English First

Just a few weeks ago, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced S.991, the National Language Act of 2009.  As you probably know, Senator Inhofe is a great friend of English First and we have worked closely with him over the years.

I promised the Senator that if he would reintroduce the National Language Act (NLA), we would pull out all the stops to get it passed as quickly as possible.   And, with your help and support that is exactly what we intend to do.

You may recall that, in 2006 and 2007, the NLA was passed by a healthy majority (more than sixty Senators voted for it both times) when it was attached as an amendment to bills moving through the Senate. 

             In early May of 2009, Senator James Inhofe (R- OK) introduced S.991 the National Language Act of 2009 and S.992 the English Language Unity Act of 2009.  Senator Inhofe is a great friend of the Official English Movement and also of English First.

Year after year, the unity that this nation derives from its common language continues to erode.  Sometimes it seems as if very few Congressmen really care or even recognize that English has been the glue that has held this nation together for more than 200 years.  In fact, the word “unity” is seldom even mentioned in the halls of Congress, having been replaced by the new popular buzzword, “diversity.”

That’s why I was so excited when, a few weeks ago, Georgia Congressman Paul Broun introduced a bill that could reverse this gradual trend to divide our nation and our people through multilingualism.  Congressman Broun’s bill, H.R. 1621 would withhold Federal funds from schools that permit or require the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem in any language other than English.  It’s a sad commentary that such a law even needs to be passed.   The fact is that the recitation of our “Pledge of Allegiance” to the flag is an officially recognized national ritual.  It is nothing to be taken lightly.

In 1942, the United States Congress recognized the Pledge of Allegiance by making it part of our body of laws, adding it to the United States Code, Section 4 of Title 4.  By doing this, the Congress prescribed certain methods for reciting and recognizing the Pledge of Allegiance in English.