Supporting responsible fatherhood and encouraging greater involvement of fathers in the lives of their children, especially on Father's Day.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 66) supporting responsible fatherhood and encouraging greater involvement of fathers in the lives of their children, especially on Father's Day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 66.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan) for sponsoring this legislation and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, for supporting it.

Madam Speaker, we live in troubled times for young people. Over 36 years of coaching I saw cultural changes that negatively impacted children. The out-of-wedlock birth rate went from 5 percent in 1960 to roughly 33 percent today.

The United States has become the most violent nation in the world for young people in terms of homicide and suicide. Drug and alcohol addiction has increased dramatically. We currently have roughly 3 million teenage alcoholics and hundreds of thousands who are addicted to other types of drugs.

Teen pregnancy has skyrocketed.

The greatest single factor in this alarming transformation has been fatherlessness. There are currently 24 million fatherless children in the United States. Up to 60 percent of today's children will spend at least part of their childhood separated from their biological fathers, and many fathers who are present are emotionally absent because of work commitment and simple lack of interest in their children's lives.

Fatherless children have a great deal of trauma and dysfunction in their lives. They are much more likely to commit crimes and engage in substance abuse. Approximately 70 percent of prison inmates grew up without fathers. Fatherless children have lower grades and higher dropout rates. The dropout rate for fatherless children is roughly double that of other children. Fatherless children are five times more likely to live in poverty, are more likely to be promiscuous. And three out of four suicides take place in a home where a parent is absent, and psychiatric problems are four to five times more prevalent for fatherless children.

So when a dad walks out, it leaves a vacuum that is often filled with all of

the wrong stuff. This is the biggest threat that we experience in our culture today, so I would like to take this opportunity particularly to thank those fathers who do stay the course. While some have minimized the importance of fatherhood, the evidence is overwhelming that a father makes a unique contribution in the lives of his children.

It takes both a father and a mother living in a committed relationship to develop stable children and a strong culture. Some have denigrated the institution of marriage and said fathers really are somewhat irrelevant, and obviously the facts belie that. Fathers are critical, as are mothers, to a strong society.

Madam Speaker, I want to urge support to the National Center on Fathering created by Ken Canfield. Mentoring programs have been very important around the country to fill the gap in fatherlessness, and all of the initiatives which promote and strengthen fatherhood.

We currently see an encouraging increase in interest and recognition of the importance of fatherhood. I guess in what might otherwise be a rather bleak picture, this is somewhat of an encouraging sign. I urge adoption of House Resolution 66.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am happy to rise in appreciation of fathers and in full support of Father's Day. Many people believe that Father's Day was started by greeting card companies to create another reason for people to buy greeting cards, but that is not so. The origination of Father's Day is generally credited to Mrs. John B. Dodd of Washington State. Mrs. Dodd wanted to honor her father, William Smart. Mr. Smart was a Civil War veteran whose wife, Mrs. Dodd's mother, died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart never remarried and raised all six children by himself.

Beginning in 1919, Father's Day was celebrated unofficially on June 19, which was close to Mr. Smart's birthday. It was not until 1966 that Father's Day became an official American celebration when President Johnson signed a Presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday in June Father's Day.

I am happy to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to honor the many, many wonderful fathers who have given children their time, knowledge and strength, and most of all their love; and I would like to take this opportunity to also thank and show great gratitude for the grandfathers who have in many of our lives, mine in particular, played a tremendous role and in many instances step in for the father who is not there.

There is something special about the grandfather because they are passing down from many generations, which is very enriching, I think, for many young people in our society today. And coming from a generation where there has been much divorce and many fathers who have not been around, I think this is a very appropriate resolution, and I am happy to show our appreciation to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 66, a resolution that speaks to the importance of fathers and the role that they play in our society. I thank my colleague, Mr. Sullivan, for his work on this important matter.

Six days from now, our nation will celebrate the special place that fathers have in our country.

From helping with homework to playing ball, from reading a book to offering advice, and from praying with and just listening, each and every day fathers of all ages contribute to the mental, moral, physical and spiritual development of children, teenagers, and adults.

According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, children with involved, loving fathers are significantly more likely to do well in school, have a healthy self esteem, show empathy, exhibit good behavior, and avoid high risk activity such as drug use and criminal activity.

H.J. Resolution 66 recognizes the wonderful work that both parents do on behalf of their kids, and I encourage my colleagues to join with us as we all recommit ourselves to being the best father we can to children everywhere.

And in conclusion, I would like to publicly thank my father, Dr. Douglas McIntyre of my hometown of Lumberton, for the great example he has been to me and for the dedication and support he has shown in my every endeavor.