Rep. Tancredo Introduces Official English Constitutional Amendment (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Rep. Tancredo Introduces Official English Constitutional Amendment;
Colorado Rep. Stands Behind One Common Language for America

4/26/2005 11:06:00 AM
To: National Desk
Contact: Rob Toonkel of U.S. English, 202-833-0100
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=46389

WASHINGTON, April 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In an effort to unite Americans
under one common language, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) introduced a
Constitutional Amendment that would declare English the official
language of the United States. Reversing the recent trend of divisive
and costly multilingualism, H.J. Res. 43 would ensure that government
business is conducted in English, providing a common ground for
communication and understanding.

A Constitutional Amendment to make English the official language was
first proposed in 1981 by Senator S.I. Hayakawa, who later founded U.S.
English. Since that time, more than 550 Members of Congress have either
co-sponsored or voted for official English legislation, including 89
co-sponsors of H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act of 2005, in the
109th Congress. That measure, introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is
currently pending in two House committees.

"We congratulate Rep. Tancredo for emphasizing English, the unifying
factor of our diverse nation," said Mauro E. Mujica, chairman of U.S.
English. "Through the Constitutional Amendment, we are focusing on our
strengths, rather than allowing our nation to divide along linguistic
lines. Senator Hayakawa's goal of keeping our nation united is in good
hands."

According to the U.S. Census, 322 languages are spoken at home in the
United States. Statistics reveal that more than 21 million, or 1-in-12
Americans, struggle with English. "Coming to the United States is a
dream for many immigrants, but English proficiency is the key to
achieving that dream.," explained Mujica. "Immigrants who can speak
English earn two-and-a-half times what non-English proficient
immigrants earn. This is a significant gap that legislators ignore at
their peril."

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U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non- partisan
citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the
English language in the United States (website:
http://www.us-english.org ). Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I.
Hayakawa of California, U.S.English, Inc. now has more than 1.8 million
members nationwide.

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