News & Media

New Congressional Legislation Puts Government Accent on English

Rep. Broun introduces English as the Official Language Act in U.S. House

Rep. Paul Broun introduced legislation today to make English the national language of the United States and clarify that there is no affirmative right to receive government services in languages other than English, except where required by federal law. Broun was joined by 26 other Representatives in introducing H.R. 5759, English as the Official Language Act of 2008. The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Under English as the Official Language Act of 2008, English would become the national language of the United States. The bill would clarify that no person has an entitlement to have government agencies provide services or materials in a language other than English, except where required by federal law.

Efforts to reduce government multilingualism and focus on English acquisition have the support of many on Capitol Hill. In both 2006 and 2007, the Senate passed amendments to make English the national language and reduce multilingual entitlements. Additionally, standalone bills to make English the official language of the United States are pending in both houses of Congress, including the Senate companion to this legislation, S. 2715.

Legislation to unite all Americans under the common language of English is also widely favored among the general population. An Aug. 2007 survey by The Winston Group found that 88 percent of Americans support making English the official language of the United States, while a June 2007 poll by Zogby International pegged the rate at 83 percent. Both surveys found majority support for the measures among Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

“Americans may be divided when it comes to issues of immigration, but there is near unanimous support for legislation that promotes assimilation and English learning,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of U.S. English. “Each of the last two years, Congress has spent considerable portions of the spring debating immigration legislation on which they were hopelessly deadlocked. Hopefully, they will use this spring to consider the much more popular idea that Congress needs to uphold the unifying bond of all Americans – the English language.

“I want to thank Rep. Broun and the many official English supporters in Congress for their efforts, and urge the leadership to bring these bills up for a vote.”

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.