Stop TANF-funded Marriage Programs

Reduce Poverty Using Proven Methods: Eliminate Federal Funding of Marriage Promotion

We the undersigned call upon the Obama Administration and Congress to pursue effective policies to reduce poverty. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives are ineffective and divert funds away from poverty reduction; they should be eliminated.

• Marriage promotion is not supported by scientific evidence.
• The real needs of low-income families would be better served by proven policies, such as increasing cash benefits and enhancing work supports.
• The 2008 GAO report on Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grants documents insufficient federal oversight.
• The Responsible Fatherhood initiative excludes mothers raising children.
• The low-income families headed by lesbians and gay men deserve assistance and will not benefit from governmental marriage promotion.
• Governmental marriage promotion raises privacy and Establishment Clause concerns.

We applaud President Obama's commitment to reduce poverty and to enhance equality. The Department of Health and Human Services will play a vital role in this effort. Fair and effective administration of our major poverty assistance programs, especially TANF, is critical.

We call upon Congress, in the upcoming TANF reauthorization legislation, (1) to make the reduction of poverty the sole statutory purpose of the TANF program, and (2) to remove all references to, and allocations for, the promotion of marriage via TANF.

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Signatories