Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
This bill would declare English as the official language of the United States and require federal government official functions to be conducted in English. The legislation establishes that naturalization applicants must be able to read and understand the English language texts of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and U.S. laws, with all naturalization ceremonies conducted in English. The bill includes exceptions for language teaching, disability accommodations, national security, public health and safety, census activities, crime victim protections, and Native American and Alaskan Native languages. The Secretary of Homeland Security must issue proposed regulations within 180 days establishing uniform English language testing standards for naturalization candidates, and the bill also establishes a National English Language Day. Most provisions take effect 180 days after enactment. The bill does not allocate specific federal funding but requires the Department of Homeland Security to develop new regulatory standards for citizenship testing.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.