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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 915

To improve the collection of child support.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 16, 1993

Mrs. SCHROEDER introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to

the Committees on Ways and Means and the Judiciary

A BILL

To improve the collection of child support.

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 ‘‘Child Support Eco5 nomic Security Act of 1993’’.

6 TITLE I—CHILD SUPPORT

7 ENFORCEMENT AMENDMENTS

8 SEC. 101. UNIFORM STATEWIDE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCE9 MENT PROGRAM.

10 Section 454(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

11 654(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘, which meets’’ and all

12 that follows and inserting ‘‘at the State level to administer
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1 the plan under rules that apply uniformly throughout the

2 State;’’.

3 SEC. 102. ACCESS OF STATE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCE4 MENT AGENCY TO INFORMATION IN STATE

5 DATA BASES.

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

7 666(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (10) the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(11) Procedures which ensure that the agency

10 administering the plan under section 454 has on-line

11 access to all information contained in any data base

12 maintained by the State or any political subdivision

13 of the State.’’.

14 SEC. 103. CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS REQUIRED UNTIL

15 CERTAIN EVENT OCCURS.

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

17 666(a)), as amended by section 102 of this Act, is amend18 ed by inserting after paragraph (11) the following:

19 ‘‘(12)(A) Procedures which ensure that any

20 court order, or order of an administrative process es21 tablished under State law, for support or mainte22 nance of a child, requires the payment of such sup23 port until the child—

24 ‘‘(i) if not disabled—

25 ‘‘(I) attains the age of 18 years;
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1 ‘‘(II) is graduated from secondary

2 school or its equivalent, or, having been en3 rolled at such a school or equivalent, is no

4 longer so enrolled at any such school or

5 equivalent;

6 ‘‘(III) marries; or

7 ‘‘(IV) is emancipated by a court of

8 competent jurisdiction; or

9 ‘‘(ii) if disabled—

10 ‘‘(I) marries; or

11 ‘‘(II) is able to support himself or her12 self.

13 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the

14 term ‘disabled’ means having a severe, chronic dis15 ability which—

16 ‘‘(i) is attributable to a mental or physical

17 impairment, or combination of mental and

18 physical impairments;

19 ‘‘(ii) is likely to continue indefinitely;

20 ‘‘(iii) results in substantial functional limi21 tations in 3 or more of the following areas of

22 major life activity:

23 ‘‘(I) self-care;

24 ‘‘(II) receptive and expressive lan25 guage;
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1 ‘‘(III) learning;

2 ‘‘(IV) mobility;

3 ‘‘(V) capacity for independent living;

4 ‘‘(VI) economic self-sufficiency; and

5 ‘‘(iv) reflects the need for a combination of

6 special, interdisciplinary, or generic care, treat7 ment, or other services that are of lifelong or

8 extended duration.’’.

9 SEC. 104. REQUIREMENT THAT ALL INCOME BE SUBJECT

10 TO WITHHOLDING TO MEET CHILD SUPPORT

11 OBLIGATIONS.

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

13 666(a)), as amended by the preceding provisions of this

14 Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(13)(A) Procedures which ensure that all in17 come of an individual (other than benefits received

18 through a Federal, State, or local program under

19 which entitlement to benefits is based on the means

20 of the beneficiary) is subject to withholding to meet

21 the child support obligations of the individual.

22 ‘‘(B) Procedures which require the agency re23 sponsible for the operation of any State lottery

24 (in this subparagraph referred to as the ‘lottery

25 agency’)—
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1 ‘‘(i) to inquire of the agency administering

2 the plan under section 454 whether any person

3 to whom the lottery agency is to directly pay

4 lottery winnings owes overdue support;

5 ‘‘(ii) to defer payment of the winnings

6 until the lottery agency receives a response to

7 the inquiry; and

8 ‘‘(iii) if the person owes overdue support,

9 to withhold from the payment of the winnings

10 the amount of the overdue support.

11 ‘‘(C) Procedures which require any insurer sub12 ject to regulation by the State—

13 ‘‘(i) to inquire of the agency administering

14 the plan under section 454 whether any person

15 claiming benefits under a policy of insurance is16 sued by the insurer owes overdue support;

17 ‘‘(ii) to defer payment of such benefits

18 until the insurer receives a response to the in19 quiry; and

20 ‘‘(iii) if the person owes overdue support—

21 ‘‘(I) to withhold from such benefits

22 the amount of the overdue support; and

23 ‘‘(II) to provide to the agency the

24 amount withheld for payment to the indi25 vidual owed the support.
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1 ‘‘(D) Procedures which prevent a State court

2 from entering an order awarding the payment of

3 money to any person, or accepting an agreement set4 tling an action brought in the court that requires

5 money to be paid to any person, until—

6 ‘‘(i) the court has inquired of the agency

7 administering the plan under section 454

8 whether the person owes overdue support, and

9 has received a response to the inquiry; and

10 ‘‘(ii) if the person owes overdue support,

11 the person pays the amount of the overdue

12 support.

13 ‘‘(E) Procedures which prevent any agency of

14 State or local government from recording a property

15 transaction, until—

16 ‘‘(i) the agency has inquired of the agency

17 administering the plan under section 454

18 whether any party to the transaction owes over19 due support, and has received a response to the

20 inquiry; and

21 ‘‘(ii) any such party—

22 ‘‘(I) pays the amount of any overdue

23 support; or

24 ‘‘(II) demonstrates that the party has

25 made a good faith effort—
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1 ‘‘(aa) to pay the support due for

2 the month in which the transaction is

3 sought to be recorded; and

4 ‘‘(bb) to provide for the payment

5 of the overdue support through regu6 lar, periodic payments.’’.

7 SEC. 105. STATE LICENSES DENIED TO PARENTS WITH

8 PAST DUE CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS.

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

10 666(a)), as amended by the preceding provisions of this

11 Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (13) the

12 following:

13 ‘‘(14) Procedures which prohibit the provision,

14 renewal, or reissuance of any license, required under

15 the law of the State or of any political subdivision

16 thereof before engaging in conduct subject to the li17 cense, to any person the amount of whose overdue

18 support exceeds $1,000, until the person dem19 onstrates that the person has made a good faith ef20 fort—

21 ‘‘(A) to pay the support due for the month

22 in which the license was requested to be pro23 vided, renewed, or reissued; and
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1 ‘‘(B) to provide for the payment of the

2 overdue support through regular, periodic pay3 ments.’’.

4 SEC. 106. CERTAIN OVERDUE CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGA5 TIONS REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED TO

6 CONSUMER CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES.

7 Section 466(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42

8 U.S.C. 666(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(7) Procedures which ensure that the agency

10 administering the plan under section 454—

11 ‘‘(A) reports to the major consumer report12 ing agencies (as defined in section 603(f) of the

13 Fair Credit Reporting Act) the amount of over14 due support owed by an individual residing in

15 the State if the amount of the delinquency ex16 ceeds the amount of child support payable by

17 the individual on a monthly basis; and

18 ‘‘(B) upon request of a consumer reporting

19 agency, furnishes the consumer reporting agen20 cy information on the amount of overdue sup21 port owed by an individual residing in the

22 State, for a fee equal to not more than the cost

23 of furnishing the information;’’.
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1 SEC. 107. ELIMINATION OF STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS IN

2 CHILD SUPPORT CASES.

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

4 666(a)), as amended by the preceding provisions of this

5 Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (14) the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(15) Procedures which ensure that there is no

8 limit to the period in which any court order, or order

9 of an administrative process established under State

10 law, for support or maintenance of a child, may be

11 enforced.’’.

12 SEC. 108. REQUIREMENT THAT SOCIAL SECURITY NUM13 BERS APPEAR ON MARRIAGE LICENSES AND

14 CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

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

16 666(a)), as amended by the preceding provisions of this

17 Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (15) the

18 following:

19 ‘‘(16) Procedures which ensure that, on each

20 marriage license issued by the State, and in each

21 court order, or order of an administrative process es22 tablished under State law, for support or mainte23 nance of a child, there appear the social security ac24 count numbers of each individual to whom the li25 cense is issued or upon whom the order imposes a

26 support obligation.’’.
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1 SEC. 109. SEPARATE TREATMENT OF CASES ALLEGING

2 NONSUPPORT AND CASES ALLEGING DENIAL

3 OF VISITATION RIGHTS.

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

5 666(a)), as amended by the preceding provisions of this

6 Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (16) the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(17) Procedures which ensure that—

9 ‘‘(A) conduct affecting the exercise of visi10 tation rights under a court order, or an order

11 of an administrative process established under

12 State law, for support or maintenance of a

13 child, shall be treated as irrelevant in any ac14 tion brought to enforce the support provisions

15 of the order; and

16 ‘‘(B) the provision of, or failure to provide,

17 support pursuant to such an order shall be

18 treated as irrelevant in any action brought to

19 enforce visitation rights under the order.’’.

20 SEC. 110. TIMELY RESPONSE TO INTERSTATE LOCATE RE21 QUESTS.

22 Section 452(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

23 652(a)) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

25 (9);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (10) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(11) in establishing standards under para5 graph (1) for locating absent parents—

6 ‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date

7 of the enactment of this paragraph, prescribe

8 deadlines by which States must respond to re9 quests from other States for information, tak10 ing into account the state of available tech11 nology; and

12 ‘‘(B) review and, if appropriate, revise

13 such deadlines every 3 years taking into ac14 count the state of available technology.’’.

15 SEC. 111. REGULATIONS FOR PROCESSING OF INTERSTATE

16 CHILD SUPPORT CASES.

17 Section 452 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

18 652) is amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(j) The Secretary shall issue regulations establishing

20 standards and procedures governing the processing by

21 States of cases involving the enforcement of child support

22 obligations against parents in other States, including a

23 deadline by which prosecutions must commence after the

24 case first comes to the attention of the State, and a dead25 line by which such actions must be decided or dismissed.’’.
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1 SEC. 112. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES.

2 (a) ONLY CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT FUNDS

3 SUBJECT TO REDUCTION FOR SUBSTANTIAL NONCOMPLI4 ANCE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (h) of section

6 403 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(h)) is hereby trans7 ferred to section 455 of such Act, redesignated as

8 subsection (f) of such section 455, and amended—

9 (A) in paragraph (1)—

10 (i) by striking ‘‘Act’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘part’’;

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘part D’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘this part’’; and

14 (iii) by striking ‘‘such part’’ and in15 serting ‘‘this part’’; and

16 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘this

17 part’’ and inserting ‘‘part A’’.

18 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

19 (A) Section 452(a)(4) of such Act (42

20 U.S.C. 652(a)(4)) is amended by striking

21 ‘‘403(h)’’ each place such term appears and in22 serting ‘‘455(f)’’.

23 (B) Subsections (d)(3)(A), (g)(1), and

24 (g)(3)(A) of section 452 of such Act (42 U.S.C.

25 652) are each amended by striking ‘‘403(h)’’

26 and inserting ‘‘455(f)’’.
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1 (b) PAYMENTS TO STATES INCREASED.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(a) of such Act

3 (42 U.S.C. 655(a)) is amended—

4 (A) in paragraph (1)—

5 (i) by striking ‘‘(a)(1)’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘(a)’’; and

7 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking

8 ‘‘the percent specified in paragraph (2)’’

9 and inserting ‘‘90 percent’’; and

10 (iii) in each of subparagraphs (B) and

11 (C), by striking ‘‘(rather than the percent12 age specified in subparagraph (A))’’;

13 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and

14 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A),

15 (B), and (C) of paragraph (1) as paragraphs

16 (1), (2), and (3), respectively.

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Paragraphs

18 (1)(B), (2)(A), and (2)(B) of section 452(d) of such

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 652(d)) are each amended by strik20 ing ‘‘455(a)(1)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘455(a)(2)’’.

21 (c) REPEAL OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES.—

22 Section 458 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 658) is hereby re23 pealed.
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1 SEC. 113. DEADLINE FOR ADOPTION OF UNIFORM INTER2 STATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT.

3 Part D of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

4 U.S.C. 651–669) is amended by adding at the end the

5 following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 469A. ADOPTION OF UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY

7 SUPPORT ACT.

8 ‘‘As a condition for the approval of any State plan

9 under this part, the State must, not later than the effec10 tive date of this section, have in effect a law identical to

11 the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, in the form

12 most recently adopted by the National Conference of Com13 missioners on Uniform State Laws before the enactment

14 of this section.’’.

15 SEC. 114. COMMISSION ON CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES.

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a

17 commission to be known as the Commission on Child

18 Support Guidelines (in this section referred to as the

19 ‘‘Commission’’).

20 (b) APPLICABLE RULES.—Subsection (b) (except the

21 first sentence of paragraph (4) thereof), and subsections

22 (c), (e), (f)(2), and (g), of section 126 of the Family Sup23 port Act (42 U.S.C. 666 note; Public Law 100–485) shall

24 apply to the Commission in the same manner as such

25 provisions apply to the Commission on Interstate Child

26 Support.
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1 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each person with authority to

2 make appointments to the Commission shall exercise the

3 authority to ensure that the Commission includes—

4 (1) persons with judicial or administrative expe5 rience in matters involving child support enforce6 ment; and

7 (2) representatives of organizations which rep8 resent custodial and noncustodial parents.

9 (d) DUTY.—Not later than 18 months after the last

10 of the initial appointments to the Commission is made,

11 the Commission shall submit to the Congress a report con12 taining recommendations for national guidelines for child

13 support award amounts, after consideration of the guide14 lines established by each State pursuant to section 467(a)

15 of the Social Security Act.

16 (e) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

17 2 months after the date of submission of the report re18 quired by subsection (d).

19 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

20 on the date of the enactment of this Act.

21 SEC. 115. EFFECTIVE DATE.

22 Except as otherwise provided in this title (or in the

23 amendments made by this title), the amendments made

24 by this title shall take effect on the 1st day of the 12th
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1 calendar quarter beginning after the date of the enactment

2 of this Act.

3 TITLE II—BANKRUPTCY AMEND4 MENTS RELATING TO CHILD

5 SUPPORT, ALIMONY, AND

6 PROPERTY SETTLEMENT

7 AGREEMENTS

8 SEC. 201. EXCEPTIONS TO STAY.

9 Section 362(b)(2) of title 11, United States Code, is

10 amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(2) under subsection (a) of this section—

12 ‘‘(A) of the commencement or continuation

13 of an action or proceeding for—

14 ‘‘(i) the establishment of paternity; or

15 ‘‘(ii) the establishment or modification

16 of an order for alimony, maintenance, or

17 support; or

18 ‘‘(B) of the collection of—

19 ‘‘(i) alimony, maintenance, or support

20 from property that is not property of the

21 estate; or

22 ‘‘(ii) a debt of the kind specified in

23 section 523(a)(5) of this title to a child of

24 the debtor if the claim for such debt arises

25 after the commencement of the case;’’.
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1 SEC. 202. PRIORITY.

2 Section 507(a) of title 11, United States Code, is

3 amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘(8) Eighth’’

5 and inserting ‘‘(9) Ninth’’,

6 (2) in paragraph (7) by striking ‘‘(7) Seventh’’

7 and inserting ‘‘(8) Eighth’’, and

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(7) Seventh, allowed claims of the kind speci11 fied in section 523(a)(5) of this title.’’.

12 SEC. 203. EXEMPTIONS.

13 Section 522(f) of title 11, United States Code, is

14 amended—

15 (1) in paragraph (2)(C) by striking the period

16 at the end and inserting a semicolon, and

17 (2) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘and does not secure a claim for a debt of a kind specified

19 in section 523(a)(5) of this title.’’.

20 SEC. 204. EXCEPTION TO DISCHARGE.

21 Section 523(a)(5) of title 11, United States Code, is

22 amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(5) to a spouse, former spouse, or child of the

24 debtor—

25 ‘‘(A) for alimony to, maintenance for, or

26 support of such spouse or child, in connection
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1 with a separation agreement, divorce decree or

2 other order of a court of record, determination

3 made in accordance with State or territorial law

4 by a governmental unit, or property settlement

5 agreement, but not the extent that such debt

6 includes a liability designated as alimony, main7 tenance, or support, unless such liability is ac8 tually in the nature of alimony, maintenance, or

9 support; or

10 ‘‘(B) for any liability under the terms of a

11 property settlement agreement entered into in

12 connection with a separation agreement or di13 vorce decree;

14 except to the extent such debt is assigned to another

15 entity, voluntarily, by operation of law, or otherwise

16 (other than debts assigned pursuant to section

17 402(a)(26) of the Social Security Act, or any such

18 debt which has been assigned to the Federal Govern19 ment or to a State or any political subdivision of

20 such State).’’.

21 SEC. 205. PREFERENCES.

22 Section 547(c) of title 11, United States Code,

23 is amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘or’’ at

25 the end,
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1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as

2 paragraph (8), and

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(7) to the extent such transfer was a bona fide

6 payment of a debt of a kind specified in section

7 523(a)(5) of this title; or’’.

8 SEC. 206. PROPERTY OF THE ESTATE.

9 (a) PROPERTY UNDER CHAPTER 12.—Paragraphs

10 (1) and (2) of section 1207(a) of title 11, United States

11 Code, are amended by striking ‘‘but’’ and all that follows

12 through ‘‘first’’, and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘until the plan is confirmed, except that such prop14 erty as is necessary to fund the plan and is specified

15 in the plan or order confirming the plan shall re16 main property of the estate’’.

17 (b) PROPERTY UNDER CHAPTER 13.—Paragraphs

18 (1) and (2) of section 1306(a) of title 11, United States

19 Code, are amended by striking ‘‘but’’ and all that follows

20 through ‘‘first’’, and inserting the following:

21 ‘‘until the plan is confirmed, except that such prop22 erty as is necessary to fund the plan and is specified

23 in the plan or order confirming the plan shall re24 main property of the estate’’.
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1 SEC. 207. CONFIRMATION OF PLAN.

2 (a) CONFIRMATION UNDER CHAPTER 12.—Section

3 1225(a) of title 11, United States Code, is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

5 end,

6 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para7 graph (7), and

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘(6) the debtor has paid all allowable claims

11 arising after the order for relief for debts of the

12 kinds specified in section 523(a)(5) of this title;

13 and’’.

14 (b) CONFIRMATION UNDER CHAPTER 13.—Section

15 1325(a) of title 11, United States Code, is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (5)(C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at

17 the end,

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para19 graph (7), and

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the follow21 ing:

22 ‘‘(6) the debtor has paid all allowable claims

23 arising after the order for relief for debts of the

24 kinds specified in section 523(a)(5) of this title;

25 and’’.
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1 SEC. 208. EXEMPTION.

2 Representatives of child support creditors shall be

3 permitted to appear and intervene without charge, and

4 without meeting any special local court rule requirement

5 for attorney appearances, in any bankruptcy proceeding

6 in any bankruptcy court or district court of the United

7 States if such representatives file a form in such court

8 that contains information detailing the child support debt,

9 its status, and other characteristics.

10 SEC. 209. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMEND11 MENTS.

12 (a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in sub13 section (b), this title and the amendments made by this

14 title shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this

15 Act.

16 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The amend17 ments made by this title shall not apply with respect to

18 cases commenced under title 11 of the United States Code

19 before the date of the enactment of this Act.

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