I don't think every American needs to be bilingual, just those that routinely come in contact with people who don't speak English.I think America should be bilingual. Latinos should learn English and English speaking people should learn Spanish. Communication is the first step to understanding and the lack of understanding is at the root of most of our problems in the world.
Why?
People living in Oregon may go thier entire lives and never come across a spanish speacking person.
We have Canadians that speak French. so by your logic, people living in Florida and Puerto Rico should learn French.
When I was younger, I lived in Germany for a number of years. I spoke German well enough to carry on a simple conversation, deal with local merchants, and understand most local news. I spoke mostly English because most people I conversed with were English speaking. Had I been asked to testify, I certainly would have chosen to testify in English. There is a big difference in being able to speak the language and being able to speak the language fluently. I can understand why Aguirre might have chose to speak through an interpreter. However, what I don't understand is why he didn't ask the committee before he testified if there was an objection to using an interpreter.
In spite this political grandstanding, the bill Aguirre was supporting passed.