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Tell Congress to pass the English Language Unity Act!

 

Maybe you can't walk the halls of the Capitol. But our message can. Maybe you can't walk the halls of the Capitol. But our message can.
  
   
Tell Congress to pass the English Language Unity Act!
Urge your Representative and your two Senators to co-sponsor the English Language Unity Act (H.R. 997 / S. 503) today!
 

Take Action!
April 26, 2011
 
 
Over the past few months, we have been alerting you about the many English bills being considered in the various state legislatures all across the nation.  Now is the time for some action in the U.S. Congress!
 
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) have once again introduced legislation in both the House and the Senate that would make English the official language of the United States.
 
If passed and signed into law, the English Language Unity Act of 2011 (House bill number: H.R. 997/ Senate bill number: S. 503) will:
 
  • Make English the official language of the United States.
  • Require the establishment of a uniform language requirement for naturalization.
  • Set the framework for uniform testing of English language ability for candidates for naturalization.

 
Rep. King introduced his bill on March 10th with 60 original cosponsors, which was nearly double the number of original supporters in the past Congress. H.R. 997 has now reached 73 cosponsors, but we need many more, especially in the U.S. Senate.  It's up to you to make that phone call and write that email to your Congressman and Senators' offices and urge them to lend their support to the English Language Unity Act!

Recently, Freshman Congressman Lou Barletta (R-PA), the former mayor of Hazelton, PA—the only town in Pennsylvania to make English its official language—explained why the current Congress should make English the official language of government during a panel discussion on preserving the American culture:

 
                                         

 
Contrary to English opponents' mis-information campaign, official English does not mean "English only."
 
Official English simply means that for the government to act officially (or, legally), it must communicate in the English language. It means that the language of record is the English language, and that no one has a right to demand government services in any other language.
 
Making English the official language of the U.S. will ensure that Americans are being honest with new immigrants by conveying the message that the surest path to economic, social, and educational prosperity in this country is to learn English. Studies continue to prove that those who know English get better jobs, earn more money over a lifetime, are more successful in school and receive better health care than those who cannot speak the language. It will also help to reinforce the melting-pot principle inherent in the United States' original national motto (until 1956) "E pluribus Unum" (out of many one") that helped make the U.S. the most successful multi-ethnic nation on Earth.
 
 
 
 
The first step towards passing a bill in Congress is gaining support in the form of co-sponsors. Constituent input from you is an enormous motivator in persuading your elected officials to sign their name to these very important bills.
 
We need your calls, emails, and letters pouring into House and Senate offices (and contacting their district offices at home helps, too)! If we don't act now, then out-of-touch special interest groups like the ACLU and their divisive half-truths and misinformation will be all that Congress hears!  Let's not allow that to happen!
 
 
Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121*

 
*(When you are connected to your elected officials' offices, ask to speak to a staffer who can record your position on the English Language Unity Act and give them the bill number, House: H.R. 997, Senate: S. 503).
 
House Office Message:
Tell your House Rep. that you support making English the official language of the U.S. and that you want them to co-sponsor H.R. 997!
 
Senate Office Message:
Tell your two Senators that you support making English the official language of the U.S. and that you want them to co-sponsor S. 503!
 
Further reading:
 
ProEnglish Backgrounder: Common Official English MYTHS
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 make a tax-deductible donation here.

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ProEnglish is a self-governing project of U.S., Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Federal ID number is 38-2418377.