William R. Richardson: “if this bill passes, I would be unable to effectively communicate with 60 percent of my constituents. Hispanic Americans…”

“if this bill passes, I would be unable to effectively communicate with 60 percent of my constituents. Hispanic Americans make up 40 percent in my district; native Americans, the first Americans, 20 percent. Mr. Chairman, I wonder what is going to happen with the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Fe? They ought to start thinking about changing their names. What about Dodgerville for Los Angeles? Mr. Chairman, this is facetious, but realistically what we are talking about is a wedge issue that is not necessary. I think the author of this bill is well-intended and he is a good guy. But, Mr. Chairman, English is not threatened as our primary language. Ninety-seven percent of the population in this country speak English. Newly arrived want to learn English. That is happening. Bilingual voting ballots are critical for minority populations. Basically what we are doing is totally unconstitutional. It is going to make government inefficient and ineffective. English-only restricts access to services and government. But, most importantly, this is against our traditions and this is bad business. Forty percent of all commercial decisions in the United States are done in another language. Tourism is critically important. Just think of the spirit of the Olympics right now in Atlanta. We are telling the billions watching the Olympics that English is the only language and the rest of the languages are not important.”