Inhofe Launches Official Language Bill

Click here to send a message to your Senators, urging them to vote for the Inhofe bill, S.1335!

Send a message to your Senator directly, with ProEnglish's Legislative Action Center.

Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) has introduced a bill that would make English the official language of the United States of America, and would require “The Government of the United States [to] conduct its official business in English, including publications, income tax forms, and informational materials.” It would also send a message to new immigrants that the U.S. intends to preserve its linguistic unity as a nation, and that they must have a responsibility to learn English as the first step toward pursing the American dream, and full participation in American life.

A couple of additional reasons to support the Inhofe official English bill:

• Four out of five likely voters (84%) agree English should be the official language.
• The number of U.S. residents who speak English “not well” or “not at all” grew by 65 percent between the 1990 census and the 2000 census. The overall U.S. population grew by 13 percent during the same period.
• 30 states have passed official English, but federal policies, never approved by Congress, prevent these laws from being meaningfully implemented.

ProEnglish urges you to take a few minutes call and send a free fax message to your Senator using our website. Click here to send a free message. Or, you can be connected to your Senators directly by calling the capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

[H.R. 997 and H.R. 769 are official English bills in the House. Either one of these can serve as House versions of S. 1335. Please tell your representative to support official English. Click here to support H.R. 997.]

Click here to send a message to your Senators, urging them to vote for the Inhofe bill, S.1335!

Sen. Inhofe's bill...

...Declares English the official language of the United States,
and commits the government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official langauge.

...Ends foreign language entitlements.
Executive Order 13166, issued by President Clinton, and re-affirmed by the Bush administration, mandated that any providers of government-assisted goods or services make any special provisions needed to accommodate recipients who speak languages other than English. This was a novel interpretation of the Civil Rights Act's prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of "national origins." S. 1335 affirms that no-one has an entitlement to government services in foreign languages, unless expressly established by law. If services are provided in foreign languages, the English version of any document is the sole authority for all legal purposes.

...Repeals bilingual voting requirements.
Historically, various immigrant groups were denied access to meaningful education. To redress this situation, lawmakers in 1973 amended the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to require certain localities to provide voting assistance in foreign languages (commonly called "bilingual ballots," although such assistance may be in several languages, and may encompass much more than merely ballots). Today, limited English proficiency exists largely due to high levels of immigration, not discrimination. Yet Congress recently extended the foreign-language voting assistance for 25 years. S. 1335 repeals the "bilingual ballot" provisions to the Voting Rights Act.

...Requires English for new citizens.
S. 1335 requires that all naturalization ceremonies (granting citizenship to immigrants) must be conducted in English.

Exceptions and limitations.
S. 1335 does not override state laws, and expressly does not apply to the use of foreign languages for religious, educational, or training purposes, nor does it prevent the government from providing interpreters to senior citizens.

For more information:
ProEnglish's press release, praising Sen. Inhofe for introducing S. 1335
Official congressional data about S. 1335, from the Library of Congress

Official English Resources
NEW: Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich promotes official English
(including .mp3 sound files of the Hon. Gingrich on language issues.)
Ten Reasons Why We Should Make English the Official Language
ProEnglish's draft official-English bill (for legislators seeking to introduce official English legislation)
Official English news archive
Member Dan Pak argues to Use English to Unite All Americans
Our congressional testimony, concerning Executive Order 13166,
on providing access to people with Limited English Proficiency
(a summary of our argument.)
State profiles page, featuring an interactive map with demographics and official English laws
State-by-state data showing the rapid increase in numbers of those who don't speak English.
The 50 most common minority languages in America.
53 other nations have made English their official language.
The official status of languages in other nations.
The most common languages in each of the states.
Where in America other languages are spoken (ranked by number of speakers,
or percentage of population which speaks that language.)
Famous quotes concerning the need for our common language
Petition endorsing English as an official language
Sample resolution endorsing English as an official language
NEW: ProEnglish's K.C. McAlpin debates Lisa Moran of Rights For All People on "A Closer Look" (outside link)