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	Paul (R) Website »	Bachmann (R) Website »	Gingrich (R) Website »	Santorum (R) Website »	Romney (R) Website »	Perry (R) Website »	Obama (D) Website »	Huntsman (R) Website »
Official English English should be made the official language of the United States. Congress should pass legislation and the President should sign it into law. Having English as our official language simply means that for the federal government to act officially, it must communicate in English. It means the language of record is the English language, and that no one has a right to demand government services in any other language. Thirty-one states, to date, have made English their official language of state government and Congress should follow their example.	Ron Paul cosponsored the English Language Unity Act (H.R. 997) in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011.	Michele Bachmann cosponsored the English Language Unity Act (H.R. 997)in the 110th, 111th, 112th Congresses.	Newt Gingrich cosponsored an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to make English the official language in 1989 and 1991.	Rick Santorum cosponsored the Language of Government Act (H.R. 123) in 1991 and 1993. He also voted for an amendment offered by Sen. Jim Inhofe to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 to declare English as the 'national' language of the U.S	During the NBC GOP primary debate in Florida, Mitt Romney supported the idea that English should be the language of the county.	Rick Perry has implied while campaigning that he supports making English the official language of the U.S.	President Obama voted twice AGAINST Senator Jim Inhofe's amendment to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act in 2006 and 2007, both of which would have declared English as the "national" language of the U.S.	N/A Jon Huntsman has an unknown policy position on this issue.
Bilingual Ballots Federally mandated bilingual ballots should be repealed by Congress. Since 1907, the United States has required immigrants to learn English in order to naturalize and acquire the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections. This is entirely appropriate for a nation whose constitution and founding documents are written entirely in the English language. Forcing state and local governments to print foreign-language ballots for citizens who are already required to read and understand English is redundant, wasteful and encourages voting by non-citizens - a violation of federal law.	Ron Paul cosponsored the National Language Act in 2011 (H.R. 1164), 2009 (H.R. 1229), 2005 (H.R. 4408), 2003 (H.R. 931), 2001 (H.R. 1005), 1999, 1997.	N/A Michele Bachmann has an unknown policy position on this issue.	Newt Gingrich supports the repeal of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1975 that mandates jurisdictions with residents from certain "language minority" groups must provide foreign language voter ballots at the local taxpayers' expense.	The Santorum campaign has notified ProEnglish that Sen. Santorum supports the repeal of bilingual voter ballots.	N/A Mitt Romney has an unknown policy position on this issue.	N/A Rick Perry has an unknown policy position on this issue.	N/A Barack Obama has an unknown policy position on this issue.	N/A Jon Huntsman has an unknown policy position on this issue.
Puerto Rican Statehood The Puerto Rico Democracy Act (PDA) has been introduced each Congress for over a decade and it requires Puerto Ricans to hold a national referendum to indicate whether they want Puerto Rico to remain a self-governing U.S. commonwealth or become the 51st state. Puerto Rico currently has two official languages, English and Spanish. The government conducts its day-to-day operations solely in Spanish.	N/A On the ProEnglish presidential candidate survey, Ron Paul is not taking a position on this issue.	Michele Bachmann voted against an imposter “official English” amendment to the Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009 (H.R. 2499), Roll Call 237, April 29, 2010. She also voted against final passage of H.R. 2499, Roll Call 242, April 29, 2010.	Newt Gingrich cosponsored the U.S./Puerto Rico Political Status Act in 1996 and 1997.	Rick Santorum cosponsored the Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2006 (S. 2661) which lacked an English requirement.	N/A Mitt Romney has an unknown policy position on this issue.	N/A Rick Perry has an unknown policy position on this issue.	President Obama's administration agrees that as a condition of Statehood or as an exercise of its authority over Puerto Rico under the Territory Clause, Congress could require Puerto Rico to adopt English as the only official language of the island.	N/A Jon Huntsman has an unknown policy position on this issue.
English-On-The-Job The courts have repeatedly affirmed that employers have the right to establish English language policies in the workplace, but the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) "disagrees"with these rulings and alleges that such policies are discriminatory and thus illegal under the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination based on “national origin,” even though the courts have regularly upheld that national origin and language are not the same. The EEOC continues to enforce a policy which the courts have ruled is ultra vires, or "beyond [the EEOC's] authority." ProEnglish remains at the forefront of efforts to educate employers about their rights and to inform Congress about the EEOC's renegade efforts.	Ron Paul cosponsored Rep. Tom Price's Common Sense English Act during the 110th and 111th Congresses.	Michelle Bachmann cosponsored Rep. Tom Price's Common Sense English Act during the 110th and 111th Congresses.	Newt Gingrich supports the right of employers to require employees to speak English on the job.	N/A The Santorum campaign has notified ProEnglish that Sen. Santorum supports the repeal of bilingual voter ballots.	Mitt Romney has an unknown policy position on this issue.	N/A Rick Perry has an unknown policy position on this issue.	N/A Barack Obama has an unknown policy position on this issue.	N/A Jon Huntsman has an unknown policy position on this issue.
Multiculturalism & Assimilation Good national public policy fosters assimilation, not multiculturalism, for immigrants. Assimilation would be defined by most Americans as the country’s acceptance of hard-working immigrants who want to bring their cultural experiences to the table while simultaneously picking up essential American values. Multiculturalism, on the other hand, is proving destructive to society. As taken from recent comments of British Prime Minister David Cameron, today’s multiculturalism has become a “weakening of a national collective identity” through a gradual overhaul of centuries-old American traditions in order to capitulate to every demand of every cultural demand of every immigrant in the United States.	Ron Paul cosponsored Rep. Peter Kings's H.R. 1307 to repeal Executive Order 13166 multiple Congresses. Paul also cosponsored Rep. Virginia Foxx's bill, the Multilingual Services Accounting Act, during the 111th and 112th Congresses.	Michele Bachmann cosponsored Rep. Virginia Foxx's bill, the Multilingual Services Accounting Act (H.R. 1414) during the 111th Congress.	Newt Gingrich cosponsored a bill (H.R. 2859) in 1993 to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that public ceremonies for the admission of new citizens shall be conducted in English.	Rick Santorum in a 2012 GOP primary debate said, "Again, my father and grandfather came to this country not speaking a word of English and it was the greatest gift to my father to have to learn English so he could assimilate into our society. We are a 'melting pot' not a 'salad bowl' and we need to continue that tradition.	Mitt Romney instituted English immersion in the public schools and abolished the bilingual education system.	Rick Perry favors increasing state spending on bilingual education to "help those students who face additional challenges of learning English".	In February 2011, the U.S. Justice Department reaffirmed the Obama Administration's commitment to enforcing Executive Order 13166 that forces unlimited taxpayer-funded translation and interpreter services for federal agencies or any entity receiving funds from a federal agency.	N/A Jon Huntsman has an unknown policy position on this issue.
Amnesty Amnesty or granting legal status to individuals residing in the U.S. illegally ahead of those waiting for legal residency and citizenship, would further contribute to linguistic isolation in the U.S by increasing the incidence of non-English speakers and limited English proficiency (LEP). Uncontrolled illegal immigration is leading to an ever-increasing LEP trend which weakens national unity and results in decreased levels of educational and economic success.	Ron Paul voted NO on the final passage of the Dream Act.	Michele Bachmann voted NO on final passage of the DREAM Act amnesty (H.R. 5281).	Newt Gingrich voted in favor of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act which granted a blanket amnesty without any English proficiency requirements.	Rick Santorum in a recent GOP primary debate said, "Why should they be given preferential treatment as an illegal in this country?"	Mitt Romney as Governor of Massachusetts vetoed legislation that would have granted in-state tuition benefits to illegal aliens.	As Govenor of Texas in 2001, Rick Perry signed state immigration law known as the Texas DREAM Act.	President Obama cosponsored the DREAM Act (S. 2075) when he was in the Senate in 2005. He also voted for the cloture motion to proceed to debate the DREAM Act on the floor.	Jon Huntsman opposed a bill that would have repealed Utah's special in-state tuition program for illegal aliens.
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ProEnglish has ranked the 2012 Presidential candidates based on their strength of support for preserving the historic role of English as the common, unifying language of the United States. Candidates can improve their scores by clarifying a position in the media, on their website, in a debate, by cosponsoring a current bill in Congress even if that candidate is not currently in public office, or by simply contacting ProEnglish with their clarified position on any of the questions in our survey, which was mailed to each candidate's campaign.

  denotes a position that ProEnglish deems favorable.    denotes  a position that ProEnglish deems unfavorable.  N/A   denotes an unknown position.  

Letter grades
Graded based on 5.5 points being a perfect score; Issue categories are weighted.

Official English = 2 pts, bilingual ballots = 1 pt, amnesty = 0.25 pt, Puerto Rico = 0.25, English-on-job = 1 pt, assimilation =1 pt

ProEnglish is a self-governing project of U.S., Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and the nation's leading advocate of official English.We work through the courts and in the court of public opinion to defend English's historic role as America's common, unifying language, and to persuade lawmakers to adopt English as the official language at all levels of government. You can learn more about our positions on these issues at www.proenglish.org.

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