerto Rico (referred to in this Act as ``student 
        citizens'') who want greater access to English language 
        education are denied that opportunity.
            (3) Local government officials, educators, and parents in 
        Puerto Rico who want to make English language education 
        available to all student citizens need to be aware that 
        Congress is in support of their efforts.
            (4) Regardless of Puerto Rico's political status, English 
        is a universal language of economic and social empowerment and 
        student citizens should have open and equal access to English 
        education without becoming inadvertent victims of the debate 
        regarding the political status of Puerto Rico.
            (5) If Puerto Rico opts to become a State at some future 
        date, it will have to comply with the national English language 
        policy, and if independence is the ultimate status of Puerto 
        Rico, then English should be strongly promoted as a universal 
        language of economic and social empowerment.
            (6) It is imperative for Congress, which presides over the 
        present commonwealth system, to promote English for the student 
        citizens of Puerto Rico.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this legislation is to require the 
Secretary of Education to develop policy recommendations throughout the 
next decade to address the unique language education problems in Puerto 
Rico without delay to ensure that student citizens there have an 
opportunity to learn, master, use, and promote the English language to 
obtain an equal footing with global competitors.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act and each year thereafter for the next 10 years, the 
Secretary of Education shall conduct a study and submit, to the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, a 
report regarding the availability of educational instruction in the 
English language to student citizens in public schools in Puerto Rico.
    (b) Report.--The report shall include comprehensive, specific, and 
complete recommendations for measures that can be implemented if 
Congress adopts legislation that provides conditions and restrictions 
on the availability and use of Federal assistance for education in 
Puerto Rico, including English instruction requirements for Federal 
Pell grant recipients.
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