[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 82 (Thursday, June 12, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FATHERHOOD PROMOTION TASK FORCE

  (Mr. McINTYRE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McINTYRE. Mr. Speaker, as a new Member from North Carolina, it is 
a high honor to serve the people in the House. Yet an even more 
important role in my life is that of being a father. As I approach my 
14th year of being called ``Dad,'' we must all realize that fathers do 
make a difference in the home.
  The statistics speak for themselves and are staggering. Four out of 
ten children in America will go home tonight without a father. The time 
a father spends with a child averages, one on one, only 10 minutes a 
day. Violent criminals too often are males who have grown in a home 
without a father. As leaders of our country, we must do better.
  I urge my colleagues to join the Congressional Fatherhood Promotion 
Task Force. We will explore ways to challenge fathers to that type of 
commitment, not just another law or another government program, but 
encouraging fathers to fulfill the calling that they have in their 
lives.
  The future of our country lies in the hands of our children. Through 
this task force, we will ensure that those hands are properly prepared 
with persistence and purpose and ready to lead. Please join us in this 
important mission that we not fail.

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