Jim Inhofe: “First of all, if you look at the second page of the bill, it provides: Unless otherwise authorized or provided by law. .…”

“First of all, if you look at the second page of the bill, it provides: Unless otherwise authorized or provided by law. . . . So we have that set up for exceptions that are already in law. Now, the Court Interpreters Act was passed in 1978. They did not, prior to that time--there was a problem that corrected. That act, the Court Interpreters Act, protects already existing constitutional rights such as the 6th amendment, the right to confront witnesses speaking against you, and the 5th amendment and 14th amendment and due process. The United States--I think it was in Negron v. New York. That is a Federal case which is often cited to support the right to an interpreter in Federal and State proceedings. So it is Federal and State proceedings. I believe that exception takes care of the problem you have.”