I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 278

To establish the Federal right of every unemancipated child to be supported

by such child’s parent or parents and, therefore, to confer upon certain

local courts of the District of Columbia and every State and territory

of the United States jurisdiction to enforce such right regardless of

such child’s residence.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. JACOBS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish the Federal right of every unemancipated child

to be supported by such child’s parent or parents and,

therefore, to confer upon certain local courts of the District of Columbia and every State and territory of the

United States jurisdiction to enforce such right regardless of such child’s residence.

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 ‘‘Federal Support Pay5 ment Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DECLARATIONS OF CONGRESS.

2 (a) RIGHT TO SUPPORT.—The Congress hereby de3 clares that every unemancipated child has a natural,

4 moral, social, and Federal right to be supported by such

5 child’s parent or parents and that such right transcends

6 the status of debt.

7 (b) EFFECT OF EXERCISE OF RIGHT TO TRAVEL.—

8 The Congress further declares that while sound national

9 policy requires that migration throughout the United

10 States be unrestricted, experience has disclosed that in the

11 exercise of the right of migration and travel many individ12 uals leave behind them dependent and neglected children;

13 and that although the courts of the State in which such

14 children reside may have properly ordered an individual

15 to meet his or her natural, moral, social, and Federal obli16 gation to such children, once such individual has traveled

17 to another State such individual has a practical sanctuary

18 against jurisdiction of the original State of residence.

19 (c) INSTANCES OF DEPARTURE PRECEDING COURT

20 JURISDICTION.—The Congress further declares that in

21 other instances the departure preceded acquisition of ju22 risdiction over the individual by courts of the original

23 State with like result.

24 (d) CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AMENDMENTS

25 OF 1984 WERE SIGNIFICANT STEPS.—In enacting the

26 Child Support Enforcement Amendments of 1984 the
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1 Congress took significant steps to assist children in ob2 taining needed financial support from their parents re3 gardless of their circumstances, but many of the evils out4 lined above remain.

5 (e) POLICY.—It is the policy of Congress in this Act

6 to correct these evils—

7 (1) by requiring that orders of State courts di8 recting individuals to meet their natural, moral, so9 cial, and Federal obligations to such children shall

10 be enforced in the State courts in areas to which

11 such individuals have migrated from the original ju12 risdiction within the United States; and

13 (2) by giving State courts, in States to which

14 such individuals have migrated, original jurisdiction

15 in suits brought by citizens of other States to order

16 such migrants to meet such obligations, to the end

17 that such children will not suffer want or be made

18 the objects of public welfare and thus become an un19 necessary burden to the general public and be them20 selves thereby humiliated.

21 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT OF STATE COURT ORDERS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of title 28, United States

23 Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow24 ing new chapter:
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 180.—ENFORCEMENT OF STATE

2 COURT SUPPORT ORDERS

‘‘Sec.

‘‘3801. Definitions.

‘‘3802. Registration of support orders.

‘‘3803. Enforcement.

‘‘3804. Notice to original court.

3 ‘‘§ 3801. Definitions

4 ‘‘As used in this chapter—

5 ‘‘(1) the term ‘support order’ means an order of

6 a State court having jurisdiction over an individual,

7 directing such individual to make payments periodi8 cally to (or for the support of) such individual’s

9 child (whether the issue of such individual’s body, le10 gitimate or illegitimate, or adopted);

11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘obligor’, with respect to a sup12 port order, means an individual who is directed to

13 make payments under the order;

14 ‘‘(3) the term ‘obligee’ means any individual to

15 whom the proceeds of a support order are payable

16 for such individual, or for the use or benefit of an17 other individual, or such other individual’s guardian

18 or guardian ad litem;

19 ‘‘(4) the term ‘original court’, with respect to a

20 support order, means the court in which the order

21 was made;

22 ‘‘(5) the term ‘State’ includes the territories

23 and the District of Columbia; and
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1 ‘‘(6) the term ‘registered’, with respect to a

2 support order, means registered under section 3102

3 of this title.

4 ‘‘§ 3802. Registration of support orders

5 ‘‘Any obligee of a support order may register the

6 order in any court of any State in which an obligor of

7 the order resides, if the court is located outside the State

8 in which the order was made, and has jurisdiction to issue

9 support orders. Registration shall be accomplished by fil10 ing with the clerk of the court a certified copy of the sup11 port order and of each order of the original court modify12 ing the support order.

13 ‘‘§ 3803. Enforcement

14 ‘‘(a) Any court in which a support order is registered

15 shall entertain contempt proceedings, in the same manner

16 as if the order were an order of such court, against an

17 obligor who fails to comply with the order within thirty

18 days after being served notice that it has been registered.

19 ‘‘(b) No proceedings to enforce a support order shall

20 be begun in any court under this section unless a copy

21 of each order of the original court modifying the support

22 order is registered under section 3102 of this title.

23 ‘‘(c) The cost of enforcement proceedings under this

24 section shall be taxed against the party against whom the

25 issues are resolved. The obligor shall be required to pay
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1 a reasonable attorney fee to the obligee if the court finds

2 the proceedings were necessary to compel the obligor to

3 comply with the support order.

4 ‘‘§ 3804. Notice to original court

5 ‘‘When, in any court, any support order is registered

6 under section 3102 of this title or any proceedings are

7 taken under section 3103 of this title to enforce a support

8 order, written notice of such action under the seal of such

9 court shall be sent to the original court.’’.

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters

11 for part VI of title 28, United States Code, is amended

12 by adding at the end thereof the following new item:

‘‘180. Enforcement of State Court Support Orders ................................. 3801’’.

13 SEC. 4. STATE COURT JURISDICTION.

14 Section 1332 of title 28, United States Code, is

15 amended by adding at the end the following new sub16 section:

17 ‘‘(e) State courts shall have original jurisdiction of

18 civil actions brought by a citizen of another State to order

19 a citizen of the State in which the court is located to make

20 payments periodically to (or for the support of) such citi21 zen’s child (whether the issue of such citizen’s body, legiti22 mate or illegitimate, or adopted) if under the law of such

23 State a State court is authorized to make such an order,

24 as an incident to a divorce proceeding or otherwise.’’.

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