English Language Unity Act of 2019

I 116TH 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 6, 2019 Mr. KING of Iowa (for himself, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. MASSIE, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, and Mr. PERRY) 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 determined 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 997 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘English Language 2 Unity Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 The Congress finds and declares the following: 5 (1) The United States is composed of individ- 6 uals from diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic 7 backgrounds, and continues to benefit from this rich 8 diversity. 9 (2) Throughout the history of the United 10 States, the common thread binding individuals of 11 differing backgrounds has been the English lan- 12 guage. 13 (3) Among the powers reserved to the States 14 respectively is the power to establish the English 15 language as the official language of the respective 16 States, and otherwise to promote the English lan- 17 guage within the respective States, subject to the 18 prohibitions enumerated in the Constitution of the 19 United States and in laws of the respective States. 20 SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED 21 STATES. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 4, United States Code, is 23 amended by adding at the end the following new chapter: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 997 IH ‘‘CHAPTER 6—OFFICIAL LANGUAGE 1 ‘‘§ 161. Official language of the United States 2 ‘‘The official language of the United States is 3 English. 4 ‘‘§ 162. Preserving and enhancing the role of the offi- 5 cial language 6 ‘‘Representatives of the Federal Government shall 7 have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the 8 role of English as the official language of the Federal Gov- 9 ernment. Such obligation shall include encouraging great- 10 er opportunities for individuals to learn the English lan- 11 guage. 12 ‘‘§ 163. Official functions of Government to be con- 13 ducted in English 14 ‘‘(a) OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS.—The official functions 15 of the Government of the United States shall be conducted 16 in English. 17 ‘‘(b) SCOPE.—For the purposes of this section, the 18 term ‘United States’ means the several States and the 19 District of Columbia, and the term ‘official’ refers to any 20 function that (i) binds the Government, (ii) is required 21 by law, or (iii) is otherwise subject to scrutiny by either 22 the press or the public. 23 ‘‘(c) PRACTICAL EFFECT.—This section shall apply 24 to all laws, public proceedings, regulations, publications, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 997 IH orders, actions, programs, and policies, but does not apply 1 to— 2 ‘‘(1) teaching of languages; 3 ‘‘(2) requirements under the Individuals with 4 Disabilities Education Act; 5 ‘‘(3) actions, documents, or policies necessary 6 for national security, international relations, trade, 7 tourism, or commerce; 8 ‘‘(4) actions or documents that protect the pub- 9 lic health and safety; 10 ‘‘(5) actions or documents that facilitate the ac- 11 tivities of the Bureau of the Census in compiling any 12 census of population; 13 ‘‘(6) actions that protect the rights of victims of 14 crimes or criminal defendants; or 15 ‘‘(7) using terms of art or phrases from lan- 16 guages other than English. 17 ‘‘§ 164. Uniform English language rule for naturaliza- 18 tion 19 ‘‘(a) UNIFORM LANGUAGE TESTING STANDARD.—All 20 citizens should be able to read and understand generally 21 the English language text of the Declaration of Independ- 22 ence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States 23 made in pursuance of the Constitution. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 997 IH ‘‘(b) CEREMONIES.—All naturalization ceremonies 1 shall be conducted in English. 2 ‘‘§ 165. Rules of construction 3 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter shall be construed— 4 ‘‘(1) to prohibit a Member of Congress or any 5 officer or agent of the Federal Government, while 6 performing official functions, from communicating 7 unofficially through any medium with another per- 8 son in a language other than English (as long as of- 9 ficial functions are performed in English); 10 ‘‘(2) to limit the preservation or use of Native 11 Alaskan or Native American languages (as defined 12 in the Native American Languages Act); 13 ‘‘(3) to disparage any language or to discourage 14 any person from learning or using a language; or 15 ‘‘(4) to be inconsistent with the Constitution of 16 the United States. 17 ‘‘§ 166. Standing 18 ‘‘A person injured by a violation of this chapter may 19 in a civil action (including an action under chapter 151 20 of title 28) obtain appropriate relief.’’. 21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 22 at the beginning of title 4, United States Code, is amended 23 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 5 the fol- 24 lowing new item: 25 ‘‘CHAPTER 6. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 997 IH SEC. 4. GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH 1 LANGUAGE TEXTS OF THE LAWS OF THE 2 UNITED STATES. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 1, United 4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing new section: 6 ‘‘§ 9. General rules of construction for laws of the 7 United States 8 ‘‘(a) English language requirements and workplace 9 policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be 10 presumptively consistent with the laws of the United 11 States. 12 ‘‘(b) Any ambiguity in the English language text of 13 the laws of the United States shall be resolved, in accord- 14 ance with the last two articles of the Bill of Rights, not 15 to deny or disparage rights retained by the people, and 16 to reserve powers to the States respectively, or to the peo- 17 ple.’’. 18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 19 at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 1 is amended by 20 inserting after the item relating to section 8 the following 21 new item: 22 ‘‘9. General rules of construction for laws of the United States.’’. SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 23 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, within 24 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, issue 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 997 IH for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform 1 testing of English language ability of candidates for natu- 2 ralization, based upon the principles that— 3 (1) all citizens should be able to read and un- 4 derstand generally the English language text of the 5 Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and 6 the laws of the United States which are made in 7 pursuance thereof; and 8 (2) any exceptions to this standard should be 9 limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asy- 10 lum. 11 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 12 The amendments made by sections 3 and 4 shall take 13 effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the 14 enactment of this Act. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Feb 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H997.IH H997 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS