Family Research Council Action, which tracks pro-family and pro-life federal legislation, rated Cory Gardner, Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn, and Scott Tipton with a 100% pro-family rating for the first session of the 115th Congress.

The legislation tracked included votes to repeal and replace Obamacare, limit funding for abortion, increase the Child Tax Credit, eliminate numerous marriage penalties from the tax code, allow unborn children to qualify for 529 education savings accounts, approve the nomination of Neil Gosurch to the Supreme Court, protect unborn children from abortion once they can feel pain, and other issues.

The strong pro-family leadership of Gardner, Buck, Lamborn, and Tipton should be applauded. Research has clearly demonstrated that healthy families lead to thriving communities and that thriving communities don’t require as many government resources.

A study by the non-partisan Brookings Institution, along with numerous other studies, have found that “children raised by married parents typically do better in life on almost every available economic and social measure.” They go on, “Children raised by married parents do better at school, develop stronger cognitive and non-cognitive skills, are more likely to go to college, earn more, and are more likely to go on to form stable marriages themselves.” Sociologists call this the ‘marriage premium’.

Marriage is important for community stability too. According to the Institute for Family Studies, “men earn more income when they’re married, work more, spend less time with friends apart from marriage and family, and spend more time with family and in the community in which the family is embedded.”

Unfortunately, according to the Pew Research Center, marriage rates in America are in decline, especially among those with a high school diploma or less education. At the same time, cohabitation and remarriage rates are on the rise.

While it will ultimately require a cultural movement to make marriage great again, we do need remove government policies that create unnessary burdens and impliment policies that encourage healthy families.

Whether one is a Republican or Democrat, we all want children and our communities to have the best possible options to thrive. Promoting healthy families is a great step forward for our state and nation. Strong families, community engagement, limited government, and children thriving is a win, win, win, win for Colorado. We should all applaud Cory Gardner, Ken Buck, Doug Lamborn, and Scott Tipton for their leadership.