The following statement, attributed to U.S. English Chairman/CEO Mauro E. Mujica,
is issued in response to the signing of the Aviation Security Bill today
by President George W. Bush
We commend President George W. Bush for putting safety first and working to protect
the lives of millions of Americans by signing the Aviation Security Bill into law today.
We especially praise the President for supporting a common sense provision within
the bill that requires all federal screeners to understand English.
The 'Command of the English Language' Provision specifically mandates that screeners read,
speak, write, and understand the English language well enough to properly carry out
security duties. It recognizes that the inability of public employees to communicate
with each other and the public in a common language prevents them from doing their jobs
properly, and may endanger the public.
The bold decision of President Bush to insist that federal safety employees understand
a common national language is a step in the right direction toward making English
the official language of the United States government.
U.S.ENGLISH supports a bill currently pending in Congress, H.R. 1984, which would make
English the official language of government. More than knowing enough of our language
to send a letter at the post office or order a meal at a restaurant, understanding
English in our country encourages citizenship and unity, and discourages segregation - both
linguistic and racial. In terms of airline travel, it could mean the difference
between life and death.
We are not asking new Americans to check their first language at the border,
but simply that they enhance the American experience by learning one of its most
basic elements. If Sept. 11 showed this country nothing else, it is that we have
the capability to come together, despite our different backgrounds.
Since its infancy, America has provided its citizens with several symbolic bonds -
Old Glory, the bald eagle, the Star Spangled Banner, the Declaration of Independence.
We encourage Congress to follow the President's lead and add English to this proud
tradition by giving Americans a common language.
U.S.ENGLISH is the nation's oldest,
largest citizens' action group dedicated to preserving
the unifying role of the English language in the United
States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of
California, U.S.ENGLISH now has more than 1.5 million
members nationwide. | 
