[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 5, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H13932-H13933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       MAKING ENGLISH THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Roth] is recognized during 
morning business for 3 minutes.
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. Speaker, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee 
prepares to hold hearings tomorrow on the issue of making English our 
official language. One of the issues that heavily dominates that debate 
is this issue of bilingual education, which was started as part of the 
Great Society Program back in 1968 and has grown and mushroomed to the 
juggernaut that it is today. I wish to put this problem into a proper 
perspective.
  Mr. Speaker, a quick look at some startling facts will tell us all we 
need to know. Today, 32 million Americans don't speak English. In just 
5 years, that number will increase to 40 million. English is a foreign 
language for one in seven Americans.
  For most of our Nation's history, America gave the children of 
immigrants a precious gift--an education in the English language. As 
each new wave of immigrants arrived on these shores, our public school 
system taught their sons and daughters English, so they could claim 
their place in the American dream.
  What are we doing for these new Americans today? Instead of a first-
rate education in English, our bilingual education programs are 
consigning an entire generation of new Americans--unable to speak, 
understand, and use English effectively--to a second-class future.
  This tragedy has human faces. Let me tell you about two people's 
experiences which will illustrate the impact of our failed bilingual 
education programs. I've never heard the problems with bilingual 
education more poignantly put than in the words of Ernesto Ortiz, a 
foreman on a south Texas ranch who said: ``My children learn Spanish in 
school so they can become busboys and waiters. I teach them English at 
home so they can become doctors and lawyers.'' Ernesto understands that 
English is the language of opportunity in the country. He understands 
that denying his children a good education in English will doom them to 
a limited--as opposed to limitless--future.
  Bilga Abramova also understands this simple truth. Bilga is a 35-
year-old Russian refugee who has entered a church lottery three times 
in an attempt to win 1 of 50 coveted spaces in a free, intensive 
English class offered by her local parish. Her pleas in Russian speak 
volumes about the plight of all too many immigrants: ``I need to win,'' 
she said. ``Without English, I cannot begin a new life.''
  The ultimate paradox about our commitment to bilingual education in 
this country is that Bilga and others like her all across the country 
are on waiting lists for intensive English classes while we spend $8 
billion a year teaching children in their native language.
  You've heard from parents like Ernesto Ortiz and how they feel about 
bilingual education. Even teachers oppose these programs. A recent 
survey of 1,000 elementary and secondary teachers found that 64 percent 
of these teachers disapproved of bilingual education programs and 
favored intensive English instruction instead.
  Even longtime defenders of these programs are starting to change 
their tune. The California Board of Education approved a new policy 
last month in which they abandoned their preference for bilingual 
education programs.
  This year marks the 27th year of bilingual education programs. For 
more and more people, that is 27 years too long. It is time to take a 
fresh look at 

[[Page H 13933]]
this problem. Bilingual education has had 27 years and billions of 
dollars to prove that it accomplished what it said it would do in 1968: 
teach children English quickly and effectively. Too many people lose 
sight of the fact that the real issue here is how to help children and 
newcomers who don't know English and who need to assimilate.
  Let us not forget about Ernesto Ortiz and his children, about Bilga 
Abramova and other new Americans like them. While a Senate committee 
will discuss this issue for the first time tomorrow, Ernesto and Bilga 
have already given us their testimony on bilingual education, in words 
and in images. We must not lose sight of the fact that this is not just 
an abstract public policy issue; bilingual education and our national 
language policies have real world consequences. When our policies fail, 
the failures have names and faces attached to them. When our policies 
serve to divide rather than unite us, the rips appear in the very 
fabric of the American Nation. Don't underestimate this issue's 
importance. This is an issue that can affect the very future of new 
Americans and America itself.

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