Introduction of the Fostering Family Cohesion Nationwide Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Fostering Family Cohesion Nationwide Act. The legislation makes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), child support enforcement, and foster care programs available everywhere else in our Nation also available in the Northern Mariana Islands.

My district is the only jurisdiction ineligible for such programs under Title IV of the Social Security Act. In every other part of the United States, these programs help low-income families with children achieve economic self-sufficiency, promote joint parental responsibility, and provide safe foster care placements for children who cannot remain in their homes.

The continued exclusion of our islands is not only inequitable, but also violates the agreement negotiated in the covenant that established the current political relationship between the Marianas and the United States. Section 703 of P.L. 94-241 provides that the United States will make available to the Marianas the full range of federal programs and services available to the other territories. And by failing to remedy the Marianas' exclusion from programs under Title IV, Congress is reneging on its promise and perpetuating the unequal treatment of Americans residing in U.S. territories.

My bill, the Fostering Family Cohesion Nationwide Act, makes this long overdue correction, and upholds our nation's statutory obligation to the people of the Marianas. Each child's right to a safe, nurturing, and permanent family must be safeguarded no matter where they grow up in the United States.

I thank my colleagues who joined me in introducing this bipartisan legislation--Mr. Moylan, Ms. Radewagen, Ms. Plaskett, and Mr. Case.

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