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<PRE>[DOCID: f:hc316ih.txt]






107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 316

Expressing the sense of the Congress that government policy should seek 
 to reduce the financial penalties against marriage within the welfare 
 system, and should support married couples in forming and sustaining 
               healthy, loving, and productive marriages.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 6, 2002

Mr. Pitts (for himself, Mr. Akin, Mr. Goode, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Hilleary, 
 Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Barr of Georgia, and 
 Mr. Norwood) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that government policy should seek 
 to reduce the financial penalties against marriage within the welfare 
 system, and should support married couples in forming and sustaining 
               healthy, loving, and productive marriages.

Whereas both men and women who marry live longer, enjoy better health, and 
        manage chronic illness better than otherwise similar people who are not 
        married;
Whereas married people are significantly less likely to suffer from the problems 
        of alcoholism and depression than non-married adults;
Whereas mothers who have married are almost half as likely to suffer from 
        domestic violence as mothers who have never married, and married women 
        are 4 to 5 times less likely to be victims of violent crime than single 
        and divorced women;
Whereas marriage boosts the wealth and earnings of adults through known economic 
        processes, including economies of scale, specialization, and risk 
        pooling;
Whereas the institution of marriage strengthens the economy by increasing 
        productivity, savings, and investment;
Whereas the erosion of marriage imposes substantial hardships on children, 
        adults, and society at large;
Whereas roughly 1 child in 3 in the United States is born out of wedlock and 
        nearly half of those born to married parents will experience the divorce 
        of their parents before age 18;
Whereas a child born and raised by a single parent is 7 times more likely to 
        live in poverty than a child born and raised by married parents;
Whereas a child born to and raised by married parents is 5 times less likely to 
        be dependent on welfare than a child born and raised by a single parent;
Whereas children raised by married parents are less likely to suffer from 
        behavior problems and emotional disturbances, are less likely to engage 
        in disorderly conduct and juvenile delinquency, and are less likely to 
        experience physical and sexual abuse, suicide, substance abuse, and teen 
        pregnancy than children raised outside of marriage;
Whereas children whose parents never marry or get divorced are less likely to 
        graduate from high school and as adults are more likely to be unemployed 
        and to experience economic hardship;
Whereas boys raised by single parents are almost twice as likely to have 
        committed a crime and spend time in jail by the time they reach their 
        early thirties; and
Whereas children whose parents never marry or get divorced are more likely to 
        divorce or have children out of wedlock themselves, thereby transmitting 
        the pattern of unstable marriages to future generations: Now, therefore, 
        be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that healthy marriages are highly 
important to the well-being of children, adults, and society in 
general, and that government policy should seek to reduce the financial 
penalties against marriage within the welfare system, and should 
support couples who choose to marry and assist them in acquiring the 
knowledge and skills necessary to form and sustain healthy, loving, and 
productive marriages.
                                 &lt;all&gt;

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