Our children are the messages to a world we will not live to see

By Senator Evan Bayh

Today, I wish every Hoosier family a Happy Father's Day and am proud to recognize dads who serve as role models and relish the responsibility to help their children prosper. You deserve our gratitude today and every day. (Click here to play video.)

Unfortunately, one in four Indiana children—and more than 24 million nationwide—woke up this morning under roofs with no father present. Children who grow up without fathers are more likely to drop out of school, commit crimes, become teen parents, abuse drugs, and commit suicide. Conceiving a child doesn't make you a man, but raising one responsibly does.

On Friday, I introduced a bill in the Senate to support local initiatives that help dads who are trying to do right by their children. We can't pass a law to make men embrace this responsibility, but we can support community programs that help non-custodial parents earn a livable wage to provide for their families. We can also collect an additional $13 billion in child support to help our heroic parents who are raising children alone.

No political victory I have ever achieved matches the feeling I get from helping my 13-year-old sons, Beau and Nick, fulfill their God-given potential. My Father's Day wish is that more of our sons and daughters can know the love of a father and be given every chance to grow into mature, responsible and caring adults.