“To establish the White House Council on Fathers and Sons, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section sets forth congressional findings concerning challenges facing men, boys, and fathers, including (1) men receiving fewer college degrees than women since the 1970s; (2) men's wages being lower than in 1979 while women's wages have risen; (3) one in five fathers not living with their children; (4) men facing a 3-to-4 times greater risk of death from suicide or overdose than women; (5) gendered policies minimizing fathers' family roles; and (6) sons raised without fathers being four times as likely to experience poverty, twice as likely to spend time in prison by age 30, and having tripled in number among those neither employed nor in school over the past five years. The section further finds that the Executive Office of the President is positioned to endorse efforts addressing these issues, raise awareness of them, and coordinate a whole-of-government response by federal agencies.
This section declares it the policy of Congress that the head of each federal agency should seek to develop programs and initiatives that (1) promote the roles of fathers and sons in families in the United States, (2) combat the rise in deaths of despair among fathers and sons, and (3) promote the biological differences between men and women.
This section establishes the White House Council on Fathers and Sons within the Executive Office of the President. The Council is to (1) promote the roles of fathers and sons in U.S. families; (2) combat deaths of despair among fathers and sons; (3) foster mental, physical, spiritual, and economic prosperity for sons transitioning to manhood; (4) coordinate the federal response to problems important to fathers and sons, including by reviewing federal programs and policies affecting men generally, boys, and men in the federal workforce; (5) report to the President on the effects of congressional measures on fathers and sons; and (6) assist the President and federal agencies in developing related legislation and policies. Not later than 150 days after enactment, and periodically thereafter, the Council must submit to the President a report reviewing relevant agency programs and outlining its future work plans. In performing its duties, the Council must consult with federal agencies (as defined in 5 U.S.C. §551(1), excluding courts), nonprofit organizations (including faith institutions), state and local governments, and others as appropriate. The Council comprises 28 members, including the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs (as chairperson), 16 cabinet secretaries and agency heads (e.g., State, Treasury, Defense, Health and Human Services), the Attorney General, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, specified White House officials, and presidential designees from the faith community. The chairperson convenes meetings and may create subcommittees, and the Council has a director (appointed by the chairperson) to hire and manage personnel. Council activities are funded using amounts otherwise authorized for the Department of Health and Human Services, with participating agencies bearing their own expenses.