Jim Inhofe: “last year I said that this Nation of immigrants requires an official language. An overwhelming majority of the Senate…”

“last year I said that this Nation of immigrants requires an official language. An overwhelming majority of the Senate agreed with me on my amendment to that effect on the immigration bill. I am convinced that official English will command another majority should it receive a rollcall vote in this session. That is why today I am introducing S. 1335 to make English the official language of our Nation. The English language has played a critical role in establishing the unity of this Nation from its beginning. As I have said before, a common means of communication has created one giant market for goods and labor in our Nation, from Maine to California. A resident of Tulsa can seek work in New Hampshire, Oregon, or Georgia without having to learn a second language. A company based in Oklahoma City can readily sell its products from Portland, ME, to Los Angeles. In Europe, by contrast, a resident of Berlin cannot look for work in Paris or Warsaw without surmounting considerable language barriers. A German company cannot usually sell its product in Madrid, again, in part, because of language barriers. The European Union is an effort to create a U.S.-like common market in Western Europe. Among other things, Europeans are spending billions of euros to try to replicate what we in America have enjoyed for free these past 230 years.”