The following press releases support English as the official language of the United States as do members of this blog. And we are itnerested to know what your position on this topic is. Therefore we will add no more to what has been stated thus far and merely encourage readers to offer their opinions.
MoreWhat.com staff
Below are the two press releases:
English First Strongly Backs Inhofe National Language Act
SPRINGFIELD, Va., May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — English First today
strongly endorsed Senator James Inhofe’s National Language Act (S.1335).
English First Executive Director Jim Boulet, Jr., called the Inhofe bill
“restoring common sense to 21st century America’s language policy.”
Senator Inhofe’s legislation is virtually identical to his original
“English First” amendment to the Senate immigration bill. The Inhofe
amendment passed on May 18, 2006, by a vote of 63-34.
The major difference between the bill and the amendment is that the
Inhofe amendment did not address the foreign language ballot issue. The
Inhofe legislation, if passed, would specifically ban foreign language
ballots.
Both the Inhofe amendment and the Inhofe bill would repeal Clinton
Executive Order 13166, which requires all recipients of federal funds to
function in any language anyone speaks at any time.
The Inhofe legislation, if passed and signed into law, would also put
an end to the lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
against the Salvation Army.
“The EEOC has sued the Salvation Army for basically not exploiting
people,” Boulet said. “The Salvation Army chose to ask its employees to
learn English, rather than linger in a linguistic ghetto.”
Mr. Boulet is available for interviews on this topic. Contact Stacy
Woods at (703) 321-8818 to arrange an interview.
SOURCE English First
Related links:
# http://www.englishfirst.org
ProEnglish Praises Sen. Inhofe for Official English Bill
ARLINGTON, Va., May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — “We strongly commend
U.S. Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma for fighting to preserve our nation’s
historic unity in the English language by introducing legislation in the
Senate today to make English the official language of government
operations,” says K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish, a group
that advocates for official English.
“Americans need to tell their U.S. Senators to ignore those who are
trying to divide our country by language and culture, and respond instead
to the vast majority of Americans who want to make English our official
language,” McAlpin added.
The bill, the S.I. Hayakawa Official English Act, S. 1335 is similar to
H.R. 769 that was introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.
In addition to declaring English the official language of government, the
legislation would eliminate bilingual ballots.
A 2006 Zogby poll found 84 percent of American voters support making
English our official language, and 63 percent oppose printing ballots in
foreign languages. In addition a Harvard University survey of the nation’s
youth released in April showed that 72 percent of young people between the
ages of 18 and 24 years favor official English, including majorities of
both Hispanic and Asian young people.
S. 1335 also takes aim at the ‘temporary’ provision of the Voting
Rights Act (VRA) that now requires many states and counties to provide
multilingual voting ballots and materials.
“Printing ballots in foreign languages is wasteful and redundant,”
McAlpin said. “Not only are immigrants required to know English to
naturalize and become citizens. But federal law already guarantees every
voter the right to bring an interpreter into the voting booth if he or she
cannot understand a ballot written in English,” he continued.
“As Senator S.I. Hayakawa saw more than a generation ago this country
needs to defend its precious legacy of linguistic unity by making English
the official language of government operations. Passage of the Inhofe and
King bills would simply reinforce what President Bush and the presidential
candidates of both parties are saying publicly — that immigrants to this
country have a responsibility to learn English,” McAlpin concluded.
SOURCE ProEnglish
Related links:
# http://www.proenglish.org
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