Congress Recognizes At-Home Parents!
Dateline: 02/12/98On Wednesday, February 11, 1998, the Congress voted on a resolution to recognize the importance of Stay-at-Home Parents. The basic intention of this resolution is summarized in the following paragraph:
"Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government should acknowledge the importance of at-home parents and should not discriminate against families who forego a second income in order for a mother or father to be at home with their children."
You can read the resolution in it's entirety here.
This resolution passed in the House yesterday with a unanimous vote (409-0) in favor of this Bill! I asked The Mining Company's Government Information/Issues Guide Robert Longley about the significance of this resolution. Here are my questions, and his responses.
Q. C-Span says this Bill was an opinion of Congress, not law. Could you explain the significance of that statement?
A. The resolution is not a "law" only in the sense that it doesn't require anyone to do anything, comply with anything, report anything, or spend anything. But it will be printed in the Federal Register and it makes a statement of ethics that has never been made by the US Government before.
Q. This Bill passed with a vote of 409 for to 0 against. But many Democrats were arguing against the bill, mainly on the grounds that the Republicans didn't discuss the bill enough in committee. Is this just political rhetoric, then?
A. Political rhetoric and nitpicking is sort of expected of them. Had the democrats launched the resolution, the republicans would have found a reason to carp, but it's pretty clear from the vote how they really felt.
Q. If this bill passes in the Senate, does anyone think it will cause anything to change? Or is this just a way to sound politically correct by Republicans, or a way to oppose President Clinton. I was initially very excited when I heard about this Bill, but I am wondering if it will do anything for us?
A. Resolutions are often used in support of future legislation that does, indeed, have an effect. Suppose some member of Congress presented a bill offering a large additional tax incentive for Stay-At-Home parents. This, of course, would be a controversial bill. But, it's supporters would be able to point back to the resolution passed by the House today and say, "Look, on 2/11/98, all 409 of us voted to support Stay-At-Home parents. Now, let's walk our talk." So, while the resolution may not have any immediate effect, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
This resolution will now move to the Senate for debate, but considering the unanimous support for this bill in Congress, I expect it to pass there, as well. Of course, we will have to wait and see what this resolution really means for us, but at least stay-at-home parents have been recognized and supported by our government, probably for the first time.
Let us know what you think about this resolution passing in Congress. Post your comments on our bulletin board.