IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 417

Regarding the importance of fathers in the raising and development of their

children.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 30, 1998

Mr. PITTS (for himself, Mr. TURNER, Mr. ROGAN, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. GINGRICH, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. DELAY, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. GEPHARDT, and Mr.

BONIOR) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Education and the Workforce

RESOLUTION

Regarding the importance of fathers in the raising and

development of their children.

Whereas studies reveal that even in high-crime, inner-city

neighborhoods, well over 90 percent of children from safe,

stable, two-parent homes do not become delinquents;

Whereas researchers have linked father presence with improved fetal and infant development, and father-child

interaction has been shown to promote a child’s physical

well-being, perceptual abilities, and competency for relatedness with other persons, even at a young age;

Whereas premature infants whose fathers spend ample time

playing with them have better cognitive outcomes, and

children who have higher than average self-esteem and
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lower than average depression report having a close relationship with their father;

Whereas both boys and girls demonstrate a greater ability to

take initiative and evidence self-control when they are

raised with fathers who are actively involved in their upbringing;

Whereas, although mothers often work tremendously hard to

raise their children in a nurturing environment, a mother

can benefit from the positive support of the father of her

children;

Whereas, according to a 1996 Gallup Poll, 79.1 percent of

Americans believe the most significant family or social

problem facing America is the physical absence of the father from the home and the resulting lack of involvement

of fathers in the raising and development of their children;

Whereas, according to the Bureau of the Census, in 1994,

19,500,000 children in the United States (nearly onefourth of all children in the United States) lived in families in which the father was absent;

Whereas, according to a 1996 Gallup Poll, 90.9 percent of

Americans believe ‘‘it is important for children to live in

a home with both their mother and their father’’;

Whereas it is estimated that half of all United States children

born today will spend at least half their childhood in a

family in which a father figure is absent;

Whereas estimates of the likelihood that marriages will end

in divorce range from 40 percent to 50 percent, and approximately three out of every five divorcing couples have

at least one child;
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Whereas almost half of all 11- through 16-year-old children

who live in mother-headed homes have not seen their father in the last twelve months;

Whereas the likelihood that a young male will engage in

criminal activity doubles if he is raised without a father

and triples if he lives in a neighborhood with a high concentration of single-parent families;

Whereas children of single-parents are less likely to complete

high school and more likely to have low earnings and low

employment stability as adults than children raised in

two-parent families;

Whereas a 1990 Los Angeles Times poll found that 57 percent of all fathers and 55 percent of all mothers feel

guilty about not spending enough time with their children;

Whereas almost 20 percent of 6th through 12th graders report that they have not had a good conversation lasting

for at least 10 minutes with at least one of their parents

in more than a month;

Whereas, according to a Gallup poll, over 50 percent of all

adults agreed that fathers today spend less time with

their children than their fathers spent with them;

Whereas President Clinton has stated that ‘‘the single biggest

social problem in our society may be the growing absence

of fathers from their children’s homes because it contributes to so many other social problems’’ and that ‘‘the real

source of the [welfare] problem is the inordinate number

of out of wedlock births in this country’’;

Whereas the Congressional Task Force on Fatherhood Promotion and the Senate Task Force on Fatherhood Pro-
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motion were both formed in 1997, and the Governors Fatherhood Task Force was formed in February 1998;

Whereas the Congressional Task Force on Fatherhood Promotion is exploring the social changes that are required

to ensure that every child is raised with a father who is

committed to be actively involved in the raising and development of his children;

Whereas the 36 members of the Congressional Task Force on

Fatherhood Promotion are promoting fatherhood in their

congressional districts;

Whereas the National Fatherhood Initiative is holding a National Summit on Fatherhood in Washington, D.C., on

June 15, 1998, with the purpose of mobilizing a response

to father absence in several of the most powerful sectors

of society, including public policy, public and private social services, education, religion, entertainment, the

media, and the civic community;

Whereas both Republican and Democrat leaders of the House

of Representatives and the Senate will be participating in

this event; and

Whereas the promotion of fatherhood is a bipartisan issue:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) recognizes that the creation of a better

3 America depends in large part on the active involve4 ment of fathers in the raising and development of

5 their children;

6 (2) urges each father in America to accept his

7 full share of responsibility for the lives of his chil-
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1 dren, to be actively involved in raising his children,

2 and to encourage the academic, moral, and spiritual

3 development of his children;

4 (3) encourages each father to devote time, en5 ergy, and resources to his children, recognizing that

6 children need not only material support, but more

7 importantly a secure, affectionate, family environ8 ment; and

9 (4) expresses its support for a national summit

10 on fatherhood.

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