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(12/6/2005)
Marriage-Strengthening Bill in Congress Reallocates TANF money to address family breakdown WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Concerned Women for America's (CWA) Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, Senior Fellow of Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, joined in a letter released Monday by the Fatherhood and Marriage Leadership Institute (FAMLI) to the Senate leadership. The letter supports moving federal welfare funds (TANF) into marriage-strengthening programs. Dr. Crouse said, "With the success of welfare reform legislation, the nation can use some of the TANF money to address family breakdown and the crisis of father absence in America. Marriage rates are down and too many of our children are being raised without the presence of their father. We must restore and strengthen the married mother and father family as the basic unit of American society." By reprogramming TANF money, the bill does not generate new spending. It designates half the money for competitive grants at the state level for marriage-strengthening initiatives. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will distribute the other half to local organizations for marriage education and public awareness programs. Dr. Crouse concluded, "Children are paying a high price for family breakdown in America -- divorce is the top cause of child poverty. Adults, too, benefit from marriage. Married people are happier and healthier; they earn more money and live longer." The U.S. House of Representatives budget reconciliation bill includes TANF funds for the Healthy Marriage Initiative; the Senate bill does not. Action is expected during this session of Congress.
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