David Weldon: “I rise in support of H.R. 123. Our country has a historic tradition of receiving immigrants from all around the world.…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 123. Our country has a historic tradition of receiving immigrants from all around the world. H.R. 123 builds on that tradition and binds us together through the use of English as a common language. Over the past 20 years the Federal Government has increased the number of languages in which it publishes documents and conducts official duties. This has led to a de facto multilanguage policy which is very expensive for the taxpayer. H.R. 123 declares English to be the official language of the United States Government and serves to unit us even more as a Nation. All of us would agree that knowing English is a key to success in the United States. A 1994 study of Southeast Asian refugees in Texas showed that those who knew English earned more than 20 times the annual income of those who did not speak English. Knowing English will open a broad range of opportunities that would otherwise be unattainable. This bill fosters and encourages everyone to learn English. Encouraging immigrants to learn English is the compassionate thing to do and this bill does that. Mr. Speaker, one of the biggest reasons why I am rising in support of this bill is because it is what my mother would want me to do. She passed away in 1991, but she was born to Italian American immigrants and spoke Italian as her first language. She always taught me that this move towards multilingualism in the United States was bad and divisive.”