[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 66 Engrossed in House (EH)]
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
June 14, 2004.
Whereas 40 percent of children who live in fatherless households 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;
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
become pregnant as teenagers;
Whereas the Federal Government spends billions of dollars to address these
social ills and very little to promote responsible 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 involved 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 interests of children and the
Nation as a whole to encourage 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 fathers surveyed said that
being a father is the most fulfilling 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, enduring 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 responsibility fathering a
child requires, especially in the encouragement of the moral, academic,
and spiritual development of children;
(2) encourages active involvement of fathers in the rearing and
development of their children, including 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 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 encourage and support, and remove barriers
to, responsible fatherhood.
Attest:
Clerk.