Associated Press
Congressional Republicans haven't gotten around to working on a credible jobs bill yet, but it's only because they're so busy with other issues. GOP policymakers clearly care quite a bit, for example, about restricting abortion rights and inveighing against contraception access.
But don't worry, Republicans on Capitol Hill are also engaging on other issues -- such as promoting English as the official language.
[Rep. Steve King of Iowa] announced that a Judiciary Committee hearing on the Official English Act, legislation that King has championed since 2003 when he was sworn into Congress, will be held next week.
"The Judiciary Committee hearing next week reflects the need to get a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives on this popular issue -- 87 percent of Americans say that English should be the official language of the United States," King said in a press release.
The Official English Act, H.R. 997, would make English the official language of the United States -- something that the U.S. currently does not have -- requires the federal government to encourage individuals to learn English, requires all functions of the government be conducted in English and establishes a language requirement for people to become naturalized citizens.
So much for "jobs, jobs, jobs."
On the substance, it's worth emphasizing how wildly unnecessary this is. As I've talked about before, there may be some older immigrants who are reluctant to learn English, but being in the United States, their kids and grandkids have no similar reluctance. This is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
But as a political matter, this is just inexplicable. Not only are Republicans still ignoring the jobs crisis, but they're also deliberately antagonizing Latino voters three months before an election. Worse, they're doing so this morning with a subcommittee hearing featuring a Republican witness with ties to racism.
For the record, King's proposal has 122 co-sponsors in the House -- 118 of them are Republicans.
Leave a Comment:
what do you mean? there's TONS of jobs in the Sharia Law installation industry, and the Death Panel field!
Gee, w-dentist... in what country??? Surely you don't mean the United States as we do not live under Sharia Law and there is no "Death" panel. Perhaps you failed to read the Affordable Health Act? You seem to be prey to any and all outlandish rumors you hear and do not investigate. Again, you must be referring to some other country... I know it's not the U.S.
Recognizing sarcasm isn't your strong suit I see
what do you mean? there's TONS of jobs in the Sharia Law installation profession, and the Death Panel industry!!!!
He did this when he was a state Senator in Iowa, too. Seems that he was ticked off that some state agency was offering consumer materials in other languages. Of course, he railed against multiculturalism in the school system, too.
ramptree banned, re-reg of multiple accounter daddy123 and others.
I would like to see what Rubio has to say about this as having lived in South Florida, the DMV has the tests in English, Spanish, French, and Creole. And that would severely impact his constituancies in that region. Ask his parents. I would also ask him about that whole wet-foot, dry-foot policy we have when it comes to illegal immigration his party takes interest in. Somewhere the term Uncle Tom just got floated out but I can't be too sure.
Those Creoles shouldn't be allowed into the country until they learn English.
I think that's the key to all of this. Multiculturalism enrages wingnuts because they want/need to believe that there is only one set of inherently correct standards & ideas, the ones they espouse. Conducting any government business in another language contradicts the ethos of that kind of belief. King is playing to his base, even though he's antagonizing the latino vote, because, like I keep saying, zealots can't help themselves.
i live in iowa also and live in his 5th district of council bluffs, the guy is a nut-case
"Visitors to the statue of liberty climb 354 total steps to get to the crown,where they will find 25 windows, symbolizing the 25 gemstones of the Earth. A visitor can look up through one of the windows and see the seven pointed crown, representing the seven continents and seven seas of the world."
We have always been a Country of diversity and many languages have been spoken and shared over the years. Dictating that everyone must read, write and speak English in order to be entitled to our Freedoms and Constitutional rights is against what our Country has always represented.
Not to mention First Amendment issues. Free speech or press isn't just in English.
None of the Founders spoke any of those foreign languages.
The Founders didn't speak American English either, and would have a hard time being understood by us/understanding us now. Your point, D.C. Sessions?
Gene
I think D.C was being sarcastic. It is well known many of the Founding Father were polymaths. Thomas Jefferson for instance.
Thomas Jefferson said in his Notes of a Tour through Holland and the Rhine Valley, "...there was not a person to be found in Duysberg who could understand either English, French, Italian or Latin. So I could make no enquiry."
As to being able to understand 18th century English. Personally I wouldn't have a problem. But I do historical reenacting and and read 18th century script and print.
This costs money to teach people English. Just like drug testing Welfare recipients, or No Child Left Behind. Money they will not pay for with taxing anyone making over 200k or even bothering funding it.
Oh and you left out Rep King's new episode into the stupid.
King: "We went down into the Library of Congress and we found a microfiche there of two newspapers in Hawaii each of which had published the birth of Barack Obama. It would have been awfully hard to fraudulently file the birth notice of Barack Obama being born in Hawaii and get that into our public libraries and that microfiche they keep of all the newspapers published. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some other explanations on how they might’ve announced that by telegram from Kenya. The list goes on. But drilling into that now, even if we could get a definitive answer and even if it turned out that Barack Obama was conclusively not born in America, I don’t think we could get that case sold between now and November."
I'm beginning to wonder if a lot of the GOP were members of the Debate teams in their respective Colleges? When I was in High School we studied how abortion was always going to be used as some kind of a time waster, when it came to debates. Nobody ever won the debate, which probably rubbed a lot of egos the wrong way. Come one, seriously if the GOP were really concerned with human life they would be working on creating jobs. Abortion debates were only used to strengthen debating techniques, this issue falls under the heading "The wisdom to know the difference." Abortion debates will probably outlive all of us. Why doesn't the GOP finally accept the things they cannot change. Yet another example of the ego run riot. From here on out I think a course should be mandated for future representatives, History 101. How did The American people get the job of baby sitters for the Congress? They need to go to summer school. Our Fathers' and our Mothers' gave us memory.
You've got to love the hypocrisy & obliviousness of the GOTP. I don't think someone could make this stuff up about these people. They blather on about jobs, jobs, jobs - and yet haven't done anything about the JOBS BILL that they were sent by the W.H.! All of these people should have a thorough psychiatric examination, because they are batshyt crazy!
FIRE THE GOTP IN NOVEMBER, RESTORE SOME SEMBLANCE OF SANITY & ADULTHOOD TO OUR GOVERNMENT!
I haven't the words to engage in right now...I mean the foolishness that masquerades as common sense in Congress....We need something to happen people, not sure what it is but the members of Congress who have an (R) next to their names need to go the way of the dinosaur. Something needs to give, we have to vote, we must vote as if our lives depended on it because if by some unfortunate act the GOP gains control of Congress and the White House some of us are doomed.
English?!?!? Isn't that one of those commie European languages? Why do the Rs hat America so much?
/* "hate"too.
Is this suppose to justifye the republicans existense?
oh..the same republican that defends dog fighting..people in Iowa are so upset with him they want him out of office..he really got the animal advocates seeing red from what he said..shame on him..I am a big advocate for animals on fb..I sent the info to the senators from my state..congressmen, and CNN and it was all over fb by the time I got done..that man needs to be out from representing Iowa as he is an embarasement to them..they have a page..animals against Steve King..he does not even belong representing any state in our country...send him over to the dog fighting he defends and put him in the middle of it..that man is a psycho..
i agree with you the guy is a nut-case and i live in his district
Dec 2, 2011 - "The American People want action on jobs, and they want it now."
Oct. 2010 - " The American People want jobs, jobs, jobs, and that will be our focus."
August 3, 2012 - The transportation bill sits on a desk that saves 1 million jobs and creates up to 2 million upon full implementation. Who is blocking it? Boehner as he takes a 5 week vacation.
Thank-you Boehner for you leadership in these tough times.
We are tired of the rhetoric the Republicans keep dishing out. Replace Boehner and McConnell and the rest of that gang of do nothings getting paid from the tax payers dollars to defeat the purpose of progress for the country while trying to hurt a Black President. Get them all out and let's get the country back on track with open minded new represenatives. Vote them out in November.
Nice to see the 2012 Republican Latino outreach program is in full swing!
I believe that between the Latino votes, the Black vote, Womens votes and the Gay community votes, there is no doubt that President Obama will win if we all pull together and vote for our future of the country.
Well, with Mitt "Mayhem" Romney running they have to do something to take their minds off the election.
I just want to point out that the official language of Ireland is Gaeilge (Irish Gaelic). Only about 20,000 people out of 4,000,000 speak it on a day-to-day basis. It is compulsory in school and required for secondary school graduation. So, if the Republicans want to go on a cockamamie crusade to "save the English language", let them. Languages evolve, grow, and die in correlation with the people who speak them. If English is going to die out, it will do so even in the face of any public policy which attempts to revive it. The surest way to let it die is by wasting time trying to preserve it while ignoring the needs of the people who speak it.
King has never been to Chicago. The signs and ballots are in English, Spanish and Polish. Good luck with that English only law.
Even the ancestors of many of our GOP leaders in Washington may have spoken something other than English for a generation or two. Or three.
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/10/27/when-do-immigrants-learn-engli-3/
How does this relate to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
Congressional Republicans are unable to work on a jobs bill. They are pre-occupied with preserving the status quo on behalf of the precious few who are swimming in a river of wealth. Best to continue the documented inequities of privatized gains, socialized losses in a world where one individual is projected to live at the top, alone.
Read more at
http://lifeamongtheordinary.blogspot.com/2012/04/map-keys.html
Let's vote in November to replace the new Republican Congress (all of them), and bring in some real think tanks who has the best interest of their constituents at heart along with the rest of the US citizens. Get out and vote Democrat in November.
I believe President Obama has accomplished more vital issues needing to be solved than any other Commander in Chieif in US history. They are: The Healtcare Bill that Ted Kennedy fought for for years that never gained any recognition, Bin Laden terrorist attack of 911, he killed the leader(major accomplishment), D'ont Ask D'ont Tell military ruling and the housing law to help homeowners with foreclosures letting the banks help people to keep their houses. These are great milestones for a President with 3.5 years in office. Vote for Obama in November.
Here we go again.. A bunch of Republicans and Tea Party Fanatics underestimating the intelligence of the American People... the real issues are the economy, the creation of more jobs and the refusal of their candidate to show his tax return forms. Anything else is just a distraction from the real issues. These Right-Wingers are desperate, but this is what they know: 1) their candidate looks more and more like the Titanic... after hitting the iceberg, 2) the election is 3 months away and they don't have any ideas or plans to fix the real problems America is facing.