[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 106 (Monday, June 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4466-S4467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 857. Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. Schatz, and Ms. Hirono)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S.
1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe
military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle C of title II, add the following:
SEC. ___. WORLD LANGUAGE ADVANCEMENT AND READINESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The national security of the United States continues to
depend on language readiness, in particular among the 17
agencies of the intelligence community.
(2) The levels of language proficiency required for
national security necessitate long sequences of language
training for personnel in the intelligence community and the
Department of Defense.
(3) The future national security and economic well-being of
the United States will depend substantially on the ability of
its citizens to communicate and compete by knowing the
languages and cultures of other countries.
(4) The Federal Government has an interest in ensuring that
the employees of its departments and agencies with national
security responsibilities are prepared to meet the challenges
of this changing international environment.
(5) The Federal Government also has an interest in taking
actions to alleviate the problem of American students being
inadequately prepared to meet the challenges posed by
increasing global interaction among nations.
(6) American elementary schools, secondary schools,
colleges, and universities must place a new emphasis on
improving the teaching of world languages, area studies,
counterproliferation studies, and other international fields
to help meet those challenges.
[[Page S4467]]
(7) The United States needs more people to speak languages
other than English in order to provide social and legal
services for a changing population.
(8) The study of a second language has been linked to
improved learning outcomes in other subjects, enhanced
cognitive ability, and the development of empathy and
effective interpretive skills. The use of a second language
has been linked to a delay in certain manifestations of
aging.
(9) The United States lags behind most nations of the
world, including European nations and China, in the
percentage of its citizens who have some knowledge of a
second language.
(10) According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Commission on Language Learning, Native American languages
are distinct in political status and history and should
therefore receive targeted support to ensure their retention
in alignment with the Native American Languages Act (25
U.S.C. 2901 et seq.).
(b) World Language Advancement and Readiness Grants.--
(1) Program authority.--The Secretary of Defense, in
consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and
the Secretary of Education, shall carry out a program under
which the Secretary of Defense makes grants, on a competitive
basis, to State educational agencies and local educational
agencies to pay the Federal share of the cost of innovative
model programs providing for the establishment, improvement,
or expansion of world language study for elementary school
and secondary school students.
(2) Duration.--Each grant under this section shall be
awarded for a period of 3 years.
(3) Requirements for state and local educational
agencies.--
(A) Grants to state educational agencies.--In awarding a
grant under paragraph (1) to a State educational agency, the
Secretary of Defense shall support programs that promote
systemic approaches to improving world language learning in
the State.
(B) Grants to local educational agencies.--In awarding a
grant under paragraph (1) to a local educational agency, the
Secretary of Defense shall support programs that--
(i) show the promise of being continued beyond the grant
period;
(ii) demonstrate approaches that can be disseminated to and
duplicated in other local educational agencies; and
(iii) may include a professional development component.
(4) Federal share.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
the Federal share under this section for each fiscal year
shall be 50 percent.
(B) Exception.--The Secretary of Defense may determine the
Federal share under this section for any local educational
agency that the Secretary determines does not have adequate
resources to pay the non-Federal share.
(5) Allocation of funds.--
(A) Expansion of world languages in elementary schools.--
Not less than 50 percent of the funds made available to carry
out this section for a fiscal year shall be used for the
expansion of world language learning in elementary schools.
(B) Critical languages.--Not less than 75 percent of the
funds made available to carry out this section for a fiscal
year shall be used to support instruction in world languages
determined by the Secretary of Defense to be critical to the
national security interests of the United States. The program
carried out under this section shall align with the
recommendations of the Commission on Language Learning of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
(C) Reservation.--The Secretary of Defense may reserve not
more than 5 percent of funds made available to carry out this
section for a fiscal year to evaluate the efficacy of
programs that receive grants under paragraph (1).
(6) Applications.--
(A) In general.--To be considered for a grant under
paragraph (1), a State educational agency or local
educational agency shall submit an application to the
Secretary of Defense at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information and assurances as the Secretary
may require.
(B) Special consideration.--The Secretary of Defense shall
give special consideration to applications describing
programs that--
(i) include intensive summer world language programs for
professional development of world language teachers;
(ii) link nonnative English speakers in the community with
the schools in order to promote two-way language learning;
(iii) promote the sequential study of a world language for
students, beginning in elementary schools;
(iv) make effective use of technology, such as computer-
assisted instruction, language laboratories, or distance
learning, to promote world language study;
(v) promote innovative activities, such as dual language
immersion, partial world language immersion, or content-based
instruction; and
(vi) are carried out through a consortium comprised of the
agency receiving the grant, an elementary school or secondary
school, and an institution of higher education (as that term
is defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1002)).
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) ESEA terms.--The terms ``elementary school'', ``local
educational agency'', ``secondary school'', and ``State
educational agency'' have the meanings given the terms in
section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
(2) World language.--The term ``world language'' means--
(A) any natural language other than English, including--
(i) languages determined by the Secretary of Defense to be
critical to the national security interests of the United
States;
(ii) classical languages;
(iii) American sign language; and
(iv) Native American languages; and
(B) any language described in subparagraph (A) that is
taught in combination with English as part of a dual language
or immersion learning program.
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