[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 25 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Pages 1391-1392]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

June 17, 2000

    Good morning. Tomorrow America pauses to honor the countless 
contributions and obligations of fatherhood. When I think back on all 
the titles I've held--from attorney general of Arkansas to Governor to 
President--none of them comes close in importance and in fulfillment to 
the simple title of father.
    Fatherhood is one of the great blessings of life and also one of the 
greatest challenges any man can have, especially at a time when it's 
becoming more and more difficult to balance the pressures of work and 
family.
    Today I want to share some evidence with you about the critical role 
fathers play in their children's lives, and I want to talk about our 
obligation as a nation to help more fathers provide both the emotional 
and the financial support their children need.
    We've known for a long time now that students do better in school 
and later in life when their parents are more actively involved in their 
learning. But over the years, parent involvement often has meant 
mothers' involvement. This assumption misses the importance of fathers. 
Research now confirms that involvement of both parents in a child's 
education makes a positive difference, and that father involvement 
during infancy and early childhood also contributes to a child's 
emotional security and enhances problemsolving in math and verbal 
skills.
    In fact, one study showed that the chances of a child getting mostly 
A's increased by over 40 percent in two-parent families where the father 
was highly involved. Even in families where the father isn't living with 
his child but remains actively involved, those odds of getting A's 
increased by a full third.
    Clearly, fathers matter when it comes to early childhood development 
and education. And while there is now a growing understanding of that 
fact, it was Vice President Al Gore who put a national spotlight on this 
issue during his 1994 Family Reunion Conference, and he's worked 
tirelessly on it ever since.
    Our combined efforts are paying off. I'm pleased to release a report 
today from the

[[Page 1392]]

Departments of Education and Health and Human Services that offers 
educators and early childhood providers information, strategies, and 
tools to successfully involve more fathers in their children's 
learning--from encouraging more fathers to read with their kids at home 
to inviting more of them to volunteer in schools and child care centers.
    The report highlights model programs around the country and provides 
resource information for practitioners. We also know that noncustodial 
parents who continue to be involved with their children are more likely 
to pay child support. The sad fact is that one in three children in 
America today lives without his or her father. They shouldn't be 
punished, either emotionally or financially, because of that. That's why 
for 7\1/2\ years now we've made child support enforcement a top 
priority.
    And today we've got some further evidence that our efforts are 
paying off. Child support collections increased 10 percent during the 
past year, reaching a record of nearly $16 billion. That's double what 
it was in 1992. This means fewer women on welfare, fewer children in 
poverty, more families living in dignity.
    When it comes to protecting children and building strong families 
and strong communities, all of us have a role to play. But first and 
foremost, it's about caring mothers and fathers; and then about 
supporting community. But Government also must do its part. And we 
mustn't forget that most fathers out there really do want to do a good 
job. That's why today I'm also directing a number of departments to 
develop coordinated, interagency guidance to help States and communities 
identify and use available Federal resources and opportunities for 
promoting responsible fatherhood.
    The research and the results are clear: supporting, responsible 
fatherhood is good for children, good for families, good for our Nation. 
It's why we propose building on our progress with a $255 million 
responsible fatherhood initiative called ``Fathers Work/ Families Win.'' 
The fact is, many fathers can't provide financial and emotional support 
to their children, not because they're deadbeat, but because they're 
dead-broke.
    Our initiative would help at least 40,000 more low income fathers 
work and support their children. Unfortunately, in the spending bill 
passed in the House this week, the Congress turned its back on this 
challenge by not including any money for this important initiative. So I 
ask Congress to work with me across party lines to pass a budget that 
makes sure more fathers can live up to their responsibility. Working 
together, we can help fathers better fulfill the emotional, educational, 
and financial needs of their children.
    As we prepare to celebrate the first Father's Day of the new 
century, let's do all we can to help more fathers live up to that title, 
not just through their financial support, but also by becoming more 
active, loving participants in their children's lives.
    Thanks for listening.

 Note:  The address was recorded at 11:15 a.m. on June 16 in Classroom 
230 at Joseph C. Lanzetta School (Public School 96) in New York City for 
broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on June 17. The transcript was made available by 
the Office of the Press Secretary on June 16 but was embargoed for 
release until the broadcast.