On the recordJune 9, 2016
This year's appropriations process has been rocky to say the least. That trend is poised to continue this evening and tomorrow as the House considers the fiscal year '17 Legislative appropriations bill. Buried in this bill's committee report is controversial language that forces the Library of Congress to continue using the derogatory term ``illegal alien'' in its subject headings. Mr. Speaker, I will explain the background on this issue. Last month, the Library of Congress announced proposed changes to its subject headings that would replace the term ``aliens'' with ``noncitizens'' and replace the term ``illegal aliens'' with ``noncitizens'' and ``unauthorized immigration.'' It is not unusual for the Library of Congress to make changes to its subject headings. In fact, each year it makes thousands of such changes. In 2015 alone, there were 4,934 new subject headings that were added. An example of one such change that the Library has made in the past was to replace the word ``Negro'' with a less offensive word. This sort of evolution of the Library's subject headings is not unprecedented by any stretch of the imagination. However, what is unprecedented is Congress' weighing in on these changes. In fact, the Library has confirmed that this is the first time that Congress will have legislated on any of its subject headings in the history of the Library of Congress.…
