Recognizing the immeasurable contributions of fathers in the healthy development of children, supporting responsible fatherhood, and encouraging greater involvement of fathers in the lives of their children, especially on Father's Day.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1243, recognizing the immeasurable contributions of fathers in the healthy development of children, supporting responsible fatherhood, and encouraging greater involvement of fathers in the lives of their children, especially on Father's Day.

Pope John Paul XXIII once stated: ``It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.'' The truism of those words is exceedingly relevant today.

The presence of two committed, involved parents contributes directly to better academic importance, reduced substance abuse, less crime and delinquency, fewer emotional and other behavioral problems, less risk of abuse or neglect, and lower risk of teen suicide.

The research is clear, fathers factor significantly in the lives of their children. There is simply no substitute for the love, involvement, and for the commitment of a responsible father.

Fathers today have a responsibility to set aside quality time with their children, such as attending their children's school events, games and activities. They also involve their children in their lives and the adult world by taking them to work, or taking them along when the car needs to be repaired, or involving them in decisions that affect the family.

As advisors and role models, fathers help their children to understand the difference between right and wrong and to recognize how the decisions they make today can affect the rest of their lives.

Fathers instill important values and prepare their children for challenges and opportunities ahead by demonstrating true leadership. Their love and their devotion inspire the future generation of Americans to achieve their dreams, and demonstrate their true spirit of our country.

A father is one of the most important influences in a child's life. And on Father's Day, and every day, we honor our fathers who celebrate this special bond between a father and a child.

And so as fathers and children all across the country prepare this Sunday to mark that special day in which fathers are honored for all they do, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution.

Father's Day celebrations are a time of great happiness and family bonding. Many families will try to escape for a day, perhaps taking a trip to a favorite landmark or to the ball park, building precious memories for dad and children alike.

Unfortunately, for many families, these joyous celebrations will not be an option this year. With the price of gasoline reaching $4.02 per gallon just recently, for the first time in history, Americans are struggling to put fuel in their cars. They're struggling to make everyday purchases. And they're sacrificing the types of celebrations that would normally mark the occasion of Father's Day.

Although the majority has thus far refused to unveil its long- promised plan to bring down the price of gasoline, Republicans are not willing to stand by while our families suffer. That's why we've offered a plan of our own to increase production here at home, thereby creating American jobs, while also encouraging the development of energy alternatives and promoting conservation.

We owe it to the American families, including the fathers, who just want to be able to spend quality time with their children, to finally deliver solutions to the current energy crisis. We need to bring down the price of energy sources that fuel our lives.

I would like to reserve the balance of my time at this point, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan) as much time as he may consume.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would just thank and compliment the gentleman from Oklahoma for bringing this resolution to the floor, and for bringing awareness to the people who are fathers, and reminding them of the tremendous role that they have in America and the youth development of our children, and to thank them for their participation in that role.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1243) recognizing the immeasurable contributions of fathers in the healthy development of children, supporting responsible fatherhood, and encouraging greater involvement of fathers in the lives of their children, especially on Father's Day.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 1243 into the Record.

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

I rise today in support of H. Res. 1243 which recognizes the contributions of millions of fathers in the lives of their children. This coming Sunday, June 15, is Father's Day, so this is an appropriate time to stop and commend the millions of fathers who serve as wonderful, caring parents for their children.

Fathers can play a special role in the rearing and development of their children, and I commend the millions of fathers across our country for devoting their time, energy, and resources to improving the well-being of their children.

But, Mr. Speaker, I would also like to mention that this is not just a day for children to honor their fathers, or for adults to honor their fathers, it is also a day, I believe, for fathers to recognize the blessing that they have been given to mean so much in the lives of their children.

When I was a columnist years ago, I began writing columns about my son and being my son's father. What was interesting about them is each year that I did that, they were always the most popular columns that I wrote because they were human subjects that many people could relate to.

The first one I wrote, which was June of 1994, I wrote this: ``When I was growing up, I figured Father's Day was the day when I was supposed to acknowledge my gratitude for everything my dad did for me. Now that I'm a dad, I know it is really something much different. It's a reminder of how wonderful it is to be an important part of someone else's life, to shoulder responsibility, to love without conditions or expectations.''

So I want to make a personal comment that Father's Day is about being a father as much as paying honor to your father.

With that, Mr. Speaker, once again I want to express my support for H. Res. 1243 that acknowledges the importance of fathers in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have the great honor of introducing and yielding as much time as he may consume to the sponsor of the bill, the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).

(Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I think that all of us agree that this is something that transcends party, transcends geography and transcends economics. We all treasure our fathers, and I urge that this resolution be adopted by the House.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, first of all I want to thank the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Yarmuth) for yielding, and also for the tremendous addition that he has been to the United States House of Representatives, and how much I enjoy serving with him on the Education Committee.

I also want to commend the sponsors of this resolution because I don't think that there is any other day that perhaps should be more important than the concept of Father's Day.

We all recount and remember our own childhood, growing up. I remember my father always trying to encourage us to do things like go to bed early, get up early, study hard, work hard, go to church. My father had all these little pithy sayings that he used to say to us, and he'd say things like, ``Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.''

Then I remember when my brothers and I got to be teenagers, and he would tell us that; and we'd say, Dad, we really thank you for your wisdom. Of course the fellows have a different saying now. They say, ``Early to bed, early to rise and the girls go out with the other guys.''

Nevertheless, the things that he taught continued to be the things that I value. Self-sufficiency, always being able to look out not only for yourself, but for others.

Unfortunately, we have seen a tremendous rise in single-parent families, where we experience much too often the absence of fathers. And there are things that we know about the absence of fathers. We know that children who grow up without the presence of a father are more likely to drop out of school, more likely to experience teen pregnancy, more likely to experience juvenile delinquency, more likely to be incarcerated.

And so I simply want to take this moment to thank the Illinois Council on Responsible Fatherhood, and a group that I work with called Fathers Who Care. On Saturday of this past week, as we do every year before Father's Day, we had a full day of activity at the Malcolm X Community College for 400 men who came and talked about fatherhood. And we encouraged those who had been away from their children to know that they can have father relationships even if they aren't employed, that even if they've been incarcerated and away from their families, they can still come back; that nothing takes the place of the positive interaction between father and child. And not only just your individual child.

I had so many fathers growing up until I just can't name them all. I had father uncles, I had father cousins, I had father neighbors, I had friends of the family, all of whom practiced the art of fatherhood. And I don't believe that I would be standing here today as a Member of Congress had I not had the influence of those men in my life.

Again I commend the sponsors of this resolution, urge its passage.

Mr Speaker, I rise today to offer my strong support to H. Res. 1243, which recognizes the importance of fathers in American society.

In 1965, while reporting to the Johnson administration on the problems of under-class America, Daniel Patrick Moynihan cut to the root of many of the problems we in Congress work so hard to address. His report stated that, ``. . . A community that allows a large number of young men to grow up in broken families . . . never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any rational expectations about the future--that

community asks for and gets chaos.'' Tragically, since the Moynihan Report was issued, the number of fatherless homes has more than tripled. Is it any wonder, then, that our society has the problems that it does?

Several studies conducted in recent years emphasize the importance of fathers in the well-being of their children. Children living without their fathers are 5 times more likely to live in poverty as those who live with both parents. Not living with both parents quadruples the risk of having an affective disorder, such as depression, and are nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with breathing problems such as asthma. Cigarette, alcohol, and drug use, and violent crime rates are all significantly lower for children that come from two parent households. Children with fathers are half as likely to drop out of school, half as likely to repeat a grade, and much more likely to get A's, enjoy school, and participate in extracurricular activities. And where fathers were present, young men were more likely to grow up to become good fathers themselves.

It would be naive for me to suggest that the simple presence of a father guarantees the success of their children and a life without problems. But the evidence is overwhelming that fathers do play a vital role in the growth and development of their children. So, Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to celebrate Fathers' Day this weekend, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this resolution that expresses our appreciation for the hard work that fathers do in providing for their families, for modeling good relationships, and for raising their children to be responsible citizens of this great country.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to take just a moment to honor my own father, Wilbur Tiahrt. Truly a member of the Greatest Generation, he raised me and my siblings to be people of integrity, to value our families, and to appreciate and cherish the freedoms we have in America today. Seven years ago, my father underwent open heart surgery. That experience has served as a very personal reminder to how short life is, and each Fathers' Day I am especially grateful for the time that I have with my father.

Mr. Speaker, as I look forward to celebrating Father's Day this weekend, I was proud to introduce House Resolution 1243, which honors fathers across the country by recognizing the important role that fathers play in shaping the lives of our Nation's young people, supporting responsible fatherhood, and encouraging greater involvement of fathers in the lives of their children.

Being a father is one of the greatest blessings of my life. I love my job, but I look forward to the end of the week when I can head back home to Tulsa to be with my family.

My children, Tommy, Meredith, Sydney and Daniel are my number one priority, and I strive every day to show them they are important. I would like to take this opportunity to remind all fathers to spend extra quality time with their children on Father's Day, and to continue to do so throughout the year.

I introduced this legislation not only to honor fathers but to call attention to the importance of the job. The role that fathers play in the development of our youth cannot be overstated.

The absence of fathers contributes to many social problems that we, as legislators, fight to prevent daily. According to findings by the National Fatherhood Initiative, the closer adolescents feel to their fathers, regardless of the type of family structure in which they live, the less likely it is that they will engage in the use of drugs or delinquent behavior. Involved and proactive fathers help to shape confident and productive future citizens.

So as we honor fathers on Father's Day, we should also encourage men to evaluate their own participation in their children's lives, because you never can be too involved.

As a co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Responsible Fatherhood, as a father and a concerned citizen, I ask my colleagues to join me in spreading the message of responsible fatherhood to all levels of society, and encouraging more fathers to reconnect with their children by supporting House Resolution 1243.