English Language Unity Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 997 To declare English as the official language of the United States, to establish a uniform English language rule for naturalization, and to avoid mis- constructions of the English language texts of the laws of the United States, pursuant to Congress’ powers to provide for the general welfare of the United States and to establish a uniform rule of naturalization under article I, section 8, of the Constitution. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 11, 2021 Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. MASSIE, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. BROOKS, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, and Mrs. GREENE of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To declare English as the official language of the United States, to establish a uniform English language rule for naturalization, and to avoid misconstructions of the English language texts of the laws of the United States, pursuant to Congress’ powers to provide for the general welfare of the United States and to establish a uniform rule of naturalization under article I, section 8, of the Constitution. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 997 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘English Language 4 Unity Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds and declares the following: 7 (1) The United States is composed of individ- 8 uals from diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic 9 backgrounds, and continues to benefit from this rich 10 diversity. 11 (2) Throughout the history of the United 12 States, the common thread binding individuals of 13 differing backgrounds has been the English lan- 14 guage. 15 (3) Among the powers reserved to the States 16 respectively is the power to establish the English 17 language as the official language of the respective 18 States, and otherwise to promote the English lan- 19 guage within the respective States, subject to the 20 prohibitions enumerated in the Constitution of the 21 United States and in laws of the respective States. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 997 IH SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED 1 STATES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 4, United States Code, is 3 amended by adding at the end the following new chapter: 4 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—OFFICIAL LANGUAGE 5 ‘‘§ 161. Official language of the United States 6 ‘‘The official language of the United States is 7 English. 8 ‘‘§ 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the offi- 9 cial language 10 ‘‘Representatives of the Federal Government shall 11 have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the 12 role of English as the official language of the Federal Gov- 13 ernment. Such obligation shall include encouraging great- 14 er opportunities for individuals to learn the English lan- 15 guage. 16 ‘‘§ 163. Official functions of Government to be con- 17 ducted in English 18 ‘‘(a) OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS.—The official functions 19 of the Government of the United States shall be conducted 20 in English. 21 ‘‘(b) SCOPE.—For the purposes of this section, the 22 term ‘United States’ means the several States and the 23 District of Columbia, and the term ‘official’ refers to any 24 function that (i) binds the Government, (ii) is required 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 997 IH by law, or (iii) is otherwise subject to scrutiny by either 1 the press or the public. 2 ‘‘(c) PRACTICAL EFFECT.—This section shall apply 3 to all laws, public proceedings, regulations, publications, 4 orders, actions, programs, and policies, but does not apply 5 to— 6 ‘‘(1) teaching of languages; 7 ‘‘(2) requirements under the Individuals with 8 Disabilities Education Act; 9 ‘‘(3) actions, documents, or policies necessary 10 for national security, international relations, trade, 11 tourism, or commerce; 12 ‘‘(4) actions or documents that protect the pub- 13 lic health and safety; 14 ‘‘(5) actions or documents that facilitate the ac- 15 tivities of the Bureau of the Census in compiling any 16 census of population; 17 ‘‘(6) actions that protect the rights of victims of 18 crimes or criminal defendants; or 19 ‘‘(7) using terms of art or phrases from lan- 20 guages other than English. 21 ‘‘§ 164. Uniform English language rule for naturaliza- 22 tion 23 ‘‘(a) UNIFORM LANGUAGE TESTING STANDARD.—All 24 citizens should be able to read and understand generally 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 997 IH the English language text of the Declaration of Independ- 1 ence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States 2 made in pursuance of the Constitution. 3 ‘‘(b) CEREMONIES.—All naturalization ceremonies 4 shall be conducted in English. 5 ‘‘§ 165. Rules of construction 6 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed— 7 ‘‘(1) to prohibit a Member of Congress or any 8 officer or agent of the Federal Government, while 9 performing official functions, from communicating 10 unofficially through any medium with another per- 11 son in a language other than English (as long as of- 12 ficial functions are performed in English); 13 ‘‘(2) to limit the preservation or use of Native 14 Alaskan or Native American languages (as defined 15 in the Native American Languages Act); 16 ‘‘(3) to disparage any language or to discourage 17 any person from learning or using a language; or 18 ‘‘(4) to be inconsistent with the Constitution of 19 the United States. 20 ‘‘§ 166. Standing 21 ‘‘A person injured by a violation of this chapter may 22 in a civil action (including an action under chapter 151 23 of title 28) obtain appropriate relief.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 997 IH (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 1 at the beginning of title 4, United States Code, is amended 2 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 5 the fol- 3 lowing new item: 4 ‘‘CHAPTER 6. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE’’. SEC. 4. GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH 5 LANGUAGE TEXTS OF THE LAWS OF THE 6 UNITED STATES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 1, United 8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing new section: 10 ‘‘§ 9. General rules of construction for laws of the 11 United States 12 ‘‘(a) English language requirements and workplace 13 policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be 14 presumptively consistent with the laws of the United 15 States. 16 ‘‘(b) Any ambiguity in the English language text of 17 the laws of the United States shall be resolved, in accord- 18 ance with the last two articles of the Bill of Rights, not 19 to deny or disparage rights retained by the people, and 20 to reserve powers to the States respectively, or to the peo- 21 ple.’’. 22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 23 at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 1 is amended by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 997 IH inserting after the item relating to section 8 the following 1 new item: 2 ‘‘9. General rules of construction for laws of the United States.’’. SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 3 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, within 4 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue 5 for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform 6 testing of English language ability of candidates for natu- 7 ralization, based upon the principles that— 8 (1) all citizens should be able to read and un- 9 derstand generally the English language text of the 10 Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and 11 the laws of the United States which are made in 12 pursuance thereof; and 13 (2) any exceptions to this standard should be 14 limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asy- 15 lum. 16 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 17 The amendments made by sections 3 and 4 shall take 18 effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the 19 enactment of this Act. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 Mar 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS