Porter Goss: “In my opinion, the uniqueness of America stems from the fact that, although we are a Nation of immigrants hailing from…”

“In my opinion, the uniqueness of America stems from the fact that, although we are a Nation of immigrants hailing from all parts of the world, we have guiding principles enshrined in our Constitution that focus on what we have in common, not what divides us. Throughout the history of this great melting pot, we have demonstrated to the world that it is possible to preserve individual liberties, to uphold the traditions of a vast array of cultural heritages and to still weave a fabric of society that is uniquely American. But Mr. Speaker, things have changed in recent years. Our society seems less committed to the idea of a melting pot, less able to focus on the common threads within the fabric of our American society. And that is why we are considering this legislation--because we want to reinforce the English language as one of those threads. English is, and has always been, the official voice of America.”