Salazar and Inhofe amendments

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"Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill" withdrawn after Senate votes for and against official English.

As part of the comprehensive immigration bill, the U.S. Senate voted on June 6, 2007 to recognize English as the "national language." The vote took place on an amendment sponsored by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) to the Senate immigration bill. The amendment passed 64-33, but the Senate passed also an amendment by Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) that largely reversed the Inhofe amendment, calling English the "common language." Shortly afterward, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) withdrew the entire immigration bill from consideration after a cloture vote to prevent a filibuster failed. Only 41 senators voted for cloture; 60 were needed for passage.

In addition to recognizing English as the "national language," the Inhofe amendment says that "no person has a right, claim, or entitlement" to communicate with the federal government in a language other than English, unless explicitly authorized by law. But the Salazar amendment would have protected President Clinton's Executive Order 13166. That order requires government agencies and federal funds recipients to provide translations and interpreters for non-English speaking clients.

The Salazar amendment was intended to provide political cover for Senators who opposed Senator Inhofe's amendment, but who didn't want to be on record voting against English. The amendment passed 58-39 with the help of eleven Republicans who had also voted for the Inhofe amendment.

After the Senate received tens of thousands of messages from ProEnglish supporters, five senators who had supported the Salazar amendment last year voted against it. Sixteen senators joined Inhofe as co-sponsors to his amendment.

Click here for text of Sen. Inhofe's amendment (S Amdt. 1151), or here for text of Sen. Salazar's (S. Amdt 1384).

Senate vote on Inhofe and Salazar English Amendments to the Immigration Bill:

STRONGEST:
Senators who voted FOR Inhofe and AGAINST Salazar (39):

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Bond (R-MO)
Bunning (R-KY)**
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)*
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)***
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)

DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)*
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)

Martinez (R-FL)**
McCain (R-AZ)*
McConnell (R-KY)
Pryor (D-AR)*
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH) *

(co-sponsors are in bold print.)
(* Byrd, Graham, McCain, Pryor and Voinovich had voted for the Salazar amendment in 2006, but voted only for the Inhofe amendment in 2007; ** Bunning and Martinez did not vote in 2006.; *** Corker is newly elected as of November, 2008).

FLIP-FLOPPERS:
Senators who voted for Inhofe (anti-E.O. 13166) and then for Salazar (pro-E.O. 13166) (25):

Baucus (D-MT)
Bennett (R-UT)**
Brownback (R-KS)
Cardin (D-MD)*
Carper (D-DE)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dorgan (D-ND)

Hagel (R-NE)
Klobuchar (D-MN)*
Landrieu (D-LA)***
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)**
McCaskill (D-MO)*
Mikulski (D-MD)***
Murkowski (R-AK)

Nelson (D-FL)***
Nelson (D-NE)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Tester (D-MT)*
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)*
Wyden (D-OR)***

(* Cardin, Klochubar, McCaskill, Tester and Webb are newly elected as of November, 2008. **Bennett and Lugar had voted against the Salazar amendment in 2006. ***Nelson (FL), Landrieu, Mikulski and Wyden had voted against the Inhofe amendment in 2006. Coleman co-sponsored the Inhofe amendment, but also voted for the Salazar amendment.)

OPPONENTS: Voted AGAINST Inhofe and FOR Salazar (33):

Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)

Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)

Menendez (D-NJ)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Whitehouse (D-RI)