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







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 417

 Regarding the importance of fathers in the raising and development of 
                            their children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 30, 1998

   Mr. Pitts (for himself, Mr. Turner, Mr. Rogan, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. 
  Gingrich, Mr. Armey, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Gephardt, and Mr. 
 Bonior) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Regarding the importance of fathers in the raising and development of 
                            their children.

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 raised with fathers who are actively 
        involved in their upbringing;
Whereas, although mothers often work tremendously hard to raise 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 raising 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 raised 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 raised 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 raised 
        with a father who is committed to be actively involved in the raising 
        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., on June 15, 1998, 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 raising 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 raising his children, and to encourage the 
        academic, moral, and spiritual development of his children;
            (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.
                                 <all>