House Hearing, 104TH Congress - Causes of Poverty, With A Focus On Out - Of-Wedlock Births

CAUSES OF POVERTY, WITH A FOCUS ON OUT- OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES oF THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION MARCH 5, 1996 Serial 104-52 Printed for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means ae US. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Forse by he US. Govern: Ping Ofce Supeineniet of Dcuess, Coops Sls Office, Washington, DC 2082 SBN 0-16-053080-4COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS BILL ARCHER, Texas, Chairman PHILIP-M. CRANE, Min SAM M. GIBBONS, Porda BILL THOMAS, Cairn, CHARLES B. RANGEL, New York EL CLAY SHAW, J, Florida FORTNEY PETE STARK, Califrnia NANCY 1. JOHNSON, Connecticut [ANDY JACOBS, sn, Indiana SIM BUNNING, Kentucky HAROLD & FORD, "Tennenme ‘AMO HOUGHTON, New York ROBERT T. MATSUI, Calvornia WALLY HERGER, California BARBARA B. KENNELLY, Connestiot JIM McCRERY, Louisiana WILLIAM J COYNE, Pennayirania MEL HANCOCK, Missour! SANDER W, LEVIN, Michigan DAVE CAMP. Michigan BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland SIM RAMSTAD, Minnessta SIM MeDERMOTT, Wathington DICK ZIMMER, New Jersey GERALD D- KLECZKA, Wisconsin JIM NUSSLE, iowe SOHN LEWIS, Georg BAM JOHNSON, Texae Ler. PAYNE, Virginia JENNIFER DUNN, Wat RICHARD ©. NEAL, Marsachusette MAC COLLINS, Georgia ROB PORTMAN, Ono SIMMY HAYES, Lousiana GREG LAUGHLIN, Torse PHILIP S. ENGLISH, Pennesivania SOHN ENSIGN, Nevada SON CHRISTENSEN, Nebraska ‘Pair D. MOSLEY, Chief of Saft Spoace Mavs, Minority Chief Counsel MICHAEL R MeNULTY, New York Suncommnren ON HUMAN RESOURCES 1B CLAY SHAW, Je, Farida, Chairman DAVE CAMP, Michig [HAROLD E. FORD, Tennessee JIM MCCRERY, Lowisienn BARBARA B. KENNELLY. Connectiut MAC COLLINS, Georgia SANDERM. LEVIN, Michigan PHILIP'S ENGLISH, Pennsylvania (CHARLES 5, RANGEL, New York SIM NUSSLE, iowa FORTNEY PETE STARK, Cabfrmia JENNIFER DUNN Warhingzon SOHN ENSIGN, NevadaCONTENTS Pee Advisory of March 12,1996, announcing the hearing 2 WITNESSES Brown, Sarah, National Campaign to Prevent Teon Pregnancy. 140 Chitetian Coalition, Hei Strap ene 3 Gayton Hon. va Ms a Repreenaive ie Cong is the Sake NG Covenant House, Sister Mary Rose Ntieady 108 Furstenberg Prank, Universiy of Pensyivani, Philadelphia, PA 73 Heritage Pindation, obert Rector a Howard, Matin, Emory University, Alania, GA 138 Hutchinson, Hos. Tin, Representative in Congr ots the Sate Aas MoGeadiy Sister Mary Rose, Covenant House 108 Medieal Institte for Sexual Health, Joe 8. Melinaney” de Mt 38 Natioal Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Sarah Brown 140 National Urban Lsogue, Audrey Howe 13 Project Realty, Kathieen M. Sivan a Rangel, Hon. Charles B., a Represeniative is Gangress from the’ State ‘ot ‘New York 8 Rector, Rober, Heriage Foundation al owe Are, Natooal Uri tee 113 Sheldon, Ande, Traditional Values Coal iat Stirrup, Hela, Christen Coalition 5 Sullivan, Kathleen M. Project Reali wi TFalene Hon dames Mr a Representative ta’ Congress fam the’ State a? ‘issourt 19 ‘Traditional Vaiies Coalition, Andrea Shaléon 101 ‘Wetat, Ine, Nicholas Zl 48 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD amily Research Council, Gary L. Bauer, statement ug ‘Tessie Child Care inc, Beldineve, NY, Theresa E Schneider, liter 188CAUSES OF POVERTY, WITH A FOCUS ON OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 1996 House or REPRESENTATIVES, Connmrrtie ON WAYS AND MEANS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES, Washingto ‘The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at_1:07 p.m., in room B-318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. E. Clay Shaw, Jr. (Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding (The advisory announcing the hearing follows:] aADVISORY FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE {CONTACT 0m) 225.105, Shaw Announces Hearing on the Causes of Poverty, with a Focus on Out-of Wedlock Births Conga E Cy Sha. (REL), Chaim of he Scone on Haran Reser of he Coote on Ways at Mas ny seamed tt he Scheme ‘rl boi Howag an th us prey, wis fers on legisnacy. The bearing wll {ake lace on Tony, Mar 12 196, noo BST te Raybara Howse Of Saidng, beping 1:00 po In view of ined times oh wines ol exinony ishing ibe ard Eom eve wine nt. 5 nao ruin ot. ‘Bice fora rl wpe my tnt ica sees corto) Be ‘thames ad Fr ao nthe ie ord of he hag. ackcxousn “The were rar dette a cued cease ciate Hts, hich sor cos ea 30 pret ofl ith Wines excl ode the canes of ieptma itsca chien ‘ome che bor tapered gals fe woe ta ay dog (Bown ar coma tnd ane ong arm pn ah flew en ly Sn! evi os tule ene. Tae Suber taney hot {lies deagred dao he oof ene Bt aly, Seber wil ‘ehe tener) fom repeeaves of fly rap and eso tte a Povey ‘Se ate fup fre 0 reel ening e-pr fls 1 moun te heiag, Cima Shaw ated: “Oto week rk be ving ce en aps elie css md ng em epndence Chen, ater, (Seume cd payer atc en of wei alls tn dor ‘Sesponule tnd idan rele refs al nt mer gic ‘Soars ot of coo Inder lve he poten wea cect and el wh oe te saen's pees poles Igmrigf nor mae bo" DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS ‘Ary pon ot ration wing mt writen ster rhe pd cond oft ig sd ts (0) cop of sce, wi ‘Site anda of hariog sn, y te cow of ins, Tusa, Nach 3,196 | Pap. Mwy, Cet f Su Comms ce Waye st Means US. owe of emis 1 Lng mf: Bung Wagan, DS, te bbe he hearing ay dle 20 oa epic or hsp he Soe Kin n,m 17 an oe Og, wore)[WAYS AND MEANS SUBCOMMITTEE ON PAGE TWO, HUMAN RESOURCES Note Al Comite sve od es eae no sate oe sere a [GOPHER HOUSE GOV, ander HOUSE COMMITTEE INFORMATION4 Chairman SHAW. OK. If the meeting will come to order. This afternoon should be a most interesting hearing. I am looking forward to the witnesses. I will give the opening statement for the majority and Mrs. Kennelly will follow me and give the opening statement for the minority. The rise in births outside marriage is a specter haunting our Nation. 'think we all agree on that. The rates are unaccepiably high and the consequences are severe for both mother and chil IR. 4, the congressional welfare reform bill that was vetoed President Clinton contains many provisions addressed to out-of wedlock births. We have provided a list of these provisions in the members’ folders and copies have been provided for our guests and members of the press. Today's hearing will explore consequences of this surge in out-of- wedlock births. The sad truth is that the fastest ticket to poverty is to have a child without being married. Too often, out-of-wedlock births, especially for our Nation’s poor, mean homes in which fathers are absent, mothers struggle, and children suffer. The data is clear and it is Stark. Sixty-four percent of children born to single parents live in poverty, while only 8 percent of children born to two-parent families live in poverty. That is why I have reached the conclusion that the best thing we can do to fight poverty is to encourage marriage and to discourage out- of-wedlock births. How do you do that? ‘The first action the government and compassionate people must take is to recognize that you do not fight poverty by spending more money; you fight. poverty by changing values. A primary cause of the trend toward births outside of mar: riage is the dramatic increase in sexual activity outside marriage that has afflicted the culture since the sixties, ‘As shown by survey data, this increase has been especially evi- dent among adolescents. According to recent research, for example, the percentage of women who have had intercourse by the age of 18 has more than doubled in the last 30 years. As witnesses on our first panel will show, those trends have led to disastrous increases in out-of wedlock births, an epidemic of sexually transmitied disease and dire long-range health effects on young girls who are sexually active at an early age. ‘A decade ago, calls for abstinence were met with derision or laughter, Now, we have prominent Americans, and even television commercials urging young people to save themselves for marriage. Several of today’s witnesses will discuss projects designed to pro. mote sexual abstinence among adolescents. For now, I think it is fair to characterize these programs as hope. ful, but we would be wrong to assume that they produce large immediate impacts on either rates or consequences of birth outside of marriage. Despite the fact that most Americans abhor both sex among teenagers and births outside of marriage, Congress never- theless continues programs that. provide billions of dollars in subsidies for precisely these behaviors. Here is what we do. Ifa young girl has a baby and Keeps it, we provide her on a guaranteed basis, cash, food stamps, and medical care. In the median State, this package of benefits is worth $12,000 per year. The traditional view has been that this approach for re5 varding young mothers for violating the rule is compassionate, In deed, any politician who questions this policy is accused of all sorts of evil motivations. House Republicans are now challenging the conventional wisdom by trying to end the use of Federal dollars for cash payments to married minor mothers. These mothers could retain their Medic- aid and food stamps and States can provide the mothers with vouchers to help care for the children's needs. States would be barred from providing minor mothers with cash, the biggest incentive for unacceptable behavior. ‘The bill that finally passed this Committee and Congress, but vetoed by the President, made it a State option to change that. Federal policies can no longer have it both ways. We cannot continue to say that we are against out-of-wedlock births and then turn around and provide a substantial set of subsidies for precisely the behavior we condemn. Sooner or later, the Nation’s rate of births outside marriage and the terrible consequences of these births will force States to cut back on government subsidies, More and more people will conclude that it is false and self-deluding compassion to continue subsidizing failure, Finally, the House and Senate agree that States should not be able to use Federal dollars to inerease the cash welfare benefits of mothers already on welfare who have additional children, Because the States objected to a Federal mandate of this type, we gave the States the option of exempting themselves if they do not agree with this policy. We continue to think that it is disastrous social policy to provide more welfare for families who already rely on the taxpayers for their support, The correct birth rate for mothers already ‘Today's hearing is addressed to calling the Nation’s attention to the consequences of early sexual activity and of childbearing outside of marriage. We have also invited a wide variety of witnesses fo testify about what should be done to reduce out-of-wedlock ths. ‘Above all, we want the public to know that if the President continues to defend the status quo, the small but important steps taken in welfare reform to combat births outside of wedlock will die and the dreadful problems outlined in such graphic detail during today’s hearing will continue unchecked. T want to thank all of our witnesses for taking time out of their busy schedules to appear before our Committee and I look forward to the testimony. [An attachment to the opening statement follows:]Provson to Combat Rig Out-medlock Birth Rates ‘Conference Report om H.R. 4 ar 1998 ‘ish wes Hock grant 1 Cros 4 $127.6 bilion cad wef block grat for ae fo vet prevent and redice the incidence of ou-f-wedockpegnacien" song oer upon. Rogues sat ple wo enalih goal and tbe action wo prevent an rece the incidence of ewafneock pregnancies, with pil empha on emage prego, and bls mame goal for reducing the egimacy rao of the St or clear ‘ears 1995 through 2005 Ade ers fr rescind bis 1+ Provides atonal grants for sates tht reduee uof-nedlock inh tes witout Increasing aborons (59 ieee for reductions of oe peoenae poi 10% increases {or eduction of two oF moe eeelage poi) amin 1 Allows sates th Nebiliy to end the practice of inressng cash welfare beefs when ‘brs onwelae have babes (20 stats carenly hve applied for ore oeraing fail caps’ under the new lok grat, sates can use fly eup savings pay Tor more childcare a ld pret vere or sve fan fr te a4 rca. ‘Combating ee renaney 1 Allows ste Resi 0 Hing at welfare for uae ten s+ Requires tent be in schoo and living at home o wth an dt fo resi asians 1 Allows sates to ue back gran fu to provide, or siti oaing, aul uperise ving amagement, sch a seeon-aance homes, for een mothers Ad mds or tines sation f= Provides $76 milion for sbinnce eden ‘Encounsing pte esablsbment 1 Allows states to rede cash wef fr fais that include acid whose paternity ‘ot ben etlished. As wth the fly expand teen provisions, sates have an ince io roce beefs bot ode ou-of-melock pega aw save money for ee Sacer ‘Nina goals ost es pean 1 Witin one yur, the Serer of Heath and Hunan Services mut impemet «sey for preventing tcgepregiacies td wring at 25 pecet of US. communes hve ‘een prepay prevention ogame i ple Ang nkng of sates an eview ceaing ovo. ins ‘+The Secsmy of Heh and Human Series mast smully rk th Sve m0 wd fre east seal sae in eding otf mek bt ‘Sonera Ontnes ‘+ nce section of fading om the criss ou dlc bins por for chien, fais ‘thea, which coneloes I the sen ofthe Congres hat prevention of otf wedlock pregrony and redction oa feck Beth are very important Gowran Inert and he ply Contained nts As ended Yo atthe sis.7 Chairman SHAW. Mrs. Kennelly. Mrs. KENNELLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, let me thank you for convening this hearing. This is a problem that vexes us all, we all are looking for better answers. I also thank you for bringing so many people who are interested in this situation together today. For the past 50 years, outof-wedlock births have increased dra- matically. In this country and others around the globe, this is the situation. This a trend that we cannot ignore. We need to look beyond this basic fact and understand more about why it is happening. This hearing gives us that opportunity. When you take the time to look more closely, you learn some startling facts. As several of our witnesses today will tell us, man} of the myths and stereotypes that seem to drive much of public pol- icymaking today are misleading. If we simply accept the stereotypes, we would have to conelude that most out-of-wedlock births are to minority teenagers on welfare. What are the facts? In the past 50 years, the rate of nonmarital childbearing has been steady for teenagers. As one of our witnesses, Sister Mary Rose, will point out many of the single women giving birth are not poor, have completed high school, are not teenagers, and do not get welfare. There is no consistent evidence—and each of us here today who have worked on this problem over the years can cite various evidences and various reports—that the decision to have a child out of wedlock has a tie with what one is getting on welfare. In fact, I will quote one of our Nation’s finest researchers who says the best social science research suggests that welfare programs are not among the primary reasons for the rising number of out-of-wedlock births. Dr. Frank Furstenberg will report that in the past 30 years, the so-calied illegitimacy rate has risen only among whites, Among African-Americans, the rate has declined. Better education and employment opportunities for men are linked to a higher proportion of births taking place within marriage. Our task this afternoon is to learn facts like these. Even more importantly, to start discussing constructive solutions. My bottom line is this; it is in the best interest for a child to be raised in a loving and nurturing family that includes both parents. The question becomes, what outcome can Federal and State governments be reasonably expected to bring about? T also hope this hearing might offer some explanations for three unanswered questions, irs, if welfare is fueling the growth in out- of-wedlock births, then why do so many of the States with the low- est AFDC, Aid to Families With Dependent Children, payment lev- ‘ls have Some of the highest out-of-wedlock birth rates? Second, why have out-of-wedlock births increased as the relative value of welfare benefits have gone down over the last 20 years? Third, why do other nations, with more generous welfare benefits, have lower teenage birth rates? T thank you for letting me make this statement, Mr. Shaw, I would like to mention that I am also speaking for Mr. Ford who is on his way. Chairman SHaw. Thank you very much, We have a number of Members to testify. Mr. Hutchinson, do you want to come to the table?8 Our first witness this morning will be Charles Rangel, a Member of this Committee, from the State of New York. ‘Mr. Rangel, STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL, A REPRESENTA. TIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK Mr. RANGEL, Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing the Mem- bers an opportunity to share their views. { do not come as an ex- rt in this area, but being a politician I recognize that this issue as become a political issue rather than merely a social issue and I would like to share my views on that. What I would like to say first is that I do not know anyone I have met in the Congress who has more of a sincere desire than you do to improve the quality of life for all Americans. You and I Know that at election time people prescribe remedies for these types of things in order to get broad-based support from their con- stituents and people who do not work and receive public funds are not liked by most people who do work hard every day. The working eople ex ier people to do the same. P*Pfenow thac this 6 America, one that would not condemn immi- grants whether they are legal or illegal. [also know that some peo. Ple emotionally feel that it is better to beat up on the weak than on others who are more powerful. I know that affirmative action has not displaced any white males from any jobs. It sounds unfair to some people and they feel the need to get involved politically. Quite frankly, as we try to reach some agreement on the budget, I get the impression that we are pretty close to agreement and the President wants to make certain that he provides the “leadership” to change welfare as we know it. Of course, the Republicans are very anxious to embarrass him if he does not fulfill his campaign commitment. All of this stuff about reform, however, politically to me is not really about reform. It means that some people truly believe that the Federal Government shouldn't be involved in health or Social Security, that it could be better handled by the private sector. ‘These problems that we are talking about, even though you and I know that they are national in nature, in’ an effort to downsize government, many people in the Congress are prepared to say, let's get out of that and turn it over to the Governors. Trust them. They are good people, and whatever they do not do, then decrease the taxes for the rich and the corporations. Americans are good- thinking people, they will fill in the gap with charity of Boys Town ‘or adoption centers, but get the government out of it, because we do not do a good job: I do not argue. If we are getting out of it, can't we have some guarantees that somebody is going to do it better? We are going to hhave to accept the fact that 1 or 2 million kids may not get any guarantees and the States just may not be able to deal with the problem, and nor will the cities, or charitable organizations. T am Teally shocked that none of our national spiritual leaders, Jews and Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, would not say, hurt somebody, but not these kids, they are just born, they do not know. Do not cut off food, nutrition, and health to these kids because their mothers were dumb, stupid, and indifferent.9 ‘Somehow we should, I think, get a guarantee that no matter who we hurt, it is not going to be the kids. Somehow in the negotiation, even my President will not tell me that, do not worry about it, no Tatter what deal we cu, the kids willbe protected: Hey, that i polities. T want to commend the Chairman, too, because sometimes we hear all these things about illegitimate births and not, supporting kids born out of wedlock, but he did say that is what they are. No matter what God we worship, we won't believe he is involved in illegal activity in allowing these kids to be born. The kids are legitimate. Kids are very legitimate, they are very real. They feel pain ‘They are American kids. I appreciate that. ‘Now, we have to ask what are some solutions? Some of the solutions are just, give a definite amount of time, if the mother is not working, then cut off the welfare. You know, options, no options. Or, make certain that they are all working at a given period of time. Mr. Chairman, without coming up with a solution, I want to give you the benefit of my experience and trust that in our conversa- tions, outside the Committee, we might find some agreement that this is nat a welfare problem alone. Providing for the mothers or the grandmothers or the kids, that’s not just the problem. fe would have to reach out to get Committee and staff who deal with the problems of education, job training, and a variety of other subjects to see whether or not we could find out why we are having this explosion of these births? ‘You ean cut off all the funds you want to these children who are untrained and do not realize or care about the devastating effect of poverty. What is getting into these kids? Why can’t we talk with them? ‘here is no relationship between, punishing them and stop- ping out-of-wedlock childbirth. These kids are just having babies like they are having dolls, If we concentrate in the areas throughout the United States where most of these babies are being born, we need to take a look at who is impregnating them. It is not just kids, you know. A lot of these drug dealers on the street are older men attracting these teenage girls with a couple of dollars and trips to the Caribbean. Even if you take a look at the male kids, these are basically stupid kids. Many of them are involved in drugs. Oh, we are against the drug dealers, as long as they are poor, on the street, addicted, and pushing drugs. You look at the drug dealers in my district, and if you were to discuss with them the problem of money laundering they think you have to go to a laundromat, They do not know how to count, much less launder money. They cannot count money with a money counter. When police arrest them, they find carloads full of money, they find closets full of money. It is eorrupting my police department, I mean good policemen just cannot resist the tempta. tion of seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars in these bums’ apartments and in a low-rent area. ‘After they buy a boom-box and a Jeep and get mom a television, they would not know how to travel. If you asked them to go to Co- lombia for a deal, they would be down in the District of Columbia. If you asked them to go to Rome or Paris and enjoy the money, they would not know how to buy a ticket.10 Take a look at these communities, take a look and see whether there is a relationship between drugs and out-of-wedlock births, as T know exists. The Congressional Black Caucus’ did not come’ together with this problem because of our color or some unique inter- ‘est in it. This is our district. Why? ‘We have the highest unemployment. We have schools that are not producing trained people. We have the highest amount of hopelessness that even if you did go to school, you are not going to get a job. We have the highest. number of professionals who are unem- ployed, When the President says, sign NAFTA, the North American ‘ree Trade Agreement, and move on to high tech because America is going to be richer as a result of the international trade, these are the communities that know you do not mean them. In these districts, there is no relationship between school and job. Everybody who talks about a more prosperous America or drug-free America, have to qualify it, of course, not in the areas of hardcore drug addiction. Hardcore drug addiction means what? Do you think our kids love shooting each other up? Do you really think that in these neighborhoods where children attend more funerals than they attend graduations that this is something exciting? Do you really think that making a couple of thousand dollars a month is worth not knowing what day someone is going to come and shoot you down in the streets and not be arrested? T suggest to you that if you want kids to get married they would not even understand the concept. People who talk about marriage, homes, a picket fence, an IRA, their children’s and their grand: children’s future; they are the ones that have hope. Being poor in this country is no big deal. Most of the Members that I am the closest with come out of poverty, white or black, but they had hope that they could beat it. Not everyone beats it, but ‘everyone can survive better with hope. Even if you die poor, you fight todo better, your kids can see that you want better at I am suggesting is to see these young mothers with young children visiting the fathers in jail. They are talking about loving each other, but they are not talking about marriage. Marriage is, not even there. When you take a look at the millions of young people who are in jail and see the relationship between the inability of the schools to produce, the lack of employment opportunities and the fact that these kids’ do not care—because 70 percent of them are going to return after they are discharged in 3 to 10 years—but we get a kick out of building more prisons. ly former Governor. built more prisons than houses in the State of New York. We pay $60,000 a year to keep a kid at Riker’s Island in New York City. You have never heard my mayor complain about prison budgets, You hear people talking about the $6,000 a year that it takes to keep a kid in elementary school. Mr. Chairman, if we can pull together 2 committee and see what gives a community hope, if we can find out the relationship between graduating from school and not just getting a diploma, but getting a job, if we can do what we are doing in the empowerment zones and bring a_partnershi between business and schools giving businesses incentives to work with the schools and not just complain about what they are produc-u ing. Tell the schools, what you need and make certain that they produce students with job skills and make certain that tax dollars are working and give businesses tax incentives to be involved, if necessary. Mr. Chairman, I conclude by saying that if you show me a com- ‘unity that is proud of its public school system or vouchers or pr- vate school system, if you show me a community where people ean get a job if they are trained, if you show me a community where people have hope for the future, then no matter whether we are jing through recessions or what not, they know darn well in \merica, the greatest country on the face of the Earth, that they are going to do better. nit that T ean, promiee you that 1/am not going to show you a bunch of young addicts? Why is it that I can promise you sta- tistcally that, you are not going to see all of these children born out of wedlock? Why am I going to show you kids that are more gneious to be producing Americans than to risk their lives and go to jal ‘What I am saying, Mr. Chairman, is that I am going to be in this political battle to cut them off. ‘All these things we have to do, liberals/conservatives and Demo- crats/Republicans, and try go to'the mat in November. While we are doing those things that people are going to force us to do, I hope you will consider bringing in the best Members, Republicans and Democrats, from the Education Committee, from the Labor Committee, from the taxwriting committee, those that have dedi- cated their lives to education, those that are dealing with economic development, those that are working with the empowerment zones and say that it takes a village to raise a kid. You do not have to always need a father, it really helps, but in my community 1 did not have a father and everyone acted like they were my father. ‘They pushed me around, the grandmothers of someone else said you are going to go to jail before you go to Yale. It was all right. ‘Some of us have been able to survive because the community had hope. I was the dope. I did not understand it. They had hope that every bum kid would make it. We need more of that, Mr. Chair- man, instead of the animosity and the emotion that goes into this. Tam not an expert in why these lite kids feel the necessity 0 have these little babies that, as you said, are going to end up in poverty. What difference does it really make when they do not Felieve that they wll ever get out of poverty? What difference does it make? Thope that you and I and the Members of this Committee, once the political deal is cut, ean get together and make a difference to help people to believe that having children when you are not ready is immoral and it is wrong. ‘Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman Suaw. Thank you, Mr. Rangel Mr. Hutchinson. STATEMENT OF HON. TIM HUTCHINSON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ARKANSAS ‘Mr, HUTCHINSON, Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for calling the hearing today. I want to express my appreciation for your2 leadership on this issue and for your very articulate and outstand- ing opening statement which you, I think, very well articulated what we face in this whole area Tt is obviously not an easy subject. You have spent years on it and I have spent the last 2 or 3 years learning about this and studying it, There are no easy answers. It is complex and I would not pretend otherwise. Clearly, the policies that we have had in place for 30 years have failed and failed miserably and we must find alternative solutions, Tadmire my friend, Charlie Rangel, and I appreciate so much of what he said, but I would suggest that the hopelessness that he de- scribed is one of the outcomes of a welfare system that has contributed to that hopelessness. ‘That hope is necessary if we are going to see people rise out of their circumstances and situations, but we have got a welfare system that acts to extinguish that hope and the issues are not pri- marily budget-driven. ‘The issues are not who is going to get the credit, it is not pri marily political, It is whether or not, we are going to do more of what we have done in the past, of whether we are going to make some fundamental transformations in a system that is clearly not working to the benefit of those involved in it and to the taxpayers of America who are paying for it. I believe the single greatest. cause of the ills of our society is the breakdown of the American family. It may take a village, but it sure takes a father and there maybe many examples of those who survived without that father or that intact home, but it sure helps if he is there. There is no better institution in America or in the world to provide for the needs or our Nation’s children, Whether it is education, health care, moral and spiritual guidance, the building of self-esteem, or just the basic necessities of life, the family can do it better than the village, the family can do i better than any other entity in our society. It is incumbent upon those of us in government to do all that we can to enact laws and policies which encourage and strengthen the families of our Nation. It is tragic that we have developed a welfare system which does just the opposite. President Roosevelt warned us when we started down this path 60 years ago, that we would, “Induce a spiritual and moral disinte- gration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber.” That is what has happened, We have replaced mothers and fathers and, for that matter, we have replaced the village and put in their stead an all-encompass- ing welfare state. We have done this in the name of compassion, and I do not doubt the motivation that it has been one of compassion. What we have ultimately done is to encourage the breakdown of those families that are so important. What else can we eall it when we tell a young woman that if you get pregnant and you do not marry the father, or get a job we will give you housing, food stamps, health eare, and in some cases, child gare and a cash allowance, and then we tell her that if she will have additional children we will give her more cash money. ‘What else can you call it when we tell a young father that he, ultimately, is not responsible for the children that he helps bring13 into this world because the government will do it instead of him, It is little wonder that welfare recipients reasonably conclude that work and marriage are not rational. We have contributed to that thinking by developing this system. What else can you call it when government stands in the way of families and communities helping young unwed mothers? T have had people in my office who told me of a mother who wanted her minor unwed daughter to remain in her home once that child gave birth to her own baby. In fact, this grandmother wanted to take care of her grandchild and let her daughter finish high school. The daughter wanted to move out and why not? The government was going to set her up in her own home and so this grandmother was told by social services that if her daughter wanted to move out, it was her right. 1 think there is something inherently wrong with that type of a system. A little more than 30 years ago, only a little more than 2 percent of all births occurred out, of wedlock, Today, almost one out Of three of all births occur out of wedlock. There are many reasons for that inerease and T do not pretend that all of it is welfare, not at al Lam concerned that our eurrent welfare system has contributed to this national tragedy. Children born out of wedlock—Mr. Chair- man, you have pointed this out—are seven times more likely to be poor than those born to couples who stay married. Girls raised in single-parent homes on welfare are five times more likely to give birth out, of wedlock compared to girls from intact nonwelfare families. A boy from a single-parent home in the inner city, is twice as likely to engage in crime compared to a simi- lar boy who is poor, but is living with a father and mother. ‘A child who grows up absent a father is more likely to live a troubled life. He is more likely to end up in prison, He is more likely to use drugs, to drop out of school, to join a gang, and more likely to end up back on welfare. Out-of-wediock births, illegitimacy is at the core of most, social pathologies—crime, drugs, illiteracy, and poverty. To claim that we are going to address welfare reform and not make the problem of gut-of- wedlock births the primary focus 18 to repeat the failed re forms of the past. Instead of lifting people out of poverty and despair, we have developed a cycle of dependency that is now entering its third generation. T think it is time for us to say it is enough. This system has failed. It has failed those whom it was designed to help. ‘When President Kennedy sent his welfare package to Congress more than 30 years ago, he stated it and stated it well. He said, “Welfare programs must contribute to the attack on family break: down and illegitimaey. Unless such problems are dealt with effec: tively they fester and grow sapping the strength of society, as a whole, and extending ‘their consequences and troubled families from one generation to the next.” He said it right. Our welfare policies have failed to fulfill the goal that President Kennedy articulated. Mr. Chairman, whatever final welfare reform bill is enacted it will, in my opinion, be a sham if, at its core, it does not address the issue of out-of-wedlock births. We can give all the flexibility weuu want to the States. I am for it, If we ignore the breakdown of the family and the contribution of our government's policies to that breakdown we are going to do a disservice to our citizens, At the very least we should include a family eap with an opt-out for the States, at the very least. This will at least, and at last force States to discuss the issue and debate the issue. If they wish to not have a family cap, they can. pass legislation opting out. However, if the family cap is changed to an opt-in, States can continue to completely ignore the issue and many will. ‘They donot even have to debate it. Isn’t the breakdown of the family and the cycle of dependency important enough that, at a minimum, a discussion of the family cap and the issue of out-of- wedlock births take place in all 50 legislatures? The opt-out family cap provision will foree a long overdue national debate on the problem of out-of-wedlock births. T think Jennifer Marshall, with the Family Research Council said it very well. She said, “Given the consequences for the individual child, the surrounding community and the national poly, bringing a baby into this world without a sense of sacred responsibility cannot long be regarded as a morally neutral act. Congress should now recognize that it is also wrong to sanction such activity by subsidizing it.” ‘Out-of-wedlock births, I believe, are at the very core of the welfare debate and must be the central focus of welfare reform. Edu- cation is not enough, we have seen that. Because as we have increased our stress upon sex education, we have continued to see gut-of-wedlock births increase in our society over the last 30 years. State flexibility is not enough. Work requirements, as important as they are and the great contribution they will make, that is not enough. More of the same will not work. We must fundamentally change this system and chart a new course for our Nation. ‘Thank you, Mr. Chairman, (The prepared statement follows:)1616 See a ee ene ED Ser a ey eas ee agothmnbive." tr Most suovons To MOFiTouns Tus ovansrY GF WORE ms OSH Lt cntcog San iQin aues MORO To HELP PROVIDE POX RIK ‘3500, iMLPARE RECIPIENTS SHOULD 0¥ RAQUIRED TO MORK POR THBIR BRINGS, uurriao GOK PRGRIOR To Tuk MAGRIEAN PROFLE OF REAL MGEYANE REVORN MILLE ‘Tey owt vin GATE TO SeaAt6 TF “Zan? mia BRaAtSow oP "es PRIELY > Ez mbes aim Guura, “orvar ti Conougumtces FoR THE IDEVIDUAL ED, ‘Ban Setgomnees 30 Som ti ato com Sonmunreies mx gow songWw Chairman SHAW, Thank you, Mr. Hutchinson, Our next witness is Ms. Clayton, who is a Member of Congress from the State of North Carolina. ‘Ms. Clayton. STATEMENT OF HON. EVA M. CLAYTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA Ms. CLavron. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you, Chairman Shaw, and Ms. Kennelly for allowing me to testify this afternoon and also to beg, hopefully, that we will debate this in a deliberate and thoughtful effort and not to find opportunities to scapegoat a very hot issue. ‘As politicians, we somehow can wrangle on about the perils of teenagers, not realizing we also are responsible. Most teens who become pregnant come from poor and disadvantaged families ‘Teenage pregnancy is just one marker of disadvantage, one result of growing up poor and poorly nurtured, both physically and emotionally, would say. ‘Teen pregnancy is also a strong predictor of a new generation of disadvantaged. The equation is as simple as this. As poverty is the most accurate predictor of teen pregnancy, teen pregnancy is a near certain predictor of poverty. ‘While one in four American children are living in poverty, a 1991 report from the Casey Foundation compare children of two (groups those who finshed high school and those who did nat. The rst group got, married, and reached age 20 before having a child, but the second group did not. Of children in the first. group, the poverty rate was 8 percent. In the second group, the poverty rate ‘was 79 percent. ‘Among teens, more births occur out of wedlock today than occurred 35 years ago. This increase in out-of-wedlock births can be attributed to certain changes in marriage patterns, sexual behav- for, contraceptive practices, abortion, and the composition of the teen population. Young men and women are increasingly delaying marriage, but not sexual activity. ‘Teens make three sets of choices about sexual behavior and its consequences. The first is whether and when to start having sex. ‘The second is whether to use contraceptives. According to studies in making the third choice, whether to become pregnant, the dis- tinction by income is very dramatic. In 1994 of all the women aged 15 through 19, 38 percent are defined as poor and low income. Of these same groups, 73 percent were projected to become pregnant. ‘Of the 1 million teens who become pregnant each year, about half give birth, about 40 percent choose abortion, and the remain- ing 10 percent miscarry. Actually teenage pregnancy is much larger ‘than just those who have given birth. ‘Once a teenager becomes pregnant there is no good solution. ‘There ig pain in adoption. There is pain in abortion, There 8 pain and suffering giving birth and certainly there is pain in parenting. ‘The best solution is to prevent the pregnancy in the first place. ‘Young people who believe that they have real futures to risk have real incentives to delay parenting. That is why, when we demand responsible behavior, we have a reciprocal obligation to offer a real future beyond early parenting and poverty.18 Reducing teenage childbearing is likely to require more than eliminating or manipulating welfare programs, as much as we would like to think so. Experience tells us that threats and punish- ment are not the best way to get teenagers to believe or to behave in the way we would have them to behave. The most successful approach to reducing teenage childbearing is to design policies and procedures that are targeted to encourage positive developmental behavior through beneficial adult role models and job opportunities. ‘We must implement pregnancy prevention programs that edu- cate and support school age children between 10 and 21 in high- risk situations and their family members through comprehensive social and health services with an emphasis on pregnancy prevention, On average, it takes teens 1 year after becoming sexually active to receive family planning services. This needs to be stopped. ‘The pregnancy rate among sexually experienced teenagers fell 19 percent from 1972 to 1990, suggesting that teenagers who have access to birth control and who are motivated have been successful at preventing pregnancies. Conducted by the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, a study showed that the reproduc- tive clinie and other health care providers had an opportunity to intervene and to provide contraceptive counseling to a group of sexually active teenage girls before they became pregnant, This study shows that spending more money on counseling these young girls, indeed, reduced pregnancies for a large percentage. ‘Teenage girls seeking pregnancy tests are already sexually active and we should understand when they seek information, we are not deterring sex or encouraging sex by simply providing information. Clinics struggling for funds have a distinctive mission to serve teenagers not to encourage them to become sexually active. Most teenagers cannot pay. We should provide funds for these clinics. In addition, counseling teenagers is quite expensive. They need ‘more attention than older women, it means understanding that you have to be involved in their lives. In the study, most girls who came for a test had reason to believe that they might be pregnant. Oftentimes, they had missed a period, so they are already in trou- ble when they come to these clinies. A significant number, almost 14 percent, believed there was little chance that they were, indeed, pregnant. One has to wonder why are we not supporting’ these clinies to make sure there are equal opportunities? Perhaps, it is a way to get someone they want to trust. They want to understand that there is an opportunity for better services and better information, Devoting more resources to preventing teen pregnancy will not oniy save us money in the long run, but it is also healthy for the teenagers and our communities. It is an economical way of providing these teenagers with the opportunity to be productive citizens. 1 thank you for the opportunity to participate. Chairman Suaw. Thank you, Ms. Clayton. Our final Member witness is Jim Talent from the State of Mis- sour Mr. Talent.19 STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES M. TALENT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI Mr. TALENT. I thank the Chairman and 1 would like to echo the other witnesses in expressing my appreciation to you for holding this hearing and the Subcommittee for coming and listening. For the past several years I have spent, much of my time on efforts to reform the welfare system. I concluded that reducing illegitimacy and restoring marriage and the family must be the central focus of that effort. The President vetoed a bill that began moving toward that end. Now, it seems we are back to the drawing board and I urge the Subcommittee to be careful and rewrite this bill s0 that the policies still accomplish what we set as our central goal. ‘We can call a bill reform if it gives Governors flexibility and provides additional day care funding. If the mission of welfare reform is to break the cycle of dependency, we must aim our policies at the heart of the problem—illegitimacy. Our welfare’ system today rewards illegitimacy and creates an at- mosphere conducive to its growth. The government pays welfare recipients approximately twice the minimum wage, provided that they have a child without being married. Some of these statistics have already been mentioned, Mr. Chairman, and I will go over a few of them again. In nine States, welfare pays more than the average first year sal- ary for a teacher. In 40 States, welfare pays more than an $8-an- hour job and in 6 States more than a $12-an-hour job. In your State of Florida, Mr. Chairman, a woman who receives AFDC, stamps, Medicaid, housing, WIC, Special Supplemental Food Pro- gram for Women, Infants and Children, and so forth, makes, on average, $18,200 a year in pretax income, cash and inkind benefits, This is equivalent to a job worth $8.75 an hour. ‘The problem is not so much that people have children to get welfare, Mr. Chairman, the problem is that welfare lures poor people into having the children they would not otherwise have without being married. That is the reverse of the normal situation, ‘apart from welfare, it would be economically irational fora poor person, who only has the skills for a low-paying job, to have a child without the committed support of another parent. The welfare system bas reversed this normal incentive and made illegitimacy a conventional lifestyle. In fact, in poor neighborhoods, illegitimacy is the conventional lifestyle. Nationally, one out of three children is born out of wedlock, up from 6 percent in 1965. Even that figure’ is misleading. In lower income neighborhoods the figure is more like three out of four. It is not surprising that most people in these neighborhoods choose illegitimacy given the economic incentives in the system. What is surprising is t ple, notwithstanding the public policy of the government's welfare system, still heroically insist on marriage and work as a pre- condition to having children. Mr. Chairman, I believe that the growth in illegitimacy is the single most important change in our country in the last generation. It is a fact so powerful that it annihilates all other facts. Nothing the government does in school, day care, job training, family plan-20 ning or any of its other programs can overcome the damage done to our children by illegitimacy. Children in single-parent families are three times as likely to fail and repeat a year in grade school than children raised in two- parent househdlds. They are four times more likely to be expelled or suspended from school. By the way, as Mr. Hutchinson, said these are figures controlled for income level. The difference is not between poor people and nonpoor people. The difference is between poor people who come from families on welfare where illegitimacy was the rule and other people in poverty. Girls raised in single-parent homes on welfare are five times more likely to give birth out of wedlock. Children born to a single mother are seven times more likely to be poor than those born to married couples. Nor should those of us in comfortable, middle-class _neighbor- hoods believe that the fallout from ilegitimacy is limited to poor neighborhoods or poor areas of society. No culture can survive if it attempts to raise a large portion of its children entirely outside the institution of marriage. ‘Thirty years ago, Daniel Patrick Moynihan warned that a society which marginalizes the role of fathers in urban communities, “Asks for and gets chaos.” ‘Mr, Chairman, there are only two things we ean do to change the incentives in the welfare system, broadly speaking. We can change either the size or the structure of the package of benefits. The bill which the President vetoed relied heavily on changing structure. Tt required work from those welfare recipients who are the closest to employability. Since this makes welfare les attrac tive, when compared to private sector employment, its effect is to reduice the welfare rolls and increase the work rolls. In addition, the bill took some small steps toward getting cash out of the welfare system and replacing it with inkind benefits. The ‘most important of these steps is the family cap which ends the practice of paying cash for additional children born out of wedlock. States could use these funds, which now effectively are a reward for illegitimacy, to encourage adoption or marriage or to care for single moms in a nurturing setting like a group home, Tt is no accident that these structural changes, in addition to dis- couraging illegitimacy and, thereby, reducing welfare roles are also far better than the existing system for those who still enter or remain on welfare. The children in a family receiving welfare are better off if their parent is working in return for benefits. Sending cash indiscriminately to young moms, while leaving them in an environment where they are quite likely being exploited by pushers, boyfriends or gangs is not a way of caring for them, It is a way of sweeping them under the rug. Mr. Chairman, there is another way of reversing the effects of welfare and that is to rebuild the neighborhoods and institutions that give order and meaning to daily life. Fortunately, all across America, people in distressed areas are coming together to bring rivate sector jobs, home ownership, school choice, charity, and faith back to the’ center of their neighborhoods. ‘The Federal Government cannot be a substitute for these groups, but it ean en-21 courage them in part by simply lifting the taxes and regulations that get in their way. In the next month, Representative Watts and I will be introdue- ing the community renewal act of 1996. That act is designed to put government on the side of moral and economic renewal, which is already present in these communities, like embers, just beneath the ash in urban America, ‘The bill does this by empowering faith-based and other private groups, funding school choice, encouraging private investment and home ownership, and assisting those neighborhood groups which are restoring structure to these communities. We have ahead of us the task of not just reforming welfare benefits, but of renewing distressed communities. As we move forward in our efforts, let us keep in mind how important reducing the out- of.wedlock bitthrate is to accomplish these goals. Tam very pleased, Mr. Chairman—that everybody testifying on this first panel has offered ideas as to how to do that. We may dis- agree on illegitimate policy, but,at least we all seem to be agreeing on its importance. I urge the Committee to include, in its reform initiatives, strong provisions to curb the alarming increase in illegitimacy, Without them, we run the risk of merely making the cur- ent system a more efficient destroyer of our families and our neighborhoods. Chairman SHAW. Thank you, Mr. Talent, and I thank all of the Members for their testimony. We have a long agenda this afternoon ‘and in order to try to be as fair to the last panel as T am to the next panel, I am going to enforce the 5-minute rule. As a matter of fact, I think at future hearings I may enforce that against the Members, too. I am going to strictly enforce it. as to each of the witnesses and as to the Members when they start the questioning process. ‘We have each of your full statements which will be put into the record, and I would ask the witnesses to summarize so that we will have adequate time for questions and we can finish the hearing this afternoon without prejudicing any of the later panels. ‘The next panel that we have is going to discuss the impact of out-of-wedlock births. We have Robert Rector, who is a senior pol- iey analyst at the Heritage Foundation, right’ here in Washington; Nicholas Zill, who is a Ph.D.., vice president and study area director of Westat, Inc., in Rockville, Maryland; Joseph Mellhaney, who is the president of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health from Aus- tin, Texas; and Frank Furstenberg, who is a Ph.D.., professor of s0- ciojogy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, ‘Mr. Rector, if you would proceed, as our first witness, please. STATEMENT OF ROBERT RECTOR, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, ‘THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION, WASHINGTON, DC ‘Mr. Rector. Mr. Chairman, I wish to commend this Subcommit- tee for holding these hearings today. I think the topic we are discussing is the most important topic before us as a Nation. The simple fact of the matter is that marriage in the United States is dying and the very survival of our society is at stake. By large, it is the current welfare system that is killing it.22 When the war on poverty began, roughly 7 pereent of American children were born out of wedlock. Today, that number has risen to 33 percent and continues to go up at’a steady and relentless pace among both blacks and whites. For my oral testimony today I would like to provide some visual charts that describe some recent research we have done on the con- Sequences of outof-wedlock births in terms of welfare dependency and poverty in the United States. What we have here are children born in the United States di- vided into four categories. Those who were born out of, wedlock whose mothers never marry. The second column, out-of- wedlock ‘mothers who subsequently marry, The third column born in wedlock to mothers divorced after birth. Finally, on the right-hand side of the chart, born in wedlock to parents who remain intact in marriage. If you look at, children born out of wedlock where the mother never marries, they have spent 50 percent of their months since they have been born—and these children are, on average, about 9 years old on AFDC. If you compare them with a situation where the child is born in wedlock and the marriage has remained intact, the number is 3 percent ‘Therefore, by contrast, out-of-wedlock births are AFDC dependent 1,700 percent more frequently. The red columns on the chart show a broader definition of welfare dependence. This includes re- ceipt of AFDC, food stamps, Medicaid, WIC, and SSI. Looking at that broader definition we find children born’ out of wedlock whose mother never marries have spent 71 percent of their lives receiving some form of welfare benefit. In contrast, the family that has remained intact, within marriage, has spent 12 percent of the time receiving some form of welfare benefit. ‘The two other categories fall some place in between. I would em- phasize that if, even once you have had an out-of-wedlock birth, the best way to reduce welfare dependence is to get the mother to ‘marry subsequent to that birth, If you look at that column, we see that marriage reduces welfare dependence either way it is meas- ured, it cuts it in half, just by having her marry. It is a much more effective strategy than simply stressing getting her employed, Now, if we could go to the next chart we look at the percentage of time in which these children, in these four categories, have spent, in poverty. We find that a child born out of wedlock whose mother hhas never subsequently married, has spent half the years, since child’s birth, in poverty. In eontrast, if we go over to the other side, children born in wedlock, where the parents have remained in an intact marriage, the poverty rate is 7 percent. The out-of-wedlock birth increases the incidence of poverty by 700 percent, Again, the other two categories, out of wedlock followed by subsequent birth, and in wedlock followed by divorce fall in the middle. Marriage, even if it is after the out-of-wedlock birth, has a very dramatic effect in terms of reducing the incidence of poverty. I would particularly make reference to that vis-a-vis, the Governor's plan, that recently came out that has an almost exclu- sive focus on encouraging States to promote employment among single mothers, and penalizes those States that would put an em-23, phasis either on reducing out-of-wedlock births or on increasing marriage. In doing that, it focuses on the least effective means for reducing poverty and increasing children’s well being. T think that even more striking than that are the social consequences on these children that are born out of wedlock. We find that a child being born out of wedlock and raised in a single-parent home triples the probability that that child will have emotional and behavioral problems, even when compared to other children who are poor. Being born out of wedlock and raised without a father in the home triples the rate in which a girl will engage in teenage sexual activity and all the harmful consequences that, flow from that, Being raised in a single-parent home and spending a long period of time on welfare can decrease a child's 1Q by up to 24 percentage points. That is research from CBO Director, Dr. June O'Neill, Finally, being raised in a single-parent home, even holding all other social variables constant, doubles or triples the probability that a young girl will go on, herself, and havea child out of wedlock. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, being born out of wed- leek and raed ina single-parent home doubles ot triples the probability that.a young boy is going to be involved in crime. This is the most important problem facing our society. The bill that was passed by Congress took several small, but significant positive steps to deal with this issue. Unfortunately, the President has vetoed that bill. I would ask that in any subsequent legislation that you take an even stronger effort to deal with this problem be- causé itis the most important problem facing our children. "Thank you. 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Antsy tc Anan a thi aie i ea oe et ‘Sons ge gre ag age pect morn ‘Sen ma 10m dag meal ADC ee pep ca Sete intie dp toe Spr nt inn on me (Soncapettow Foun at Avec twoit ef SE tsa 2 (en pe 5. Remy Sey any DP of te Uy of Wasting ‘Speen ee eh 0 pr en i Po yee {eimuge Sagi eben nema yo pet Le Sayan Pees ober "ats Pet Cl emg Do pany Con Nae an ppt 3, see Uy ‘Sign ten Eons Re (Rey Mar oe Wing ry in Ld lot ‘Sein FDC esas fs pol pe moma 290 ‘ovat mae nth emer oe ee Cn Mae SCS Poo! ihn Det Ag hte Aaa Sst Ser DeSantis HOO 7 pont alae pre neni en nce al ‘rau ne pty af ene es ey 6 ose lowe be nn th a ee ines yr tpn teeny unt) A Cong im ‘em Hobe en ae But Te Ona We ered Wee Eee ee ‘Eom sty 958, 1. Ae Cc Mi ft pin tia ei gn. ‘iy, Ch “Waite Peni Tir ape ae aa ‘oma Vole 2 Ny ede.Isv"T Low FAMILY INCOME THE REAL CAUSE OF PROBLEM BruAvion? ‘conn eee ot nc et vl pene {pens ban ple ng ener ‘Two pincer he pro ‘pa ote dang Sony a SNS ec tale ordi emma nr on Fant. est cui ie spr a ein ‘ee om fans pine os gale nt al ie ote com can’ epee: Gal mow por oie ‘Dee sn pon pnt me sey oe SRE SSIS och ee mee nema Pa nee naan POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS or Talon tem, Ou curet acmlsire gonna Tinley accor vase ap athena ma ‘rum dc aremp wen cl e towaeio dby rapt ben sd grees ola ny satan, Stee penn pe ia) ing pot Sh ‘Mugla yrs yk ce sve kage pn gene pend, unin ap ped a igen eh re pany. on es my Cage, ie ni Sot spe ogc. Congested ee. ‘Zin ep te nC ch end {Spores eto ge pinay. Ss wi Sele ne ine 1, Cm ld ty ey ating gic te ey go eli ‘Nomina ebay puto paar34 2. emi ei he prs ny bern 2. wi i a ns ict ni eh Prete meneame Scie iat nore cat ennesnepaomae Sms yeoe Stee Trout ene noon ase aoa 4, Te aie en ppl ye Natl Gone Amaconceina ‘ng. on yeoman fey he pet a {Roa pn on en span aye aes ‘capa argv, we eps ety ‘cg ney ancy Se om TSS Siete an tes ae bate fy rar A ‘Seay maag ang weit mem arg mes ners ‘Si intNctp seer hte eolort ef APOC nae, ‘tea a beanies ug Space vey ‘ub a Ane ngatn pommel ale ee al ‘ode fms cence en. a sd on ‘Sta nt pinay vl Sn. 5. Ding th ty 17 od cay rain op ee oie © emi cs int i 7. Sch bere tt panto ag ac ‘ngimey 1. Compe scene sae of 0 ion py win AFDC Seca eee omer moa 9. Fin ng tem go se main ite cio ‘rele om aura Conpes ead op irc ‘ehccor mtn ny omega oe ‘Sommer ey mato cs py egret eg Slee sce wt pg prt mo a oun peak aS at pet oem Tes ceed tee ee ‘Se prog pane etn she loge cen ‘Schelpe pre oepaemgirsaLaasn pe it (aoe ti nbs Coane Weed Sos35 @M& Backgrounder ici eae WHY CONGRESS MUST REFORM WELFARE a Tiggaics sgt ecm em hare hat none nn fae corey eng ADC or 9 pee wil ee eee see a tr amt gee “cma he en eda te ange tail beni cppesed cpt pcan eeany ey. Pe ‘Si cen we py ang pov, a ot ‘ea sae fone ee nie36 | * Sepapaestnnaresacten mone certars. FEA ase rear ene So 1 ate tnt yin Shits. |. “Tete ct crest biy | mine | Bir se pnts © tera nrg tn ee |e cee omar pane Tepper eon tepfpetem Sae 2 Pampa tn opt Ree pee ree ca CaP, « Tevrstnc eae ln oes ag, et Reto mun uioioeateecorm se | « Semegtoecietan eget ete Siocse Seressosooeat ‘Tue ParreRs oP DepeNDeNce: LENG OF TIME ON WELFARE | Tp wee ce elie atin dst pct gm | path Arreg ur peme AFDC pen pores ern woe | Rca wene esol ona Tepe coez Current Welfare Families: i ll ‘Average Years on AFDC. \, = i “ am | 7 i o 3 I 1 i Yeresnnos —Talegeetenenta | are a aco ig NOE mo ai taping A ae So ay POE wep SS ne setae eal A! Wn (Et Af any ave aml rey enone AIDC wo ‘Spee gen Mower ho hu sal ors eng ‘pn te aie me oe lia ees Spc ad mon ons yee Ae se ape oe tw enon AFDC. and sea be aly op oe ie YeaDoss WELPARE BENEFIT GhicpRene meas mn ree anc ioe er Lp erm lie depen SeeiTome ‘Sgn tio he dai te nd wen ave xe nr ‘Sale Pinon el wl sa ofa aye ‘stellen ae ki et la eg PREMISE: he ewer ri oti PREMISE 4 Weta ei in ey ae rw his pc png ty efi i elie ee nt een ouse ernie pen et mene nee ‘ctee pep ov Crags enc po ef cue ‘rte i te ali pe era ata enf be cena ena war ella eli ty wed ‘Teper ny ome sme i eeu of we es Nibeigpmuny can Stops od uo nen sone39 lingam cc ie wel Seg une of nen a a ‘nyo pene nr ae ins ome ea ee ‘ec epoe ay igumsy bw wa hm nye ‘nl it 0 may seri US pope a oe ‘SESaT Aa oan ph bra rtd Sooty os ‘hohe x pee wt en beh a ‘el peer se cer pra sen ne ny be eae an a ee (Sipe tel on flan sor et pe fea ni sr reno SRS pet nae Petherton a [Dekye echt» muomen Aempny ras ey tee teal Sepieeiessey oun sonmanc heats ‘end ve he ein it er ty cre ee lear, swe ea pss ee ‘nt oe to sop pare esto uy ue vr tet ‘ty Seo: Weta eon ig sey ih ence erie nn os ns ey ‘Taney apie ene Da ea od ety 17 cole eto En Cpr (mas af ‘nny tt mat capeseef cece rene beer at Sed eels Sl or ae ‘Suerte cs ar bo se ne EDM Searle inher on40 | denen spon scutes eer cen ‘Sara ito teas tcbepetng ions os wear ree ‘ilepene sense: Weight ee pre eager Sle cyte ocm non gr, ane br ete an ge ee eae ae ee ere ae Lape nenaeeaetioae Sear Sone ee Spee wey cee yam enes Bopanna Seat eee reece patel Seuieisee Sage caer ayaa SSEISR ome epee went Seer eat tina rie a ete re ym Sacer eee peer | SRRSeoms ie ene | Soliant tice oan ens ae ee Seece aterm ienmtee ee | SESS Sse anes See eias at encanta Speco canadien sears4 Fre sng er oang erecta rao ‘Riera age ee pipe ad ‘niece sc stn ae sollte totem pret rn wea ted red we thsi peeran f ie ein, ‘Soe ere prs cry rps sin yy May Cor dog Gon he nei Mich steel mn scone snp tc ete ge een ‘Stampin ofyonagu Yaesu wrt gone ae ‘Sean fy teas geese es ger eo ‘Ross ceed i) og sy seen wu mec win apreame Pec me her noe psy ssa wash) wa pow” {peor ne oy senses fei enn ee oat oa a ‘Son val any to tt rhage es ee SSR cS ny ep fase et ‘Se nce fina rue ct ny Ten coe eg ‘Sterley tne pu esa waco CSIRO ttn cee cee valan ene retrain ‘ements mane aly bs eg ipo eo ‘futon ly. Te ne oe ey ‘Sy loner een eng san Th ‘Spe te 1.8 pyr wc sed ay Sed sys ‘chtecnnp yup prem Spinemna Teeter nero nea © Someta ceca sation acces42 ete re cn a tn paioubesamrmcmaceee Poe oy saan cece Eero eg ae ‘fe enlivening ty re in hat famay when be comes “res ae cima eee of wl he ecg omni66 Chairman SHaw. Dr. Mellhaney. STATEMENT OF JOE S. McILHANEY, JR., M.D., PRESIDENT, ‘MEDICAL INSTITUTE FOR SEXUAL HEALTH, AUSTIN, TEXAS Dr. McILHANEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and other distinguished Members of the Committee. I am a gynecologist who has practiced medicine for 28 years. I have had a rewarding practice of in-vitro fertilization and surgery, but I left that practice recently to commit the rest of my medical career to helping prevent the two problems I think are the most profound medical problems of our day, out-of-wedlock pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, working in and through a new organization called the Medical Ingtitute for Sexual Health. ‘You have heard the statisties on teen pregnancy, and I would like to lead you to realize how seriously these same teenagers are being damaged by a terrifying epidemic of sexually transmitted disease, we will call STD. ‘This epidemic is not just HIV, human immunodeficiency virus. It includes at least 20 other dangerous sexually transmitted diseases that are ravaging the youth of our society because their bodies are far more susceptible to becoming infected than the bodies of adults. For example, a 15 year old is 10 times more likely to become infected with PID, pelvic inflammatory disease, than a 24 year old involved in the same sexual encounter. One example is an 18 year ‘old I took care of who had sex when she was 18, developed PID, hhad such severe pelvic pain because of it, that: when she was 25 she demanded a hysterectomy. She had never been married, never had children. Now, of course, never will. Chlamydia, which probably caused this woman's problems is found in 20 to 40 percent of sexually active teens who have sex outside of marriage, the highest prevalence rate of any group in our society. There is good evidence, for instance, that condoms do not give adequate protection from the infertility and tubal pregnancies that can be caused by this organism. ‘The most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States is HPV, human papillomavirus. It causes venereal warts. It causes almost all the truly abnormal precancerous Pap smears women have. It causes most of the genital cancer that women have, Killing about 4,600 women from cervical cancer in the United States each year. ‘The HPV was found to infect 46 percent of coeds coming through the student health center at UC/Berkeley who were being sexually active. An example of this problem is a girl that I saw who was 24 years old. I saw her because of a growth on her vulva, It was precancer. I asked her about her sexual activity and she had had sex with five different guys, using condoms with every one of them. This growth, this precancer was caused by HPV. She had never been ‘told, for instance, that condoms do not protect a person against HPV and essentially all authorities in the country agree with that, Herpes infects about one-third of sexually active unmarried people. This prevalence is partly because it can be spread even when a sex partner does not have a sore and when a woman gets it sheor can pass the herpes to her child. If the child gets infected, 60 percent of them will die ms We, of course, cannot forget HIV. If you realize the impact it has fon our young people, 25 percent of newly diagnosed HIV positive people in this country are below the age of 22. Part of this is because when a person has another STD, such as herpes, bacterial vaginosis, the human papillomavirus, they are much more likely to become HIV infected. This epidemic of teen pregnancy and of STD is being driven by two common problems among teens—the early age of initiation of sexual intercourse, and the number of sexual partners they have. Both of these have a profound influence on teens. ‘The Center for Disease Control, for instance, showed that if teenager initiates sex before the age of 18 they have a 45-percent chance of having four or more sexual partners when they are interviewed later on. If they start sex after they are 19, they have a 1- percent chance of having had four or more sexual partners when they are interviewed later. ‘A very significant question in this discussion is why do teens have sex? Its not usually happening to two beautiful young people who maturely decide, after they fall in love, to have sexual intercourse. It is most often because they are victims. They are victims of loneliness, of peer pressure, of alcohol, of drugs. Remember, one- fourth of teen girls have been sexually abused and a common result of this is that they become sexually promiscuous, ‘The abuse, itself, is one of the destructive aspects of the sexually charged milieu that our teens are living in today. Remember also that recent studies, more than one, have shown that most teen- ‘agers, in high school and lower, have had sex with people older than high school age. The younger they are the more likely the men that they had sex with are to be outside of high school age or even in their twenties. Our failure to break this eycle of teenage sexual activity will only allow further victimization of these young people. Clients of the present welfare system represent a large group of people whose Iifestyle includes activity that increases risk of out-of-wedlock preg- naney and sexually transmitted disease. ‘These activities not only hurt the individual but they also hurt society. You have heard some examples of that, another example is that 82 percent of incarcerated individuals, by one study, are high school dropouts, most of whom are from low-wealth communities. ‘Therefore, as much as we might like to separate all of these hinge there is no way of separating this potpourri of welfare, medical, and societal problems. For those in the welfare system, I think we need to provide a safety net for the extreme problems but we do not want to make it so comfortable that it induces people into the single parent family life that has helped produce two communities in our society. First, the community of two people who love each other, live together for life, have children, and offer those children greater opportunities. The second community is of single parents, often forced to live in poverty with diminished hopes for their children and with all the diseases we have been talking about. The financial costs of68 all of these problems, by the way, ranges into the mul billions of dollars. : a Tam not pessimistic. I believe that the situation now is so bad, and the old approaches so discredited, that men and women of wisdom will realize the necessity of new approaches and will do the hhard work required to bring an end to this problem that is literally tearing apart the fabric of our society. ‘Thank you, Committee and Chairman Shaw. (he prepared statement follows:)TESTIMONY. US, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SUBEDSIMEFTEE GN HUMAN RESOURCES “THE. ‘COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 3.8, Mc HANEY. JR MD. PRESIDENT, MEDICAL INSITTUTE FOR SEXUAL HEALTH. MARCH 12,1999 ‘Thank you, Chuiman Shaw, and other distinguished members ofthe commie. Tama pecs who as raced mein for enyight yeas. Thane ad evadog peascTnchcd wi intr coe ries tlaaak ge. ieh tt pasos Rees age Tish pie Scone sty mel See tei ee Bo nated eal eb od There is goed deta conden So tt pv dag proton rn he iri fa can Bassey pelvic inflammatory disease ‘The most common sexually wansmiued disease inthe US. i human paplomavins, Tt causes ‘peal war ao canyon al cancion Pp ens anced wag ‘alvar abd pale cancer Kling about 400 wommn inthe U.S yearly. Human papillomas ‘was fund wb ifet de prceot a sexually active coeds going through the Student Health Cemet ft UCIeckeley.? Not al ofthese ich will develop cancer, but ae Oregon stay of 18,000 ‘omen showed that 60-70 percent who had the wan sus preset developed abnormal Pap "mcars This sexually ransmied divest ithe mos common reason fora woman to see fynecologst in the US Thad a 24-year-old patent se me witha vulvar growth. It was an ‘Elrly cancer caused by human papillomavirn, Tanke her abut sexual ety She had bat five parners and had used condoms with everyone. She bad ot been fold ht experts agee ‘hat Gondons give almost. protection agains ran papillomavirus. 10 Herpes infect svt one-third of sexully seve unmaried people. This prevalence is pany bectuseitcan be spread even when a sx parer does nt have x sore. woman can pss his ‘as er baby at delve, ad abe Svs tby as prt ance of ying One al ofthe babies who donot di wil be severely rain damage We, ofcourse, cannot forget HIV. Do you realize its impact on yout? Twenty-five percent of rev diagnosed HIV is found i yoo people below the age of 2.19 Seven thousand HIV Posive mothers deliver each yar 14 Mary of these mothers ate young wonten All heir ables it'beotheres and mony af them wil ase hel fers Als, mote han 100 ofthe babies wil de70 ‘Te epidemic of teenage pregnancy and of seualywansmiteddicae i eng diva by eo Common problems af teen sexuality the eany age of Iniaon of texoe atvity and he numberof sexual partners, Boh of diese have 2 roound infacace on sak for eens One ‘eaearcher sate, “Those adolescents who rit introurse tyoungsr age are more ily © ‘porta hiory of sexually wansmited sss, more sex parners, and having sky Sex 13 The Comers or Dae Cn showed a i nary nat x ore he of 18,43 percem had four or mare partners when nerviewed ne nite afer oly | Percent hid furor more armas” Al sg stow tte or time eo prs a foorerisk of sexually eanmle dese 18 1A very significant issue in this discussion is reasons tat tens bave sx. It isnot usually Rappening because to young people alla ove and marly decide t Mave intercourse. Most ofthe tens ho have sox ae vite, 18 ne-founh of ten girs have been sexually abused. A commen result ofthis is {orthen wo become Sexllypromsovon. Neglect tens ~ most fom single-parent homes “Teens with ine purpose in ie "Teens who respond to per pressure “Teens who drink excessively and we drugs (ur fare to break the cycle of wenagesexalsesvty wil only alow further victimization of ‘hese people ‘Asa physician let me break the frustrating newe that medicine doesnot have the aswer. Why ‘do Tsay hist Have you ever thought bout te fat that syphilis ata fry yar high in it gue and gee ae no phils "gems sina topes? Even we gc acre for HIV, the epldemie will aot deappear "This epidemic has acteally developed ating the past thin) yeas atime when U.S. eens bave ad the finest medical care ever provised 6x He face of te ear. Clin ofthe present welfare system represent a age group of people whose lifestyle includes ctv that inreaes ik of out oF wedlock pregnancy sb Sexaly nse sense, 50% ofa fais receiving AFDC ae headed by an unmarried parent 20 90% ofthese single parents are women 21 80% of adolescent mothers receive wear within five years of becoming @ paent 40% of long erm wellarerecipients hd the fst cid at age 17 o younger 23 399 of never maried mothers who rceve welfare wl emi on the rll ten years oe longer ‘And the problem of heir moms doom any ofthe chile: 1115 mor key to have children ae eenagers. 1689 more ikely to ave premarital bith 2S All ofthese things not only hur he individ, but they also bur society. For example, 82 percent of incarcerated individuals were high Schou epost, most of whom wee fom ow: ‘wealth communities 2® "Therefore, as much as one mip like t, there simply wo way of parang Welfare fom sexually wansmited disease or rom teen pregnancy “Teenage pregnancy trom single-parent homes Single-parent homes ftom damage to both the parests involved and tothe nile and even orto soyn ‘hope have shown you that he deat 9 our society isso profound that we mast be wing 10 {ake bold steps in aolving the problem, Clearly te educational and social efforts ofthe past ten {0 fifteen years have not Worked. Miliple reports in per reviewed ourmals document tat {ure Bohn our cure prac to sexuality edaction and in vr approach vo care for low ‘wealth commutes. These efforts cen not oly to perpetuate the problem bu alo seem 10 be Sarangi For hogs inthe welfare system, we need wo provide a safety nt, but we do not want i so ‘ondonable Wat induces people into single parent emily ondions 1f dramas changes are ot inte, te medial and societal consequences ae going to impact ‘lions more of ou ent hat we cou ave saved, ‘Moe than thf the wend conde, we wl ee end wad wo conus cur society be magnified, the eomsunty ofthe maid providing greater epporuntes to thelt lea aad the coramuniy of the single-parent often freed olive in poverty with iminihed ‘ope for their chile, [am not pessimintc. I believe thatthe stain is so bad and the ol appraoches so discredited "Nat men and worn of wisdom wil elize the necessity of new approaches The federal fovernment ean ake te lead in seung policy tht encourages young people to dey 8x unl ‘Bey are maried. This canbe a jin Yeture Wid al of soclty = prea, schools, medi, churches and others = 10 bring a end fo problem licealy tering apart tbe fabric of Out Yalan Guumacher Isnt, 1994 Ramis First, Report of the Notional Commision on America's Urban Families, Joho ‘AShorol, Charman, Annee Suass,Co-Chi,anuary 1993, p28 Sanderson, JR. and Wilson, M. "Caring for Teenagers with Sulpingt.” Contemporary (Obra, August 190, * * rns ad 4esom, 1, Pelvic llammatry Disease, New York: McGraw Hill Book Compsny, 192 SUAMA, Sane 1, 1994, vol 271, 0.21, p. 162, Scramer, D. Weta "The Relationship of Tubal Infertility to Barrier Method and Osa CConracepive Use JANA, 25718, May, 1987 ‘Toaver H.M. etal, JAMA, 1991; 265, 472-47 contemporary OBIGYN, lly 1995p. 94. S0BIGYN News, 28:15, 1993, Wo aLarN Clinical Aer, Sept. 1992, JAMA lan. 19, 1980, Vo. 763,48, p- 18-20, ‘2amercan College of Obsterican and Gynecologists Commie Statement, "ernual Herpes Simplex Vin infectons July, 187 T3CDC, MMWR, Vl. 4, pp. 115,278. ‘vEDM, March 17, 199, Vo. 330,811, p. 789, "Rosenthal, etl, Adolescent and Peciaric Gynecology, 1994, p 210-213, centers for Disease Conte, MMIVR, 39, Jansry 4,191 "sma & Luster Journal of Marriage & The Family, Feb 1994, 18-192. OBIGYN News, “Abuse, Alcobl, Drugs Tied To Teea Pregnancy." Mach 1, 1996p. 31. american Journal of Pubic Health Vol 88, #8, Avg 95, . 10832 20y, 8. House of Representatives, Commitee on Ways and Means, Overview of Entitlement Programs: Background Material and Data on Programs within the Taredction of the Commitee on Woyt and Means. (1992 Green Book) (Washington, D.C. Government Priming tice 1991) p. 678; US. Deparment of Heal & Human Series, Admisaion ft Children and Families, Characterstcs and Finacial Circumstances of AFDC Recipients, FY 1990 Washingon, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 191), Tle 14, 2ipavis& MeCaul The emerging crisis: Current and projected sau of children inthe United Suaes.” August, Me” Maine State Department of Eaton. (ERIC Document Repodacton Service No 88434), 22.1991 22Nicholas, Zi, Kristen Moore, Chistge Nord, snd Thomas Set, Welfare Mothers as Potental Employees: A taisical Profle Based on Nalnal Survey Daa, (Washington, DC. (Child rend ne Table 7 25a 241992 Green Book, . 687 2Stein Garfinkel and Sara MeLanahan, Single Mothers and Their Children: A New American Dilemma (Washington, D.C: "The Urban tse Pres, 1986), pp. 30,31; and cLanchan, "he Long Term Eeoname Eet of Family Disoistionp. 12 26pavis & MeCash The emerging crisis: Current and projected sae of chldren nthe United ‘Suaes” Augusta ME" Maine Sate Deparment of Edacstton. (ERIC Bocamen Reproscton Service No 848434), p89. 19913 Chairman SHAW. Thank you, doctor, and our next witness is Dr. Furstenberg. Doctor. STATEMENT OF FRANK FURSTENBERG, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PHILADEL- PBIA, PENNSYLVANIA ‘Dr. FURSTENBERG. I appreciate the opportunity to testify before this Committee on the question of why levels of nonmarital childbearing are changing and which policies will be most effective in countering this trend. My own work in sociology and demography has been devoted to understanding these trends and to understanding changes in family formation that have occurred in the past several decades, In this regard, I have conducted a study of teenage mothers that, has run on for 30 years, studying them, their children, and now their children’s children. { will comment on that later. ‘As understand it, the pending legislation on welfare reform and these hearings center on the role that public assistance has played in eroding marriage and encouraging nonmarital childbearing. The assumption is that moving women and their children off welfare and into the labor market will do much to reduce nonmarital childbearing and help break the cycle of poverty. 1, and many scholars, have deep reservations about this pre- sumption and here is why. We have heard already today that the decline of marriages has occurred in all western nations. Related, Tand many others believe, to changing economic roles and gender relations. No link has been established between these trends and public welfare policies or the generosity of family support systems eross-nationally. ‘Changes in the level of public assistance in the United States are not correlated with rates of nonmarital childbearing over time. The illegitimacy ratio, nonmarital births to marital births, has been steadily rising. However, the illegitimacy rate, births per thousand unmarried women, has risen only among Whites and not among African-Americans during the past several decades. Indeed, among blacks, the rate has declined rather substantially since 1976 We have to distinguish between the illegitimacy ratio and rate because it has profound consequences for how we interpret the changes that are going on. I will come back to that. State level trends in illegitimacy are weakly or uncorrelated with the generosity assistance. At the metropolitan. level, a cross- sectional correlation exists between welfare benefits and marriage and childbearing but the direction of that causalty is not clear at all. In fact, it rather seems that poor people are less inclined to get married, therefore, more likely to go on welfare rather than the reverse. a My own detailed investigations on the consequences of illegitimacy produced some startling findings. I followed a large, fairly sizable’ group of teenage mothers over 90 years. Almost all the mothers spent some time on welfare. However, fewer than 10 percent were chronically on welfare. ‘Most worked most of the time, while their children were growing up. Even many of the ones who were on welfare every year, while4 their children were growing up, also reported going in and out of the labor force. ‘The transmission of welfare across generations is a difficult proe- ess to study because welfare and poverty are linked together. We know that people who grow up poor are more likely to remain poor, regardless of their involvement on welfare. One of the most recent studies that I have seen on this suggests that largely—almost entirely-it is not welfare but poverty that is linked across the generations. In my own studies I found virtually no evidence that there is a ‘welfare mentality among the children. Most, are committed to working, Most attempt to work. Most go to work and most cannot find stable and remunerative employment. Will cutting the welfare rolls result in declining levels of nonmarital childbearing? I do not think so. I do not expect much impact any at all. Welfare is not a significant deterrent to marriage or an incentive to have ehildren. Will work training and support increase the propensity of women to marry? I do not see why it should, unless we address the lack of training and available jobs for men. Men without stable and remunerative employment are not deemed eligible partners, especially by women who are self- supporting. Changes in nonmarital childbearing largely have occurred not be- ause more women are electing to have children out of wedlock but because marriage is becoming a more elusive goal for many young, people. That, I can substantiate if I am asked to do so. Public policies are largely about how to make single parenthood less attractive, not marriage more attainable. Unless and until we craft policies and programs that make it possible for young people to marry, we are unlikely to see a direction in the change of nonmarital childbearing, T will just end with a couple of points. Here are some sugges- tions. Imiprove access to job training, higher education and most of all, job availability for low-income men, as well as women. Increase the availability of social benefits: child care, food stamps, educational support for couples so that it is truly cheaper for two to live together than for one, or two can live as cheaply as one. Raise, not lower, as has been proposed in some legislation, the earned ‘income tax credit. Provide a favorable status for parents who live together. Provide social support for young couples who frequently could use education counseling and community services Most of these programs are being cut back by cost-conscious government and philanthropic agencies. Unless we back up our rhetoric about the importance of marriage with real resources, we are unlikely to have success in bringing about a decrease in out-of-wedlock childbearing. [The prepared statement and attachment follow:]6 ‘STATEMENT OF FRANK FURSTENBERG, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Itotion 1 pyc topper ely fre i comin he un of wy lel of cover lowing wt Gang tad which ube poe wl be mow etc neutering is ead ‘My own wok in sclology ent demography has bees devowd wo ying hese ends td io wderraning tho hues i aly foraation tht buve occured ove he ps areal
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House Hearing, 104TH Congress - Causes of Poverty, With A Focus On Out - Of-Wedlock Births

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