119-hr1732

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1732 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1772

 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.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 March 3, 2025

 Mr. Aderholt (for himself, Mr. Norman, Mrs. Harshbarger, Mr. Graves, 
 Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Strong, Mr. Moore of Alabama, 
 Mr. Rogers of Alabama, and Mr. Palmer) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, 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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Designation of English as the 
Official Language of the United States Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 The Congress finds and declares the following:

    (1) The United States is composed of individuals from 
 diverse ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, and 
 continues to benefit from this rich diversity.

    (2) Throughout the history of the United States, the common 
 thread binding individuals of differing backgrounds has been 
 the English language.

    (3) Among the powers reserved to the States respectively is 
 the power to establish the English language as the official 
 language of the respective States, and otherwise to promote the 
 English language within the respective States, subject to the 
 prohibitions enumerated in the Constitution of the United 
 States and in laws of the respective States.

    (4) President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on 
 March 1, 2025 ``Designating English as the Official Language of 
 The United States.''

SEC. 3. ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--Title 4, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new chapter:

 ``CHAPTER 6--OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

``

SEC. 161. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES"THE OFFICIAL 
 LANGUAGE OF THE UNITED STATES IS ENGLISH.

``

SEC. 162. PRESERVING AND ENHANCING THE ROLE OF THE OFFICIAL 
 LANGUAGE"REPRESENTATIVES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHALL 
 HAVE AN AFFIRMATIVE OBLIGATION TO PRESERVE AND ENHANCE 
 THE ROLE OF ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE 
 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. SUCH OBLIGATION SHALL INCLUDE 
 ENCOURAGING GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUALS TO 
 LEARN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

``

SEC. 163. OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT TO BE CONDUCTED IN 
 ENGLISH.

 ``

    (a) Official Functions.--The official functions of the Government 
of the United States shall be conducted in English.
 ``

    (b) Scope.--For the purposes of this section, the term `United 
States' means the several States and the District of Columbia, and the 
term `official' refers to any function that
            (i) binds the Government,
            (ii) is required by law, or
            (iii) is otherwise subject to scrutiny by 
either the press or the public.
 ``
            (c) Practical Effect.--This section shall apply to all laws, 
public proceedings, regulations, publications, orders, actions, 
programs, and policies, but does not apply to--
 ``

    (1) teaching of languages;
 ``

    (2) requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities 
 Education Act;
 ``

    (3) actions, documents, or policies necessary for 
 national security, international relations, trade, tourism, or 
 commerce;
 ``

    (4) actions or documents that protect the public health 
 and safety;
 ``

    (5) actions or documents that facilitate the activities 
 of the Bureau of the Census in compiling any census of 
 population;
 ``

    (6) actions that protect the rights of victims of crimes 
 or criminal defendants; or
 ``

    (7) using terms of art or phrases from languages other 
 than English.

``

SEC. 164. UNIFORM ENGLISH LANGUAGE RULE FOR NATURALIZATION.

 ``

    (a) Uniform Language Testing Standard.--All citizens should be 
able to read and understand generally the English language text of the 
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the 
United States made in pursuance of the Constitution.
 ``

    (b) Ceremonies.--All naturalization ceremonies shall be conducted 
in English.

``

SEC. 165. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

 ``Nothing in this chapter shall be construed--
 ``

    (1) to prohibit a Member of Congress or any officer or 
 agent of the Federal Government, while performing official 
 functions, from communicating unofficially through any medium 
 with another person in a language other than English (as long 
 as official functions are performed in English);
 ``

    (2) to limit the preservation or use of Native Alaskan or 
 Native American languages (as defined in the Native American 
 Languages Act);
 ``

    (3) to disparage any language or to discourage any person 
 from learning or using a language; or
 ``

    (4) to be inconsistent with the Constitution of the 
 United States.

``

SEC. 166. STANDING.

 ``A person injured by a violation of this chapter may in a civil 
action (including an action under chapter 151 of title 28) obtain 
appropriate relief.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of chapters at the beginning of 
title 4, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to chapter 5 the following new item:
 ``Chapter 6. Official Language''.

SEC. 4. GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEXTS OF THE 
 LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 1, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``

SEC. 9. GENERAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION FOR LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.

 ``

    (a) English language requirements and workplace policies, whether 
in the public or private sector, shall be presumptively consistent with 
the laws of the United States.
 ``

    (b) Any ambiguity in the English language text of the laws of the 
United States shall be resolved, in accordance with the last two 
articles of the Bill of Rights, not to deny or disparage rights 
retained by the people, and to reserve powers to the States 
respectively, or to the people.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 1 of title 1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

section 8 the following new item:

``9. General rules of construction for laws of the United States.''.

SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.

 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, within 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, issue for public notice and comment a 
proposed rule for uniform testing of English language ability of 
candidates for naturalization, based upon the principles that--

    (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand 
 generally the English language text of the Declaration of 
 Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United 
 States which are made in pursuance thereof; and

    (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to 
 extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

 The amendments made by sections 3 and 4 shall take effect on the 
date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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