English Language Unity Act of 2015
Latest action · Mar 9, 2015 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 9, 2015
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
English Language Unity Act of 2015
Establishes English as the official language of the United States.
Requires naturalization ceremonies and official functions of the U.S. government, subject to exceptions, to be conducted in English.
Declares that all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of U.S. laws.
Allows a person injured by a violation of this Act to obtain relief, including a declaratory judgment, in a civil action.
Declares that English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be presumptively consistent with U.S. laws. Requires any ambiguity in U.S. laws to be resolved in accordance with the rights retained by the people and the powers reserved to states under the Bill of Rights.
Directs the Department of Homeland Security to issue a proposed rule for uniform testing of the 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; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 9, 2015 to Jan 19, 2016, with 4 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-GA | David Perdue | Original | Mar 9, 2015 |
| R-LA | David Vitter | Original | Mar 9, 2015 |
| R-AL | Jeff Sessions | Original | Mar 9, 2015 |
| R-AR | John Boozman | Original | Mar 9, 2015 |
| R-GA | Johnny Isakson | Mar 10, 2015 | |
| R-AR | Tom Cotton | Dec 17, 2015 | |
| R-SD | Mike Rounds | Jan 19, 2016 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 9, 2015Introduced in Senate
- Mar 9, 2015Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 997 | English Language Unity Act of 2015 | Related bill | Mar 16, 2015 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Academic performance and assessments
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Citizenship and naturalization
- Civil actions and liability
- Constitution and constitutional amendments
- Department of Homeland Security
- Foreign language and bilingual programs
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 9, 2015Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.