[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 132 (Tuesday, September 20, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 IOWA--A GREAT PLACE TO RAISE A FAMILY

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I was pleased to read a recent article 
in the Washington Post by Laura Sessions Stepp, Washington Post staff 
writer. The title of it was: ``Iowa, Where the Living Is Easier,'' and 
it is a report on all 50 States. The subheadline says: ``Report: 
Maryland, Virginia Above Average for Families; DC Ranks Poorly.''
  In reading this article, obviously I was very proud for my State that 
the Post acknowledged what I and many other residents of Iowa--all 
Iowans--know and have known for many years: That Iowa is a great place 
to raise a family.
  Ms. Stepp is reporting in the Washington Post article on a 
publication called ``Running in Place.'' This report is by a 
Washington-based research organization called Child Trends, Inc. This 
study compares the 50 States and the District of Columbia on nine 
measures affecting family life, including number of intact families, 
rate of child poverty and education levels.
  The report examined three challenges that families face as they 
attempt to fulfill their responsibilities in today's society: Making 
ends meet, combating negative peer influences on their children, and 
maintaining parental control as children grow older.
  Some people would argue that this generation of young couples is 
simply more materialistic and consumed with bigger houses and fancier 
cars than other generations. While that might be true of some couples, 
obviously, it is not true of all couples.
  Unfortunately, though, Mr. President, there is another reality out 
there. Unfortunately, some of these challenges are made worse by unwise 
public policies creating ever-increasing tax burdens on the American 
family. This forces more parents into a Hobson's choice of making ends 
meet or having time with their children. Many American families are so 
preoccupied with earning enough money to keep from falling behind 
financially that it may detract from their ability to raise their 
children.
  According to this study, called ``Running in Place,'' to avoid 
poverty in the current economy, most families need to have both parents 
working to help support themselves and to help provide the resources 
for raising their kids.
  Another result of the difficult financial reality of this day is that 
during a child's high school years, a time when most young people need 
more parental involvement and particularly to balance the peer cultures 
which support risky activities, many parents are less active, less 
involved than at other times in their child's development.
  According to this study, parental involvement in schools falls to 50 
percent when children are 16 or older, compared to 73 percent when 
children are ages 8 to 11, as an example.
  At a time when educators believe that children are more likely to do 
well in school if their parents are involved in school activities, this 
decrease of parental involvement is particularly disturbing and may be 
indicative of worst times ahead.
  While our State's per household income averages only $26,229--and 
that is well below the richest State which has an average of $41,721--
it reflects a different lifestyle chosen by many residents of my State 
and I think it focuses upon our people putting the family first and the 
importance of family.
  Because the cost of living in Iowa is more reasonable for families, 
it allows and encourages greater parental involvement in the lives of 
children. Iowa ranks in the lowest 10 States in the percentage of 
female-headed families with children. This is important because of the 
fact that if a family is a two-parent family, the median income is 
$43,578, but if it is a female-headed family, the median income is 
$12,073. Compare $12,073 to $43,578, and it speaks about why lots of 
families have problems, because this discrepancy means the difference 
between poverty and nonpoverty for many families.
  Iowa also benefits from the fact that it is in the lowest 10 States 
in terms of unemployment, with the rate of only 4.5 percent of the work 
force unemployed. This means that Iowa parents are more able to provide 
for their families than parents from other States where unemployment is 
much higher.
  Iowa also continues to rank at the top of the Nation in terms of 
education, with the highest ACT and SAT scores in the Nation for 
several years now. One of the reasons for this great achievement, 
reflecting the beliefs of many educators, is the involvement of parents 
in the education of their children. In this study that I am referring 
to, Iowa ranked in the lowest 10 States on high school teachers' 
reports that lack of parental involvement and student disrespect are 
serious problems in their schools.
  So I am thankful that it is not a serious problem in our schools, as 
determined by our own educators.
  While this is good news for Iowa, there are some concerns raised by 
the report. The percentage of children not living with both their birth 
parents rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 43 percent in 1993.
  While there are clearly some cases where circumstances warrant this 
result, the continuing trend toward broken homes is disturbing. One of 
the major issues raised by the increase in single-parent homes is the 
increase in child poverty. As I mentioned earlier, if a child is in a 
two-parent home, the median income was $43,578; if a child is in a 
mother-only family, that median income was $12,073.
  Another issue raised by the increase in single-parent homes is the 
fact that only 37 percent of custodial parents with children from 
absent parents were receiving child support. And this, Mr. President, 
despite the efforts at both the State level and the Federal level to 
boost and to collect child support payments.
  Although I do not agree with every conclusion drawn by the authors of 
this study, it raises some very interesting issues and questions for 
all of us as policymakers to consider.
  So I urge my colleagues to consider this study titled ``Running In 
Place,'' as we continue to confront the difficult issues facing our 
Nation today, whether they be issues connected with welfare reform, 
with collecting child support payments, with a lot of issues that we 
are going to be dealing with here--the issue of poverty as well. I 
think this study has a lot of good information that we ought to take 
into consideration.
  I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the article by Laura Sessions 
Stepp from the Washington Post be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    Iowa, Where the Living Is Easier


    report: md., va., above average for families, d.c. ranks poorly

                       (By Laura Sessions Stepp)

       If you want to raise a family, move to Iowa. The state that 
     touts itself as ``A Place to Grow; apparently grows healthy 
     families, according to a national study released today. For 
     that matter, so do Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, 
     Vermont and Utah.
       ``Running in Place,'' a report by the Washington-based 
     research organization Child Trends Inc., compares the 50 
     states and the District of Columbia on nine measures 
     affecting family life, including childhood poverty and 
     parental employment, education level and involvement in 
     schooling.
       Most states enjoy some favorable ratings, although four 
     look pretty dismal; Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and 
     South Carolina. The district also doesn't fare very well.
       Some of the richest states, such as Connecticut (with a 
     per-household income of $41,721), score less well than poorer 
     states such as Iowa (with an income of $26,229). In part 
     that's because states like Connecticut have urban centers 
     with all the social ills that big cities bring, said Nicholas 
     Zill, the report's coauthor. Also, families in places like 
     Iowa may have accepted lower wages in return for better 
     overall environments for families, Zill said.
       Maryland and Virginia rank about average in this report, 
     with Maryland slightly ahead of Virginia. In Maryland, Zill 
     and co-author Christine Winquist Nord find a relatively low 
     percentage of children under 18 living in poverty (11 
     percent), a better-than-average proportion of the population 
     over age 25 with at least a high school diploma (78 percent) 
     and low percentage of the work force unemployed (4.3 
     percent). On the negative side, Maryland has a high rate of 
     repeat births to teenagers (26 percent). Also, according to 
     data from a national teacher survey, Maryland suffers from a 
     higher-than-average proportion of parents who are uninvolved 
     in their children's schooling (35 percent) and a 
     comparatively high percentage of students who show disrespect 
     toward their teachers (23 percent).
       Proportionately fewer students in Virginia are discourteous 
     to teachers (17 percent), but Virginia parents are uninvolved 
     in a similar proportion to their Maryland counterparts (31 
     percent). Virginia has a slightly higher pecentage of 
     children in poverty than Maryland (13 percent) but an equally 
     low rate of unemployment (4.5 percent).
       The District rates poorly on every measure, as do other 
     major urban centers surveyed. However, the D.C. child poverty 
     rate of 25 percent, while high, is not nearly as high as the 
     rates in Hartford, Miami, Atlanta, Gary, Ind., Brownsville, 
     Tex., and especially Camden, N.J., where, according to this 
     report, 50 percent of the children live in poverty.
       In Iowa's biggest city, Des Moines, 19 percent of the 
     children are poor, but statewide, that drops to 14 percent, 
     Eighty percent of Iowa's residents over 25 graduated from 
     high school and only 4.5 percent are unemployed. Iowa enjoys 
     a lower-than-average rate of first births to at-risk mothers 
     (37 percent) and an apparently higher-than-average proportion 
     of two-parent households (only 15 percent of its families 
     with children are headed by the mother). Christina Martin, 
     press secretary to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, says many Iowa 
     families are now benefiting from state reforms in welfare, 
     child welfare, health care and child support. ``Iowa realized 
     early that strong families were the foundation for building a 
     sound education system and encouraging economic growth,'' she 
     says.
       Along with Nebraska and south Dakota, it also has the 
     highest proportion of working mothers with young children (70 
     percent). And talk about Midwestern civility : Only 10 
     percent of Iowa students are rude to their teachers.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from Alaska is recognized.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. President, I ask to speak for not more than 10 minutes as if in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. I thank the Chair.

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