[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 6, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E5-E6]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF DECLARATION OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BOB STUMP

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. STUMP. Mr. Speaker, today I am reintroducing my Declaration of 
Official Language Act, a bill I introduced in the last Congress. This 
legislation establishes English as the official language of government, 
requires that naturalization ceremonies be conducted solely in English, 
repeals the federal bilingual education requirements and repeals 
bilingual voting requirements.
  My own State of Arizona is a crossroads for people of all sorts of 
backgrounds. I am reminded every day that America, like Arizona, has 
been enriched by the contributions of people from all over the world. 
This unified nation of immigrants has been made possible because we 
have a common national tongue--the English language. We only need to 
look to the nation to our north, Canada, to realize that a common 
language is not to be taken for granted.
  Yet, Mr. Speaker, I would argue that we have not only taken this 
great gift for granted, but that our government has actively worked to 
undermine it. Voting ballots, welfare applications and all types of 
official government documents are now issued in languages other than 
English.
  Recently, USA Today reported that eight immigrants have filed suit in 
Miami against English requirement for U.S. citizenship. A federal judge 
may now be able to strike down our long-standing requirement that 
prospective new citizens must demonstrate a minimum command of the 
English language. Elderly immigrants are already exempt from this 
fairly basic standard. This suit was brought because U.S. citizenship 
is required for full access to certain federal benefits. The attorney 
who filed the complaint will no doubt argue that since so many 
government services are already provided in languages other than 
English, an English requirement for citizenship is unnecessary.
  I am not surprised that this case has been filed, only that it was 
not filed many years earlier. U.S. citizenship was something that 
immigrants took justifiable pride in earning. They carried their 
English workbooks with them everywhere. The Clinton Administration's 
1995-96 Citizenship USA program effectively waived English requirements 
in an attempt to naturalize many more voters for the presidential 
ticket.

[[Page E6]]

  Today's immigrants have merely adapted the same disparaging stance 
toward English that many in our government adopted in the 1960's and 
1970's. It is now a serious question whether the children of immigrants 
should be taught English in America's public schools. California voters 
were forced to pass an initiative last year in an attempt to force 
taxpayer-funded public schools to teach immigrant children English.
  My Declaration of Official Language Act will restore the place of 
English in our nation's government and public school system. The 
legislation I am proposing is not only the right thing to do, it is 
also the popular thing to do. Opinion poll after opinion poll 
consistently finds that Americans want English to be America's official 
language. In fact, most Americans mistakenly believe that official 
English is already part of the national statutes and are surprised to 
learn that it is not.
  The choice this nation confronts is crystal clear. We can reaffirm 
our national language or we can continue down the road upon which 
Canada has preceded us. We can be a one-language country or a 
Balkanized ruin. I urge my colleagues to support the Declaration of 
Official Language Act and invite their cosponsorship.

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