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 im-
proved fetal and infant development, and father-child
interaction has been shown to promote a child’s phys-
ical 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 out-
comes, 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 abil-
ity 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-
•HRES 417 EH
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 develop-
ment 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 ab-
sent;
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 fa-
ther’’;
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 ab-
sent;
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 chil-
dren 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-
•HRES 417 EH
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 com-
plete high school and more likely to have low earn-
ings 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 Father-
hood Promotion were both formed in 1997, and the
Governors Fatherhood Task Force was formed in
February 1998;
•HRES 417 EH
Whereas the Congressional Task Force on Fatherhood
Promotion is exploring the social changes that are re-
quired to ensure that every child is reared with a fa-
ther 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 fa-
therhood 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 fa-
ther 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 par-
ticipating 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 involve-
ment 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 chil-
dren, to be actively involved in rearing his children,
and to encourage the academic, moral, and spiritual
•HRES 417 EH
development of his children and urges the States to
aggressively prosecute those fathers who fail to ful-
fill their legal responsibility to pay child support;
(3) encourages each father to devote time, en-
ergy, and resources to his children, recognizing that
children need not only material support, but more
importantly a secure, affectionate, family environ-
ment; and
(4) expresses its support for a national summit
on fatherhood.
Attest:
Clerk.