[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 323 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 323

    To amend title 4, United States Code, to declare English as the 
       official language of the Government of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 13, 1997

   Mr. Shelby (for himself, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Coverdell, Mr. Craig, Mr. 
Faircloth, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Helms, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Lugar, 
 Mr. Santorum, Mr. Thurmond, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Murkowski, 
Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Hagel) introduced the following bill; which was read 
      twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title 4, United States Code, to declare English as the 
       official language of the Government of the United States.

    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 ``Language of Government Act of 
1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) the United States is comprised of individuals and 
        groups from diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic 
        backgrounds;
            (2) the United States has benefited and continues to 
        benefit from this rich diversity;
            (3) throughout the history of the Nation, the common thread 
        binding those of differing backgrounds has been a common 
        language;
            (4) in order to preserve unity in diversity, and to prevent 
        division along linguistic lines, the United States should 
        maintain a language common to all people;
            (5) English has historically been the common language and 
        the language of opportunity in the United States;
            (6) the purpose of this Act is to help immigrants better 
        assimilate and take full advantage of economic and occupational 
        opportunities in the United States;
            (7) by learning the English language, immigrants will be 
        empowered with the language skills and literacy necessary to 
        become responsible citizens and productive workers in the 
        United States;
            (8) the use of a single common language in the conduct of 
        the Federal Government's official business will promote 
        efficiency and fairness to all people;
            (9) English should be recognized in law as the language of 
        official business of the Federal Government; and
            (10) any monetary savings derived by the Federal Government 
        from the enactment of this Act should be used for the teaching 
        of non-English speaking immigrants the English language.
    (b) Construction.--The amendments made by section 3--
            (1) are not intended in any way to discriminate against or 
        restrict the rights of any individual in the United States;
            (2) are not intended to discourage or prevent the use of 
        languages other than English in any nonofficial capacity; and
            (3) except where an existing law of the United States 
        directly contravenes the amendments made by section 3 (such as 
        by requiring the use of a language other than English for 
        official business of the Government of the United States), are 
        not intended to repeal existing laws of the United States.

SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF GOVERNMENT.

    (a) In General.--Title 4, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new chapter:

                ``CHAPTER 6--LANGUAGE OF THE GOVERNMENT

``Sec.
``161. Declaration of official language of Government.
``162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the official language.
``163. Official Government activities in English.
``164. Standing.
``165. Definitions.
``Sec. 161. Declaration of official language of Government
    ``The official language of the Government of the United States is 
English.
``Sec. 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the official language
    ``The Government shall have an affirmative obligation to preserve 
and enhance the role of English as the official language of the United 
States Government. Such obligation shall include encouraging greater 
opportunities for individuals to learn the English language.
``Sec. 163. Official Government activities in English
    ``(a) Conduct of Business.--The Government shall conduct its 
official business in English.
    ``(b) Denial of Services.--No person shall be denied services, 
assistance, or facilities, directly or indirectly provided by the 
Government solely because the person communicates in English.
    ``(c) Entitlement.--Every person in the United States is entitled 
to--
            ``(1) communicate with the Government in English;
            ``(2) receive information from or contribute information to 
        the Government in English; and
            ``(3) be informed of or be subject to official orders in 
        English.
``Sec. 164. Standing
    ``Any person alleging injury arising from a violation of this 
chapter shall have standing to sue in the courts of the United States 
under sections 2201 and 2202 of title 28, United States Code, and for 
such other relief as may be considered appropriate by the courts.
``Sec. 165. Definitions
    ``For purposes of this chapter:
            ``(1) Government.--The term `Government' means all branches 
        of the Government of the United States and all employees and 
        officials of the Government of the United States while 
        performing official business.
            ``(2) Official business.--The term `official business' 
        means those governmental actions, documents, or policies which 
        are enforceable with the full weight and authority of the 
        Government, but does not include--
                    ``(A) teaching of foreign languages;
                    ``(B) actions, documents, or policies that are not 
                enforceable in the United States;
                    ``(C) actions, documents, or policies necessary for 
                international relations, trade, or commerce;
                    ``(D) actions or documents that protect the public 
                health;
                    ``(E) actions that protect the rights of victims of 
                crimes or criminal defendants; and
                    ``(F) documents that utilize terms of art or 
                phrases from languages other than English.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of chapters for title 4, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item:

``6. Language of the Government.............................     161''.

SEC. 4. PREEMPTION.

    This Act (and the amendments made by this Act) shall not preempt 
any law of any State.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by section 3 shall take effect upon the date of 
enactment of this Act, except that no suit may be commenced to enforce 
or determine rights under the amendments until January 1, 1996.
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