Norvell Emerson: “the question of whether or not the United States has a common, official language grows more urgent each day. The longer…”

“the question of whether or not the United States has a common, official language grows more urgent each day. The longer we wait to address this issue the more polarized the positions become and the harsher the rhetoric on both sides. There are some in this Chamber that would like to see the Government extend any and every service in any and every language; if we subscribed to their methods, before long we would have a Government functioning in over 200 languages. Why? Because invariably, when we start administering Government in the second and third most popular minority language, we are going to be requested to provide the same accessibility to the fourth on down the line. I ask my colleagues, are we not about to cross the threshold of establishing a very dangerous and costly precedent? On the other hand, there are some in this Chamber, that subscribe to the English only philosophy. That being--everything in English; no exceptions. Unfortunately, the common language debate suffers as a result of this philosophy. This type of mentality results in fear and misperceptions that should not be associated with the common language debate or my legislation--H.R. 123, The Language of Government Act, which would designate English as our common official language. For three consecutive Congresses now, I have been the chief sponsor of the Language of Government Act (H.R. 123).”