[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1235 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1235

   Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that certain 
 welfare programs discourage marriage and hurt the institution of the 
                      family in the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2024

  Mr. Grothman (for himself, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mr. Allen, Mr. 
 Weber of Texas, and Mr. Lamborn) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that certain 
 welfare programs discourage marriage and hurt the institution of the 
                      family in the United States.

Whereas the Federal Government funds 126 separate programs that have a stated 
        purpose of fighting poverty, including 27 cash or general assistance 
        programs, 21 of which are food-aid programs, and 33 of which are housing 
        programs;
Whereas means-tested programs such as child-care vouchers, section 8 housing 
        choice vouchers, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 
        determine eligibility and allotment of benefits by counting individuals 
        related by blood, marriage, or adoption as members of the family unit, 
        thereby excluding non-parent cohabiters' income from consideration and 
        discouraging cohabiters from marrying for fear of a loss of benefits;
Whereas means-tested programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
        Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, 
        and Children, school meals, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance 
        Program determine eligibility and allocation of benefits by counting all 
        members living within a household, which discourages single parents from 
        raising children in a two-parent home;
Whereas tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit also penalize marriage, 
        as one member of an unmarried couple can receive the full benefit when 
        claiming the couple's child, but a married couple with the same income 
        may be pushed out of the eligibility range for the full benefit;
Whereas Pell Grant and Federal student loan eligibility and allocation is 
        determined through the information reported on the Free Application for 
        Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including the individual's expected family 
        contribution, which discourages marriage for fear that the combined 
        income of a married couple would result in a smaller financial aid 
        award;
Whereas the combined penalty associated with all these programs, should a single 
        parent of two children choose to get married, can result in as much as 
        $14,544 annually in decreased benefits;
Whereas the War on Poverty has promoted this decline in marriage by penalizing 
        low-income parents who choose to marry by reducing their means-tested 
        benefits;
Whereas, before the start of the failed War on Poverty program in 1964, only 7 
        percent of children in the United States were born out of wedlock, a 
        number that now stands at over 40 percent; and
Whereas removing one parent, usually the male, from his or her child can have a 
        harmful effect on the child's life: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) affirms that strong marriages contribute to healthy 
        communities and thriving children;
            (2) recognizes that certain welfare programs discourage 
        marriage and hurt the institution of the family in the United 
        States;
            (3) believes that the Federal Government should treat 
        everyone equally and that it is wrong to discriminate against 
        parents who choose to get married;
            (4) supports action to review government programs, tax 
        credits, or policies that put financial penalties on married 
        couples as opposed to their unmarried peers; and
            (5) supports action to reform benefits or end programs to 
        eliminate these penalties.
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