I was honored to be recognized by the Abstinence Clearinghouse for my work to ensure our kids know the value of living pure and faith centered lives.  The text of the alert sent to their members can be read below:

THANK YOU REPRESENTATIVE CHRIS CANNON!:In late April, House Oversight and Government Reform of Representatives held a biased and one-sided hearing in the Oversight & Government Reform Committee which attacked the effectiveness of abstinence education. Led by Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), the panel for the April 23rd hearing was stacked with witnesses who opposed abstinence education. Senator Sam Brownback and researcher Stan Weed did an excellent job of presenting the view that abstinence is effective, but the hearing failed to present the views of parents, students and teachers who support abstinence until marriage education. Clearly, the goal of the hearing was to downplay and distort the positive effects of abstinence-until-marriage programs.

The National Abstinence Clearinghouse (NAC) would like to thank Representative Chris Cannon (R-UT) for his efforts to ensure that the Committee’s hearing record provided a balanced view of the effectiveness of abstinence education programs. At the request of NAC, Rep. Cannon included in the Committee hearing record a report from the Administration for Children and Families titled “Promising Perspectives for Providing Abstinence Education to High Risk Youth: Perspectives from the Field”. This report, produced in partnership with NAC, shows the promising practices utilized by successful programs across the country for reaching high-risk youth with the message of abstinence education.

While opponents of abstinence education went to great lengths to distort the success of abstinence programs, Congressman Cannon was there to set the record straight.

A preliminary transcript of the hearing can be found HERE.

The National Abstinence Clearinghouse’s letter thanking Representative Cannon can be found HERE.

The federal government should allow local school districts to reflect their residents and let parents set the moral standards their children live by.  However, it is incumbent upon people in leadership positions to advocate for things like abstinence.  The fruits of a permissive culture are evident all around us.  As a parent and a Congressman, I am proud to stand with those who stand for our children.