WASHINGTON — In a flurry of action on the sweeping immigration bill in the last two days, senators approved an amendment by Sen. Jim Inhofe to make English the national language but killed a proposal by Sen. Tom Coburn that might have delayed the process for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship.

The approval of Inhofe's amendment, by a vote of 64-33, came late Wednesday night but was accompanied by approval of a separate amendment that would effectively neuter Inhofe's attempt to limit the distribution of federal documents in different languages.

Inhofe, R-Tulsa, wants to reverse an executive order signed by former President Clinton in 2000 that requires the recipients of federal money to provide their services in different languages for people with limited proficiency in English.

Inhofe said his amendment wouldn't bar such services as translators for court proceedings and still allow agencies to provide some would services in different languages if they chose to. But he said it would eliminate any sense that there's an entitlement to receive federal services in a language other than English.

"This debate is not just about preserving our culture and heritage, but also about bettering the odds of our nation's newest potential citizens,” Inhofe said Thursday. "It is vital to any immigration bill that we send the message to all those who have come to our country and those who will immigrate here in the future that English is the language of our land.”

But opponents said Inhofe's amendment wouldn't solve a critical problem for immigrants — the shortage of English classes. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., said there is a three-year wait in Boston for the limited slots.

Separately, the Senate approved, by a vote of 58-39, an amendment by Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., stating that the U.S. government should "preserve and enhance the role of English as the language of the United States.”

But the amendment also states that current laws and regulations — including the Clinton order — should be preserved.

The same situation happened last year when the Senate considered an immigration bill that ultimately died. Senators passed amendments by Inhofe and Salazar. The fate of Inhofe's language won't be known unless the legislation moves through the Senate and House. Debate on the issue failed to be stopped on Thursday.

Proposal falters

Coburn's amendment, defeated by a vote of 42-54, addressed the so-called triggers in the bill that require numerous improvements to border security and immigration enforcement before the process could begin to legalize immigrants who are here unlawfully.

Coburn, R-Muskogee, and Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., wanted to require that Congress certify that the border security and enforcement improvements had been made before the proposed citizenship process could start.

"The first step in any immigration reform proposal must begin with securing our borders,” Coburn said. "Our country is based upon the rule of law and tolerating illegal immigration undermines this principle.”