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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.
English First members may recall that Senator Inhofe has twice in the past , in 2006 and 2007 attached his National Language Act as an amendment to must past legislation resulting in two votes in the United States Senate on official English. In both instances the Inhofe Amendment passed by a vote of 64-35 in 2006 and by 62-35 in 2007. The Inhofe bills are of vital importance since they have a proven track record of being able to pass the Senate when they are allowed to be voted on. This corresponds to national polls which consistently show that anywhere from 72% to 83% of the American people support English as the official language of government. S. 991 if passed, would repeal Clinton Executive Order 13166 and other mandatory multilingual mandates, as well as make English our official language. Making English the official language will clarify that no citizen is entitled to receive Federal documents and/or services in languages other than English. Senator Inhofe’s legislation declares that civil rights laws that protect Americans against discrimination do not create rights to government services and materials in languages other than English. English First is very proud to be working closely with Senator Inhofe, a man who really understands this issue and what is at stake should we fail to make English our official language. It is important to remember that even though President Obama and the leadership of the House and Senate are opposed to making English the official language of our nation the vast majority of the American people support our position. Our job is to continue to bring this issue before the Congress and press for floor votes, so that all elected officials will be on record either supporting or opposing Official English. The American people can still make their voices heard at the ballot box. Senator Inhofe also introduced S. 992, the English Language Unity Act of 2009. This bill incorporates the National Language Act and goes further by requiring that all official functions of the United States be conducted in English, requiring the establishment of a uniform language requirement for nationalization and setting the framework for uniform testing of English language ability for candidates for nationalization. English First intends to embark upon a strong lobbying effort in order to obtain a sufficient number of co-sponsors for both bills, press for committee hearings and bring the bills to a vote before the entire Senate. In order to accomplish these goals, we need you to mail your postcards and to continue to support English First financially. |
