Push for official language continues at all levels of government

Legislation introduced at town, county and state level, federal bill expected soon

As legislators continue to identify methods to encourage assimilation and English learning, measures to make English the official language have flourished at every level of government. Just three weeks into the new year, elected officials at the town, county and state levels have introduced bills to uphold English as the common language of Americans and limit government multilingualism. A federal bill is expected to be introduced later this month.

“The strong support for official English legislation demonstrated that while the faces and political parties may have changed, making English the official language remains a priority across the nation,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English, Inc. “Over the last two centuries, we have been able to assimilate people into our ever-changing society through the bond of our common language, English. Our continued focus on bringing people into the mainstream will enable us to maintain our long tradition of economic growth.”

To date, legislators in seven states have introduced legislation to make English the official language or strengthen existing official English laws. Measures are currently pending in Georgia, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas and Mississippi, with bills expected in additional states before the end of the month. On the local level, the push for official English that began in late 2006 has continued into the new year. Cabarrus County, N.C. and Culpeper, Va. recently entered the growing discussion of encouraging assimilation through a common language.

On Capitol Hill, federal legislation to make English the official language is expected to be introduced shortly. This legislation would build on the strong core of support garnered by H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, in the 109th Congress. By the close of the previous session, H.R. 997 had more than 160 bi-partisan co-sponsors, ranking it among the most widely supported bills over that two year span. Congressman Steve King is expected to be joined by many additional supporters when the bill is introduced in the coming weeks.

“This is the strongest push for official English legislation that I have seen in the last 15 years,” said Mujica, who has led U.S. English since 1993. “I hope the jump start that this issue has received will pay dividends in the near future, by making English the official language and knocking down the linguistic barriers that divide our society.”

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.