Unmarried Equality
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.
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
AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland Alternatives to Marriage Project Center for Inquiry Center for Women Policy Studies Family Equality Council Legal Momentum Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, New York City National Center for Lesbian Rights National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective Stop Family Violence SWWAN (R), Inc. and the SWWAN Foundation YWCA USA
Maggie Bagon
Susanne Beechey, Assistant Professor of Politics, Whitman College
Abigail Boggs, University of California, Davis
Lisa Duggan, Professor, New York University
Elizabeth Hagovsky
Jean Hardisty, Senior Scholar, Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College
Melissa Haussman, Associate Professor, Political Science, Carleton University
Melanie Heath, Assistant Professor of Sociology, McMaster University
Gwendolyn Mink
Celine-Marie Pascale, Professor, American University
Nancy Polikoff, Professor of Law, Washington College of Law, American University
Anna Marie Smith, Professor of Government, Cornell University
Noah Zatz, Acting Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law