IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 526

Encouraging and promoting greater involvement of fathers in their children’s

lives and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding

a National Responsible Father’s Day.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 14, 2000

Mr. CARSON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and the Workforce

RESOLUTION

Encouraging and promoting greater involvement of fathers

in their children’s lives and expressing the sense of the

House of Representatives regarding a National Responsible Father’s Day.

Whereas 40 percent of children who live in households without a father have not seen their father in at least one

year and 50 percent of such children have never visited

their father’s home;

Whereas approximately 50 percent of all children born in the

United States spend at least half of their childhood in a

family without a father figure;

Whereas nearly 20 percent of children in grades 6 through

12 report that they have not had a meaningful conversation with even one parent in over a month;
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Whereas 3 out of 4 adolescents report that ‘‘they do not have

adults in their lives that model positive behaviors’’;

Whereas many of the United States leading experts on family

and child development agree that it is in the best interests both of children and of the United States to encourage more two-parent, father-involved families to form and

endure;

Whereas it is important to promote responsible fatherhood

and encourage loving and healthy relationships between

parents and their children in order to increase the chance

that children will have two caring parents to help them

grow up healthy and secure and not in order to—

(1) denigrate the standing or parenting efforts of

single mothers, whose efforts are heroic;

(2) lessen the protection of children from abusive

parents;

(3) cause women to remain in or enter into abusive

relationships; or

(4) compromise the health or safety of a custodial

parent;

Whereas children who are apart from their biological father

are, in comparison to other children—

(1) five times more likely to live in poverty; and

(2) more likely to—

(A) bring weapons and drugs into the classroom;

(B) commit crime;

(C) drop out of school;

(D) be abused;

(E) commit suicide;

(F) abuse alcohol or drugs; and

(G) become pregnant as teenagers;
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Whereas the Federal Government spends billions of dollars to

address these social ills and very little to address the

causes of such social ills;

Whereas violent criminals are overwhelmingly males who grew

up without fathers;

Whereas the number of children living with only a mother increased from just over 5 million in 1960 to 17 million in

1999, and between 1981 and 1991, the percentage of

children living with only one parent increased from 19

percent to 25 percent;

Whereas between 20 percent and 30 percent of families in

poverty are headed by women who have suffered domestic

violence during the past year and between 40 percent and

60 percent of women with children who receive welfare

were abused at some time in their lives;

Whereas millions of single mothers in the United States are

heroically struggling to raise their children in safe, loving

environments;

Whereas responsible fatherhood should always recognize and

promote values of nonviolence;

Whereas child support is an important means by which a parent can take financial responsibility for a child and emotional support is an important means by which a parent

can take social responsibility for a child;

Whereas because children learn by example, community programs that help mold young men into positive role models for their children need to be encouraged;

Whereas promoting responsible fatherhood is not meant to diminish the parenting efforts of single mothers but rather

to increase the likelihood that children will have two caring parents to help them grow up in loving environments;
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Whereas Congress has begun to take notice of this issue with

legislation introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to address the epidemic of

fatherlessness; and

Whereas Sunday, June 18, 2000, is Father’s Day: Now,

therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That—

2 (1) the House of Representatives—

3 (A) recognizes the need to encourage active

4 involvement of fathers in the rearing and devel5 opment of their children;

6 (B) recognizes that while there are millions

7 of fathers who serve as a wonderful caring par8 ent for their children, there are children on Fa9 ther’s Day who will have no one to celebrate

10 with;

11 (C) urges fathers to participate in their

12 children’s lives both financially and emotionally;

13 (D) encourages fathers to devote time, en14 ergy, and resources to their children;

15 (E) urges fathers to understand the level

16 of responsibility required when fathering a child

17 and to fulfill that responsibility; and

18 (F) is committed to assist absent fathers

19 become more responsible and engaged in their

20 children’s lives; and
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1 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa2 tives that—

3 (A) a National Responsible Father’s Day

4 should be established to encourage fathers

5 around the country to reconnect and rededicate

6 themselves to their children’s lives, to spend

7 time with their children, and to express their

8 love and support for their children; and

9 (B) the President should issue a proclama10 tion calling upon the people of the United

11 States to observe such a day with appropriate

12 ceremonies and activities.

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