The ELPAC Report January 2001

The November elections reduced Republican power in both the House and the Senate, dimming prospects for major legislation. English language supporters will improve in committee assignments, but the close margins may encourage Republican leaders to abandon protection for English in some future legislative trade-offs.

The House of Representatives:

Few incumbents lost in the House of Representatives, and despite much anticipation from Democrats, when the dust settled, Republicans were still in control. The Republican majority shrank to just ten seats, but all Republican leaders were easily reappointed to their posts. The re- elected Republican leadership has not strongly supported English-language proposals, a change from just a few years ago, and one supposedly driven by concerns about Hispanic voting patterns.

The major changes in the House will be in committee assignments. This is the first year that self-imposed term limits on committee leaders will force changes at the top of some of the biggest committees. The results are likely to be better for English: Rep. William Goodling (R- Pennsylvania), who has repeatedly blocked bilingual education reform, loses his chairmanship of the House Education Committee, and will likely be replaced by long-time English protector Tom Petri (R-Wisconsin). Similarly, Cong. Henry Hyde (R-Illinois), a strong supporter of English, also loses his Chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee, but should be replaced by Cong. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin), another English supporter.

The U.S. Senate:

On the Senate side, the once-robust Republican majority has shrunk to almost nothing. Some of the most conservative Senators were defeated at the polls, and it is unclear how much a deadlocked Senate will be able to do in the next two years.

One of the biggest changes in the Senate for English may be in the Immigration Subcommittee. Current Subcommittee Chairman Spencer Abraham, who had long championed unlimited immigration (and never supported English), was soundly defeated after a difficult campaign in which his immigration positions were widely discussed; his replacement may be Sen. John Kyl (R-Arizona), who has been a quiet supporter of English policies.

Though not mentioned in the news media predictions of legislative gridlock, one of the results of the narrow majorities may be a willingness to sacrifice English-language proposals for other legislative purposes. Behind the scenes, both Democrats and Republicans are talking about "moderating" positions to build bipartisan coalitions. Given the historical willingness of Republican leaders to abandon English-language proposals for fear of upsetting special interests, however, there is a significant danger than English proposals will be considered expendable "bargaining chips" to be traded for unrelated bills.

Watch for urgent legislative alerts over the next two years if English proposals are placed on the congressional chopping blocks.

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