OKLAHOMA CITY – A measure drafted to fight poverty and promote marriage in Oklahoma passed a full vote of the House of Representatives today.
House Bill 1908, authored by House Speaker T.W. Shannon, will set aside dollars to create a statewide public service campaign promoting marriage as a tool to fight poverty and decrease the likelihood of child poverty.
Oklahoma receives a total of $145 million in federal TANF funds. The public service campaign could be created and run using less than one percent of those federal funds.
“Strong families are our best hope for winning the war against generational poverty,” said Speaker Shannon, R-Lawton. “If we can promote the value and benefits of seatbelts and quitting smoking, we should also promote the societal benefits of marriage.”
According to the Heritage Foundation, marriage reduces the chances of child poverty by 80 percent. This is an important statistic, as the country has spent over $16 trillion in taxpayers’ money on poverty-related programs since the 1960s “War on Poverty” started. Today, 80 different welfare programs spend almost $1 trillion annually on poverty-related issues.
HB 1908 now advances to the state Senate for consideration.
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