Clarisse McClellan's Daughter

Does that mean people who speak another language in their own homes (because we know the government likes to push themselves even into the bedroom) are punishable by law? What if someone /doesn't/ speak English, but they're trying, by taking classes or such? Is THAT punishable by law?

No.

* English would be designated the official language of the U.S. government – indeed, the only language that federal employees and officials, including members of Congress, would be permitted to use for most government business.
* The English Only mandate would extend to federal "actions, documents, policies ... publications, income tax forms, informational materials," records, proceedings, letters to citizens – indeed, to any form of written communication on behalf of the U.S. government.
* Exceptions to the ban on federal use of other languages would be permitted for purposes that include national security, international trade and diplomacy, public health and safety, criminal proceedings, language teaching, certain handicapped programs, and the preservation of Native American languages.
* An "entitlement" would be created, ensuring the "right" of every person to communicate with the federal government in English – in effect, a guaranteee of language rights, but for English speakers only.
* Civil lawsuits to enforce the law would be permitted by persons claiming to have been "injured by a violation" of it – a "right of action" that could give virtually any taxpayer the standing to sue in federal court.
* Naturalization ceremonies would be specifically restricted to English only.
* Bilingual provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which guarantee minority-language voting materials in certain jurisdictions, would be repealed.

And the first time this was an issue was in 1981, as well as, like I said previously, during Clinton's administration when the House passed the legislation but it failed in the Senate in 1996.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/langleg.htm

As well as any page you google the terms: official language legislation congress