{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-on-senate-floor-ahead-of-fathers-day-if-dads-back-away-from-their-families-the-nation-gets-weaker/", "Lankford on Senate Floor Ahead of Father\u2019s Day: \u201cIf Dads Back Away From Their Families, The Nation Gets Weaker\u201d", "2026-06-18", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "Senate", "OK", "James Lankford", "L000575", "www.lankford.senate.gov", "lankford", "https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "page_html", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2014 US Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today delivered remarks on the Senate floor ahead of Father\u2019s Day, making the case that fatherlessness is at the root of America\u2019s biggest social crises and that engaged dads are the most powerful force for a stronger nation.\n\n\u201cHealthy families make healthy communities make a healthy nation,\u201d said Lankford on the floor. \u201cIf dads back away from their families, families get weaker, communities get weaker, the nation gets weaker. If dads are engaged with their kids and with their families, the nation gets stronger. Communities get stronger.\u201d\n\nWhile sounding the alarm on fatherlessness, Lankford also pointed to a promising cultural shift: today\u2019s dads are three times more likely to spend time with their kids than fathers in the 1960s. He called on that momentum to continue, and outlined several policy efforts to back it up, including fixing marriage penalties in the tax code and Trump administration actions that pull passports from dads who skip out on child support and withhold tax refunds from those who fall behind on payments.\n\nThere is no vote that we will take in this body today that will make the nation stronger than just dads loving their kids, and spending time with them, and helping them know how to be able to walk with God, live a patriotic life, and to serve their family and community,\u201d Lankford concluded. \u201cThere is no vote that will help our nation more than that.\u201d\n\nYou can watch his full remarks on the Senate floor HERE, and can download it HERE.\n\nBackground\n\nLankford has long championed faith, family, and pro-life policy throughout his tenure in the Senate. He has fought to eliminate marriage penalties in the tax code, introduced legislation to extend child support to unborn children, and has been recognized as the Senate\u2019s leading pro-life voice. Americans looking for fatherhood resources can visit fatherhood.gov and fatherhood.org.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-19T06:50:32Z", "2026-06-19T06:53:40Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-on-senate-floor-ahead-of-fathers-day-if-dads-back-away-from-their-families-the-nation-gets-weaker/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8391751907765865, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}