[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 417 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                          June 9, 1998.
    Whereas studies reveal that even in high-crime, inner-city 
            neighborhoods, well over 90 percent of children from safe, 
            stable, two-parent homes do not become delinquents;
    Whereas researchers have linked father presence with improved fetal 
            and infant development, and father-child interaction has 
            been shown to promote a child's physical well-being, 
            perceptual abilities, and competency for relatedness with 
            other persons, even at a young age;
    Whereas premature infants whose fathers spend ample time playing 
            with them have better cognitive outcomes, and children who 
            have higher than average self-esteem and lower than average 
            depression report having a close relationship with their 
            father;
    Whereas both boys and girls demonstrate a greater ability to take 
            initiative and evidence self-control when they are reared 
            with fathers who are actively involved in their upbringing;
    Whereas, although mothers often work tremendously hard to rear 
            their children in a nurturing environment, a mother can 
            benefit from the positive support of the father of her 
            children;
    Whereas, according to a 1996 Gallup Poll, 79.1 percent of Americans 
            believe the most significant family or social problem 
            facing America is the physical absence of the father from 
            the home and the resulting lack of involvement of fathers 
            in the rearing and development of their children;
    Whereas, according to the Bureau of the Census, in 1994, 19,500,000 
            children in the United States (nearly one-fourth of all 
            children in the United States) lived in families in which 
            the father was absent;
    Whereas, according to a 1996 Gallup Poll, 90.9 percent of Americans 
            believe ``it is important for children to live in a home 
            with both their mother and their father'';
    Whereas it is estimated that half of all United States children 
            born today will spend at least half their childhood in a 
            family in which a father figure is absent;
    Whereas estimates of the likelihood that marriages will end in 
            divorce range from 40 percent to 50 percent, and 
            approximately three out of every five divorcing couples 
            have at least one child;
    Whereas almost half of all 11- through 16-year-old children who 
            live in mother-headed homes have not seen their father in 
            the last twelve months;
    Whereas the likelihood that a young male will engage in criminal 
            activity doubles if he is reared without a father and 
            triples if he lives in a neighborhood with a high 
            concentration of single-parent families;
    Whereas children of single-parents are less likely to complete high 
            school and more likely to have low earnings and low 
            employment stability as adults than children reared in two-
            parent families;
    Whereas a 1990 Los Angeles Times poll found that 57 percent of all 
            fathers and 55 percent of all mothers feel guilty about not 
            spending enough time with their children;
    Whereas almost 20 percent of 6th through 12th graders report that 
            they have not had a good conversation lasting for at least 
            10 minutes with at least one of their parents in more than 
            a month;
    Whereas, according to a Gallup poll, over 50 percent of all adults 
            agreed that fathers today spend less time with their 
            children than their fathers spent with them;
    Whereas President Clinton has stated that ``the single biggest 
            social problem in our society may be the growing absence of 
            fathers from their children's homes because it contributes 
            to so many other social problems'' and that ``the real 
            source of the [welfare] problem is the inordinate number of 
            out of wedlock births in this country'';
    Whereas the Congressional Task Force on Fatherhood Promotion and 
            the Senate Task Force on Fatherhood Promotion were both 
            formed in 1997, and the Governors Fatherhood Task Force was 
            formed in February 1998;
    Whereas the Congressional Task Force on Fatherhood Promotion is 
            exploring the social changes that are required to ensure 
            that every child is reared with a father who is committed 
            to be actively involved in the rearing and development of 
            his children;
    Whereas the 36 members of the Congressional Task Force on 
            Fatherhood Promotion are promoting fatherhood in their 
            congressional districts;
    Whereas the National Fatherhood Initiative is holding a National 
            Summit on Fatherhood in Washington, D.C., with the purpose 
            of mobilizing a response to father absence in several of 
            the most powerful sectors of society, including public 
            policy, public and private social services, education, 
            religion, entertainment, the media, and the civic 
            community;
    Whereas both Republican and Democrat leaders of the House of 
            Representatives and the Senate will be participating in 
            this event; and
    Whereas the promotion of fatherhood is a bipartisan issue: Now, 
            therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes that the creation of a better America 
        depends in large part on the active involvement of fathers in 
        the rearing and development of their children;
            (2) urges each father in America to accept his full share 
        of responsibility for the lives of his children, to be actively 
        involved in rearing his children, and to encourage the 
        academic, moral, and spiritual development of his children and 
        urges the States to aggressively prosecute those fathers who 
        fail to fulfill their legal responsibility to pay child 
        support;
            (3) encourages each father to devote time, energy, and 
        resources to his children, recognizing that children need not 
        only material support, but more importantly a secure, 
        affectionate, family environment; and
            (4) expresses its support for a national summit on 
        fatherhood.
            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.