[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 442 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         June 12, 2002.
Whereas 40 percent of children who live in fatherless households in the United 
        States have not seen their fathers in at least 1 year, and 50 percent of 
        such children have never visited their fathers' homes;
Whereas approximately 50 percent of all children born in the United States spend 
        at least half of their childhood in families without father figures;
Whereas 3 out of 4 adolescents in the United States report that they do not have 
        adults in their lives that serve as positive role models;
Whereas children who are apart from their biological fathers are, in comparison 
        to other children, 5 times more likely to live in poverty, and more 
        likely to bring weapons and drugs into the classroom, commit other 
        crimes, drop out of school, commit suicide, abuse alcohol or drugs, and 
        become pregnant as teenagers;
Whereas the Federal Government spends billions of dollars to address these 
        social ills and very little to promote responsible fatherhood;
Whereas the promotion of responsible fatherhood should not--

    (1) denigrate the standing or parenting efforts of single mothers, 
whose efforts are heroic;

    (2) lessen the protection of children from abusive parents;

    (3) cause women to remain in, or enter into, abusive relationships; or

    (4) compromise the health or safety of a custodial parent;

Whereas children with fathers at home tend to do better in school, to be less 
        prone to depression, and to have more successful relationships;
Whereas boys and girls alike demonstrate greater self-control and ability to 
        take initiative when fathers are actively involved in their upbringing;
Whereas promoting responsible fatherhood can help increase the chances that 
        children will grow up with two caring parents;
Whereas a broad array of America's leading family and child-development experts 
        agree that it is in the best interests of children, and the Nation as a 
        whole, to encourage more two-parent, father-involved families;
Whereas in a study of fathers' interaction with their children in intact two-
        parent families, nearly 90 percent of the fathers surveyed said that 
        being a father is the most fulfilling role a man can have;
Whereas according to a 1996 Gallup poll, 90.3 percent of Americans agree that 
        fathers make a unique contribution to their children's lives;
Whereas married fathers are more likely to have a close, enduring relationship 
        with their children than unmarried fathers;
Whereas the promotion of responsible fatherhood is a bipartisan issue; and
Whereas Father's Day is the third Sunday in June: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) urges men to understand the level of responsibility fathering a 
        child requires, especially in the encouragement of the academic, moral, 
        and spiritual development of children;
            (2) recognizes the need to encourage active involvement of fathers 
        in the rearing and development of their children;
            (3) encourages each father to devote time, energy, and resources to 
        his children, recognizing that children need not only material support, 
        but even more importantly, a secure and nurturing family environment;
            (4) commends the millions of fathers who serve as wonderful, caring 
        parents for their children, while also recognizing that there are 
        children who will have no one with whom to celebrate on Father's Day;
            (5) urges mothers to encourage fathers to play an active role in 
        child-rearing;
            (6) calls on fathers across the Nation to use Father's Day to 
        reconnect and rededicate themselves to their children's lives, to spend 
        Father's Day with their children, and to express their love and support 
        for their children; and
            (7) urges American institutions, and government entities at every 
        level, to promote public policies that encourage and support the efforts 
        of, and remove barriers to, responsible fatherhood.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.