1Urging the Congress of the United States to designate Spanish as
2the official language of the United States and to mandate its
3use in all official acts of the Federal Government.

4WHEREAS, Since the adoption of the Declaration of
5Independence on July 4, 1776, and the founding of the United
6States of America, regrettably our great nation has been devoid
7of an official and unifying language; and

8WHEREAS, More than 90% of the world's nations, excluding the
9United States of America, have formally adopted an official
10language; and

11WHEREAS, In 1565, it was Spanish explorers that established
12the first permanent settlement, called Saint Augustine, in what
13is today known as the State of Florida; and

14WHEREAS, It was these early Spaniard explorations and
15settlements upon the North American continent, including the
16Spanish language of these early settlers, that laid the
17landscape for the formation of what we know today as the United
18States of America; and

19WHEREAS, To further underscore the impact of the Spanish

1language in the United States, there are well over 2,000 cities
2and towns, dozens of mountains and rivers and several states
3that possess names derived from the Spanish language; and

4WHEREAS, More importantly, there are countless intrepid souls
5of Hispanic descent such as General Benardo de Galvez and the
6first Admiral of the United States Navy, Admiral David Glasgow
7Farragut, who played an instrumental role in the critical
8military affairs which ultimately led to our nation's much
9celebrated independence; and

10WHEREAS, The United States of America has been further
11enriched by the waves of immigrants that it has both received
12and welcomed upon its shores, particularly by those of Hispanic
13descent; and

14WHEREAS, Innumerable individuals of Hispanic descent have
15made many great and noteworthy contributions to the United
16States in all fields of interest, including the fields of
17medicine, military, politics, aeronautics, academia, labor and
18industry, business, sports, the arts and entertainment; and

19WHEREAS, In September 1968, Congress authorized President
20Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim the week, including September 15
21and 16, as "National Hispanic Heritage Week" in recognition of
22the many important contributions made by citizens of Hispanic
23descent, as well as Latin-American independence; and

24WHEREAS, On August 17, 1988, under President Ronald Reagan,
25the observance of "Hispanic Heritage Week" was expanded to a
26month-long celebration, "National Hispanic Heritage Month,"
27observed annually from September 15 through October 15; and

28WHEREAS, Historically the United States' Hispanic population
29has served as a foundation to the nation's economy and continues
30to play an integral role in the cultural diversity of our

1nation; and

2WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, it is
3estimated that the Latino population comprises 50.5 million of
4the total population of the United States; and

5WHEREAS, The United States Census Bureau also projects that
6the nation's Hispanic population will reach 132.8 million by
7July 1, 2050, which will constitute 30% of the overall
8population of the United States; and 

9WHEREAS, According to the Central Intelligence Agency, there
10are more than 336 million people globally who speak Spanish as
11their first language; and

12WHEREAS, The prevalence of the Spanish language and the
13percentage of first language Spanish speaking persons is only
14second in the world to that of the Mandarin language and first
15language Mandarin speaking persons; and

16WHEREAS, In an ever expanding global economy, the United
17States' ability to communicate with the citizens and governments
18of Spanish speaking countries is critical to preserving our
19status as a world leader and maintaining our perch upon the
20pinnacle of the global stage; and

21WHEREAS, The United States must be forward thinking and
22preemptive in addressing and embracing both an impending
23domestic and global demographic transformation; and

24WHEREAS, Proclaiming Spanish as the official language of the
25United States serves the overall interests of the United States
26Government and its citizens by bridging unnecessary cultural and
27language gaps; therefore be it

28RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the Congress
29of the United States to designate Spanish as the official
30language of the United States, and to mandate its use in all

1official acts of the Federal Government; and be it further

2RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
3the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
4member of Congress from Pennsylvania.