[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 27, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IMPORTANCE OF MARRIAGE INITIATIVES IN WELFARE REFORM

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, between 1970 and the year 2000, the number 
of children living in a single-parent home has jumped from 8.2 million 
to 19.2 million. That is almost a 150 percent increase.
  The effect of that change had a devastating consequence. Children 
living with a single mother are six times more likely to live in 
poverty than children living in a complete family. The median income of 
a single mother with kids is about $21,000. For a married couple with 
kids, it is about $63,000. Almost a third of single-parent families 
with kids live in poverty. Only 6 percent of families headed by married 
couples live in poverty.
  Mr. Speaker, it does not take a nuclear scientist to figure out that 
marriage is good for kids. But that is saying the cup is half full when 
it is really half empty. It is clear not being married is devastating 
to our children.
  Our welfare laws still penalize poor couples from getting married. 
Congress needs to change this and change it for good.

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