1.
Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)
On June 3, 1998, a Federal
court ruled, in the case of Sandoval v. Hagan (7 F. Supp. 2d 1234), that the
prohibition against discrimination on account of national origin
in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes a prohibition against discrimination
on the basis of language, and therefore States are required to provide public
services in any language of the recipient's choice.
(2)
On August 11, 2000, relying
on that erroneous court opinion, President Clinton issued Executive Order 13166
mandating that all Federal agencies provide services in the language of the
eligible recipient.
(3)
On April 24, 2001, the United
States Supreme Court reversed the lower court rulings in Alexander v. Sandoval
(532 U.S. 275), eliminating any legal basis for Executive Order 13166.
(4)
The United States
Constitution vests all lawmaking authority in the Congress of the United
States, not in the executive or judicial branches.
(5)
Executive Order 13166 imposes
upon the Federal Government the open-ended and incalculably expensive burden of
providing translation services into potentially every language known to the
human race.
(6)
Persons who are not
proficient in English but who are entitled to access government services can
often find more convenient and more reliable translation services from among
their families, communities, and similar affinity groups than from professional
translators.
2.
Nullification of effect of Executive Order
Executive Order 13166, issued
August 16, 2000 (65 Fed. Reg. 50121) (relating to improving access to services
for persons with limited English proficiency), is null and void and shall have
no force or effect.
3.
Prohibition against use of funds for certain purposes
No funds appropriated pursuant
to any provision of law may be used to promulgate or enforce any executive
order that creates an entitlement to services provided in any language other
than English.