Cliff Stearns: “between 1970 and the year 2000, the number of children living in a single-parent home has jumped from 8.2 million to…”

“between 1970 and the year 2000, the number of children living in a single-parent home has jumped from 8.2 million to 19.2 million. That is almost a 150 percent increase. The effect of that change had a devastating consequence. Children living with a single mother are six times more likely to live in poverty than children living in a complete family. The median income of a single mother with kids is about $21,000. For a married couple with kids, it is about $63,000. Almost a third of single-parent families with kids live in poverty. Only 6 percent of families headed by married couples live in poverty. Mr. Speaker, it does not take a nuclear scientist to figure out that marriage is good for kids. But that is saying the cup is half full when it is really half empty. It is clear not being married is devastating to our children. Our welfare laws still penalize poor couples from getting married. Congress needs to change this and change it for good.”