FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-1025
April 20, 1999
No. HR-5
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on fatherhood. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, April 27, 1999, in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include representatives from the Administration, researchers, program administrators, and advocacy groups. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Numerous studies suggest that unmarried fathers tend to have lower levels of education and income as well as elevated rates of unemployment and incarceration as compared with other fathers. These problems make it difficult for them to marry and to play a positive role in the rearing of their children. Studies also show that the consequence of father absence is that children, especially boys, are at risk for developing the same problems that afflict their fathers, thus creating an intergenerational cycle of school failure, delinquency and crime, unemployment, and nonmarital childbirths and child rearing.
Expert witnesses have been invited to discuss what research tells us about the economic and social circumstances of unmarried fathers as well as the effects of programs designed to help these fathers improve their economic status and improve their relationships with the children and their children's mothers.
Members of the Subcommittee introduced fatherhood legislation, H.R. 3314, the "Fathers Count Act of 1998" last year, but it was not acted on by the Committee. This hearing is the first step in renewing that effort.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "The 1996 welfare reform law has been very successful in helping poor mothers get jobs and improve their economic circumstances. The next logical step in reforming welfare is to help poor fathers improve their economic circumstances and participate directly in the rearing of their children. We are holding this hearing to learn about new research on the relationship between these young men and women and the prospects that they can form two-parent families or at a minimum, work together to rear their children. Our Subcommittee is especially interested in learning about programs that are now attempting to work directly with fathers to achieve these goals."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The purpose of this hearing is to continue the Subcommittee's examination of the difficulties faced by unmarried fathers of children on welfare. The hearing will focus on two issues. First, the Subcommittee will hear about new research on the outcomes of programs for low-income fathers as well as research on the relationship between poor mothers and fathers who have children outside marriage. Second, the Subcommittee will hear about programs, including the welfare-to-work program authorized under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act, that are now being conducted in inner city areas by community-based organizations to help unmarried fathers improve their economic status and to promote marriage.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, May 11, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Human Resources office, room B-317 Rayburn House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.