English Language Unity Act Receives Support From 100th Member of Congress

H.R. 997 garners tremendous support in first month following introduction

Less than a month after being introduced in the 111th Congress, H.R. 997, legislation to make English the official language of the United States, picked up its 100th co-sponsor this afternoon. The support of North Carolina Representative Mike McIntyre gave the measure 100 bi-partisan co-sponsors from 35 states and marked the earliest an official English bill has reached the 100 co-sponsor mark this decade.

“Making English the official language is an idea that remains widely supported by a large majority of the American people,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English. “A focus on English learning and assimilation is not reserved for good economic times or bad economic times, for a Democrat-controlled Congress or Republican-controlled Congress. It is a full-time societal expectation that government will encourage English learning by doing the majority of business in English.”

H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, was introduced Feb. 12 by Representative Steve King of Iowa and 58 original co-sponsors. The bill would require the United States government to conduct most official business in English. Specifically, H.R. 997 would require routine government operations to be conducted in English, while giving government agencies common sense flexibility to protect public health and safety, national security, and to provide for the needs of commerce and criminal justice systems.

Bills to make English the official language garnered more than 150 co-sponsors in both the 109th and 110th Congresses, and the Senate passed amendments to make English the national language of the U.S. in both 2006 and 2007. However, the overall measures these amendments were attached to did not pass before the end of session.

“I want to applaud Congressman King and his 100 colleagues in Congress for once again answering the call of the people by supporting official English legislation,” added Mujica. “I expect that leadership will take note of this strong showing and include official English measures in any discussion of immigration and assimilation policy.”