Bills 156 and 136 Passed!

Representative Villary called the House to order and lengthy discussions of both bills ended satisfactorily in which both sides could agree for passage.

Bill 136, Digital Broadcast Spectrums, was revised and passed by the House last week. Representative Williams (R) spoke and referenced the President’s initial proposal and that work was made to the Bill in order to satisfy everyone involved, thus ensuring success. Other than some bickering between a few House members, the Bill seemed to be malleable enough to shape into what they felt will help both industry and increase revenue. Representative Culpepper (R) said the Bill was “a nice, free-market solution without raising taxes.”

The Bill passed unanimously (Kilpatrick was absent).

More controversial, Bill 156 (Multi-Lingual Education), was heavily worked and reworked in committees before reaching the floor for a vote. The initial Bill focused on school children learning two additional languages (other than English) for the purpose of making America “more competitive in the world marketplace.” The revised Bill (I requested a full copy) provides federal funding to schools wishing to participate in exchange for two languages being taught (one English, if not native). They feel this will provide all school children a better language base in English while offering more alternatives for native English-speakers. During floor discussion, members reiterated that this was a strictly voluntary program and one that was only available to public schools (not private). Representatives Villary and Culpepper noted they had talked with the President on the Bill, and felt he, too, would approve the Bill.

There were oppositions to the Bill before it was even openly discussed. The most wide-spread conservative objection was federalism in the form of the Republican House. Many felt the House should not put further restrictions on local government. Some, of course, recognized the Bill’s passage as another way the federal government could make an attempt at nationalization, and to some, another step toward socialism. However, several education-based organizations disagreed, wanting additional monies for foreign language instruction, especially in poorer public schools where these resources would be very welcomed.

The Conference for State and Local Governments noted the Constitution was silent on the issue of education because it was more of a state responsibility, noting they were opposed to nationalized education. “Educators end up being seduced by federal dollars and alter their missions so that they can stay on the dole. Over time, the national government has used so-called federal aid to increasingly nationalize and homogenize our educational system. And, this has been done to the detriment of our states and localities.” While they encourage new teaching methods and ways of learning for all children, they would rather the federal funds go into federal projects and allow state and local boards of education to determine what is best for each community.

After the vote and announcement of passage, there was a drop in the approval ratings for Republicans. This seems to be a direct correlation with Bill 156, as some conservatives see the Bill as a Trojan horse for permitting Spanish to become a semi-official language. As you know, America does not have an “official” language. This unofficial status may allow other languages to dominate English.

The Bill passed unanimously (Kilpatrick was absent).