Tom Daschle prospective Secretary of Health and Human Services

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Tom Daschle, a key early supporter and former U.S. Senate leader, to serve as secretary of Health and Human Services (Reuters Article; Nov. 19, 2008).

Although the media is predicting that Daschle will overhaul the U. S. Healthcare system, he will also be placed over millions of dollars of marriage and fatherhood monies.

This choice may affect USU's stepfamily grant money - $2.3 million in federal funding from the Office of Family Assistance and the Office of Head Start.

I will continue to do research on President-elect Obamas choice of Tom Daschle for this position, and if passed by Congress, how this appointment will effect marriage funding.

The Marriage Debate

In 1996, President Bill Clinton created the Defense Against Marriage Act (DOMA) which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Today, DOMA is being challenged across the country. Current research has demonstrated the benefits of two biological parent families on children outcomes.

President Bush created a Healthy Marriage Initiative in order to emphasize the importance of traditional marriage and along with Congress allocated over $500 million to marriage programs across the country.