Speech #1020190694

Coverage of the Native American communities Is also thwarted by an Imprecise standard. Section 203 should be amended to require that a jurisdiction provide language assistance If there are more than 5 percent of a singlelanguage. limitedEnglish proficient Native American voters on the reservation. We are a nation of many Immigrants. comprised of all races. nationalities and religions. America was created by Immigrants. and continues to evolve with the contributions of new Immigrants. Concerns about acculturation of Immigrants are often related to the question of whether new Immigrants will learn English. Research shows that todays Immigrants. like their predecessors. overwhelmingly lose their mother tongues by the second or third generation. Far from threatening the primacy of English In America. it Is precisely tools such as section 203 which facilitate the Integration of Immigrants into the diverse culture of this Nation. Bilingual elections do not promote cultural separatism. but instead help to integrate nonEnglish speaking citizens into our system of democracy. I urge my colleagues to vote for passage of H.R. 4312 and to oppose all weakening amendments.