Legislative Archive: 109th Congress

• English as a National Language
• Homeland Security Education Act
• 21st Century NDEA
• National Security Language Initiative
• Commission on the Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program
• Year of Study Abroad
• Year of Languages Radio Series
• Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act
• National Language Coordination Act
• National Security Language Act
• Year of Languages Resolutions

   

  English as a National Language Amendment

  Amid the debate on S. 2611 - Senate Immigration Reform Act, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced S.A. 4064 - National English Amendment to make English the national language of the United States. The amendment passed with a vote of 63 to 34. It directs the government to "preserve and enhance" the role of English without altering current laws that require some government documents and services be provided in other languages. The amendment also requires that immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship know the English language and U.S. history. A thorough test would be required to demonstrate English language proficiency and knowledge of U.S. history and elements of U.S. culture such as the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem. It has been reported, however, that this amendment may have lost some of its effect when Inhofe agreed to change the text to read that English is the "national language" rather than the "official language" of the United States. Senator Inhofe also agreed that the English-only mandate could not negate existing laws that allow bilingual education or multilingual ballots.
  
  Soon after approving the Inhofe amendment, the Senate passed (with a vote of 58 - 39) a competing amendment, S.A. 4073, introduced by Senator Ken Salazar (D-Co) declaring English as the "common unifying language of the United States." It mandated that "nothing in that declaration shall diminish or expand any existing rights" regarding multilingual services. Differences between the two amendments will have to work out when the Senate conferences with the House on the immigration reform issue.
  
  To view how your Senator voted on the above amendments, please click on the appropriate link:
  Senator Inhofe's Amendment - S.Amdt. 4064
  
  Senator Salazar's Amendment - S.Amdt 4073
  
  On March 16th, Senators Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) introduced the Homeland Security Education Act - S.2450. The Homeland Security Education Act provides the framework and funding that is critical in developing the high-level language expertise necessary to national security and economic competitiveness. This comprehensive legislation provides many programs to promote language learning such as: student and teacher scholarships, student loan forgiveness, grants to establish partnerships between school districts and institutions of higher education, and grants to encourage students to develop foreign language proficiency along with science and technological knowledge. For more information, please read Senator Akaka's press release.
  
  Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) introduced the 21st Century National Defense Education Act-HR 4734. This bill will provide $1 billion in federal funding to: provide curriculum and instructional facilities and materials; educational incentives such as grants, scholarships and loan forgiveness programs for undergraduate and graduate students who plan to pursue STEM instruction; career development opportunities; the creation of the Office of Teaching Americans Language Concepts in the Department of Education to improve K-12 language education; and the creation of a STEM Revitalization Advisor and Task Force, and a National Foreign Language Advisor and Task Force in the White House. For more information, please read Representative Reyes’ Press Release on HR 4734.
  
  On January 5th, 2006 in a speech at the Department of State, President Bush launched National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), a plan to further strengthen national security and prosperity in the 21st century through education, especially in developing foreign language skills. The NSLI will dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical need foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Farsi, and others through new and expanded programs from kindergarten through university and into the workforce. President Bush is requesting $114 million for the FY07 budget, although some of this comes from current programs that are to be refocused or expanded.
  The NSLI will have three primary goals:
  
  1. Expand the number of Americans mastering critical need languages and start at a younger age.
  
  2. Increase the number of advanced-level speakers of foreign languages, with an emphasis on critical needs languages.
  
  3. Increase the number of foreign language teachers and the resources for them.
  
  Please follow the links below for more information on the NSLI and to read the remarks by Secretary Rice and President Bush. We will keep track of this initiative and post any new information as it becomes available.
  Remarks by Secretary Rice
  Remarks by President Bush
  Briefing on the National Security Language Initiative

  Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program

  On November 15, 2005, the Lincoln Commission released its report, Global Competence & National Needs: One Million Americans Studying Abroad.

  The FY 2004 Budget included a provision to establish a 17-member commission to recommend a program that will expand the opportunities for students in higher education in the U.S. to study abroad, with an emphasis placed on studying in developing countries. The new program is the vision of the late Senator Paul Simon (D-IL). His proposal envisions fellowships of up to $7,000 for 500,000 students per year to study abroad for a summer or an academic year. Congressional leaders, entrusted with appointing the Commission chair, announced that they had selected Peter McPherson, president of Michigan State University, to lead the Commission. View a list of the appointees.

  The Abraham Lincoln Fellowship Commission is seeking input from the exchange and higher education communities about the proposed Lincoln program, which would significantly increase the number of American undergraduates studying abroad. To facilitate this process, the commission has established an inter-associational online discussion forum. Through this web-based tool, participants can submit comments and respond to those posted by others. The web site is co-sponsored by the Alliance, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the American Council on Education (ACE), NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and the National Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities (NASULGC). The discussion forum is hosted on NAFSA's web site.

  Year of Study Abroad Senator Richard Durbin introduced S.Res. 308 - Designating 2006 as the "Year of Study Abroad" on November 10, 2005. Recognizing the importance of study abroad programs, this bill encourages secondary schools, institutions of higher learning, businesses and government programs to promote and expand study abroad opportunities. The bill is co-sponsored by: Senators Alexander (R-TN), Feingold (D-WI), Craig (R-ID), Coleman (R-MN) and Cochran (R-MS). It was passed by the Senate with unanimous consent.
  
  "Year of Languages" Radio Series Available As part of the “Year of Languages” (YOL) celebration, the College of Charleston and National Museum of Language have jointly sponsored development and distribution of a series of fifty-two radio spots on languages and linguistics. The spots are 5-minutes long and address a wide range of questions that a general audience might have about language, such as: Which language is the oldest? How do babies learn to talk? Where did the southern dialect come from? Whatever happened to Esperanto? The materials were written by 48 language experts from 23 states and the United Kingdom under the direction of Dr. Rick Rickerson of the College of Charleston. Information about the series, including brief biographies of the authors, can be found on the Talkin' About Talk website. The series has been aired on public radio stations in several states as well as on campus radio stations. It will soon be available for use by language professionals as part of a curriculum, a motivator in the spirit of the YOL, or in many other ways. High schools have played the spots through their intercom systems; a middle-school teacher has used them as part of a Language Arts class; universities are using them to supplement courses that prepare new language teachers. Above all, their purpose is to raise awareness about languages and the language profession during this year of celebration.
  
  Audio files for the series are available on the website of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and its YOL site. The materials will also be available in September on compact disks at cost ($9.65 plus postage for the set of 4 disks,) from Georgia Schlau, Director, Michael Pincus Language Resource Center, College of Charleston. Campus radio stations may be particularly interested in broadcasting the series in Fall 2005. If you wish to have the series broadcast in your area or on your campus, send the name of the station and e-mail address of the station manager -- or other questions or comments about the series -- to Dr. Rickerson.

  Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) introduced S.1376- Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act, July 11, 2005 co-sponsored by Senator Daniel Akaka, Senator Conrad Burns, Senator Christopher Dodd, Senator Ted Stevens and Senator John Warner. This bill aims to improve and expand geographic literacy among K-12 students in the United States. It will improve professional development programs for K-12 teachers offered through institutions of higher education. The bill was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. To learn more about S.1376, please follow the above link.

  On May 19th, at the JNCL-NCLIS Legislative Day/Delegate Assembly, Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) announced the introduction of the S. 1089 – The National Language Coordination Act of 2005.The act would create the position of a National Language Director and a National Foreign Language Coordination Council to develop and oversee the implementation of a foreign language strategy for the federal government. The proposed Council, chaired by the National Language Director, would identify crucial priorities, increase public awareness of the need for foreign language skills, advocate maximum use of resources, coordinate cross-sector efforts, and monitor the foreign language activities of the federal government. This Act calls for state involvement and encourages them to establish a State interagency council on foreign language coordination to coordinate with the Coordination Council and state and local governments. The bill has been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee for further action. We will monitor this bill closely and post updates as it moves along in the legislative process.

  To read a copy of Senator Akaka’s floor statement and remarks to JNCL-NCLIS, please click on the links.

  Senators Lieberman and Alexander Introduce Bill to Improve U.S.-China Relations
  The United States-China Cultural Engagement Act-S.1117 provides for Chinese language instruction in American schools. It authorizes an increase of American consular activity supporting American commercial activity in China and provides for physical and virtual exchanges among a broad spectrum of individuals in the two nations.

  National Security Language Act

  On January 4th, Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) introduced HR 115 - National Security Language Act. Similar to HR 3637, which he introduced in the 108th Congress, this bill will improve America's foreign language education capabilities through the following initiatives:

  1.  International Flagship Language Initiative;
  2. Science and Technology Advanced Foreign Language Grants;
  3. Loan Forgiveness For Undergraduate Students in Foreign Languages Who Become Teachers or Federal Employees;
  4. Encouraging Early Foreign Language Studies.

  House and Senate Pass Year of Languages Resolutions

  On February 17, 2005, the Senate unanimously passed S.Res.28 - A resolution designating 2005 as the "Year of Foreign Language Study." The bill was introduced by Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) on February 1st. The purpose of this bill is to designate the year 2005 as the Year of Foreign Language Study, during which foreign language study is promoted and expanded in elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher learning, businesses, and government programs. Read the remarks in the Senate before the bill was passed.

  The House counterpart, H.Res. 122 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the study of languages and supporting the designation of a Year of Languages was passed on March 8, 2005. The bill was introduced on February 17th by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ). Read a transcript of the vote and comments by Representative Rush Holt and Representative Susan Davis (D-CA).