Tancredo Urges Rangel to Support English-Only Bill

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) has taken a good deal of heat for telling reporters last week that he failed to pay taxes on income from his Dominican Republic villa because of a language barrier.

“Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, they’d start speaking Spanish,” explained the chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, which oversees tax law.

Well today, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo (R), the nativist congressman and one-time presidential contender, offered some advice: Endorse my English-only legislation. From Tancredo’s Sept. 17 letter to Rangel:

I am sympathetic to your concerns, and would like to invite you to co-sponsor legislation I introduced (H.J.Res.19) which would make English the official language of the United States.

While passage of this bill will do little to reform our hopelessly complex tax code – or assist you in escaping your current ethical dilemma – its passage may help ensure that future generations of Americans less wealthy than yourself can live in a country where they can use an ATM, call a customer service department, or shop at their local grocery store without having to find a translator or “Press 1 for English” as they must often do in the America of today.

Don’t hold your breath for Rangel to reply.