Bill to Make English the National Language Introduced in U.S. Senate

Effort by Sen. Inhofe based on successful 2006 and 2007 measures

Sen. James Inhofe has introduced new legislation to make English the national language of the United States. Answering continued calls for Congress to unite the country under the common language of English, the Oklahoma Senator introduced S. 2715, the National Language Act of 2008, on March 6.

The legislation contains similar provisions to those passed by the Senate twice in the last two years, making English the national language and clarifying government policy on the provision of multilingual documents. Like the prior Senate measures, the bill declares that there is no affirmative right to receive government services in languages other than English, except where required by federal law. When brought up for a vote in 2006 and 2007, the amendments to Senate immigration bills passed by margins of 62-35 and 64-33, respectively.

“A strong majority of the Senate is already on record as supporting legislation making English our national language,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English, Inc. “Our Senators, like the majority of Americans, understand that it is our common language of English that allows us to interact and do business as a society despite our many differences. I hope that the Senators will be as forthcoming in their support of this bill as they were in voting for the same amendments in 2006 and 2007.” 

According to recent polls, more than four-fifths of Americans support making English the official language of the United States, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Hispanics, and first- and second-generation immigrants. H.R. 997, legislation to make English the official language, is pending in the U.S. House of Representatives and has the support of more than one-third of the members of that chamber.