FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2004

Contact: Brad Snavely
(517) 374-1171, ext. 104

Michigan Family Forum Applauds President Bush
for Providing Funds for Healthy Marriages

Bush’s Plan for $1.5 Billion is Good for American Families

LANSING, Mich.—Michigan Family Forum (MFF), a Lansing-based family policy organization, today praised President George W. Bush for offering $1.5 billion to help couples develop interpersonal skills that sustain healthy marriages.

"As taxpayers, we spend billions year after year on programs and services designed to address problems caused by broken or never-formed families. President Bush’s plan offers a welcome attempt to proactively affirm and strengthen the institution of marriage," said MFF Executive Director Brad Snavely.

Dr. Wade F. Horn, the president’s key advisor on marriage and family issues, was a special guest at a banquet sponsored by MFF in September 2003. Dr. Horn and other social scientists point to a growing body of evidence showing that children raised by their own parents in healthy, stable, and married families enjoy better physical and mental health and are less likely to be poor.

"There is definitely a growing body of social scientific evidence clearly showing that marriage matters for children, for adults, and for communities," said Snavely. "We are all better off when we strive to help people achieve what most adults still desire—a lifelong healthy marriage."

The president’s proposal would use the federal dollars for specific activities such as advertising campaigns, instruction in marriage skills and mentoring programs that use married couples as role models. All activities would be offered on a voluntary basis to couples seeking the help.

"This initiative will not force people to get married or stay in abusive marriages," said Snavely. "However, government can and should play a vital leadership role in promoting a culture that encourages the marriage ideal."

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