{jcomments off}I am currently interning with Pro English this summer and am a junior studying Political Science with a concentration in Comparative Politics and CLEG (Communications, Law, Economics and Government) at American University.

Two years ago, a graduate student at American University started CLASE (Community Learners Advancing Spanish and English), a tutoring program for the dining hall and cleaning staff at American University.

Today I have the pleasure of serving as co-President of this organization of over 100 students and University employees. The majority of the cleaning staff at American University hails from El Salvador and has been in the US for more than twenty years, yet most of them only speak minimal English. The majority of these employees live in “cluster communities” where only Spanish is spoken, and they work in an environment where their co-workers and supervisors speak to them in Spanish.

Read more: Students Bring English Proficiency to American University Employees

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For months, the political landscape in Washington, DC has been shaped by the divisive issue known as the debt crisis. Words like “taxes,” “spending,”  “cuts,” and “ceiling” have been parsed and packaged in so many ways partisan lines have all but disintegrated.

One day after the debt ceiling compromise was reached in Congress, the English Language Unity Act of 2011 (H.R. 997) received its 100^th cosponsor. H.R. 997 would make English the official language of the United States.

The burdensome costs associated with printing, verbal, written, and website translation services, and bureaucratic know-how fall squarely on American taxpayers. Schools, libraries, hospitals, unemployment offices, fire and police departments, public health clinics, and countless private agencies—many of which receive federal funds—are struggling to keep their doors open because they are forced to provide multilingual services in any foreign language requested or else risk a “discrimination” lawsuit from the Department of Justice.

Read more: Official English will Reduce the Deficit and Shrink the Debt