ENGLISH-ONLY BILL ENDORSED BY HOUSE PANEL.

Byline: The New York Times

A House committee narrowly approved a bill Wednesday making English the official language of the United States.

Republicans and Democrats, in five hours of sharply partisan debate, agreed that English is already the principal language of government, commerce and everyday life in this nation. But they were widely divided on whether to codify that fact in law and, more deeply, over what cultural, moral and language traits define what it means to be an American.

Republicans, at a hearing of the House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee, said their bill would halt a worrisome trend toward creating ``language ghettos'' that are leaving immigrants unprepared for the job market and forcing the government to accommodate non-English speakers with documents, services and bilingual classes in several other languages.

``I do not want to see the country become ethnic enclaves,'' said Rep. Marge Roukema, R-N.J.

But Democrats said the bill was unnecessary, unconstitutional and racist. ``This is just a guise for a bill that's built on bias and bigotry,'' said California Rep. Matthew G. Martinez, D-Alhambra.

The vote to send the bill to the House floor, where it probably will be considered in September, was 19-17, along party lines. A similar bill is pending in a Senate committee.

The Clinton administration strongly opposes the bill, which is the latest effort in a decadelong campaign by English-only proponents to declare English the sole language used to make policy and to curb the spread of bilingual education and bilingual ballots.

Bob Dole, the apparent Republican presidential nominee, has supported the idea of making English the country's official language, although it has not yet become a major campaign issue.

As written, the bill seeks to ``help immigrants better assimilate'' and ``empower'' them with new language and literacy skills.

``There are an increasing number of people who can't compete because they don't read, write or speak English,'' said California Rep. Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, R-Escondido.