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Washington, D.C. – Rep. Tom Petri was recognized at the U.S. Capitol this morning by U.S. English, Inc. for his dedication to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Rep. Petri was one of a select number of House members honored with an “A in English” award based on his votes and cosponsorships of official English legislation in the 110th Congress. He was the only Wisconsin legislator to receive the award.
"There are, obviously, many people speaking a whole variety of different languages, but we don't want our country going in the direction that Canada has gone, where they end up having deep divides in their society based on differences in language," Petri said.
“Rep. Petri has been a strong supporter of official English policies during his time in Congress. At a time when there is renewed interest toward preserving what unites us as a nation, we are grateful to Rep. Petri for his dedicated and enthusiastic support of this issue,” said Mauro E. Mujica, Chairman of the Board of U.S. English, Inc.
“A in English” honors were awarded to members who received “A” grades on the U.S. English, Inc. legislative scorecard for the 110th Congress. Legislation that factored into the decision included cosponsorship of H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, as well as a series of Congressional votes on reducing multilingualism in government and allowing employers the flexibility to enact English-in-the-Workplace policies. A full listing of the votes and grades can be found at http://www.usenglish.org.
According to several recent nationwide polls, an overwhelming majority of Americans support making English the official language of the United States. Polls conducted by Zogby International, the Winston Group and Rasmussen Reports have all found more than 80 percent of Americans in support of official English policies, with strong majorities among Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
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