1 2 2 "ARTICLE "SECTION 1. The English language shall be the official 3 language of the United States. 4 "SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to en 5 force this article by appropriate legislation.". Senator HATCH. We are very pleased to have a number of Senators, a former Senator, and a Member of Congress, to testify here today. If we could, we will call on the Honorable Walter D. Huddleston, who is a U.S. Senator from Kentucky, first, and then we will introduce each of these Senators in turn. Senator Huddleston, I am happy to have you here and look forward to hearing your testimony. STATEMENT OF HON. WALTER D. HUDDLESTON, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF KENTUCKY Senator HUDDLESTON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I commend the chairman for the outstanding statement he has just made that points out, of course, that we do not approach an amendment to the Constitution lightly. But I thank you and the members of this subcommittee for holding this hearing on my proposed constitutional amendment to make English the official language of the United States. This amendment addresses something so fundamental to our sense of identity as Americans that some who are in full agreement with the objectives may nevertheless question the necessity for such an amendment. So widely held is the assumption that English is already our national language, that the notion of stating this in the Constitution may seem like restating the obvious. However, I can assure you that this is not the case, and that the need for a constitutional amendment grows stronger every day. For over 200 years, the United States has enjoyed the blessings of one primary language that is spoken and understood by most of its citizens. The previously unquestioned acceptance of this language by immigrants from every linguistic and cultural background has enabled us to come together and prosper as one people. It has allowed us to discuss our differences, to argue about problems, and to compromise on solutions. Moreoever, it has allowed us to develop a stable and cohesive society that is the envy of many fractured ones, without imposing any strict standards of homogeneity. As a Nation of immigrants, our great strength has been drawn from our ability to assimilate vast numbers of people from many different cultures and ethnic groups into a nation of people that can work together with cooperation and understanding. This process is commonly referred to as the melting pot. In the past, it has been credited with helping to make the United States the great Nation that it is today, and I agree with that. However, in recent years, we have experienced a growing resistance to the acceptance of our historic language. Increasingly, we have been subjected to an antagonistic questioning of the melting pot philosophy that has traditionally helped speed newcomers into the American mainstream. Initially, the demands to make things easier for the newcomers seemed modest enough and we were willing to make some allowances. For example, the use of a child's home language in the school setting was encouraged, in a well-intentioned attempt to soften the pain of adjustment from the home to the English-speaking society that school represents. However, the demands have sharply escalated, and so has the tone in which they are presented. Bilingual education has gradually lost its role as a transitional way of teaching English, and has now taken on a strong bicultural dimension. The unfortunate result is that thousands of immigrant and nonimmigrant children are kept in a state of prolonged confusion, not fully understanding what is expected of them. They and their parents are given the false hope that their native language can be fully maintained in this country and that the mastery of English is not so important. This change in attitude was aptly described by Theodore H. White in his book, "America in Search of Itself," wherein he stated: Some Hispanics have, however, made a demand never voiced by immigrants before: that the United States in effect officially recognize itself as a bicultural, bilingual nation. They demand that the United States become a bilingual country, with all children entitled to be taught in the language of their heritage, at public expense. Mr. White goes on to conclude that: Bilingualism is an awkward word, but it has torn apart communities from Canada to Brittany, from Belgium to India. It expresses not a sense of tolerance, but a demand for divisions. This misdirected public policy of promoting bilingualism has been created primarily by the Federal Government at the insistence of special interest groups, and it continues today because elected officials do not want to run the risk of taking a position that may offend these groups. Over the last few years, the Federal Government has spent approximately $1 billion on the Bilingual Education Program, and this year alone, it cost $139 million. What we have bought with this money is a program that strives to keep separate cultural identities rather than a program that strives to teach English. It is a program which ignores the basic fact that in order to learn another language, the student must speak, read and use that language on a regular basis. The Bilingual Education Program's failure to teach children how to speak English in the shortest time has been documented by a study done at the U.S. Department of Education and by a recent report of the Twentieth Century Fund task force on Federal elementary and secondary education policy, which stated; The Task Force recommends that Federal funds now going to the bilingual program be used to teach non-English-speaking children how to speak, read, and write English. Even though the Bilingual Education Program has received failing marks by many reputable educators, it still survives because it is a political issue rather than an educational issue. Evidence of this can be found in the decision by the House Committee on Education and Labor to report out a bill which reauthorizes the Bilingual Program. This was done in the face of strong opposition that pointed out many of the weaknesses of the program, including the impracticality of finding qualified bilingual teachers for schools that have students speaking as many as 130 different languages and dialects. I have a list of most of the languages that are being taught in the Bilingual Program which I will submit for the record, Mr. Chairman. Senator HATCH. Without objection, we will put them in the record at this point. [Material submitted for the record follows:] MEMO June 6, 1984 List of languages currently taught in the Contact person: Angela Evans Education Specialist, CRS Information supplied is as reported to the Office of Bilingual Education by the grantees. (No differentiation is made between dialects and languages) |