H. Res. 417

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

June 9, 1998.

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 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 reared with fathers who are actively involved

in their upbringing;

Whereas, although mothers often work tremendously

hard to rear their children in a nurturing environ-
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ment, 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 rearing and development of their children;

Whereas, according to the Bureau of the Census, in

1994, 19,500,000 children in the United States

(nearly one-fourth 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;

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 reared without a fa-
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ther 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 reared 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 Promotion were both formed in 1997, and the

Governors Fatherhood Task Force was formed in

February 1998;
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Whereas the Congressional Task Force on Fatherhood

Promotion is exploring the social changes that are required to ensure that every child is reared with a father who is committed to be actively involved in the

rearing 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., 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

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) recognizes that the creation of a better

America depends in large part on the active involvement of fathers in the rearing and development of

their children;

(2) urges each father in America to accept his

full share of responsibility for the lives of his children, to be actively involved in rearing his children,

and to encourage the academic, moral, and spiritual
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development of his children and urges the States to

aggressively prosecute those fathers who fail to fulfill their legal responsibility to pay child support;

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

children need not only material support, but more

importantly a secure, affectionate, family environment; and

(4) expresses its support for a national summit

on fatherhood.

Attest:

Clerk.