Washington, DC- Congressman Steve King released the following statement after his amendment that prohibits funding for foreign language services outlined in an Executive Order issued by President Bill Clinton passed last night. King’s amendment provides that no funds will be made available in any provision of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act to enforce Executive Order 13166. This Executive Order was signed by President Clinton in 2000 and states that any entity which receives federal funds must provide any services it offers in any foreign language spoken by anyone likely to receive those services.
“The Department of Homeland Security should be spending hard earned tax dollars on programs to help keep our country safe, not to promote foreign languages within the United States,” said King.”Providing language assistance services to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals is both costly and unnecessary. This is precisely why we need to pass my bill, H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act, which would provide consistency among all Americans and unite our country.”
