The 116th Congress And The English Language Unity Act

As the 116th Congress commences, ProEnglish will be diligently visiting the offices of senators and representatives on Capitol Hill, including all of the newly-elected legislators from all across the nation, in an effort to build further support for H.R. 997 and S. 678 – The English Language Unity Act.

H.R. 997 has been sponsored by Rep. Steve King of Iowa. The bill designates English as the nation’s official language of governmental operations and establishes a uniform language requirement for the citizen naturalization process. Rep. King has made some very significant floor remarks in Congress on behalf of H.R. 997, and he also spoke at the ProEnglish Congressional Briefing back in June of 2018.

H.R. 997 had the support of 73 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 115th Congress, and ProEnglish seeks even greater support of the bill in the 116th Congress.

The Senate companion bill to H.R. 997, labeled S. 678, has been sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma. It had 7 supporters in the U.S. Senate in the 115th Congress, and ProEnglish seeks even greater support of the bill in the 116th Congress.

The passage of official English legislation in H.R. 997 and S. 678 will save Americans billions of dollars in current, government-mandated translation and interpretation costs and will encourage cultural and linguistic assimilation by new arrivals to our nation.

A recent Rasmussen Reports poll sponsored by ProEnglish showed that 81% of Americans believe that English should be the official language of the United States.

ProEnglish also is urging senators on Capitol Hill to support the RAISE Act, as sponsored by Sen. David Perdue of Georgia and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas. The RAISE Act will establish a point-based system that will help select skilled immigrants who have the most to offer to this nation, and applicants will earn points in part based on their proficiency in English.

ProEnglish also is engaging President Donald Trump to repeal Executive Order (EO) 13166, as signed by former President Bill Clinton, which requires every federal agency and every recipient of any federal funds to provide translation services, interpreters, and documents in any foreign language which is requested. It is an onerous Executive Order, and it must be repealed by President Trump with a new Executive Order as soon as possible. ProEnglish already has had 5 White House meetings with several aides to President Trump and Vice President Pence in order to discuss a repeal of EO 13166, and we hope to have President Trump sign a new Executive Order very soon.

ProEnglish also is supporting official English efforts in various states across the nation as we seek to add to the 32 states across the USA that already have passed official English legislation.

Please support ProEnglish as we seek to pass H.R. 997, S. 678, the RAISE Act, and as we seek a presidential Executive Order to effectively repeal EO 13166, and as we work to add to the list of states passing official English legislation all across the nation. There is much to do, and we urgently need you to hold all candidates’ feet to the fire about their support of official English legislation at all levels!