Legislation

Legislative History

Since 1981, over 50 bills have been introduced supporting English as the official language of the United States.

The legislation is as follows:

(Clicking on a bill will take you to the Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress for that session. Enter the bill number for complete text.)

• 97th Congress (1981-82): S.J. Res. 72, S. Amdt. 2019 (to S. 2222), H.J. Res. 442
• 98th Congress (1983-84): H.J. Res. 169, S.J. Res. 167, S. 529
• 99th Congress (1985-86): S. Con. Res. 43, S. Amdt. 599 (to S. 1200), S.J. Res. 20, H. Con. Res. 127, H.J. Res. 96
• 100th Congress (1987-88): S.J. Res. 13, H. Con. Res. 129, H.J. Res. 13, H.J. Res. 33, H.J. Res. 60, H.J. Res. 83, H.J. Res. 656
• 101st Congress (1989-90): H.J. Res. 23, H.J. Res. 48, H.J. Res. 79, H.J. Res. 81, H.R. 4424, S. 3179
• 102nd Congress (1991-92): H.R. 123, H.J. Res. 81, S. 434
• 103rd Congress (1993-94): H.R. 123, H.R. 739, S. 426, H.J. Res. 171
• 104th Congress (1995-96): H.R. 123, H.R. 739, H.R. 1005, S. 175, S. 356, H.J. Res. 109
• 105th Congress (1997-98): H.R. 123, H.R. 622, H.R. 1005, S. 323, H.J. Res. 37
• 106th Congress (1999-2000): H.R. 123, H.R. 50
• 107th Congress (2001-02): H.R. 1984, H.R. 280, H.R. 3333, H.J. Res. 16
• 108th Congress (2003-04): H.R. 997, H.R. 931
• 109th Congress (2005-06): H.R. 997, S 557, H.R. 4408 and S.Amdt.4064 (to S.2611)
• 110th Congress (2005-06): H.R. 997

There have been more than 2,000 co-sponsors of the above bills. 16 bills have gathered more than 50 co-sponsors, eight have exceeded 100, including H.R. 997 in the 109th Congress. Five of the measures have passed one chamber of the U.S. Congress, by margins of 78-21, 76-18, 259-169, by unanimous vote, and most recently 62-35 in the U.S. Senate in May 2006.