News & Media

Americans for Tax Reform Join Supporters of H.R. 997

Fiscally responsible coalition urges Congress to follow the lead of 27 states

In a letter to members of the House of Representatives, ATR President Grover G. Norquist joined with U.S. English, Inc. in citing a multilingual government as a detriment to an immigrant’s ability to succeed in the United States. Moreover, the non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose all federal and state tax increases expressed concern about the potential cost of a government operating in multiple languages.

Using Canadian government figures showing that Canada spends an average of three cents per resident per day on bilingual government, U.S. English, Inc. estimates that it would cost more than $3.2 billion annually to operate in two languages like our northern neighbors. A calculation of this amount is constantly updated based on the U.S. population at http://www.usenglish.org/inc/official/costs.asp.

"Given our nation’s pressing funding needs for law enforcement, hospitals, education and English as a Second Language classes, wasting money on divisive multilingual government polices cannot continue,” noted U.S. English, Inc. Chairman Mauro E. Mujica. “With more than 300 languages spoken in the United States, $3.2 billion might only be the tip of the iceberg. By passing official English legislation, we can help newcomers learn English and allow Americans to keep more of their hard-earned tax dollars."

To date, nearly 100 members of Congress have co-sponsored H.R. 997, unifying, tax-saving legislation to make English the official language of the United States. Recognizing that proficiency in English is necessary for full integration into the American mainstream, the English Language Unity Act would call upon the government to conduct "all laws, public proceedings, regulations, publications, orders, actions, programs and policies" in the English language.

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.