ProEnglish interviews Congressman Ryan Zinke

Read the transcript below.

Carter: We’re here today with Congressman Zinke, and we are so appreciative of you signing on to H.R. 997—The English Language Unity Act of 2015.

Congressman Zinke: It’s my honor. I can tell you that in our country there are things that bond us as a People—the Constitution of the United States, our language, and our history. I think it’s important that we do speak a common language. That’s what binds us together as a country, and we are much stronger as one country than a bunch of divisions within it.

Carter: We are really appreciative of you signing on [to the bill] a long time ago. This is not a recent phenomenon, and so we thought it would be wise to come by and let folks on the web take a look and see what you’ve said about it. Were there any additional reasons that you signed on to H.R. 997?

Congressman Zinke: Well, I’m a huge fan of Teddy Roosevelt. I think he rose up at at time when our country needed unification, and I think we’ve arrived at back at that. We have challenges that are real, but we need to unify as a country and having a common language is an avenue to that.

Carter: I totally agree with you. What do you think the prospects are in the current Congress, with this Congress and this President, for this bill to go through? We have 78 supporters—77 plus Steve King who originally sponsored it. What are your thoughts on that?

Congressman Zinke: I think that in this election cycle we can be thankful that at least the age of political correctness is over, and that gives us an opportunity for things to rise. It really is up to the American People. Congress works for the American People. That’s who is my boss, and I think the American People need to rise and tell Congress exactly what they want.

Carter: I appreciate that. ProEnglish does not take any Congressman for granted. On any given day, your desk is full and your staff is busy. Thank you for doing the interview, we appreciate it.

Congressman Zinke: My pleasure