Speech #1040191369

Chairman. there are substantial costs incurred by government at all levels in providing services in languages other than English. For example. the Office of Legislative Research of the Connecticut General Assembly was able to identify over $3 million of State funds spent on providing services in a language other than Englishand this amount does not include expenditures for bilingual instruction in schools. My amendment is targeted at bringing in legal immigrants to our society who will arrive with the most important skill necessary to succeed in Americacommand of the English language. By focusing on the Diversity Immigrant Program and EmploymentBased Classification visas. the amendment would require that immigrants fully capable of becoming proficient in English do so before coming to the United States. The amendment also will provide an incentivc. to those backlogged spouses and children of lawful permanent residen. Aliens who demonstrate English lanjege proficiency. We should encourage all immigrants who come to America to speak English. With my amendment. we will provide a tangible benefit to potential immigrants who can speak Englishand who somaetimes wait up to 10 years to enter this countryby modestly advancing rhem on thf. wiaiting IisL. Supl.:rt for an amcndmnnr of ths kind cuts across the ideological epc trum of the immigration debare. Ben J. Wattenberg. a Democrat and a distinguished demographer and commentor. has written and spoke extensively in support of increasing the levels of legal immigration to the United States. In a February 1. 1993 article in National Review. Mr. Wattenberg wrote that. "We would do well to add English language proficiency * * *" to our immigration laws. Similarly. Peter Brimelow. author of the wellknown book on U.S. immigration policy Alien Nation and a strong proponent of decreasing legal immigration. makes the point that an English language requirement for potential immigrants would make Americanization easier. I suggest that when Ben Wattenberg and Peter Brimelow agree on anything having to do with immigration policy. we should pay attention. My amendment takes the important contributions to the immigration debate of these two experts and incorporates them into a fair and workable provision that will enhance our immigration laws. Critics of requiring English language proficiency for certain immigrants or giving any advantage for English language skills argue that we might pass over the best and the brightest the world has to offer simply because they lack English skills. In my view. it does little good for a person to be the best and the brightest if it is impossible for that person to impart knowledge in our society because of inability to communicate in our society. It is virtually impossible to think of a situation where a highly skilled immigrant. for which the employmentbased classification is designed. would not have English skills or be capable of acquiring them before coming to the United States. Mr. Chairman. we all know intuitively that to succeed in the United States. one must have a command of the English language. Our immigration policy should support this goal. Unfortunately. current immigration laws do not take this into account. By establishing an English language proficiency requirement for immigrants who are fully capable of learning the language and providing an incentive to learn English for people waiting to be admitted. we will help ensure that immigrants are better equipped to succeed in America. Mr. Chairman. although this amendment does not address this problem acrosstheboard.