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104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 11

To strengthen the rights of parents.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mrs. VUCANOVICH, Mr. THOMAS of California, and Mr. WELLER (for themselves, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. CRANE, Mr. FORBES, Mr.

CUNNINGHAM, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. DORNAN, Mr. HASTERT, Mr.

BLUTE, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr.

ZIMMER, Mr. LINDER, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. COOLEY,

Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. HOKE, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. LARGENT, Mr. KIM, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. CALLAHAN, Mrs.

ROUKEMA, Mr. CHRYSLER, Mr. HANCOCK, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. BAKER of

Louisiana, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. ROTH, Mr. STOCKMAN, Mr. SMITH of

Michigan, Mr. BAKER of California, Mr. SHAW, Mr. HERGER, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mrs. FOWLER, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr.

HEINEMAN, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. HOSTETTLER, Mr.

JONES, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. TIAHRT, Mrs. MYRICK, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr.

KINGSTON, Mr. EWING, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. GANSKE, Mr.

WELDON of Florida, Mr. COBURN, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr.

BUNNING of Kentucky, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina, Mr. LIGHTFOOT,

Mr. ISTOOK, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. CREMEANS, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr.

SCHAEFER, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. FOX, Mr. RADANOVICH,

Mr. GOODLING, Mr. WAMP, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr. BLILEY,

Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. CAMP, Mr. PACKARD, Mr. STUMP, Mr. GILMAN,

Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. FLANAGAN, Mr. BURR,

Mr. LATHAM, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. GUNDERSON, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr.

RIGGS, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. CHRISTENSEN, Mr.

HILLEARY, Mr. WICKER, Mr. BONO, Mr. FRISA, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. TALENT, Mr. SHADEGG, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr.

CANADY, Mr. MCCOLLUM, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. BARR,

Mr. ARMEY, Mr. WALDHOLTZ, Mr. TATE, Ms. DUNN, Mr. MICA, Mr.

MCHUGH, Mr. EVERETT, Mr. ROTH, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. PAXON, Mr.

YOUNG of Florida, Mr. COBLE, Mr. EHRLICH, and Mrs. MEYERS of Kansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred as follows:

Titles I–II, referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

Title III, referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

Title IV, referred to the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight
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Title V, referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to

the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

JANUARY 26, 1995

Additional sponsors: Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. WALKER,

Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia,

Mrs. SEASTRAND, Mr. SKEEN, Mr. COX, Mr. DREIER, Mr. DELAY, Mr.

POMBO, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, and Mr. SALMON

A BILL

To strengthen the rights of parents.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family Reinforcement

5 Act’’.

6 TITLE I—ADOPTION ASSISTANCE

7 SEC. 101. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR ADOPTION EXPENSES.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub9 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

10 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes11 ignating section 35 as section 36 and by inserting after

12 section 34 the following new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 35. ADOPTION EXPENSES.

14 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in15 dividual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax

16 imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year the amount
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1 of the qualified adoption expenses paid or incurred by the

2 taxpayer during such taxable year.

3 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—

4 ‘‘(1) DOLLAR LIMITATION.—The aggregate

5 amount of qualified adoption expenses which may be

6 taken into account under subsection (a) with respect

7 to the adoption of a child shall not exceed $5,000.

8 ‘‘(2) INCOME LIMITATION.—The amount allow9 able as a credit under subsection (a) for any taxable

10 year shall be reduced (but not below zero) by an

11 amount which bears the same ratio to the amount

12 so allowable (determined without regard to this

13 paragraph but with regard to paragraph (1)) as—

14 ‘‘(A) the amount (if any) by which the tax15 payer’s adjusted gross income exceeds $60,000,

16 bears to

17 ‘‘(B) $40,000.

18 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No credit shall be al20 lowed under subsection (a) for any expense for

21 which a deduction or credit is allowable under

22 any other provision of this chapter.

23 ‘‘(B) GRANTS.—No credit shall be allowed

24 under subsection (a) for any expense to the ex-
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1 tent that funds for such expense are received

2 under any Federal, State, or local program.

3 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED ADOPTION EXPENSES.—For pur4 poses of this section, the term ‘qualified adoption ex5 penses’ means reasonable and necessary adoption fees,

6 court costs, attorney fees, and other expenses which are

7 directly related to the legal adoption of a child by the tax8 payer and which are not incurred in violation of State or

9 Federal law or in carrying out any surrogate parenting

10 arrangement. The term ‘qualified adoption expenses’ shall

11 not include any expenses in connection with the adoption

12 by an individual of a child who is the child of such individ13 ual’s spouse.

14 ‘‘(d) MARRIED COUPLES MUST FILE JOINT RE15 TURNS.—Rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (2), (3),

16 and (4) of section 21(e) shall apply for purposes of this

17 section.’’

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

19 (1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title

20 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting be21 fore the period ‘‘, or from section 35 of such Code’’.

22 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part

23 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is

24 amended by striking the last item and inserting the

25 following:

‘‘Sec. 35. Adoption expenses.
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‘‘Sec. 36. Overpayments of tax.’’.

1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

3 December 31, 1995.

4 TITLE II—ELDERCARE

5 ASSISTANCE

6 SEC. 201. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR CUSTODIAL CARE OF

7 CERTAIN DEPENDENTS IN TAXPAYER’S

8 HOME.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub10 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

11 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes12 ignating section 36 as section 37 and by inserting after

13 section 35 the following new section:

14 ‘‘SEC. 36. CREDIT FOR TAXPAYERS WITH CERTAIN PERSONS

15 REQUIRING CUSTODIAL CARE IN THEIR

16 HOUSEHOLDS.

17 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an in18 dividual who maintains a household which includes as a

19 member one or more qualified persons, there shall be al20 lowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this subtitle

21 for the taxable year an amount equal to $500 for each

22 such person.

23 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

24 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED PERSON.—The term ‘qualified

25 person’ means any individual—
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1 ‘‘(A) who is—

2 ‘‘(i) a father or mother, or stepfather

3 or stepmother, of the taxpayer, his spouse,

4 or his former spouse, or

5 ‘‘(ii) a father or mother, or stepfather

6 or stepmother, of an individual described

7 in clause (i),

8 ‘‘(B) who has been certified by a physician

9 as—

10 ‘‘(i) being unable to perform (without

11 substantial assistance from another indi12 vidual) at least 2 activities of daily living

13 (as defined in paragraph (2)), or

14 ‘‘(ii) having a similar level of disabil15 ity due to cognitive impairment, and

16 ‘‘(C) who has as his principal place of

17 abode for more than half of the taxable year the

18 home of the taxpayer.

19 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING.—For pur20 poses of paragraph (1), each of the following is an

21 activity of daily living:

22 ‘‘(A) BATHING.—The overall complex be23 havior of getting water and cleansing the whole

24 body, including turning on the water for a bath,

25 shower, or sponge bath, getting to, in, and out
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1 of a tub or shower, and washing and drying

2 oneself.

3 ‘‘(B) DRESSING.—The overall complex be4 havior of getting clothes from closets and draw5 ers and then getting dressed.

6 ‘‘(C) TOILETING.—The act of going to the

7 toilet room for bowel and bladder function,

8 transferring on and off the toilet, cleaning after

9 elimination, and arranging clothes.

10 ‘‘(D) TRANSFER.—The process of getting

11 in and out of bed or in and out of a chair or

12 wheelchair.

13 ‘‘(E) EATING.—The process of getting

14 food from a plate or its equivalent into the

15 mouth.

16 ‘‘(3) PHYSICIAN.—The term ‘physician’ means

17 a doctor of medicine or osteopathy legally authorized

18 to practice medicine or surgery in the jurisdiction in

19 which he makes the determination under paragraph

20 (1).

21 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this section,

22 rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and

23 (4) of section 21(e) shall apply.
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1 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe

2 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the pur3 poses of this section.’’

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

5 (1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title

6 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or

7 36’’ after ‘‘section 35’’.

8 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part

9 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is

10 amended by striking the item relating to section 36

11 and inserting the following:

‘‘Sec. 36. Credit for taxpayers with certain persons requiring custodial care in their households.

‘‘Sec. 37. Overpayments of tax.’’

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

13 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

14 December 31, 1995.

15 TITLE III—CHILD PROTECTION

16 SEC. 301. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR USE OF A COM17 PUTER IN SEXUAL CRIMES AGAINST CHIL18 DREN.

19 The United States Sentencing Commission shall

20 amend the sentencing guidelines applicable to section

21 2252 of title 18, United States Code, to increase the of22 fense level by 2 levels if a computer was used in the trans23 porting or shipment of the visual depiction.
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1 SEC. 302. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCE FOR PROS2 TITUTION OF CHILDREN.

3 Section 2423 of title 18, United States Code, is

4 amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘or impris6 oned not more than ten years, or both.’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘and imprisoned not less than 3 nor more than

8 10 years.’’; and

9 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘, imprisoned

10 not more than 10 years, or both.’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘and imprisoned not less than 3 nor more than 10

12 years.’’.

13 SEC. 303. SENTENCING GUIDELINES RELATING TO PROS14 TITUTION OF CHILDREN.

15 The United States Sentencing Commission shall

16 amend the sentencing guidelines applicable to section

17 2423 of title 18, United States Code, to assure that an

18 increase in the age of the child who is the victim of the

19 offense does not result in a lighter punishment.

20 SEC. 304. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF A

21 MINOR.

22 Section 2243(a) of title 18, United States Code, is

23 amended by inserting ‘‘less than 3 nor’’ after ‘‘imprisoned

24 not’’.
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1 SEC. 305. INCREASE IN PENALTY FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF A

2 WARD.

3 Section 2243(b) of title 18, United States Code, is

4 amended by striking ‘‘more than one year’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘less than 3 nor more than 15 years’’.

6 TITLE IV—FAMILY PRIVACY

7 PROTECTION

8 SEC. 401. FAMILY PRIVACY PROTECTION.

9 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no

10 program or activity funded in whole in or part by any Fed11 eral department or agency shall require a minor to submit

12 to a survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals informa13 tion concerning:

14 (1) parental political affiliations;

15 (2) mental or psychological problems potentially

16 embarrassing to the minor or his family;

17 (3) sexual behavior or attitudes;

18 (4) illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or de19 meaning behavior;

20 (5) appraisals of other individuals with whom

21 the minor has a familial relationship;

22 (6) relationships that are legally recognized as

23 privileged, such as those with lawyers, physicians,

24 and members of the clergy;

25 (7) the minor’s household income, other than

26 information required by law to determine eligibility
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1 for participation in a program or for receiving finan2 cial assistance from a program; or

3 (8) religious beliefs,

4 without the written consent of at least one of the minor’s

5 parents or guardians or, in the case of an emancipated

6 minor, the prior consent of the minor himself.

7 (b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to tests intended

8 to measure academic performance except to the extent

9 that such tests would require a minor to reveal informa10 tion listed in paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a).

11 SEC. 402. NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.

12 A department or agency which, in whole or in part,

13 supports a program or activity involving any survey, anal14 ysis, or evaluation of minors shall establish procedures by

15 which the department or agency, or its grantees, shall no16 tify minors and their parents of their rights under this

17 title.

18 SEC. 403. EFFECTIVE DATE.

19 This title shall take effect 30 days after the date of

20 the enactment of this Act.

21 TITLE V—CHILD SUPPORT

22 ENFORCEMENT

23 SEC. 501. ENFORCEMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1738A of title 28, United

25 States Code, is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a) by inserting ‘‘or child sup2 port order’’ after ‘‘child custody determination’’;

3 (2) in subsection (b)—

4 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2)

5 through (8) as paragraphs (3) through (9), re6 spectively; and

7 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

8 following new paragraph:

9 ‘‘(2) ‘child support order’ means a judgment,

10 decree, or order of a court requiring the payment of

11 money, whether in periodic amounts or lump sum,

12 for the support of a child and includes permanent

13 and temporary orders, initial orders and modifica14 tions, on-going support and arrearages;’’;

15 (3) in subsection (c)—

16 (A) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘or

17 child support order’’ after ‘‘child custody deter18 mination’’; and

19 (B) in paragraph (2)(D)(i) by inserting

20 ‘‘or support’’ after ‘‘determine the custody’’;

21 (4) in subsection (d), by striking out ‘‘the re22 quirement of subsection (c)(1) of this section contin23 ues to be met and’’; and
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1 (5) in subsection (f)(2), by inserting ‘‘as de2 scribed under subsection (d) of this section,’’ after

3 ‘‘no longer has jurisdiction,’’.

4 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

5 (1) The heading for section 1738A of title 28, United

6 States Code, is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘SEC. 1738A. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT GIVEN TO CHILD

8 CUSTODY DETERMINATIONS AND CHILD SUP9 PORT ORDERS.’’.

10 (2) The table of sections for chapter 115 of title 28,

11 United States Code, is amended by striking out the item

12 relating to section 1738A and inserting in lieu thereof:

‘‘1738A. Full faith and credit given to child custody determinations and child

support orders.’’.

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

14 this section shall be effective on and after the date of the

15 enactment of this Act.

16 SEC. 502. UNIFORM TERMS IN ORDERS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 452(a) of the Social Secu18 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 652(a)) is amended—

19 (1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ after

20 the semicolon;

21 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at

22 the end of the 2nd sentence and inserting ‘‘; and’’;

23 and

24 (3) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(11) develop, in conjunction with State execu2 tive and judicial organizations, a uniform abstract of

3 a child support order, for use by all State courts to

4 record in each child support order—

5 ‘‘(A) the date support payments are to

6 begin under the order;

7 ‘‘(B) the circumstances upon which sup8 port payments are to end under the order;

9 ‘‘(C) the amount of child support payable

10 pursuant to the order expressed as a sum cer11 tain to be paid on a monthly basis, arrearages

12 expressed as a sum certain as of a certain date,

13 and any payback schedule for the arrearages;

14 ‘‘(D) whether the order awards support in

15 a lump sum (nonallocated) or per child;

16 ‘‘(E) if the award is in a lump sum, the

17 event causing a change in the support award

18 and the amount of any change;

19 ‘‘(F) other expenses covered by the order;

20 ‘‘(G) the names of the parents subject to

21 the order;

22 ‘‘(H) the social security account numbers

23 of the parents;
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1 ‘‘(I) the name, date of birth, and social se2 curity account number (if any) of each child

3 covered by the order;

4 ‘‘(J) the identification (FIPS code, name,

5 and address) of the court that issued the order;

6 ‘‘(K) any information on health care sup7 port required by the order; and

8 ‘‘(L) the party to contact if additional in9 formation is obtained.’’.

10 SEC. 503. WORK REQUIREMENT FOR NONCUSTODIAL PAR11 ENTS WITH CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES.

12 Section 466(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

13 666(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (11) the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(12) Procedures requiring that—

16 ‘‘(A) upon a determination by the State

17 agency referred to in section 402(a)(3) that the

18 noncustodial parent of any child who is apply19 ing for or receiving aid under the State plan ap20 proved under part A owes child support (as de21 fined in section 462(b)) with respect to the

22 child, is in arrears in the payment of such sup23 port in an amount that is not less than twice

24 the amount of the monthly child support obliga25 tion, is not incapacitated, and is not subject to
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1 a court-approved plan for payment of such ar2 rearage, the State agency referred to in section

3 402(a)(3) send to the noncustodial parent a let4 ter notifying the noncustodial parent that the

5 noncustodial parent—

6 ‘‘(i) is required to pay child support

7 with respect to the child; and

8 ‘‘(ii) is subject to fines and other pen9 alties for failure to pay the full amount of

10 such support in a timely manner; and

11 ‘‘(B) if, by the end of the 30-day period

12 that begins with the date the letter is sent pur13 suant to subparagraph (A), the amount of the

14 arrearage has not decreased by at least a per15 centage amount specified by the State agency,

16 the State seek a court order requiring the

17 noncustodial parent—

18 ‘‘(i) to participate in a job search pro19 gram established by the State, for not less

20 than 2 weeks and not more than 4 weeks;

21 and

22 ‘‘(ii) if, by the end of the 30-day pe23 riod beginning on the date the order is en24 tered, the amount of the arrearage has not

25 decreased by at least a percentage amount
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1 specified by the State agency, to partici2 pate in a work program established by the

3 State, for not less than 35 hours per week

4 (or, if the program also requires job

5 search, for not less than 30 hours per

6 week).’’.

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