White House Council on Fathers and Sons Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill creates a new White House Council on Fathers and Sons inside the Executive Office of the President. Its job is to coordinate a government-wide response to challenges facing men and boys, including lower college completion rates, declining wages, fatherless households, and high rates of suicide and overdose.
• The council would focus heavily on the role of fathers in families. The bill highlights that one in five fathers doesn't live with his children and that boys raised without fathers face significantly higher risks of poverty and incarceration.
• The council would include cabinet secretaries and senior White House staff from nearly every major federal department. It would review federal programs, recommend policy changes, and report to the President on how pending legislation affects fathers and sons.
• The bill directs federal agencies to develop programs promoting the roles of fathers and sons in families and to promote the biological differences between men and women — a provision that could influence how agencies design gender-related policies.
• No new funding is created. The council would be paid for using existing Health and Human Services money, and each agency on the council covers its own costs for participating.