IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 66 
Supporting responsible fatherhood and encouraging greater involvement of 
fathers in the lives of their children, especially on Father’s Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2003 
Mr. SULLIVAN (for himself and Mr. TURNER of Texas) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting responsible fatherhood and encouraging greater 
involvement of fathers in the lives of their children, espe-
cially on Father’s Day. 
Whereas 40 percent of children who live in fatherless house-
holds in the United States have not seen their fathers in 
at least 1 year, and 50 percent of such children have 
never visited their fathers’ homes; 
Whereas approximately 50 percent of all children born in the 
United States spend at least half of their childhood in 
families without father figures; 
Whereas 3 out of 4 adolescents in the United States report 
that they do not have adults in their lives that serve as 
positive role models; 
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•HRES 66 IH 
Whereas children who are apart from their biological fathers 
are, in comparison to other children, 5 times more likely 
to live in poverty, and more likely to bring weapons and 
drugs into the classroom, commit other crimes, drop out 
of school, commit suicide, abuse alcohol or drugs, or be-
come pregnant as teenagers; 
Whereas the Federal Government spends billions of dollars to 
address these social ills and very little to promote respon-
sible fatherhood; 
Whereas children with fathers at home tend to do better in 
school, to be less prone to depression, and to have more 
successful relationships; 
Whereas boys and girls alike demonstrate greater self-control 
and ability to take initiative when fathers are actively in-
volved in their upbringing; 
Whereas promoting responsible fatherhood can help increase 
the chances that children will grow up with two caring 
parents; 
Whereas the promotion of responsible fatherhood should not 
denigrate the standing or parenting efforts of single 
mothers, whose efforts are heroic, lessen the protection of 
children from abusive parents, cause women to remain in, 
or enter into, abusive relationships, or compromise the 
health or safety of a custodial parent; 
Whereas a broad array of the Nation’s leading family and 
child development experts agree that it is in the best in-
terests of children and the Nation as a whole to encour-
age more two-parent families where the father is actively 
involved with his children; 
Whereas in a study of fathers’ interaction with their children 
in intact two-parent families, nearly 90 percent of the fa-
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•HRES 66 IH 
thers surveyed said that being a father is the most ful-
filling role a man can have; 
Whereas according to a 1996 Gallup poll, 90.3 percent of 
Americans agree that fathers make a unique contribution 
to their children’s lives; 
Whereas married fathers are more likely to have a close, en-
during relationship with their children than unmarried 
fathers; and 
Whereas Father’s Day is the third Sunday in June: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) urges men to understand the level of re-
sponsibility fathering a child requires, especially in 
the encouragement of the moral, academic, and spir-
itual development of children; 
(2) encourages active involvement of fathers in 
the rearing and development of their children, in-
cluding the devotion of time, energy, and resources 
to his children, recognizing that children need not 
only material support, but even more importantly, a 
secure and nurturing family environment; 
(3) urges mothers to encourage fathers to play 
an active role in child-rearing; 
(4) commends the millions of fathers who serve 
as wonderful, caring parents for their children; 
(5) calls on fathers across the Nation to use 
Father’s Day to reconnect and rededicate themselves 
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to their children’s lives, to spend Father’s Day with 
their children, and to express their love and support 
for their children; and 
(6) urges institutions and government entities 
at every level to promote public policies that encour-
age and support, and remove barriers to, responsible 
fatherhood. 
Æ 
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