[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 117 (Friday, August 2, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ENGLISH LANGUAGE EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 1996

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. LOUIS STOKES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 1, 1996

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 123) to 
     amend title 4, United States Code, to declare English as the 
     official language of the Government of the United States:

  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to express my strong 
opposition to H.R. 123, the English Language Empowerment Act. I am 
deeply concerned with the impact that this bill would have on the 
cultural fabric of our Nation.
  Mr. Chairman, this bill contains provisions which would not only 
require Federal documents to be written in English only, but also 
repeals the current requirement that bilingual ballots be provided in 
areas with large numbers of non-English-speaking voters. By including 
this provision, my Republican colleagues are making blatant intrusion 
into the constitutionally given right to vote.
  Mr. Chairman, the proceedings of our legislatures, our courts, our 
city councils, and the majority of our day-to-day business is conducted 
in English. Therefore the value of fluency in English is indisputable. 
Both immigrants and nonimmigrants alike acknowledge the importance of 
learning the English language. The long waiting lists for English 
classes at community colleges and adult schools are a testament to 
this.
  Mr. Chairman, instead of isolating immigrants and impeding their 
integration into society by declaring English as a official language, 
we should devote our efforts to teaching people English in order for 
them to become fully participatory members of society. Unfortunately, 
this bill does nothing to improve immigrants' ability to be educated in 
the English language. In fact, as Congress pushes to pass this law, it 
also has slashed essential funding for bilingual education.
  Mr. Chairman, the United States has always been a nation which is 
rich in its blend of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. This bill which 
seeks to mandate English as an official language misrepresents our 
Nation's multicultural history by implying that this Nation has always 
been unilingual in character. Moreover, this legislation fails to 
recognize the varied needs of our changing population.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 123 and support 
giving immigrants the freedom to communicate in their native language.

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