IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 236 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that welfare programs 

discourage marriage and hurt the institution of the family in the United 

States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2019 

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

Committee on Ways and Means 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

welfare programs discourage marriage and hurt the institution of the family in the United States. 

Whereas the Federal Government funds 126 separate programs that have a stated purpose of fighting poverty, 72 

of which provide either cash or in-kind benefits to recipients, 17 of which are food-aid programs, and over 20 of 

which are housing programs; 

Whereas means-tested programs such as child-care vouchers, 

section 8 housing choice vouchers, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families determine eligibility and allotment of benefits by counting individuals 

related by blood, marriage, or adoption as members of 

the family unit, thereby excluding non-parent cohabiters’ 


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•HRES 236 IH 

income from consideration and discouraging cohabiters 

from marrying for fear of a loss of benefits; 

Whereas means-tested programs such as the Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental 

Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, 

school meals, and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program determine eligibility and allocation of benefits by counting all members living within a household, 

which discourages single parents from raising children in 

a two-parent home; 

Whereas tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit 

also penalize marriage, as one member of an unmarried 

couple can receive the full benefit when claiming the couple’s child, but a married couple with the same income 

may be pushed out of the eligibility range for the full 

benefit; 

Whereas Pell Grant and Federal student loan eligibility and 

allocation is determined through the information reported 

on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid 

(FAFSA), including the individual’s expected family contribution, which discourages marriage for fear that the 

combined income of a married couple would result in a 

smaller financial aid award; 

Whereas the combined penalty associated with all these programs, should a single parent of two choose to get married, can result in a decrease of approximately $30,000 

a year; 

Whereas the War on Poverty has promoted this decline in 

marriage by penalizing low-income parents who choose to 

marry by reducing their means-tested benefits; 


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•HRES 236 IH 

Whereas before the start of the failed War on Poverty program in 1964, only seven percent of children in the 

United States were born out of wedlock, a number that 

now stands at over 40 percent; and 

Whereas removing one parent, usually the male, from his or 

her child can have a harmful effect on the child’s life: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes that welfare programs discourage 

3 marriage and hurt the institution of the family in 

4 the United States; 

5 (2) believes that the Federal Government 

6 should treat everyone equally and that it is wrong to 

7 discriminate against parents who choose to get mar8 ried before having children; 

9 (3) supports action to review any Government 

10 program, tax credit, or policy that puts financial 

11 penalties on married couples as opposed to their un12 married peers; and 

13 (4) supports action to change benefits or end 

14 programs in order to eliminate these penalties. 

Æ 


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