Washington, D.C.—Congressman Steve King has introduced legislation to make it easier for American immigrants to fully realize the benefits of American opportunities.

The English Language Unity Act of 2005 would establish English as the official language of the United States. The bill would require the federal government to conduct business in English, but would not put restrictions on languages spoken or the on the private sector. With 57 original co-sponsors, the bill has broad bi-partisan support.

There are over 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world, and in the United States there are at least 28 different dominant languages -- those spoken by at least 100,000 people. The English Language Unity Act helps immigrants by encouraging them to learn English to fully integrate into American society.

“English is the language of opportunity in America,” said King. “Learning English opens doors to better jobs and opportunities, which America was built upon. The only way to fully learn about American culture, and what makes America truly unique, is through our common bond of the English language.”

Almost 12 million Americans are linguistically isolated, according to the U.S. Census. In addition, immigrants who are not proficient in English earn an average of 17% less than English- proficient immigrants with similar backgrounds, experience and education. The gap grows wider with the opportunities English-proficient immigrants realize while moving up the economic ladder.

“I couldn’t have gotten this far in school and my work experience if I didn’t get the English immersion to the extent that I did,” said Gloria Fung, an immigrant from Hong Kong, who while attending George Mason University, is studying for pharmaceutical school. “I know my opportunities and experiences will be very different than my parents, who haven’t fully learned English.”

In addition, attempting to comply with multilingual mandates that contribute to language isolation costs the federal government billions of dollars annually. Currently, under Executive Order 13166 by former President Clinton, all federal government entities should provide every person documents and services in languages other than English. E.O. 13166 also mandates any private entities receiving any federal funds, including private businesses working with federal contracts and doctors accepting Medicare reimbursements, to do the same.

Last year, a Zogby International Poll found that 82% of Americans favor making English the official language of the U.S. An earlier 2001 nationwide Gallup poll found 96% of American believe in the importance of immigrants living in the U.S. to learn English. In addition, twenty-seven states already have established English as the official language of the state.

In 1996 the House of Representatives passed the Emerson English Language Empowerment Act, in a bipartisan vote, which would have made English the official language of the U.S. Government. The Senate failed to act on the bill.