Jim Sensenbrenner: “I rise in support of H.R. 123, which declares English to be the official language of the Government of the United…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 123, which declares English to be the official language of the Government of the United States. And simply stated, that means when one does business with the Government of the United States, one does it in the English language. We have heard a lot about the fact that English is a unifying force which has brought millions of immigrants over the years together in this country, and I think that is a true statement, but I also think it is important for us to look to the north and to Belgium to see how bilingualism and multilingualism has been a dividing force in those countries. And it has. Neither in Canada nor in Belgium over literally centuries has there been a formula devised to bring unity to those countries that have been divided, not along religious or ethnic lines but along language lines. But irrespective of whether this bill is adopted, English is the language of commerce. If someone comes from a non-English speaking country to the United States, in order for them to achieve the American dream they have to be functional in English, and there is no better way to help them become functional in English than to say that when doing business with the Government of the United States, it be done in the English language. So what we are doing here I think is helping people who come from other countries where English is not the language to become part of America.”