II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 687

To improve and strengthen child support enforcement, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 6 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Mr. PRYOR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To improve and strengthen child support enforcement, and

for other purposes.

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 Enforce5 ment Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS; REFERENCES.

7 (a) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents; references.

TITLE I—ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER MATTERS CONCERNING

CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM CLIENTS
2

•S 687 IS

Sec. 101. Cooperation requirement and good cause exception.

Sec. 102. State obligation to provide paternity establishment and child support

enforcement services.

Sec. 103. Distribution of payments.

Sec. 104. Due process rights.

Sec. 105. Privacy safeguards.

Sec. 106. Requirement to facilitate access to services.

TITLE II—PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING

Sec. 201. Federal matching payments.

Sec. 202. Performance-based incentives and penalties.

Sec. 203. Federal and State reviews and audits.

Sec. 204. Automated data processing requirements.

Sec. 205. Director of OSCE program; training and staffing.

Sec. 206. Funding for secretarial assistance to State programs.

Sec. 207. Data collection and reports by the Secretary.

Sec. 208. Coordination with income and eligibility verification system.

TITLE III—LOCATE AND CASE TRACKING

Sec. 301. Central State case registry.

Sec. 302. Centralized collection and disbursement of support payments.

Sec. 303. Amendments concerning income withholding.

Sec. 304. Locator information from interstate networks and labor unions.

Sec. 305. National child support information clearinghouse.

Sec. 306. Expanded locate authority.

Sec. 307. Studies and demonstrations concerning Federal parent locator service.

Sec. 308. Use of Social Security numbers.

TITLE IV—STREAMLINING AND UNIFORMITY OF PROCEDURES

Sec. 401. Adoption of uniform State laws.

Sec. 402. State laws providing expedited procedures.

TITLE V—PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT

Sec. 501. State laws concerning paternity establishment.

Sec. 502. Outreach for voluntary paternity establishment.

Sec. 503. Penalty for failure to establish paternity promptly.

Sec. 504. Incentives to parents to establish paternity.

TITLE VI—ESTABLISHMENT AND MODIFICATION OF SUPPORT

ORDERS

Sec. 601. National Commission on child support guidelines.

Sec. 602. State laws concerning modification of child support orders.

Sec. 603. Study on use of tax return information for modification of child support orders.

Sec. 604. Cost-of-living adjustment of child support awards.

TITLE VII—ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT ORDERS

Sec. 701. Revolving loan fund for program improvements to increase collections.

Sec. 702. Federal income tax refund offset.

Sec. 703. Internal Revenue Service collection of arrearages.
3

•S 687 IS

Sec. 704. Authority to collect support from employment-related payments by

United States.

Sec. 705. Motor vehicle liens.

Sec. 706. Voiding of fraudulent transfers.

Sec. 707. State law authorizing suspension of licenses.

Sec. 708. Reporting arrearages to credit bureaus.

Sec. 709. Extended statute of limitation for collection of arrearages.

Sec. 710. Charges for arrearages.

Sec. 711. Visitation issue barred.

Sec. 712. Denial of passports for nonpayment of child support.

Sec. 713. Denial of Federal benefits, loans, and guarantees to certain persons

with large child support arrearages.

Sec. 714. Seizure of lottery winnings, settlements, payouts, awards, and bequests, and sale of forfeited property, to pay child support arrearages.

TITLE VIII—DEMONSTRATIONS

Sec. 801. Child support enforcement and assurance demonstrations.

Sec. 802. Social Security Act demonstrations.

TITLE IX—ACCESS AND VISITATION GRANTS

Sec. 901. Grants to States for access and visitation programs.

TITLE X—EFFECT OF ENACTMENT

Sec. 1001. Effective dates.

Sec. 1002. Severability.

1 (b) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise specifically

2 provided, wherever in this Act an amendment is expressed

3 in terms of an amendment to or repeal of a section or

4 other provision, the reference shall be considered to be

5 made to that section or other provision of the Social Secu6 rity Act.
4

•S 687 IS

1 TITLE I—ELIGIBILITY AND

2 OTHER MATTERS CONCERN3 ING CHILD SUPPORT EN4 FORCEMENT PROGRAM CLI5 ENTS

6 SEC. 101. COOPERATION REQUIREMENT AND GOOD CAUSE

7 EXCEPTION.

8 (a) CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT REQUIRE9 MENTS.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

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

11 (23);

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para13 graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (24) the fol15 lowing new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(25) provide that the State agency administer17 ing the plan—

18 ‘‘(A) will make the determination specified

19 under paragraph (4), as to whether an individ20 ual is cooperating with efforts to establish pa21 ternity and secure support (or has good cause

22 not to cooperate with such efforts) for purposes

23 of the requirements of sections 402(a)(26) and

24 1912;
5

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) will advise individuals, both orally

2 and in writing, of the grounds for good cause

3 exceptions to the requirement to cooperate with

4 such efforts;

5 ‘‘(C) will take the best interests of the

6 child into consideration in making the deter7 mination whether such individual has good

8 cause not to cooperate with such efforts;

9 ‘‘(D)(i) will make the initial determination

10 as to whether an individual is cooperating (or

11 has good cause not to cooperate) with such ef12 forts within 10 days after such individual is re13 ferred to such State agency by the State agency

14 administering the program under part A of title

15 XIX;

16 ‘‘(ii) will make redeterminations whenever

17 changes in circumstances could reasonably be

18 expected to justify a different determination;

19 and

20 ‘‘(iii) will promptly notify the individual,

21 and the State agencies administering such pro22 grams, of each such determination and redeter23 mination;

24 ‘‘(E) with respect to any child born on or

25 after the date 10 months after the date of the
6

•S 687 IS

1 enactment of this paragraph, will not determine

2 or redetermine the mother (or other custodial

3 relative) of such child to be cooperating with ef4 forts to establish paternity unless such individ5 ual furnishes—

6 ‘‘(i) the name of the putative father

7 (or fathers); and

8 ‘‘(ii) sufficient additional information

9 to enable the State agency, if reasonable

10 efforts were made, to verify the identity of

11 any person so named, including such infor12 mation as the putative father’s present ad13 dress, telephone number, date of birth,

14 past or present place of employment,

15 school previously or currently attended,

16 and names and addresses of parents,

17 friends, or relatives able to provide location

18 information, or other information that

19 could assist in the identification of or en20 able service of process on such person; and

21 ‘‘(F)(i) in the case of a custodial parent

22 who was initially determined not to be cooperat23 ing with efforts to establish paternity and se24 cure support (without having good cause not to

25 cooperate) and who is later determined to be
7

•S 687 IS

1 cooperating or to have good cause not to co2 operate, will immediately notify the State agen3 cies administering the programs under part A

4 and title XIX that this eligibility condition has

5 been met; and

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a custodial parent was

7 initially determined to be cooperating (or to

8 have good cause not to cooperate), will not later

9 determine such individual not to be cooperating

10 with such efforts (or not to have good cause not

11 to cooperate) until such individual has been af12 forded an opportunity for a hearing.’’.

13 (b) AFDC AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) Section 402(a)(11) (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(11))

15 is amended by striking ‘‘furnishing of’’ and inserting

16 ‘‘application for’’.

17 (2) Section 402(a)(26) (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(26))

18 is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(26) provide—

20 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph

21 (C), that each individual who is an applicant or

22 recipient will, as a condition of eligibility for

23 aid, be required—

24 ‘‘(i) to assign the State any rights to

25 support from any other person such indi-
8

•S 687 IS

1 vidual may have (I) in his own behalf or in

2 behalf of any other family member for

3 whom the individual is applying for or re4 ceiving aid, and (II) which have accrued at

5 the time such assignment is executed;

6 ‘‘(ii) to cooperate with the State (I) in

7 establishing the paternity of a child born

8 out of wedlock with respect to whom aid is

9 claimed, and (II) in obtaining support pay10 ments for such individual and for a child

11 with respect to whom such aid is claimed;

12 ‘‘(iii) to cooperate with the State in

13 obtaining any other payments or property

14 due such individual or such child; and

15 ‘‘(iv) to cooperate with the State in

16 identifying, and providing information to

17 assist the State in pursuing, any third

18 party who may be liable to pay for care

19 and services available under the State’s

20 plan for medical assistance under title

21 XIX, but the State shall not be subject to

22 any financial penalty in the administration

23 or enforcement of this clause as a result of

24 any monitoring, quality control, or auditing

25 requirements;
9

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) that the State agency will imme2 diately refer each individual requiring paternity

3 establishment services to the State agency ad4 ministering the program under part D;

5 ‘‘(C) that an individual will not be required

6 to cooperate with the State, as provided under

7 subparagraph (A), if the individual is found to

8 have good cause for refusing to cooperate, as

9 determined in accordance with standards pre10 scribed by the Secretary, which standards shall

11 take into consideration the best interests of the

12 child on whose behalf aid is claimed—

13 ‘‘(i) to the satisfaction of the State

14 agency administering the program under

15 part D, as determined in accordance with

16 section 454(25), with respect to the re17 quirements under clauses (i) and (ii) of

18 subparagraph (A); and

19 ‘‘(ii) to the satisfaction of the State

20 agency administering the program under

21 this part, with respect to the requirements

22 under clauses (iii) and (iv) of subpara23 graph (A);

24 ‘‘(D) except as provided in subparagraph

25 (E), that an individual requiring paternity es-
10

•S 687 IS

1 tablishment services (other than an individual

2 eligible for emergency assistance as defined in

3 section 406(e)) shall not be eligible for any aid

4 under this part until such individual—

5 ‘‘(i) has furnished to the agency ad6 ministering the State plan under part D

7 the information specified in section

8 454(25)(E); or

9 ‘‘(ii) has been determined by such

10 agency to have good cause not to cooper11 ate;

12 ‘‘(E) that the provisions of subparagraph

13 (D) shall not apply—

14 ‘‘(i) if the State agency specified in

15 such subparagraph has not, within 10 days

16 after such individual was referred to such

17 agency, provided the notification required

18 by section 454(25)(D)(iii), until such noti19 fication is received; and

20 ‘‘(ii) if such individual appeals a de21 termination that the individual lacks good

22 cause for noncooperation, until after such

23 determination is affirmed after notice and

24 opportunity for a hearing;
11

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(F) that the processing of such individ2 ual’s application shall not otherwise be delayed

3 or suspended pending a determination as to co4 operation pursuant to section 454(4); and

5 ‘‘(G) that, if the relative with whom a child

6 is living is found to be ineligible because of fail7 ure to comply with the requirements of clauses

8 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) of this para9 graph, any aid for which such child is eligible

10 will be provided in the form of protective pay11 ments as described in section 406(b)(2) (with12 out regard to subparagraphs (A) through (D)

13 of such section) unless the State agency, after

14 making reasonable efforts, is unable to locate

15 an appropriate individual to whom such pay16 ments can be made.’’.

17 (c) MEDICAID AMENDMENTS.—Section 1912(a) (42

18 U.S.C. 1396k(a)) is amended—

19 (1) in paragraph (1)—

20 (A) in subparagraph (B)—

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘(except as provided

22 in paragraph (3))’’ after ‘‘to cooperate

23 with the State’’; and

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘, unless’’ and all that

25 follows through ‘‘involved’’; and
12

•S 687 IS

1 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘un2 less’’ and all that follows and inserting a semi3 colon; and

4 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para5 graph (6), and inserting after paragraph (1) the fol6 lowing new paragraphs:

7 ‘‘(2) provide that the State agency will imme8 diately refer each individual who is an applicant or

9 recipient requiring paternity establishment services

10 to the State agency administering the program

11 under part D of title IV;

12 ‘‘(3) provide that an individual will not be re13 quired to cooperate with the State, as provided

14 under paragraph (1), if the individual is found to

15 have good cause for refusing to cooperate, as deter16 mined in accordance with standards prescribed by

17 the Secretary, which standards shall take into con18 sideration the best interests of the individuals in19 volved—

20 ‘‘(A) to the satisfaction of the State agency

21 administering the program under part D, as de22 termined in accordance with section 454(25),

23 with respect to the requirements to cooperate

24 with efforts to establish paternity and to obtain
13

•S 687 IS

1 support (including medical support) from a par2 ent; and

3 ‘‘(B) to the satisfaction of the State agen4 cy administering the program under this title,

5 with respect to other requirements to cooperate

6 under paragraph (1);

7 ‘‘(4) except as provided in paragraph (5), pro8 vide that an individual requiring paternity establish9 ment services (other than an individual eligible for

10 emergency assistance as defined in section 406(e), or

11 presumptively eligible pursuant to section 1920)

12 shall not be eligible for medical assistance under this

13 title until such individual—

14 ‘‘(i) has furnished to the agency admin15 istering the State plan under part D of title IV

16 the information specified in section 454(25)(E);

17 or

18 ‘‘(ii) has been determined by such agency

19 to have good cause not to cooperate; and

20 ‘‘(5) provide that the provisions of paragraph

21 (4) shall not apply with respect to an applicant—

22 ‘‘(i) if such agency has not, within 10 days

23 after such individual was referred to such agen24 cy, provided the notification required by section
14

•S 687 IS

1 454(25)(D)(iii), until such notification is re2 ceived); and

3 ‘‘(ii) if such individual appeals a deter4 mination that the individual lacks good cause

5 for noncooperation, until after such determina6 tion is affirmed after notice and opportunity for

7 a hearing.’’.

8 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

9 452(a)(10)(F) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(F)) is amended by

10 striking ‘‘section 402(a)(26)(B)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec11 tion 402(a)(26)(C)’’.

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

13 this section shall apply to applications for aid under part

14 A of title IV of the Social Security Act and for medical

15 assistance under title XIX of such Act filed in calendar

16 quarters beginning at least 10 months after the date of

17 the enactment of this Act (or such earlier quarters as the

18 State may select).

19 SEC. 102. STATE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE PATERNITY ES20 TABLISHMENT AND CHILD SUPPORT EN21 FORCEMENT SERVICES.

22 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 466(a)

23 (42 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by inserting after para24 graph (11) the following new paragraph:

25 ‘‘(12) Procedures under which—
15

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(A) every child support order established

2 or modified in the State on or after October 1,

3 1998, is recorded in the central case registry

4 established in accordance with section 454A(e);

5 ‘‘(B) child support payments are collected

6 through the centralized collections unit estab7 lished in accordance with section 454B—

8 ‘‘(i) on and after October 1, 1998,

9 under each order subject to income with10 holding under section 466(b); and

11 ‘‘(ii) on and after October 1, 1999,

12 except as provided in subparagraph (C),

13 under each other order required to be re14 corded in such central case registry under

15 this paragraph or section 454A(e); and

16 ‘‘(C)(i) parties subject to a child support

17 order described in subparagraph (B)(ii) may

18 opt out of the procedure for payment of support

19 through the centralized collections unit (but not

20 the procedure for inclusion in the central case

21 registry) by filing with the State agency a writ22 ten agreement, signed by both parties, to an al23 ternative payment procedure; and

24 ‘‘(ii) an agreement described in clause (i)

25 becomes void, and may not be renewed, if—
16

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(I) the party owing support fails to

2 make a timely payment; or

3 ‘‘(II) either party advises the State

4 agency of an intent to vacate the agree5 ment.’’.

6 (b) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—Section 454 (42

7 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

8 (1) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the

9 following new paragraph:

10 ‘‘(4) provide that such State will undertake—

11 ‘‘(A) to provide appropriate services under

12 this part to—

13 ‘‘(i) each child with respect to whom

14 an assignment is effective under section

15 402(a)(26), 471(a)(17), or 1912 (except in

16 cases in which the State agency deter17 mines, in accordance with paragraph (25),

18 that it is against the best interests of the

19 child to do so); and

20 ‘‘(ii) each child not described in clause

21 (i)—

22 ‘‘(I) with respect to whom an in23 dividual applies for such services; or

24 ‘‘(II) on and after October 1,

25 1998, with respect to whom a support
17

•S 687 IS

1 order is recorded in the central State

2 case registry established under section

3 454A, regardless of whether applica4 tion is made for services under this

5 part; and

6 ‘‘(B) to enforce the support obligation es7 tablished with respect to the custodial parent of

8 a child described in subparagraph (A).’’; and

9 (2) in paragraph (6)—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘(6) provide that’’ and all

11 that follows through subparagraph (B) and in12 serting the following:

13 ‘‘(6) provide that—

14 ‘‘(A) services under the State plan shall be

15 made available to nonresidents on the same

16 terms as to residents;

17 ‘‘(B) no fees or costs shall be imposed on

18 any absent or custodial parent or other individ19 ual—

20 ‘‘(i) on or after October 1, 1998, for

21 application for child support enforcement

22 services under this part; or

23 ‘‘(ii) for inclusion in the central State

24 registry maintained pursuant to section

25 454A(e);’’;
18

•S 687 IS

1 (B) in each of subparagraphs (C) and

2 (D)—

3 (i) by indenting such subparagraph

4 and aligning its left margin with the left

5 margin of paragraph (B); and

6 (ii) by striking the final comma and

7 inserting a semicolon; and

8 (C) by striking subparagraph (E) and in9 serting the following subparagraphs:

10 ‘‘(E) no other fees or costs may be im11 posed on the custodial parent; and

12 ‘‘(F) any other fees or costs may be im13 posed on the noncustodial parent (but fees for

14 child support collection services provided

15 through the central collections unit operated

16 pursuant to section 454B, or for related auto17 mated procedures pursuant to section 454A(g),

18 may be imposed only if such fees or costs are

19 added to, and not deducted from, amounts col20 lected as child support);’’.

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

22 (1) PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT PERCENT23 AGE.—Section 452(g)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C.

24 652(g)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘454(6)’’ each

25 place it appears and inserting ‘‘454(4)(A)(ii)’’.
19

•S 687 IS

1 (2) STATE PLAN.—Section 454(23) (42 U.S.C.

2 654(23)) is amended, effective October 1, 1998, by

3 striking ‘‘information as to any application fees for

4 such services and’’.

5 (3) PROCEDURES TO IMPROVE ENFORCE6 MENT.—Section 466(a)(3)(B) (42 U.S.C.

7 666(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘in the case of

8 overdue support which a State has agreed to collect

9 under section 454(6)’’ and inserting ‘‘in any other

10 case’’.

11 (4) DEFINITION OF OVERDUE SUPPORT.—Sec12 tion 466(e) (42 U.S.C. 666(e)) is amended by strik13 ing ‘‘or (6)’’.

14 SEC. 103. DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.

15 (a) DISTRIBUTIONS THROUGH STATE CHILD SUP16 PORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO FORMER ASSISTANCE

17 RECIPIENTS.—Section 454(5) (42 U.S.C. 654(5)) is

18 amended—

19 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘except as otherwise spe21 cifically provided in section 464 or 466(a)(3),’’

22 after ‘‘is effective,’’; and

23 (B) by striking ‘‘except that’’ and all that

24 follows through the semicolon; and
20

•S 687 IS

1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘, except’’

2 and all that follows through ‘‘medical assistance’’.

3 (b) DISTRIBUTION TO A FAMILY CURRENTLY RE4 CEIVING AFDC.—Section 457 (42 U.S.C. 657) is amend5 ed—

6 (1) by striking subsection (a) and redesignating

7 subsection (b) as subsection (a);

8 (2) in subsection (a), as redesignated—

9 (A) by striking the matter preceding para10 graph (2) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION IN CASE OF A FAMILY RECEIV12 ING AFDC.—Amounts collected under this part during

13 any month as support of a child who is receiving aid to

14 families with dependent children under part A (or a parent

15 or caretaker relative of such a child) shall (except as other16 wise specified under subsection (b) in the case of a State

17 exercising the option under such subsection) be distributed

18 as follows:

19 ‘‘(1) an amount equal to the amount that will

20 be disregarded pursuant to section 402(a)(8)(A)(vi)

21 shall be taken from each of—

22 ‘‘(A) the amounts received in a month

23 which represent payments for that month; and

24 ‘‘(B) the amounts received in a month

25 which represent payments for a prior month
21

•S 687 IS

1 which were made by the absent parent in that

2 prior month;

3 and shall be paid to the family without affecting its

4 eligibility for assistance or decreasing any amount

5 otherwise payable as assistance to such family dur6 ing such month;’’;

7 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para8 graph (3); and

9 (C) by striking paragraph (4) and insert10 ing the following:

11 ‘‘(4) from any remainder, amounts which have

12 been assigned pursuant to section 402(a)(26) and

13 are not in excess of unreimbursed past assistance

14 payments made to the family shall be—

15 ‘‘(A) retained by the State; or

16 ‘‘(B) if no such payments by the State are

17 unreimbursed, paid to any other State or States

18 that may have such unreimbursed payments

19 (with appropriate reimbursement of the Federal

20 Government to the extent of its participation in

21 the financing); and

22 ‘‘(5) any remainder shall be paid to the fam23 ily.’’; and

24 (3) by inserting after subsection (a), as redesig25 nated, the following new subsection:
22

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE DISTRIBUTION IN CASE OF FAM2 ILY RECEIVING AFDC.—In distributing amounts collected

3 as described in subsection (a), a State may elect to make

4 the distribution to the family specified in subsection (a)(3)

5 before the distribution to the State specified in subsection

6 (a)(2).’’.

7 (c) DISTRIBUTION TO A FAMILY NOT RECEIVING

8 AFDC.—Section 457(c) (42 U.S.C. 657(c)) is amended

9 to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTIONS IN CASE OF FAMILY NOT RE11 CEIVING AFDC.—Amounts collected by a State agency

12 under this part during any month as support of a child

13 who is not receiving aid to families with dependent chil14 dren under part A (or of a parent or caretaker relative

15 of such a child) shall (subject to the remaining provisions

16 of this section) be distributed as follows:

17 ‘‘(1) first, amounts equal to the total of such

18 support owed for such month shall be paid to the

19 family;

20 ‘‘(2) second, from any remainder, amounts

21 equal to arrearages of such support obligations

22 which have not been assigned pursuant to section

23 402(a)(26) (and, at State option, amounts equal to

24 such arrearages which have been so assigned, but

25 which represent support for months during which
23

•S 687 IS

1 such child did not receive assistance under part A)

2 shall be paid to the family;

3 ‘‘(3) third, from any remainder, amounts equal

4 to arrearages of such support obligations assigned to

5 the State making the collection pursuant to part A

6 shall be retained and used by such State to pay any

7 such arrearages (with appropriate reimbursement of

8 the Federal Government to the extent of its partici9 pation in the financing); and

10 ‘‘(4) fourth, from any remainder, amounts

11 equal to arrearages of such support obligations as12 signed to any other State or States pursuant to part

13 A shall be paid to such other State or States, and

14 used to pay such arrearages, in the order in which

15 such arrearages accrued (with appropriate reim16 bursement of the Federal Government to the extent

17 of its participation in the financing).’’.

18 (d) DISTRIBUTION TO A CHILD RECEIVING ASSIST19 ANCE UNDER PART E OF TITLE IV.—Section 457(d) (42

20 U.S.C. 657(d)) is amended, in the matter preceding para21 graph (1), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding

22 provisions of this section, amounts’’ and inserting the fol23 lowing:
24

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTIONS IN CASE OF A CHILD RECEIV2 ING ASSISTANCE UNDER PART E OF TITLE IV.—

3 Amounts’’.

4 (e) SUSPENSION OR CANCELLATION OF DEBTS UPON

5 MARRIAGE OF PARENTS.—Section 457 (42 U.S.C. 657)

6 is further amended by adding at the end the following new

7 subsection:

8 ‘‘(e) SUSPENSION OR CANCELLATION OF DEBTS TO

9 STATE UPON MARRIAGE OF PARENTS.—

10 ‘‘(1) CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING SUSPENSION

11 OR CANCELLATION.—In any case in which a State

12 has been assigned rights to support owed with re13 spect to a child who is receiving or has received aid

14 to families with dependent children under part A

15 and—

16 ‘‘(A) the parent owing such support mar17 ries (or remarries) the parent with whom such

18 child is living and to whom such support is

19 owed and applies to the State for relief under

20 this subsection;

21 ‘‘(B) the State determines (in accordance

22 with procedures and criteria established by the

23 Secretary) that the marriage is not a sham

24 marriage entered into solely to satisfy this sub25 section; and
25

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(C) the combined income of such parents

2 is less than twice the Federal poverty line,

3 the State shall afford relief to the parent owing such

4 support in accordance with paragraph (2).

5 ‘‘(2) SUSPENSION OR CANCELLATION.—In the

6 case of a marriage or remarriage described in para7 graph (1), the State shall either—

8 ‘‘(A) cancel all debts owed to the State

9 pursuant to such assignment, or

10 ‘‘(B) suspend collection of such debts for

11 the duration of such marriage, and cancel such

12 debts if such duration extends beyond the end

13 of the period with respect to which support is

14 owed.

15 ‘‘(3) NOTICE REQUIRED.—The State shall no16 tify custodial parents of children who are receiving

17 aid to families with dependent children under part A

18 of the relief available under this subsection to indi19 viduals who marry (or remarry).’’.

20 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and

21 Human Services shall promulgate regulations—

22 (1) under part D of title IV of the Social Secu23 rity Act, establishing a uniform nationwide standard

24 for allocation of child support collections from an ob25 ligor owing support to more than 1 family; and
26

•S 687 IS

1 (2) under part A of such title, establishing

2 standards applicable to States electing the alter3 native formula under section 457(b) of such Act for

4 distribution of collections on behalf of families re5 ceiving aid to families with dependent children, de6 signed to minimize irregular monthly payments to

7 such families.

8 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

9 402(a)(26)(A)(i), as redesignated by section 101(b)(2)(A),

10 is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(I)’’; and

12 (2) by striking ‘‘, and (II)’’ and all that follows

13 before the semicolon and inserting ‘‘for periods dur14 ing which the individual is receiving aid under this

15 part’’.

16 (h) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 454 (42

17 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

18 (1) in paragraph (11)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘(11)’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘(11)(A)’’; and

21 (B) by inserting after the semicolon ‘‘and’’;

22 and

23 (2) by redesignating paragraph (12) as sub24 paragraph (B) of paragraph (11).
27

•S 687 IS

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

2 this section shall be effective with respect to calendar

3 quarters beginning on or after October 1, 1998.

4 SEC. 104. DUE PROCESS RIGHTS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as

6 amended by section 103(h), is amended by inserting after

7 paragraph (11) the following new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(12) provide for procedures to ensure that—

9 ‘‘(A) individuals who are parties to cases

10 in which services are being provided under this

11 part—

12 ‘‘(i) receive notice of all proceedings in

13 which support obligations might be estab14 lished or modified; and

15 ‘‘(ii) receive a copy of any order estab16 lishing or modifying a child support obliga17 tion within 14 days after issuance of such

18 order; and

19 ‘‘(B) individuals receiving services under

20 this part have access to a fair hearing or other

21 formal complaint procedure, meeting standards

22 established by the Secretary, that ensures

23 prompt consideration and resolution of com24 plaints (but the resort to the procedure shall
28

•S 687 IS

1 not stay the enforcement of any support

2 order);’’.

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

4 this section shall become effective on October 1, 1997.

5 SEC. 105. PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.

6 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42

7 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 101, is amended—

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

9 (24);

10 (2) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (25) the fol13 lowing new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(26) provide that the State will have in effect

15 safeguards applicable to all sensitive and confidential

16 information handled by the State agency designed to

17 protect the privacy rights of the individuals, includ18 ing—

19 ‘‘(A) safeguards against unauthorized use

20 or disclosure of information relating to proceed21 ings or actions to establish paternity, or to es22 tablish or enforce support; and

23 ‘‘(B) prohibitions on the release of infor24 mation on the whereabouts of 1 individual to

25 another person if—
29

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(i) such person is subject to a pro2 tective order with respect to such individ3 ual, or has been convicted of criminal as4 sault or abuse against such individual; or

5 ‘‘(ii) a proceeding is pending seeking

6 such an order or conviction.’’.

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

8 this section shall become effective on October 1, 1997.

9 SEC. 106. REQUIREMENT TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO

10 SERVICES.

11 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454(23)

12 (42 U.S.C. 654(23)) is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘the State will regularly’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘the State will—

15 ‘‘(A) regularly’’;

16 (2) by incorporating the remainder of the text

17 within subparagraph (A); and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub19 paragraph:

20 ‘‘(B) have a plan for outreach to parents

21 designed to disseminate information about and

22 increase access to child support enforcement

23 services, including plans responding to needs—

24 ‘‘(i) of working parents to obtain such

25 services without taking time off work; and
30

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) of parents with limited pro2 ficiency in English for elimination of lan3 guage barriers to use of such services;

4 and’’.

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 this section shall become effective on October 1, 1997.

7 TITLE II—PROGRAM

8 ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING

9 SEC. 201. FEDERAL MATCHING PAYMENTS.

10 (a) INCREASED BASE MATCHING RATE.—Section

11 455(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(2)) is amended to read as

12 follows:

13 ‘‘(2) The applicable percent for a quarter for

14 purposes of paragraph (1)(A) is—

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of a State meeting the re16 quirements of subsection (c)—

17 ‘‘(i) for fiscal year 1997, 69 percent,

18 ‘‘(ii) for fiscal year 1998, 72 percent,

19 and

20 ‘‘(iii) for fiscal year 1999 and suc21 ceeding fiscal years, 75 percent; and

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other State, for fis23 cal year 1997 and succeeding fiscal years, 66

24 percent.’’.
31

•S 687 IS

1 (b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Section 455 (42

2 U.S.C. 655) is amended by inserting after subsection (b)

3 the following new subsection:

4 ‘‘(c) For purposes of subsection (a)(2), in order for

5 a State to meet the requirements of this subsection—

6 ‘‘(1) with respect to a fiscal year after fiscal

7 year 1996, total expenditures for the State program

8 under this part for such fiscal year shall not be less

9 than such total expenditures for fiscal year 1996;

10 and

11 ‘‘(2) with respect to each of fiscal years 1997

12 and 1998, such total expenditures (reduced by the

13 Federal payments to such State under this section

14 and section 458) shall not be less than such total ex15 penditures, so reduced, for fiscal year 1996.’’.

16 SEC. 202. PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES AND PEN17 ALTIES.

18 (a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO FEDERAL MATCH19 ING RATE.—Section 458 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO MATCHING RATE

21 ‘‘SEC. 458. (a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENT.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to encourage and

23 reward State child support enforcement programs

24 which perform in an effective manner, the Federal

25 matching rate for payments to a State under section

26 455(a)(1)(A), for each fiscal year beginning on or
32

•S 687 IS

1 after October 1, 1997, shall be increased by a factor

2 reflecting the sum of the applicable incentive adjust3 ments (if any) determined in accordance with regu4 lations under this section with respect to statewide

5 paternity establishment and to overall performance

6 in child support enforcement.

7 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

9 specify in regulations—

10 ‘‘(i) the levels of accomplishment, and

11 rates of improvement as alternatives to

12 such levels, which States must attain to

13 qualify for incentive adjustments under

14 this section; and

15 ‘‘(ii) the amounts of incentive adjust16 ments that shall be awarded to States

17 achieving specified accomplishment or im18 provement levels, which amounts shall be

19 graduated, ranging up to—

20 ‘‘(I) 5 percentage points, in con21 nection with statewide paternity es22 tablishment as reflected in the state23 wide paternity establishment percent24 age; and
33

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(II) 10 percentage points, in

2 connection with overall performance in

3 child support enforcement.

4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In setting performance

5 standards pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) and

6 adjustment amounts pursuant to subparagraph

7 (A)(ii), the Secretary shall ensure that the ag8 gregate number of percentage point increases as

9 incentive adjustments to all States does not ex10 ceed such aggregate increases as assumed by

11 the Secretary in estimates of the cost of this

12 section as of June 1995, unless the aggregate

13 performance of all States exceeds the projected

14 aggregate performance of all States in such cost

15 estimates.

16 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF INCENTIVE ADJUST17 MENT.—The Secretary shall determine the amount

18 of any incentive adjustment due each State on the

19 basis of the data submitted by the State pursuant

20 to section 454(15)(B) concerning the levels of ac21 complishment (and rates of improvement) with re22 spect to performance indicators specified by the Sec23 retary pursuant to this section.

24 ‘‘(4) FISCAL YEAR SUBJECT TO INCENTIVE AD25 JUSTMENT.—The total percentage point increase de-
34

•S 687 IS

1 termined pursuant to this section with respect to a

2 State program in a fiscal year shall apply as an ad3 justment to the applicable percent under section

4 455(a)(2) for payments to such State for the suc5 ceeding fiscal year.

6 ‘‘(b) MEANING OF TERMS.—For purposes of this sec7 tion—

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘statewide paternity establish9 ment percentage’ means, with respect to a fiscal

10 year, the ratio (expressed as a percentage) of—

11 ‘‘(A) the total number of out-of-wedlock

12 children in the State for whom paternity is es13 tablished or acknowledged during the fiscal

14 year, to

15 ‘‘(B) the total number of children born out

16 of wedlock in the State during such fiscal year;

17 and

18 ‘‘(2) the term ‘overall performance in child sup19 port enforcement’ means a measure or measures of

20 the effectiveness of the State agency in a fiscal year

21 which takes into account factors including—

22 ‘‘(A) the percentage of cases requiring a

23 child support order in which such an order was

24 established;
35

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the percentage of cases in which child

2 support is being paid;

3 ‘‘(C) the ratio of child support collected to

4 child support due; and

5 ‘‘(D) the cost-effectiveness of the State

6 program, as determined in accordance with

7 standards established by the Secretary in regu8 lations.’’.

9 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF PAYMENTS UNDER PART D OF

10 TITLE IV.—Section 455(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(2)), as

11 amended by section 201, is amended—

12 (1) by striking the period at the end of sub13 paragraph (B) and inserting a comma; and

14 (2) by adding after and below subparagraph

15 (B), flush with the left margin of the paragraph, the

16 following:

17 ‘‘increased by the incentive adjustment factor (if any) de18 termined by the Secretary pursuant to section 458.’’.

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 454(22)

20 (42 U.S.C. 654(22)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘incentive payments’’ the first

22 place it appears and inserting ‘‘incentive adjust23 ments’’; and

24 (2) by striking ‘‘any such incentive payments

25 made to the State for such period’’ and inserting
36

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘any increases in Federal payments to the State re2 sulting from such incentive adjustments’’.

3 (d) CALCULATION OF IV–D PATERNITY ESTABLISH4 MENT PERCENTAGE.—

5 (1) OVERALL PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT.—

6 Section 452(g)(1) (42 U.S.C. 652(g)(1)) is amended

7 in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by insert8 ing ‘‘its overall performance in child support en9 forcement is satisfactory (as defined in section

10 458(b) and regulations of the Secretary), and’’ after

11 ‘‘1994,’’.

12 (2) DEFINITION OF IV–D PATERNITY ESTAB13 LISHMENT PERCENTAGE.—Section 452(g) (42

14 U.S.C. 652(g)) is amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘paternity establishment

16 percentage’’ each place it appears and inserting

17 ‘‘IV–D paternity establishment percentage’’;

18 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter

19 preceding clause (i) by striking ‘‘(or all States,

20 as the case may be)’’;

21 (C) in paragraph (2)(A)(i), by striking

22 ‘‘during the fiscal year’’;

23 (D) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(I), by striking

24 ‘‘as of the end of the fiscal year’’ and inserting
37

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘in the fiscal year or, at the option of the

2 State, as of the end of such year’’;

3 (E) in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(II), by striking

4 ‘‘or (E) as of the end of the fiscal year’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘in the fiscal year or, at the option of

6 the State, as of the end of such year’’;

7 (F) in paragraph (2)(A)(iii)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘during the fiscal

9 year’’; and

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and

11 (G) in the matter following paragraph

12 (2)(A)—

13 (i) by striking ‘‘who were born out of

14 wedlock during the immediately preceding

15 fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘born out of

16 wedlock’’;

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘such preceding fiscal

18 year’’ both places it appears and inserting

19 ‘‘the preceding fiscal year’’; and

20 (iii) by striking ‘‘or (E)’’ the second

21 place it appears.

22 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

23 452(g)(3) (42 U.S.C. 652(g)(3)) is amended—
38

•S 687 IS

1 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and re2 designating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as sub3 paragraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

4 (B) in subparagraph (A), as redesignated,

5 by striking ‘‘the percentage of children born

6 out-of-wedlock in the State’’ and inserting ‘‘the

7 percentage of children in the State who are

8 born out of wedlock or for whom support has

9 not been established’’; and

10 (C) in subparagraph (B), as redesig11 nated—

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘and overall perform13 ance in child support enforcement’’ after

14 ‘‘IV–D paternity establishment percent15 ages’’; and

16 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and securing sup17 port’’ before the period.

18 (e) REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS UNDER PART A OF

19 TITLE IV.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 (42 U.S.C.603)

21 is amended—

22 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘1958—

23 ’’ and inserting ‘‘1958 (subject to subsection

24 (h))—’’;
39

•S 687 IS

1 (B) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘(h)(1)’’

2 and all that follows through paragraph (2) and

3 inserting the following:

4 ‘‘(h)(1) If the Secretary finds, with respect to a State

5 program under this part in a fiscal year beginning on or

6 after October 1, 1997—

7 ‘‘(A)(i) on the basis of data submitted by a

8 State pursuant to section 454(15)(B), that the State

9 program in such fiscal year failed to achieve the IV–

10 D paternity establishment percentage (as defined in

11 section 452(g)(2)(A)) or the appropriate level of

12 overall performance in child support enforcement (as

13 defined in section 458(b)(2)), or to meet other per14 formance measures that may be established by the

15 Secretary; or

16 ‘‘(ii) on the basis of an audit or audits of such

17 State data conducted pursuant to section

18 452(a)(4)(C), that the State data submitted pursu19 ant to section 454(15)(B) is incomplete or unreli20 able; and

21 ‘‘(B) that, with respect to the succeeding fiscal

22 year—

23 ‘‘(i) the State failed to take sufficient cor24 rective action to achieve the appropriate per-
40

•S 687 IS

1 formance levels as described in subparagraph

2 (A)(i), or

3 ‘‘(ii) the data submitted by the State pur4 suant to section 454(15)(B) is incomplete or

5 unreliable,

6 the amounts otherwise payable to the State under this

7 part for quarters beginning after the end of such succeed8 ing fiscal year, and before quarters beginning after the

9 end of the first quarter throughout which the State pro10 gram is in compliance with such performance requirement,

11 shall be reduced by the percentage specified in paragraph

12 (2).

13 ‘‘(2) The reductions required under paragraph (1)

14 shall be—

15 ‘‘(A) not less than 1 nor more than 2 percent,

16 or

17 ‘‘(B) not less than 2 nor more than 3 percent,

18 if the finding is the second consecutive finding made

19 pursuant to paragraph (1), or

20 ‘‘(C) not less than 3 nor more than 5 percent,

21 if the finding is the third or a subsequent consecu22 tive such finding.’’; and

23 (C) in subsection (h)(3), by striking ‘‘not

24 in full compliance’’ and all that follows and in25 serting ‘‘determined as a result of an audit to
41

•S 687 IS

1 have submitted incomplete or unreliable data

2 pursuant to section 454(15)(B), shall be deter3 mined to have submitted adequate data if the

4 Secretary determines that the extent of the in5 completeness or unreliability of the data is of

6 a technical nature which does not adversely af7 fect the determination of the level of the State’s

8 performance.’’.

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

10 452(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(4)) is amended by

11 striking ‘‘, or which is operating under a corrective

12 action plan in accordance with section 403(h)(2),’’.

13 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

14 (1) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except to the extent

16 provided in subparagraph (B), the amendments

17 made by subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall be18 come effective October 1, 1997.

19 (B) EXCEPTION.—Section 458 of the So20 cial Security Act, as in effect prior to the date

21 of the enactment of this section, shall be effec22 tive for purposes of incentive payments to

23 States for fiscal years beginning before October

24 1, 1998.

25 (2) PENALTIES.—
42

•S 687 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made

2 by subsection (d) shall become effective with re3 spect to calendar quarters beginning on and

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

5 (B) REDUCTIONS.—The amendments

6 made by subsection (e) shall become effective

7 with respect to calendar quarters beginning on

8 and after the date which is 1 year after the

9 date of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 203. FEDERAL AND STATE REVIEWS AND AUDITS.

11 (a) STATE AGENCY ACTIVITIES.—Section 454 (42

12 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (14)—

14 (A) by striking ‘‘(14)’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘(14)(A)’’; and

16 (B) by inserting after the semicolon ‘‘and’’;

17 (2) by redesignating paragraph (15) as sub18 paragraph (B) of paragraph (14); and

19 (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol20 lowing new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(15) provide for—

22 ‘‘(A) a process for annual reviews of and

23 reports to the Secretary on the State program

24 under this part, using such standards and pro25 cedures as are required by the Secretary, under
43

•S 687 IS

1 which the State agency will determine the ex2 tent to which such program is in conformity

3 with applicable requirements with respect to the

4 operation of State programs under this part

5 (including the status of complaints filed under

6 the procedure required under paragraph

7 (12)(B)); and

8 ‘‘(B) a process of extracting from the

9 State automated data processing system and

10 transmitting to the Secretary data and calcula11 tions concerning the levels of accomplishment

12 (and rates of improvement) with respect to ap13 plicable performance indicators (including IV–D

14 paternity establishment percentages and overall

15 performance in child support enforcement) to

16 the extent necessary for purposes of sections

17 452(g) and 458.’’.

18 (b) FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 452(a)(4) (42

19 U.S.C. 652(a)(4)) is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘(4)(A) review data and calculations transmit21 ted by State agencies pursuant to section

22 454(15)(B) on State program accomplishments with

23 respect to performance indicators for purposes of

24 section 452(g) and 458, and determine the amount
44

•S 687 IS

1 (if any) of penalty reductions pursuant to section

2 403(h) to be applied to the State;

3 ‘‘(B) review annual reports by State agencies

4 pursuant to section 454(15)(A) on State program

5 conformity with Federal requirements; evaluate any

6 elements of a State program in which significant de7 ficiencies are indicated by such report on the status

8 of complaints under the State procedure under sec9 tion 454(12)(B); and, as appropriate, provide to the

10 State agency comments, recommendations for addi11 tional or alternative corrective actions, and technical

12 assistance; and

13 ‘‘(C) conduct audits, in accordance with the

14 government auditing standards of the United States

15 Comptroller General—

16 ‘‘(i) at least once every 3 years (or more

17 frequently, in the case of a State which fails to

18 meet requirements of this part, or of regula19 tions implementing such requirements, concern20 ing performance standards and reliability of

21 program data) to assess the completeness, reli22 ability, and security of the data, and the accu23 racy of the reporting systems, used for the cal24 culations of performance indicators specified in

25 subsection (g) and section 458;
45

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) of the adequacy of financial manage2 ment of the State program, including assess3 ments of—

4 ‘‘(I) whether Federal and other funds

5 made available to carry out the State pro6 gram under this part are being appro7 priately expended, and are properly and

8 fully accounted for; and

9 ‘‘(II) whether collections and disburse10 ments of support payments and program

11 income are carried out correctly and are

12 properly and fully accounted for; and

13 ‘‘(iii) for such other purposes as the Sec14 retary may find necessary;’’.

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

16 this section shall be effective with respect to calendar

17 quarters beginning on or after the date which is 1 year

18 after the date of the enactment of this section.

19 SEC. 204. AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS.

20 (a) REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—

21 (1) STATE PLAN.—Section 454(16) (42 U.S.C.

22 654(16)) is amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘, at the option of the

24 State,’’;
46

•S 687 IS

1 (B) by inserting ‘‘and operation by the

2 State agency’’ after ‘‘for the establishment’’;

3 (C) by inserting ‘‘meeting the requirements

4 of section 454A’’ after ‘‘information retrieval

5 system’’;

6 (D) by striking ‘‘in the State and localities

7 thereof, so as (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘so as’’;

8 (E) by striking ‘‘(i)’’; and

9 (F) by striking ‘‘(including’’ and all that

10 follows and inserting a semicolon.

11 (2) AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING.—Part D of

12 title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amended by insert13 ing after section 454 the following new section:

14 ‘‘AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING

15 ‘‘SEC. 454A. (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sec16 tion 454(16), a State agency shall meet the requirements

17 of this section if it has in operation a single statewide

18 automated data processing and information retrieval sys19 tem which has the capability to perform the tasks specified

20 in this section, and performs such tasks with the frequency

21 and in the manner specified in this part or in regulations

22 or guidelines of the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The State agency

24 shall ensure that the automated system required under

25 this section is capable of performing such functions as the
47

•S 687 IS

1 Secretary may specify relating to management of the pro2 gram under this part, including—

3 ‘‘(1) controlling and accounting for use of Fed4 eral, State, and local funds to carry out such pro5 gram; and

6 ‘‘(2) maintaining the data necessary to meet

7 Federal reporting requirements on a timely basis.

8 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICA9 TORS.—In order to enable the Secretary to determine the

10 incentive and penalty adjustments required by sections

11 452(g) and 458, the State agency shall—

12 ‘‘(1) use the automated system—

13 ‘‘(A) to maintain the requisite data on

14 State performance with respect to paternity es15 tablishment and child support enforcement in

16 the State; and

17 ‘‘(B) to calculate the IV–D paternity es18 tablishment percentage and overall performance

19 in child support enforcement for the State for

20 each fiscal year; and

21 ‘‘(2) have in place systems controls to ensure

22 the completeness, and reliability of, and ready access

23 to, the data described in paragraph (1)(A), and the

24 accuracy of the calculations described in paragraph

25 (1)(B).
48

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION INTEGRITY AND SECURITY.—The

2 State agency shall have in effect safeguards on the integ3 rity, accuracy, and completeness of, access to, and use of

4 data in the automated system required under this section,

5 which shall include the following (in addition to such other

6 safeguards as the Secretary specifies in regulations):

7 ‘‘(1) POLICIES RESTRICTING ACCESS.—Written

8 policies concerning access to data by State agency

9 personnel, and sharing of data with other persons,

10 which—

11 ‘‘(A) permit access to and use of data only

12 to the extent necessary to carry out program re13 sponsibilities;

14 ‘‘(B) specify the data which may be used

15 for particular program purposes, and the per16 sonnel permitted access to such data; and

17 ‘‘(C) ensure that data obtained or disclosed

18 for a limited program purpose is not used or

19 redisclosed for another, impermissible purpose.

20 ‘‘(2) SYSTEMS CONTROLS.—Systems controls

21 (such as passwords or blocking of fields) to ensure

22 strict adherence to the policies specified under para23 graph (1).

24 ‘‘(3) MONITORING OF ACCESS.—Routine mon25 itoring of access to and use of the automated sys-
49

•S 687 IS

1 tem, through methods such as audit trails and feed2 back mechanisms, to guard against and promptly

3 identify unauthorized access or use.

4 ‘‘(4) TRAINING AND INFORMATION.—The State

5 agency shall have in effect procedures to ensure that

6 all personnel (including State and local agency staff

7 and contractors) who may have access to or be re8 quired to use sensitive or confidential program data

9 are fully informed of applicable requirements and

10 penalties, and are adequately trained in security pro11 cedures.

12 ‘‘(5) PENALTIES.—The State agency shall have

13 in effect administrative penalties (including dismis14 sal from employment) for unauthorized access to, or

15 disclosure or use of, confidential data.’’.

16 (3) IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE.—Section

17 454(24) (42 U.S.C. 654(24)), as amended by section

18 105(a)(1), is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(24) provide that the State will have in effect

20 an automated data processing and information re21 trieval system—

22 ‘‘(A) by October 1, 1996, meeting all re23 quirements of this part which were enacted on

24 or before the date of the enactment of the Fam25 ily Support Act of 1988; and
50

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) by October 1, 1999, meeting all re2 quirements of this part enacted on or before the

3 date of the enactment of this paragraph (but

4 this provision shall not be construed to alter

5 earlier deadlines specified for elements of such

6 system);’’.

7 (b) SPECIAL FEDERAL MATCHING RATE FOR DE8 VELOPMENT COSTS OF AUTOMATED SYSTEMS.—Section

9 455(a) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)) is amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘90 percent’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘the percent specified in paragraph (3)’’;

13 (B) by striking ‘‘so much of’’; and

14 (C) by striking ‘‘which the Secretary’’ and

15 all that follows through ‘‘thereof’’; and

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new

17 paragraph:

18 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall pay to each State, for

19 each quarter in fiscal year 1996, 90 percent of so much

20 of State expenditures described in subparagraph (1)(B) as

21 are reasonable and necessary for a system meeting the re22 quirements specified in section 454(16), or meeting such

23 requirements without regard to subparagraph (D) thereof.

24 ‘‘(B)(i) Subject to clause (iii), the Secretary shall pay

25 to each State, for each quarter in fiscal years 1997
51

•S 687 IS

1 through 2001, the percentage specified in clause (ii) of

2 so much of State expenditures described in subparagraph

3 (1)(B) as are for a system meeting the requirements speci4 fied in section 454(16) and 454A.

5 ‘‘(ii) The percentage specified in this clause is the

6 higher of—

7 ‘‘(I) 80 percent, or

8 ‘‘(II) the percentage otherwise applicable to

9 Federal payments to the State under subparagraph

10 (A) (as adjusted pursuant to section 458).

11 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec12 tion, the total amount payable by the Secretary with re13 spect to expenditures during fiscal years specified in clause

14 (i) shall not exceed $260,000,000—

15 ‘‘(I) to be distributed among the States and to

16 be made available at such time or times over the 5-

17 year period as is provided in regulations issued by

18 the Secretary, taking into account the relative size

19 of State caseloads and the level of automation need20 ed to meet the requirements of this part; and

21 ‘‘(II) to be made to a State at such times and

22 in such a manner as provided in the advance plan23 ning document approved under section 452(d).’’.
52

•S 687 IS

1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 123(c) of

2 the Family Support Act of 1988 (102 Stat. 2352; Public

3 Law 100–485) is repealed.

4 (d) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—For additional provi5 sions of section 454A, as added by subsection (a), see sec6 tions 301, 302, and 402 of this Act.

7 SEC. 205. DIRECTOR OF CSE PROGRAM; TRAINING AND

8 STAFFING.

9 (a) REPORTING TO SECRETARY.—Section 452(a) (42

10 U.S.C. 652(a)) is amended, in the matter preceding para11 graph (1), by striking ‘‘directly’’.

12 (b) TRAINING PROGRAM.—

13 (1) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—Section

14 452(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(7)) is amended by

15 striking ‘‘paternity;’’ and inserting ‘‘paternity,

16 through activities including—

17 ‘‘(A) development of a core curriculum and

18 training standards to be used by States in the

19 development of State-specific training guides;

20 and

21 ‘‘(B) development of a national training

22 program for directors of State programs under

23 this part;’’.
53

•S 687 IS

1 (2) TRAINING FEE AUTHORITY.—Section 452

2 (42 U.S.C. 652) is amended by adding at the end

3 the following new subsection:

4 ‘‘(j) The Secretary is authorized, subject to appro5 priations, to charge fees for training programs for direc6 tors of State programs under subsection (a)(7). Such fees

7 shall be credited to the appropriation for this program and

8 used to pay costs of such training programs.’’.

9 (c) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42

10 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 102 and 104, is

11 amended—

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

13 (25);

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

16 (3) by adding after paragraph (26) the follow17 ing new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(27) provide that the State agency will develop

19 and implement a training program which—

20 ‘‘(A) is consistent with the national train21 ing standards and core curriculum developed by

22 the Secretary pursuant to section 452(a)(7),

23 and uses a State-specific training guide incor24 porating such core curriculum;
54

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) provides for initial and ongoing train2 ing of all staff (including State and local agency

3 staff and contractors) of the program under

4 this part, including annual training for case

5 workers and special training when significant

6 changes are made in statutes, regulations, poli7 cies, or procedures; and

8 ‘‘(C) may provide (subject to approval by

9 the Secretary) for appropriate training of other

10 persons with responsibilities relating to the im11 plementation of the State program under this

12 part (including staff administering programs

13 under part A, part E, title XIX, and other re14 lated and complementary programs; judges and

15 other staff of judicial and administrative tribu16 nals; law enforcement personnel; staff of social

17 services organizations; and the private bar).’’.

18 (d) STAFFING STUDIES.—

19 (1) SCOPE OF STUDY.—The Secretary of

20 Health and Human Services (in this subsection re21 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall, in consultation

22 with directors of State child support enforcement

23 programs under part D of title IV of the Social Se24 curity Act, conduct studies of the staffing of each

25 such program. Such studies shall include—
55

•S 687 IS

1 (A) a review of the staffing needs created

2 by requirements for automated data processing,

3 maintenance of a central case registry, and cen4 tralized collections of child support and of

5 changes in these needs resulting from changes

6 in such requirements; and

7 (B) a review of the ratio of caseworkers to

8 cases and an assessment of the impact of this

9 ratio on the effectiveness of the program.

10 (2) FREQUENCY OF STUDIES.—The Secretary

11 shall complete the first staffing study required under

12 paragraph (1) by October 1, 1997, and may conduct

13 additional studies subsequently at appropriate inter14 vals.

15 (3) STATE REPORTS.—The Secretary shall, as a

16 result of the studies conducted under this sub17 section, and in consultation with directors of each

18 State child support enforcement program under part

19 D of title IV of the Social Security Act, issue a re20 port for each State containing recommendations ad21 dressing the issues described in paragraph (1).

22 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary

23 shall submit a report to the Congress stating the

24 findings and conclusions of each study conducted

25 under this subsection.
56

•S 687 IS

1 SEC. 206. FUNDING FOR SECRETARIAL ASSISTANCE TO

2 STATE PROGRAMS.

3 Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652), as amended by section

4 205(b)(2), is amended by adding at the end the following

5 new subsection:

6 ‘‘(k)(1) There shall be available to the Secretary,

7 from amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1996 and each

8 succeeding fiscal year for payments to States under this

9 part, the amount specified in paragraph (2) for the costs

10 to the Secretary for—

11 ‘‘(A) information dissemination and technical

12 assistance to States, training of State and Federal

13 staff, staffing studies, and related activities needed

14 to improve programs (including technical assistance

15 concerning State automated systems);

16 ‘‘(B) research, demonstration, and special

17 projects of regional or national significance relating

18 to the operation of State programs under this part;

19 and

20 ‘‘(C) operation of the Federal Parent Locator

21 Service under section 453 and the National Child

22 Support Information Clearinghouse under section

23 453A, to the extent such costs are not recovered

24 through user fees.

25 ‘‘(2) The amount specified in this paragraph for a

26 fiscal year is the amount equal to a percentage of the re-
57

•S 687 IS

1 duction in Federal payments to States under part A on

2 account of child support (including arrearages) collected

3 in the preceding fiscal year on behalf of children receiving

4 aid under such part A in such preceding fiscal year (as

5 determined on the basis of the most recent reliable data

6 available to the Secretary as of the end of the third cal7 endar quarter following the end of such preceding fiscal

8 year), equal to—

9 ‘‘(A) 1 percent, for the activities specified in

10 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1); and

11 ‘‘(B) 2 percent, for the activities specified in

12 subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1).’’.

13 SEC. 207. DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTS BY THE

14 SECRETARY.

15 (a) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 452(a)(10)(A) (42

17 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(A)) is amended—

18 (A) by striking ‘‘this part;’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘this part, including—’’; and

20 (B) by adding at the end the following in21 dented clauses:

22 ‘‘(i) the total amount of child support

23 payments collected as a result of services

24 furnished during such fiscal year to indi25 viduals receiving services under this part;
58

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the cost to the States and to the

2 Federal Government of furnishing such

3 services to those individuals; and

4 ‘‘(iii) the number of cases involving

5 families—

6 ‘‘(I) who became ineligible for aid

7 under part A during a month in such

8 fiscal year; and

9 ‘‘(II) with respect to whom a

10 child support payment was received in

11 the same month;’’.

12 (2) CERTAIN DATA.—Section 452(a)(10)(C) (42

13 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(C)) is amended—

14 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by

15 striking ‘‘with the data required under each

16 clause being separately stated for cases’’ and all

17 that follows through ‘‘part:’’ and inserting ‘‘sep18 arately stated for cases where the child is re19 ceiving aid to families with dependent children

20 (or foster care maintenance payments under

21 part E), or formerly received such aid or pay22 ments and the State is continuing to collect

23 support assigned to it under section 402(a)(26),

24 471(a)(17), or 1912, and all other cases under

25 this part—’’;
59

•S 687 IS

1 (B) in each of clauses (i) and (ii), by strik2 ing ‘‘, and the total amount of such obliga3 tions’’;

4 (C) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘described

5 in’’ and all that follows through the semicolon

6 and inserting ‘‘in which support was collected

7 during the fiscal year;’’;

8 (D) by striking clause (iv); and

9 (E) by redesignating clause (v) as clause

10 (vii), and inserting after clause (iii) the follow11 ing new clauses:

12 ‘‘(iv) the total amount of support col13 lected during such fiscal year and distrib14 uted as current support;

15 ‘‘(v) the total amount of support col16 lected during such fiscal year and distrib17 uted as arrearages;

18 ‘‘(vi) the total amount of support due

19 and unpaid for all fiscal years; and’’.

20 (3) USE OF FEDERAL COURTS.—Section

21 452(a)(10)(G) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(G)) is amend22 ed by striking ‘‘on the use of Federal courts and’’.

23 (4) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION NOT NEC24 ESSARY.—Section 452(a)(10) (42 U.S.C.
60

•S 687 IS

1 652(a)(10)) is amended by striking all that follows

2 subparagraph (I).

3 (b) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—Section

4 469 (42 U.S.C. 669) is amended—

5 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in6 serting the following new subsections:

7 ‘‘(a) The Secretary shall collect and maintain, on a

8 fiscal year basis, up-to-date statistics, by State, with re9 spect to services to establish paternity and services to es10 tablish child support obligations, the data specified in sub11 section (b), separately stated, in the case of each such

12 service, with respect to—

13 ‘‘(1) families (or dependent children) receiving

14 aid under plans approved under part A (or E); and

15 ‘‘(2) families not receiving such aid.

16 ‘‘(b) The data referred to in subsection (a) are—

17 ‘‘(1) the number of cases in the caseload of the

18 State agency administering the plan under this part

19 in which such service is needed; and

20 ‘‘(2) the number of such cases in which the

21 service has been provided.’’; and

22 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(a)(2)’’ and

23 inserting ‘‘(b)(2)’’.
61

•S 687 IS

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

2 this section shall be effective with respect to fiscal year

3 1996 and succeeding fiscal years.

4 SEC. 208. COORDINATION WITH INCOME AND ELIGIBILITY

5 VERIFICATION SYSTEM.

6 (a) USE OF IEVS INFORMATION FURNISHED TO

7 CSE AGENCY.—Section 1137(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 1320b–

8 7(a)(4)) is amended—

9 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘to assist

10 in the child support program under part D of title

11 IV of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘to Federal and State

12 agencies administering the child support program

13 under part D of title IV to assist in carrying out any

14 responsibilities under such part’’; and

15 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘by the

16 State agencies administering the programs listed in

17 subsection (b)’’ after ‘‘the use of such information’’.

18 (b) AVAILABILITY OF CSE INFORMATION TO IEVS

19 AGENCIES.—Section 1137(a) (42 U.S.C. 1320b–7(a)) is

20 amended—

21 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through

22 (7) as paragraphs (6) through (8), respectively, and

23 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the follow24 ing new paragraph:
62

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(5) the State agency administering the child

2 support enforcement program under part D of title

3 IV shall make available to the State agencies admin4 istering the programs listed in subsection (b) infor5 mation in the central State case registry operated

6 pursuant to section 454A.’’.

7 TITLE III—LOCATE AND CASE

8 TRACKING

9 SEC. 301. CENTRAL STATE CASE REGISTRY.

10 Section 454A, as added by section 204, is amended

11 by adding at the end the following new subsections:

12 ‘‘(e) CENTRAL CASE REGISTRY.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The automated system re14 quired under this section shall be capable of per15 forming the functions, in accordance with the provi16 sions of this subsection, of a single central registry

17 containing records with respect to each case in

18 which services are being provided by the State agen19 cy (including, on and after October 1, 1998, each

20 order specified in section 466(a)(12)), using such

21 standardized data elements (such as names, social

22 security numbers or other uniform identification

23 numbers, dates of birth, and case identification

24 numbers), and containing such other information
63

•S 687 IS

1 (such as information on case status) as the Sec2 retary may require.

3 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT RECORDS.—Each case record in

4 the central registry shall include a record of—

5 ‘‘(A) the amount of monthly (or other peri6 odic) support owed under the support order,

7 and other amounts due or overdue (including

8 arrearages, interest or late payment penalties,

9 and fees);

10 ‘‘(B) the date on which the support obliga11 tion will terminate under such order;

12 ‘‘(C) all child support and related amounts

13 collected (including such amounts as fees, late

14 payment penalties, and interest on arrearages);

15 and

16 ‘‘(D) the distribution of such amounts col17 lected.

18 ‘‘(3) UPDATING AND MONITORING.—The State

19 agency shall promptly establish and maintain, and

20 regularly monitor, case records in the registry re21 quired by this subsection, on the basis of—

22 ‘‘(A) information on administrative actions

23 and administrative and judicial proceedings and

24 orders relating to paternity and support;
64

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) information obtained from matches

2 with Federal, State, or local data sources;

3 ‘‘(C) information on support collections

4 and distributions; and

5 ‘‘(D) any other relevant information.

6 ‘‘(f) DATA MATCHES AND OTHER DISCLOSURES OF

7 INFORMATION.—The automated system required under

8 this section shall have the capacity, and be used by the

9 State agency, to extract data at such times, and in such

10 standardized format or formats, as may be required by

11 the Secretary, and to share and match data with, and re12 ceive data from, other data bases and data matching serv13 ices, in order to obtain (or provide) information necessary

14 to enable the State agency (or Secretary or other State

15 or Federal agencies) to carry out responsibilities under

16 this part. Data matching activities of the State agency

17 shall include at least the following:

18 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION

19 CLEARINGHOUSE.—Furnishing to the National Child

20 Support Information Clearinghouse established

21 under section 453A (and updating as necessary,

22 with information including notice of expiration of or23 ders) minimal information specified by the Secretary

24 on each child support case in the central case reg25 istry.
65

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE.—

2 Exchanging data with the Federal Parent Locator

3 Service for the purposes specified in section 453.

4 ‘‘(3) AFDC, FOSTER CARE, AND MEDICAID

5 AGENCIES.—Exchanging data with State agencies

6 (of the State and of other States) administering the

7 programs under parts A and E and title XIX, as

8 necessary for the performance of State agency re9 sponsibilities under this part and under such pro10 grams.

11 ‘‘(4) INTRASTATE AND INTERSTATE DATA

12 MATCHES.—Exchanging data with other agencies of

13 the State, agencies of other States, and interstate

14 information networks, as necessary and appropriate

15 to carry out (or assist other States to carry out) the

16 purposes of this part.’’.

17 SEC. 302. CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT

18 OF SUPPORT PAYMENTS.

19 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42

20 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 101, 105, and 205,

21 is amended—

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

23 (26);

24 (2) by striking the period at the end of para25 graph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
66

•S 687 IS

1 (3) by adding after paragraph (27) the follow2 ing new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(28) provide that the State agency, on and

4 after October 1, 1998—

5 ‘‘(A) will operate a centralized, automated

6 unit for the collection and disbursement of child

7 support under orders being enforced under this

8 part, in accordance with section 454B; and

9 ‘‘(B) will have sufficient State employees,

10 and, at State option, contractors reporting di11 rectly to the State agency) to monitor and en12 force support collections through such central13 ized unit, including carrying out the automated

14 data processing responsibilities specified in sec15 tion 454A(g) and to impose, as appropriate in

16 particular cases, the administrative enforcement

17 remedies specified in section 466(c)(1).’’.

18 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTRALIZED COLLECTION

19 UNIT.—Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amend20 ed by adding after section 454A the following new section:

21 ‘‘CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT OF

22 SUPPORT PAYMENTS

23 ‘‘SEC. 454B. (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to meet the

24 requirement of section 454(28), the State agency must op25 erate a single centralized, automated unit for the collection

26 and disbursement of support payments, coordinated with
67

•S 687 IS

1 the automated data system required under section 454A,

2 in accordance with the provisions of this section, which

3 shall be—

4 ‘‘(1) operated directly by the State agency (or

5 by 2 or more State agencies under a regional cooper6 ative agreement), or by a single contractor respon7 sible directly to the State agency; and

8 ‘‘(2) used for the collection and disbursement

9 (including interstate collection and disbursement) of

10 payments under support orders in all cases being en11 forced by the State pursuant to section 454(4).

12 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—The centralized col13 lections unit shall use automated procedures, electronic

14 processes, and computer-driven technology to the maxi15 mum extent feasible, efficient, and economical, for the col16 lection and disbursement of support payments, including

17 procedures—

18 ‘‘(1) for receipt of payments from parents, em19 ployers, and other States, and for disbursements to

20 custodial parents and other obligees, the State agen21 cy, and the State agencies of other States;

22 ‘‘(2) for accurate identification of payments;

23 ‘‘(3) to ensure prompt disbursement of the cus24 todial parent’s share of any payment; and
68

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(4) to furnish to either parent, upon request,

2 timely information on the current status of support

3 payments.’’.

4 (c) USE OF AUTOMATED SYSTEM.—Section 454A, as

5 added by section 204(a)(2) and as amended by section

6 301, is amended by adding at the end the following new

7 subsection:

8 ‘‘(g) CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION

9 OF SUPPORT PAYMENTS.—The automated system re10 quired under this section shall be used, to the maximum

11 extent feasible, to assist and facilitate collections and dis12 bursement of support payments through the centralized

13 collections unit operated pursuant to section 454B,

14 through the performance of functions including at a mini15 mum—

16 ‘‘(1) generation of orders and notices to em17 ployers (and other debtors) for the withholding of

18 wages (and other income)—

19 ‘‘(A) within 2 working days after receipt

20 (from the National Directory of New Hires or

21 any other source) of notice of and the income

22 source subject to such withholding; and

23 ‘‘(B) using uniform formats directed by

24 the Secretary;
69

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(2) ongoing monitoring to promptly identify

2 failures to make timely payment; and

3 ‘‘(3) automatic use of enforcement mechanisms

4 (including mechanisms authorized pursuant to sec5 tion 466(c)) where payments are not timely made.’’.

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

7 this section shall become effective on October 1, 1998.

8 SEC. 303. AMENDMENTS CONCERNING INCOME WITHHOLD9 ING.

10 (a) MANDATORY INCOME WITHHOLDING.—

11 (1) FROM INCOME.—Section 466(a)(1) (42

12 U.S.C. 666(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(1)(A) Procedures described in subsection (b)

14 for the withholding from income of amounts payable

15 as support in cases subject to enforcement under the

16 State plan.

17 ‘‘(B) Procedures under which all child support

18 orders issued (or modified) before October 1, 1996,

19 and which are not otherwise subject to withholding

20 under subsection (b), shall become subject to with21 holding from income as provided in subsection (b) if

22 arrearages occur, without the need for a judicial or

23 administrative hearing.’’.
70

•S 687 IS

1 (2) REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS CONCERN2 ING ARREARAGES.—Section 466(a)(8) (42 U.S.C.

3 666(a)(8)) is repealed.

4 (3) PROCEDURES DESCRIBED.—Section 466(b)

5 (42 U.S.C. 666(b)) is amended—

6 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),

7 by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘subsection (a)(1)(A)’’;

9 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘a public

10 agency’’ and all that follows through the period

11 and inserting ‘‘the State through the central12 ized collections unit established pursuant to sec13 tion 454B, in accordance with the requirements

14 of such section 454B.’’;

15 (C) in paragraph (6)(A)(i)—

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘, in accordance with

17 such procedures and timetables as may be

18 established by the Secretary,’’ after ‘‘must

19 be required’’; and

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘to the appropriate

21 agency’’ and all that follows through the

22 period and inserting ‘‘to the State central23 ized collections unit within 5 working days

24 after the date such amount would (but for

25 this subsection) have been paid or credited
71

•S 687 IS

1 to the employee, for distribution in accord2 ance with this part.’’;

3 (D) in paragraph (6)(A)(ii), by inserting

4 ‘‘be in a standard format prescribed by the Sec5 retary, and’’ after ‘‘shall’’; and

6 (E) by striking subparagraph (D) of para7 graph (6) and inserting the following new sub8 paragraph:

9 ‘‘(D) Provision must be made for the imposition

10 of a fine against any employer who—

11 ‘‘(i) discharges from employment, refuses

12 to employ, or takes disciplinary action against

13 any absent parent subject to wage withholding

14 required by this subsection because of the exist15 ence of such withholding and the obligations or

16 additional obligations which it imposes upon the

17 employer; or

18 ‘‘(ii) fails to withhold support from wages,

19 or to pay such amounts to the State centralized

20 collections unit in accordance with this sub21 section.’’.

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 466(c) (42

23 U.S.C. 666(c)) is repealed.

24 (c) DEFINITION OF TERMS.—The Secretary of

25 Health and Human Services shall promulgate regulations
72

•S 687 IS

1 providing definitions, for purposes of part D of title IV

2 of the Social Security Act, for the term ‘‘income’’ and for

3 such other terms relating to income withholding under sec4 tion 466(b) of such Act as the Secretary may find it nec5 essary or advisable to define.

6 SEC. 304. LOCATOR INFORMATION FROM INTERSTATE NET7 WORKS AND LABOR UNIONS.

8 Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by

9 section 303, is amended by inserting after paragraph (7)

10 the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(8)(A) Procedures ensuring that the State will

12 neither provide funding for, nor use for any purpose

13 (including any purpose unrelated to the purposes of

14 this part), any automated interstate network or sys15 tem used to locate individuals—

16 ‘‘(i) for purposes relating to the use of

17 motor vehicles; or

18 ‘‘(ii) for providing information for law en19 forcement purposes (if child support enforce20 ment agencies are otherwise allowed access by

21 State and Federal law),

22 unless all Federal and State agencies administering

23 programs under this part (including the entities es24 tablished under sections 453 and 453A) have access

25 to information in such system or network to the
73

•S 687 IS

1 same extent as any other user of such system or net2 work.

3 ‘‘(B) Procedures under which labor unions, and

4 hiring halls of labor unions, must furnish to the

5 State agency, upon request, with respect to any

6 union member against whom paternity or a support

7 obligation is sought to be established or enforced,

8 such information as the union or hiring hall may

9 have on such member’s residential address and tele10 phone number, employer’s name, address, and tele11 phone number, and income and medical insurance

12 benefits.’’.

13 SEC. 305. NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION

14 CLEARINGHOUSE.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C.

16 651–669) is amended by inserting after section 453 the

17 following new section:

18 ‘‘NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION

19 CLEARINGHOUSE

20 ‘‘SEC. 453A. (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to assist States in

22 administering their State plans under this part and

23 parts A and F, and for the other purposes specified

24 in this section, the Secretary shall establish and op25 erate a National Child Support Information Clear26 inghouse, performing the functions and meeting the
74

•S 687 IS

1 requirements specified in this section, and contain2 ing the registries specified in paragraph (2).

3 ‘‘(2) REGISTRIES SPECIFIED.—The registries

4 specified in this paragraph are—

5 ‘‘(A) the National Child Support Registry

6 established pursuant to subsection (b);

7 ‘‘(B) the National Directory of New Hires

8 established pursuant to subsection (c); and

9 ‘‘(C) the Federal Parent Locator Service

10 established pursuant to section 453.

11 ‘‘(3) USE OF TERM.—For purposes of this sec12 tion, references to registries maintained under this

13 section shall be considered to include the National

14 Directory of New Hires and the Federal Parent Lo15 cator Service.

16 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT REGISTRY.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab18 lish by October 1, 1998, and maintain thereafter, an

19 automated registry, to be known as the National

20 Child Support Registry, containing minimal informa21 tion (in accordance with paragraph (2)) on each case

22 in each State central case registry maintained pur23 suant to section 454A(e), as furnished (and regu24 larly updated), pursuant to section 454A(f), by State

25 agencies administering programs under this part.
75

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(2) CASE INFORMATION.—The case informa2 tion required to be furnished pursuant to this sub3 section, as specified by the Secretary, shall include

4 sufficient information (including names, social secu5 rity numbers or other uniform identification num6 bers, and State case identification numbers) to iden7 tify the individuals who owe or are owed support (or

8 with respect to or on behalf of whom support obliga9 tions are sought to be established), and the State or

10 States which have established or modified, or are en11 forcing or seeking to establish, such an order.

12 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish by October 1, 1998, and maintain thereafter, an

15 automated directory, to be known as the National

16 Directory of New Hires, containing—

17 ‘‘(A) information supplied by employers on

18 each newly hired individual, in accordance with

19 paragraph (2); and

20 ‘‘(B) information supplied by State agen21 cies administering State unemployment com22 pensation laws, in accordance with paragraph

23 (3).

24 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER INFORMATION.—
76

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—Subject

2 to subparagraph (D), each employer shall fur3 nish to the Secretary, for inclusion in the direc4 tory under this subsection, not later than the

5 date specified in subparagraph (B), a report

6 containing the name, date of birth, and social

7 security number of each employee hired on or

8 after October 1, 1998, and the employer identi9 fication number of the employer.

10 ‘‘(B) REPORTING TIMETABLE.—Reports

11 required under subparagraph (A) shall be made

12 not later than—

13 ‘‘(i) in the case of an employer that

14 elects to make such reports electronically

15 or through comparable automated meth16 ods, 10 business days following the end of

17 the payroll period with respect to all em18 ployees hired during such period (but the

19 employer shall not be required to make

20 more than 1 report each during the first

21 and last halves of each month); and

22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any other em23 ployer, 10 business days after the date the

24 employee is hired.
77

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(C) REPORTING METHOD AND FORMAT.—

2 The Secretary shall provide for transmission of

3 the reports required under subparagraph (A)

4 using formats and methods which minimize the

5 burden on employers, which shall include—

6 ‘‘(i) automated or electronic trans7 mission of such reports in accordance with

8 subparagraph (B);

9 ‘‘(ii) transmission by regular mail;

10 and

11 ‘‘(iii) transmission of a copy of the

12 form required for purposes of compliance

13 with section 3402 of the Internal Revenue

14 Code of 1986.

15 ‘‘(D) EMPLOYEE DEFINED.—For purposes

16 of this paragraph—

17 ‘‘(i) the term ‘employee’—

18 ‘‘(I) means (subject to subclause

19 (II)) any individual subject to the re20 quirement of section 3402(f)(2) of the

21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and

22 ‘‘(II) does not include an em23 ployee of a Federal or State agency

24 performing law enforcement functions,

25 or of a Federal agency performing in-
78

•S 687 IS

1 telligence or counterintelligence func2 tions, if the head of such agency has

3 determined that reporting pursuant to

4 this paragraph with respect to such

5 employee could endanger the safety of

6 the employee or compromise an ongo7 ing investigation or intelligence mis8 sion; and

9 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘employer’ means any

10 employer (as defined in section 3401(c) of

11 such Code) subject to the requirement of

12 section 3402(a) of such Code.

13 ‘‘(E) PAPERWORK REDUCTION REQUIRE14 MENT.—As required by the information re15 sources management policies published by the

16 Director of the Office of Management and

17 Budget pursuant to section 3504(b)(1) of title

18 44, United States Code, the Secretary, in order

19 to minimize the cost and reporting burden on

20 employers, shall not require reporting pursuant

21 to this paragraph if an alternative reporting

22 mechanism can be developed that either relies

23 on existing Federal or State reporting or en24 ables the Secretary to collect the needed infor25 mation in a more cost-effective and equally ex-
79

•S 687 IS

1 peditious manner, taking into account the re2 porting costs on employers.

3 ‘‘(F) CIVIL MONEY PENALTY ON NON4 COMPLYING EMPLOYERS.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any employer that

6 fails to make a timely report in accordance

7 with this paragraph with respect to an in8 dividual shall be subject to a civil money

9 penalty, for each calendar year in which

10 the failure occurs, of the lesser of $500 or

11 1 percent of the wages or other compensa12 tion paid by such employer to such individ13 ual during such calendar year.

14 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION OF SECTION

15 1128A.—Subject to clause (iii), the provi16 sions of section 1128A (other than sub17 sections (a) and (b) thereof) shall apply to

18 a civil money penalty under clause (i) in

19 the same manner as they apply to a civil

20 money penalty or proceeding under section

21 1128A(a).

22 ‘‘(iii) COSTS TO SECRETARY.—Any

23 employer with respect to whom a penalty

24 under this subparagraph is upheld after an

25 administrative hearing shall be liable to
80

•S 687 IS

1 pay all costs of the Secretary with respect

2 to such hearing.

3 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT SECURITY INFORMATION.—

4 ‘‘(A) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each

5 State administering a State unemployment

6 compensation law approved by the Secretary of

7 Labor under the Federal Unemployment Tax

8 Act shall furnish to the Secretary of Health and

9 Human Services, in accordance with subpara10 graph (B), extracts of the reports to the Sec11 retary of Labor concerning the wages and un12 employment compensation paid to individuals

13 required under section 303(a)(6).

14 ‘‘(B) MANNER OF COMPLIANCE.—The ex15 tracts required under subparagraph (A) shall be

16 furnished to the Secretary of Health and

17 Human Services on a quarterly basis (or on a

18 more frequent basis as such reports are fur19 nished to the Secretary of Labor), with respect

20 to calendar quarters beginning on and after Oc21 tober 1, 1996, by such dates, in such format,

22 and containing such information as required by

23 the Secretary of Health and Human Services in

24 regulations.

25 ‘‘(d) DATA MATCHES AND OTHER DISCLOSURES.—
81

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(1) VERIFICATION BY SOCIAL SECURITY AD2 MINISTRATION.—

3 ‘‘(A) TRANSMISSION OF DATA.—The Sec4 retary shall transmit data on individuals and

5 employers in the registries maintained under

6 this section to the Social Security Administra7 tion to the extent necessary for verification in

8 accordance with subparagraph (B).

9 ‘‘(B) VERIFICATION.—The Commissioner

10 of Social Security shall verify the accuracy of,

11 correct or supply to the extent necessary and

12 feasible, and report to the Secretary, the follow13 ing information in data supplied by the Sec14 retary pursuant to subparagraph (A):

15 ‘‘(i) the name, social security number,

16 and birth date of each individual; and

17 ‘‘(ii) the employer identification num18 ber of each employer.

19 ‘‘(2) CHILD SUPPORT LOCATOR MATCHES.—For

20 the purpose of locating individuals for purposes of

21 paternity establishment and establishment and en22 forcement of child support, the Secretary shall—

23 ‘‘(A) match data in the National Directory

24 of New Hires against data in the National
82

•S 687 IS

1 Child Support Registry not less often than

2 every 2 working days; and

3 ‘‘(B) report information obtained from

4 such a match to concerned State agencies oper5 ating programs under this part not later than

6 2 working days after such match.

7 ‘‘(3) DATA MATCHES AND DISCLOSURES OF

8 DATA IN ALL REGISTRIES.—

9 ‘‘(A) FOR TITLE IV PROGRAM PURPOSES.—

10 The Secretary shall—

11 ‘‘(i) perform matches of data in each

12 registry maintained under this section

13 against data in each other such registry

14 (other than the matches required pursuant

15 to paragraph (1)), and report information

16 resulting from such matches to State agen17 cies operating programs under this part

18 and parts A and F; and

19 ‘‘(ii) disclose data in such registries to

20 such State agencies—

21 to the extent, and with the frequency, that the

22 Secretary determines to be effective in assisting

23 such States to carry out their responsibilities

24 under such programs.
83

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) FOR INCOME ELIGIBILITY VERIFICA2 TION SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall disclose

3 data in the registries maintained under this sec4 tion to the programs specified in section

5 1137(b), for use for any purpose related to the

6 administration of such programs permitted

7 under such section 1137.

8 ‘‘(C) TO SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA9 TION.—The Secretary shall disclose data in the

10 registries maintained under this section to the

11 Social Security Administration—

12 ‘‘(i) for the purpose of determining

13 the accuracy of payments under the sup14 plemental security income program under

15 title XVI; or

16 ‘‘(ii) for use in connection with bene17 fits under title II.

18 ‘‘(4) OTHER DISCLOSURES OF NEW HIRE

19 DATA.—The Secretary shall disclose data in the Na20 tional Directory of New Hires under subsection

21 (c)—

22 ‘‘(A) to the Secretary of the Treasury for

23 purposes directly connected with—

24 ‘‘(i) the administration of the earned

25 income tax credit under section 32 of the
84

•S 687 IS

1 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the ad2 vance payment of such credit under section

3 3507 of such Code; or

4 ‘‘(ii) verification of a claim with re5 spect to employment in an individual tax

6 return; and

7 ‘‘(B) to State agencies operating employ8 ment security and workers compensation pro9 grams, for the purpose of assisting such agen10 cies to determine the allowability of claims for

11 benefits under such programs.

12 ‘‘(5) DISCLOSURES FOR RESEARCH PUR13 POSES.—The Secretary is authorized to disclose data

14 in registries maintained under this section for re15 search purposes found by the Secretary to be likely

16 to contribute to achieving the purposes of this part

17 or part A or F, but without personal identifiers.

18 ‘‘(e) FEES.—

19 ‘‘(1) FOR SSA VERIFICATION.—The Secretary

20 shall reimburse the Commissioner of Social Security,

21 at a rate negotiated between the Secretary and the

22 Commissioner, the costs incurred by the Commis23 sioner in performing the verification services speci24 fied in subsection (d).
85

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(2) FOR INFORMATION FROM SESAS.—The

2 Secretary shall reimburse costs incurred by State

3 employment security agencies in furnishing data as

4 required by subsection (c)(3), at rates which the

5 Secretary determines to be reasonable (which rates

6 shall not include payment for the costs of obtaining,

7 compiling, or maintaining such data).

8 ‘‘(3) FOR INFORMATION FURNISHED TO STATE

9 AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.—State and Federal agen10 cies receiving data or information from the Secretary

11 pursuant to this section shall reimburse the costs in12 curred by the Secretary in furnishing such data or

13 information, at rates which the Secretary determines

14 to be reasonable (which rates shall include payment

15 for the costs of obtaining, verifying, maintaining,

16 and matching such data or information).

17 ‘‘(f) RESTRICTION ON DISCLOSURE AND USE.—Data

18 in registries maintained pursuant to this section, and in19 formation resulting from matches using data maintained

20 in such registries, shall not be used or disclosed except

21 as specifically provided in this section.

22 ‘‘(g) RETENTION OF DATA.—Data in registries main23 tained pursuant to this title, and data resulting from

24 matches performed pursuant to this section, shall be re-
86

•S 687 IS

1 tained for such period (determined by the Secretary) as

2 appropriate for the data uses specified in this section.

3 ‘‘(h) INFORMATION INTEGRITY AND SECURITY.—The

4 Secretary shall establish and implement safeguards with

5 respect to the entities established under this section de6 signed to—

7 ‘‘(1) ensure the accuracy and completeness of

8 information in the system; and

9 ‘‘(2) restrict access to confidential information

10 in the registries to authorized persons, and restrict

11 use of such information to authorized purposes.

12 ‘‘(i) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not

13 be liable to either a State or an individual for inaccurate

14 information provided to a registry maintained under this

15 section and disclosed by the Secretary in accordance with

16 this section.’’.

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (1) TO PART D OF TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SE19 CURITY ACT.—Section 454(8) (42 U.S.C. 654(8)) is

20 amended—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘, and’’ at the end of sub22 paragraph (A) and inserting a semicolon; and

23 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in24 serting the following the new subparagraphs:
87

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the Federal Parent Locator Service

2 established under section 453; and

3 ‘‘(C) the National Child Support Informa4 tion Clearinghouse established under section

5 453A;’’.

6 (2) TO FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACT.—

7 Section 3304(16) of the Internal Revenue Code of

8 1986 (relating to approval of State laws) is amend9 ed—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health, Edu11 cation, and Welfare’’ each place it appears and

12 inserting ‘‘Secretary of Health and Human

13 Services’’;

14 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking

15 ‘‘such information’’ and all that follows through

16 the semicolon and inserting ‘‘information fur17 nished under subparagraph (A) or (B) is used

18 only for the purposes authorized under such

19 subparagraph;’’;

20 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub21 paragraph (A);

22 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as

23 subparagraph (C); and

24 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (A)

25 the following new subparagraph:
88

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) wage and unemployment compensa2 tion information contained in the records of

3 such agency shall be furnished to the Secretary

4 of Health and Human Services (in accordance

5 with regulations promulgated by such Sec6 retary) as necessary for the purposes of the Na7 tional Directory of New Hires established under

8 section 453A(b) of the Social Security Act,

9 and’’.

10 (3) TO STATE GRANT PROGRAM UNDER TITLE

11 III OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 303(a)

12 (42 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para14 graph (8);

15 (B) by striking the period at the end of

16 paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

17 (C) by adding after paragraph (9) the fol18 lowing new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(10) The making of quarterly electronic re20 ports, at such dates, in such format, and containing

21 such information, as required by the Secretary under

22 section 453A(c)(3), and compliance with such provi23 sions as such Secretary may find necessary to en24 sure the correctness and verification of such re25 ports.’’.
89

•S 687 IS

1 SEC. 306. EXPANDED LOCATE AUTHORITY.

2 (a) EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO LOCATE INDIVID3 UALS AND ASSETS.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is

4 amended—

5 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘information

6 as to the whereabouts’’ and all that follows through

7 the period and inserting ‘‘, for the purpose of estab8 lishing parentage, or establishing, setting the

9 amount of, modifying, or enforcing child support ob10 ligations—

11 ‘‘(1) information on, or facilitating the discov12 ery of, the location of any individual—

13 ‘‘(A) who is under an obligation to pay

14 child support;

15 ‘‘(B) against whom such an obligation is

16 sought; or

17 ‘‘(C) to whom such an obligation is owed,

18 including such individual’s social security number

19 (or numbers), most recent residential address, and

20 the name, address, and employer identification num21 ber of such individual’s employer;

22 ‘‘(2) information on the individual’s wages (or

23 other income) from, and benefits of, employment (in24 cluding rights to or enrollment in group health care

25 coverage); and
90

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(3) information on the type, status, location,

2 and amount of any assets of, or debts owed by or

3 to, any such individual.’’;

4 (2) in subsection (b)—

5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),

6 by striking ‘‘social security’’ and all that follows

7 through ‘‘absent parent’’ and inserting ‘‘infor8 mation specified in subsection (a)’’; and

9 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before

10 the period ‘‘, or from any consumer reporting

11 agency (as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair

12 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f))’’;

13 and

14 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting before the

15 period ‘‘, or by consumer reporting agencies’’.

16 (b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR DATA FROM FEDERAL

17 AGENCIES.—Section 453(e)(2) (42 U.S.C. 653(e)(2)) is

18 amended in the fourth sentence by inserting before the

19 period ‘‘in an amount which the Secretary determines to

20 be reasonable payment for the data exchange (which

21 amount shall not include payment for the costs of obtain22 ing, compiling, or maintaining the data)’’.

23 (c) ACCESS TO CONSUMER REPORTS UNDER FAIR

24 CREDIT REPORTING ACT.—
91

•S 687 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 608 of the Fair

2 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681f) is amend3 ed—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘, limited to’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘to a governmental agency (including the entire

6 consumer report, in the case of a Federal,

7 State, or local agency administering a program

8 under part D of title IV of the Social Security

9 Act, and limited to’’; and

10 (B) by striking ‘‘employment, to a govern11 mental agency’’ and inserting ‘‘employment, in

12 the case of any other governmental agency)’’.

13 (2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPORTS BY STATE

14 AGENCIES AND CREDIT BUREAUS.—Section 453 (42

15 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at the end the

16 following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(g) The Secretary is authorized to reimburse to

18 State agencies and consumer credit reporting agencies the

19 costs incurred by such entities in furnishing information

20 requested by the Secretary pursuant to this section in an

21 amount which the Secretary determines to be reasonable

22 payment for the data exchange (which amount shall not

23 include payment for the costs of obtaining, compiling, or

24 maintaining the data).’’.

25 (d) DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURN INFORMATION.—
92

•S 687 IS

1 (1) BY THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.—

2 Section 6103(l)(6)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue

3 Code of 1986 (relating to disclosure of return infor4 mation to Federal, State, and local child support en5 forcement agencies) is amended by striking ‘‘, but

6 only if’’ and all that follows and inserting a period.

7 (2) BY THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRA8 TION.—Section 6103(l)(8)(A) of the Internal Reve9 nue Code of 1986 (relating to disclosure of certain

10 return information by Social Security Administra11 tion to State and local child support enforcement

12 agencies) is amended by inserting ‘‘Federal,’’ before

13 ‘‘State or local’’.

14 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) Sections 452(a)(9), 453(a), 453(b), 463(a),

16 and 463(e) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(9), 653(a), 653(b),

17 663(a), and 663(e)) are each amended by inserting

18 ‘‘Federal’’ before ‘‘Parent’’ each place it appears.

19 (2) Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended in

20 the heading by inserting ‘‘FEDERAL’’ before ‘‘PAR21 ENT’’.

22 SEC. 307. STUDIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS CONCERNING

23 LOCATOR ACTIVITIES.

24 (a) STUDIES.—The Secretary of Health and Human

25 Services (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
93

•S 687 IS

1 retary’’) shall study, and report and make recommenda2 tions to the Congress concerning—

3 (1) whether access to information available

4 through the Federal Parent Locator Service under

5 section 453 of the Social Security Act should be af6 forded to noncustodial parents seeking to locate

7 their children and, if so, whether custodial parents

8 at risk of harm by such noncustodial parents could

9 be adequately protected; and

10 (2) the feasibility, implications, and costs of es11 tablishing and operating electronic data interchanges

12 between such Service and major consumer credit re13 porting bureaus.

14 (b) DEMONSTRATIONS.—The Secretary shall make

15 grants to States, from funds available under section 452(j)

16 of the Social Security Act, for demonstrations designed to

17 test the utility of automated data exchanges with State

18 data bases that have the potential to improve the States’

19 effectiveness in locating individuals and resources for pur20 poses of establishing paternity and establishing and en21 forcing support obligations.

22 SEC. 308. USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.

23 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENT.—Section 466(a) (42

24 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by section 102(a), is amended
94

•S 687 IS

1 by inserting after paragraph (12) the following new para2 graph:

3 ‘‘(13) Procedures requiring the recording of so4 cial security numbers—

5 ‘‘(A) of both parties on marriage licenses

6 and divorce decrees; and

7 ‘‘(B) of both parents, on birth records and

8 child support and paternity orders.’’.

9 (b) CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL POLICY.—Section

10 205(c)(2)(C)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended

11 by striking the third sentence and inserting ‘‘This clause

12 shall not be considered to authorize disclosure of such

13 numbers except as provided in the preceding sentence.’’.

14 TITLE IV—STREAMLINING AND

15 UNIFORMITY OF PROCEDURES

16 SEC. 401. ADOPTION OF UNIFORM STATE LAWS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C.

18 666(a)), as amended by sections 102(a) and 308(a), is

19 amended by inserting after paragraph (13) the following

20 new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(14)(A) Procedures under which the State

22 adopts in its entirety (with the modifications and ad23 ditions specified in this paragraph) not later than

24 January 1, 1996, and uses on and after such date,

25 the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, as ap-
95

•S 687 IS

1 proved by the National Conference of Commissioners

2 on Uniform State Laws in August 1992.

3 ‘‘(B) The State law adopted pursuant to sub4 paragraph (A) shall be applied to any case—

5 ‘‘(i) involving an order established or modi6 fied in 1 State and for which a subsequent

7 modification is sought in another State; or

8 ‘‘(ii) in which interstate activity is required

9 to enforce an order.

10 ‘‘(C) The State law adopted pursuant to sub11 paragraph (A) shall provide that, in the case where

12 a child meets the criteria for residence in the State,

13 a tribunal of the State having jurisdiction over such

14 child has jurisdiction over both parents of such

15 child, if parentage has been legally established or ac16 knowledged, or may be presumed under the laws of

17 the State.

18 ‘‘(D) For purposes of the State law adopted

19 pursuant to subparagraph (A), section 611(a)(1) of

20 the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act shall be

21 amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘ ‘(1) the following requirements are met:

23 ‘‘ ‘(i) the child, the individual obligee, and

24 the obligor—
96

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘ ‘(I) do not reside in the issuing

2 State; and

3 ‘‘ ‘(II) either reside in this State or

4 are subject to the jurisdiction of this State

5 pursuant to section 201; and

6 ‘‘ ‘(ii) (in any case where another State is

7 exercising or seeks to exercise jurisdiction to

8 modify the order) the conditions of section 204

9 are met to the same extent as required for pro10 ceedings to establish orders; or’.

11 ‘‘(E) The State law adopted pursuant to sub12 paragraph (A) shall allow parties, by agreement, to

13 permit a State that issued an order to retain juris14 diction which the State would otherwise lose under

15 the provisions of such law.

16 ‘‘(F) The State law adopted pursuant to sub17 paragraph (A) shall recognize as valid, for purposes

18 of any proceeding subject to such State law, service

19 of process upon persons in the State (and proof of

20 such service) by any means acceptable in another

21 State which is the initiating or responding State in

22 such proceeding.

23 ‘‘(G) The State law adopted pursuant to sub24 paragraph (A) shall provide for the use of proce25 dures (including sanctions for noncompliance) under
97

•S 687 IS

1 which all entities in the State (including for-profit,

2 nonprofit, and governmental employers) are required

3 to provide promptly, in response to a request by the

4 State agency of that or any other State administer5 ing a program under this part, information on the

6 employment, compensation, and benefits of any indi7 vidual employed by such entity as an employee or

8 contractor.’’.

9 (b) EXPEDITED APPEAL OF CONSTITUTIONAL CHAL10 LENGE.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—An appeal may be taken di12 rectly to the Supreme Court of the United States

13 from any interlocutory or final judgment, decree, or

14 order issued by a United States district court ruling

15 upon the constitutionality of section 466(a)(14)(C)

16 of the Social Security Act, as added by subsection

17 (a).

18 (2) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—The Supreme

19 Court of the United States shall, if it has not pre20 viously ruled on the question, accept jurisdiction

21 over, and advance on the docket, and expedite to the

22 greatest extent possible, an appeal described under

23 paragraph (1). All cases raising such question shall

24 be consolidated to the maximum extent permissible

25 under applicable rules of civil procedure.
98

•S 687 IS

1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO FULL FAITH

2 AND CREDIT REQUIREMENTS.—Section 1738B of title 28,

3 United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘§ 1738B. Full faith and credit for child support or5 ders

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate authorities of

7 each State shall enforce a child support order by a court

8 of another State according to its terms, if such other

9 State’s order is made—

10 ‘‘(1) pursuant to the procedures specified in

11 section 466(a)(14) of the Social Security Act (42

12 U.S.C. 666(a)(14); or

13 ‘‘(2) in a case in which such other State has

14 not adopted such procedures, pursuant to procedures

15 consistent with section 207 of the Uniform Inter16 state Family Support Act, as approved by the Na17 tional Conference of Commissioners on Uniform

18 State Laws in August 1992.

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section—

20 ‘‘(1) ‘court’ means a court or administrative

21 agency of a State that is authorized by State law to

22 establish, modify, or enforce a child support order;

23 and

24 ‘‘(2) ‘State’ means a State of the United

25 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
99

•S 687 IS

1 of Puerto Rico, the territories and possessions of the

2 United States, and includes an Indian tribe, at its

3 option.’’.

4 SEC. 402. STATE LAWS PROVIDING EXPEDITED PROCE5 DURES.

6 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 466 (42

7 U.S.C. 666), as amended by section 303(a)(3), is amend8 ed—

9 (1) by striking paragraph (2) of subsection (a)

10 and inserting the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(2) Expedited administrative and judicial pro12 cedures (including the procedures specified in sub13 section (c)) for establishing paternity and for estab14 lishing, modifying, and enforcing support obliga15 tions.’’; and

16 (2) by adding after subsection (b) the following

17 new subsection:

18 ‘‘(c) The procedures specified in this subsection are

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(1) Procedures which give the State agency

21 the authority (and recognize and enforce the author22 ity of State agencies of other States), without the

23 necessity of obtaining an order from any other judi24 cial or administrative tribunal (but subject to the

25 substantive and procedural rules, including due proc-
100

•S 687 IS

1 ess safeguards required under paragraph (2)), to

2 take the following actions relating to establishment

3 or enforcement of orders:

4 ‘‘(A) To establish the amount of support

5 awards in all cases in which services are being

6 provided under this part, and to modify the

7 amount of such awards under all orders in8 cluded in the central case registry established

9 under section 454A(e) (including orders entered

10 by a court), in accordance with the guidelines

11 established under section 467.

12 ‘‘(B) To order genetic testing for the pur13 pose of paternity establishment as provided in

14 section 466(a)(5).

15 ‘‘(C) To enter a default order, upon a

16 showing of service of process and any additional

17 showing required by State law—

18 ‘‘(i) establishing paternity, in the case

19 of any putative father who refuses to sub20 mit to genetic testing; and

21 ‘‘(ii) establishing or modifying a sup22 port obligation, in the case of a parent (or

23 other obligor or obligee) who fails to re24 spond to notice to appear at a proceeding

25 for such purpose.
101

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(D) To subpoena any financial or other

2 information needed to establish, modify, or en3 force an order, and to sanction failure to re4 spond to any such subpoena.

5 ‘‘(E) To obtain access, subject to safe6 guards on privacy and information security, to

7 the following records (including automated ac8 cess, in the case of records maintained in auto9 mated data bases):

10 ‘‘(i) Records of other State and local

11 government agencies, including—

12 ‘‘(I) records of marriage, birth,

13 and divorce, and other vital statistics;

14 ‘‘(II) State and local tax and rev15 enue records with respect to residence

16 address, employer, income and assets,

17 and other necessary information;

18 ‘‘(III) records concerning real

19 and titled personal property;

20 ‘‘(IV) records of occupational and

21 professional licenses, and records con22 cerning the ownership and control of

23 corporations, partnerships, and other

24 business entities;
102

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(V) employment security

2 records;

3 ‘‘(VI) records of agencies admin4 istering public assistance programs;

5 ‘‘(VII) records of the State sec6 retary of state;

7 ‘‘(VIII) records of the motor ve8 hicle department; and

9 ‘‘(IX) corrections records.

10 ‘‘(ii) Certain records held by private

11 entities, including—

12 ‘‘(I) customer records of public

13 utilities and cable television compa14 nies; and

15 ‘‘(II) information, including in16 formation on assets and liabilities, on

17 individuals who owe or are owed sup18 port (or against or with respect to

19 whom a support obligation is sought)

20 held by financial institutions, subject

21 to limitations on liability of such enti22 ties arising from affording such ac23 cess.

24 ‘‘(F) To order income withholding in ac25 cordance with subsections (a)(1) and (b).
103

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(G) In cases in which support is subject

2 to an assignment under section 402(a)(26),

3 471(a)(17), or 1912, or to a requirement to pay

4 through the centralized collections unit under

5 section 454B) upon providing notice to obligor

6 and obligee, to direct the obligor or other payor

7 to change the payee to the appropriate govern8 ment entity.

9 ‘‘(H) For the purpose of securing overdue

10 support—

11 ‘‘(i) to intercept and seize any peri12 odic or lump-sum payment to the obligor

13 by or through a State or local government

14 agency, including—

15 ‘‘(I) unemployment compensa16 tion, workers’ compensation, and

17 other benefits;

18 ‘‘(II) judgments and settlements

19 in cases under the jurisdiction of the

20 State or local government; and

21 ‘‘(III) lottery winnings;

22 ‘‘(ii) to attach and seize assets of the

23 obligor held by financial institutions;
104

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) to attach public and private re2 tirement funds in appropriate cases, as de3 termined by the Secretary; and

4 ‘‘(iv) to impose liens in accordance

5 with subsection (a)(4) and, in appropriate

6 cases, to force sale of property and dis7 tribution of proceeds.

8 ‘‘(I) For the purpose of securing overdue

9 support, to increase the amount of monthly

10 support payments to include amounts for ar11 rearages (subject to such conditions or restric12 tions as the State may provide).

13 ‘‘(J) To suspend drivers’ licenses of indi14 viduals owing past-due support, in accordance

15 with subsection (a)(16).

16 ‘‘(2) The expedited procedures required under

17 subsection (a)(2) shall include the following rules

18 and authority, applicable with respect to all proceed19 ings to established paternity or to establish, modify,

20 or enforce support orders:

21 ‘‘(A) Procedures under which—

22 ‘‘(i) subject to privacy safeguards, the

23 parties to any paternity or child support

24 proceedings are required to file with the

25 tribunal before entry of an order, and to
105

•S 687 IS

1 update as appropriate, information on loca2 tion and identity, including social security

3 number, residential and mailing addresses,

4 telephone number, driver’s license number,

5 and name, address, and telephone number

6 of employer; and

7 ‘‘(ii) in any subsequent child support

8 enforcement action between the same par9 ties, the tribunal is authorized, upon suffi10 cient showing that diligent effort has been

11 made to ascertain such a party’s current

12 location, to deem due process requirements

13 for notice and service of process to be met

14 with respect to such party by delivery to

15 the most recent residential or employer ad16 dress filed pursuant to clause (i).

17 ‘‘(B) Procedures under which—

18 ‘‘(i) the State agency and any admin19 istrative or judicial tribunal with authority

20 to hear child support and paternity cases

21 exerts statewide jurisdiction over the par22 ties, and orders issued in such cases have

23 statewide effect; and

24 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a State in which

25 orders in such cases are issued by local ju-
106

•S 687 IS

1 risdictions, a case may be transferred be2 tween jurisdictions in the State without

3 need for any additional filing by the peti4 tioner, or service of process upon the re5 spondent, to retain jurisdiction over the

6 parties.

7 ‘‘(C) Procedures affording due process

8 safeguards—

9 ‘‘(i) including (as appropriate) re10 quirements for notice, opportunity to con11 test the action, and opportunity for an ap12 peal on the record to an independent ad13 ministrative or judicial tribunal; and

14 ‘‘(ii) under which the provisions of the

15 Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act apply

16 to any proceeding to establish paternity, to

17 establish a child support obligation, or to

18 modify the financial obligation under a

19 child support order.’’.

20 (c) EXCEPTIONS FROM STATE LAW REQUIRE21 MENTS.—Section 466(d) (42 U.S.C. 666(d)) is amend22 ed—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(d) If’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(1)

24 Subject to paragraph (2), if’’; and
107

•S 687 IS

1 (2) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall not grant an exemption

4 from the requirements of—

5 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(5) (concerning procedures

6 for paternity establishment);

7 ‘‘(B) subsection (a)(10) (concerning modifica8 tion of orders);

9 ‘‘(C) subsection (a)(12) (concerning recording

10 of orders in the central State case registry);

11 ‘‘(D) subsection (a)(13) (concerning recording

12 of social security numbers);

13 ‘‘(E) subsection (a)(14) (concerning interstate

14 enforcement); or

15 ‘‘(F) subsection (c) (concerning expedited pro16 cedures), other than paragraph (1)(A) thereof (con17 cerning establishment or modification of support

18 amount).’’.

19 (d) AUTOMATION OF STATE AGENCY FUNCTIONS.—

20 Section 454A, as added by section 204(a)(2) and amended

21 by sections 301 and 302(c), is further amended by adding

22 at the end the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(h) EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—

24 The automated system required under this section shall

25 be used, to the maximum extent feasible, to implement the
108

•S 687 IS

1 expedited administrative procedures required under sec2 tion 466(c).’’.

3 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO BANKRUPTCY

4 CODE.—Section 362(b)(2)(A) of title 11, United States

5 Code, is amended in the matter preceding clause (i), by

6 inserting ‘‘judicial or administrative’’ before ‘‘proceeding’’.

7 TITLE V—PATERNITY

8 ESTABLISHMENT

9 SEC. 501. STATE LAWS CONCERNING PATERNITY ESTAB10 LISHMENT.

11 (a) STATE LAWS REQUIRED.—Section 466(a)(5) (42

12 U.S.C. 666(a)(5)) is amended—

13 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

14 (A) by indenting clause (ii) an additional

15 unit of indentation from the left margin; and

16 (B) by adding after and below clause (ii)

17 the following new clause:

18 ‘‘(iii) Procedures which permit the initiation of

19 proceedings to establish paternity before the birth of

20 the child concerned.’’;

21 (2) in subparagraph (B)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘(B)(i)’’;

24 (B) in clause (i), as redesignated, by in25 serting before the period ‘‘, where such request
109

•S 687 IS

1 is supported by a sworn statement by such

2 party setting forth facts establishing a reason3 able possibility of the requisite sexual contact’’;

4 and

5 (C) by inserting after and below clause (i)

6 (as redesignated) the following new clause:

7 ‘‘(ii) Procedures which require the State agen8 cy, in any case in which such agency orders genetic

9 testing—

10 ‘‘(I) to pay costs of such tests, subject to

11 the right of the State to elect recoupment of the

12 costs from the putative father if paternity is es13 tablished; and

14 ‘‘(II) to obtain additional testing in any

15 case where an original test result is disputed,

16 upon request and advance payment by the dis17 puting party.’’;

18 (3) by striking subparagraphs (C), (D), (E),

19 and (F) and inserting the following new subpara20 graphs:

21 ‘‘(C) Procedures for a simple civil process for

22 voluntarily acknowledging paternity under which—

23 ‘‘(i) the benefits, rights and responsibilities

24 of acknowledging paternity are explained to

25 unwed parents;
110

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) due process safeguards are afforded;

2 and

3 ‘‘(iii) hospitals and other health care facili4 ties providing inpatient or outpatient maternity

5 and pediatric services are required, as a condi6 tion of participation in the State program under

7 title XIX—

8 ‘‘(I) to explain to unwed parents the

9 matters specified in clause (i);

10 ‘‘(II) to make available the voluntary

11 acknowledgment procedure required under

12 this subparagraph; and

13 ‘‘(III) in the case of hospitals provid14 ing maternity services, to have facilities for

15 obtaining blood or other genetic samples

16 from the mother, putative father, and child

17 for genetic testing; to inform the mother

18 and putative father of the availability of

19 such testing (at their expense); and to ob20 tain such samples upon request of both

21 such individuals.

22 ‘‘(D) Procedures under which—

23 ‘‘(i) a voluntary acknowledgment of pater24 nity creates, at State option, either—
111

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(I) a conclusive presumption of pa2 ternity, or

3 ‘‘(II) a rebuttable presumption which

4 becomes a conclusive presumption within 1

5 year, unless rebutted or invalidated by an

6 intervening determination which reaches a

7 contrary conclusion;

8 ‘‘(ii) at State option and notwithstanding

9 clause (i), upon the request of a party, a deter10 mination of paternity based on an acknowledg11 ment may be vacated on the basis of new evi12 dence, the existence of fraud, or the best inter13 ests of the child; and

14 ‘‘(iii) a voluntary acknowledgment of pater15 nity is admissible as evidence of paternity, and

16 as a basis for seeking a support order, without

17 requiring any further proceedings to establish

18 paternity.

19 ‘‘(E) Procedures under which no judicial or ad20 ministrative proceedings are required or permitted to

21 ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of paternity.

22 ‘‘(F) Procedures requiring—

23 ‘‘(i) that the State admit into evidence, for

24 purposes of establishing paternity, results of

25 any genetic test that is—
112

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(I) of a type generally acknowledged,

2 by accreditation bodies designated by the

3 Secretary, as reliable evidence of paternity;

4 and

5 ‘‘(II) performed by a laboratory ap6 proved by such an accreditation body;

7 ‘‘(ii) that any objection to genetic testing

8 results must be made in writing not later than

9 a specified number of days before any hearing

10 at which such results may be introduced into

11 evidence (or, at State option, not later than a

12 specified number of days after receipt of such

13 results); and

14 ‘‘(iii) that, if no objection is made, the test

15 results are admissible as evidence of paternity

16 without the need for foundation testimony or

17 other proof of authenticity or accuracy.’’; and

18 (4) by adding after subparagraph (H) the fol19 lowing new subparagraphs:

20 ‘‘(I) Procedures providing that the parties to an

21 action to establish paternity are not entitled to jury

22 trial.

23 ‘‘(J) Procedures which require that a temporary

24 order be issued, upon motion by a party, requiring

25 the provision of child support pending an adminis-
113

•S 687 IS

1 trative or judicial determination of parentage, where

2 there is clear and convincing evidence of paternity

3 (on the basis of genetic tests or other evidence).

4 ‘‘(K) Procedures under which bills for preg5 nancy, childbirth, and genetic testing are admissible

6 as evidence without requiring third-party foundation

7 testimony, and shall constitute prima facie evidence

8 of amounts incurred for such services and testing on

9 behalf of the child.

10 ‘‘(L) Procedures under which the tribunal es11 tablishing paternity and support has discretion to

12 waive rights to all or part of amounts owed to the

13 State (but not to the mother) for costs related to

14 pregnancy, childbirth, and genetic testing and for

15 public assistance paid to the family if the father co16 operates or acknowledges paternity before or after

17 genetic testing.

18 ‘‘(M) Procedures ensuring that the putative fa19 ther has a reasonable opportunity to initiate a pater20 nity action.’’.

21 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 468 (42

22 U.S.C. 668) is amended by striking ‘‘a simple civil process

23 for voluntarily acknowledging paternity and’’.
114

•S 687 IS

1 SEC. 502. OUTREACH FOR VOLUNTARY PATERNITY ESTAB2 LISHMENT.

3 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454(23)

4 (42 U.S.C. 654(23)), as amended by section 106, is

5 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara6 graph:

7 ‘‘(C) publicize the availability and encourage

8 the use of procedures for voluntary establishment of

9 paternity and child support through a variety of

10 means, which—

11 ‘‘(i) include distribution of written mate12 rials at health care facilities (including hospitals

13 and clinics), and other locations such as

14 schools;

15 ‘‘(ii) may include prenatal programs to

16 educate expectant couples on individual and

17 joint rights and responsibilities with respect to

18 paternity (and may require all expectant recipi19 ents of assistance under part A to participate in

20 such prenatal programs, as an element of co21 operation with efforts to establish paternity and

22 child support);

23 ‘‘(iii) include, with respect to each child

24 discharged from a hospital after birth for whom

25 paternity or child support has not been estab26 lished, reasonable follow-up efforts, providing—
115

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(I) in the case of a child for whom

2 paternity has not been established, infor3 mation on the benefits of and procedures

4 for establishing paternity; and

5 ‘‘(II) in the case of a child for whom

6 paternity has been established but child

7 support has not been established, informa8 tion on the benefits of and procedures for

9 establishing a child support order, and an

10 application for child support services;’’.

11 (b) ENHANCED FEDERAL MATCHING.—Section

12 455(a)(1)(C) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)(C)) is amended—

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘laboratory costs’’,

14 and

15 (2) by inserting before the semicolon ‘‘, and (ii)

16 costs of outreach programs designed to encourage

17 voluntary acknowledgment of paternity’’.

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

20 subsection (a) shall become effective October 1,

21 1997.

22 (2) EXCEPTION.—The amendments made by

23 subsection (b) shall be effective with respect to cal24 endar quarters beginning on and after October 1,

25 1996.
116

•S 687 IS

1 SEC. 503. PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO ESTABLISH PATER2 NITY PROMPTLY.

3 Section 403 (42 U.S.C. 603) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a), as amended by section

5 202(e), by striking ‘‘subsection (h)’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘subsections (h) and (i)’’; and

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the follow8 ing new subsection:

9 ‘‘(i) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO ESTABLISH PATER10 NITY PROMPTLY.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts otherwise

12 payable to a State under subsection (a) for any cal13 endar quarter beginning 10 months or more after

14 the date of the enactment of this subsection shall be

15 reduced by an amount, determined pursuant to regu16 lations in accordance with paragraph (2), for certain

17 children for whom paternity has not been estab18 lished.

19 ‘‘(2) REDUCTION FORMULA.—The Secretary

20 shall promulgate regulations specifying the formula

21 for the reduction required under this subsection,

22 which formula shall provide for a reduction in Fed23 eral matching payments to a State under this sec24 tion by an amount equal to the product of—

25 ‘‘(A) the number (after allowing for the

26 tolerance level established under paragraph (3))
117

•S 687 IS

1 of children born on or after the date 10 months

2 after the date of the enactment of this sub3 section—

4 ‘‘(i) who are receiving aid under the

5 State plan under part A;

6 ‘‘(ii) whose custodial relatives have,

7 throughout the preceding 12-month period,

8 complied with the cooperation require9 ments specified in section 454(25)(D); and

10 ‘‘(iii) for whom paternity has not been

11 established;

12 ‘‘(B) the average monthly assistance pay13 ment under the State plan approved under this

14 part; and

15 ‘‘(C) one-half of the Federal matching rate

16 applicable to such assistance payment.

17 ‘‘(3) TOLERANCE LEVEL.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para19 graph (2)(A), the tolerance level shall not be

20 higher than the applicable percentage of chil21 dren in the State described in paragraph (1),

22 and may decrease over time to make allowance

23 for a State’s inability to establish paternity in

24 all cases.
118

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For

2 purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable

3 percentage is 25 percent for fiscal years 1998

4 and 1999, 20 percent for fiscal years 2000 and

5 2001, 15 percent for fiscal years 2002 and

6 2003, and 10 percent for fiscal year 2004 and

7 each succeeding fiscal year.’’.

8 SEC. 504. INCENTIVES TO PARENTS TO ESTABLISH PATER9 NITY.

10 (a) OPTIONAL STATE ACTIVITIES.—Section 455 (42

11 U.S.C. 655) is amended by adding at the end the following

12 new subsection:

13 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary, in accordance with regula14 tions, may approve proposals by States to amend State

15 plans under this part to provide for incentive payments

16 to families to encourage paternity establishment.

17 ‘‘(2) Federal financial participation shall be available

18 in accordance with subsection (a) for expenditures by a

19 State pursuant to a plan amendment approved under

20 paragraph (1).’’.

21 (b) DEMONSTRATIONS.—

22 (1) PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of

23 Health and Human Services shall authorize up to 3

24 States to conduct demonstrations providing financial

25 incentives to families for establishment of paternity.
119

•S 687 IS

1 (2) FEDERAL FUNDING.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara3 graph (B), a State participating in a dem4 onstration under this subsection shall be enti5 tled to Federal payments pursuant to section

6 455(f) of the Social Security Act for 90 percent

7 of the payments to families under such dem8 onstration.

9 (B) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Total Federal

10 expenditures for demonstrations under this sub11 section shall not exceed $1,000,000.

12 TITLE VI—ESTABLISHMENT AND

13 MODIFICATION OF SUPPORT

14 ORDERS

15 SEC. 601. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CHILD SUPPORT

16 GUIDELINES.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary is authorized

18 to establish, in accordance with this section, a commission

19 to be known as the ‘‘National Commission on Child Sup20 port Guidelines’’ (hereafter in this section referred to as

21 the ‘‘Commission’’).

22 (b) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Commission shall con23 sider whether a national child support guideline is advis24 able and, if it so determines, shall develop and propose

25 for congressional consideration such a guideline (or pa-
120

•S 687 IS

1 rameters for State guidelines), reflecting the Commission’s

2 study of various guideline models and its conclusions con3 cerning their strengths and deficiencies, and specifically

4 reflecting consideration of the need for simplicity and ease

5 of application of guidelines, and of the matters enumer6 ated in subsection (c).

7 (c) MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE COMMIS8 SION.—In making the recommendations concerning guide9 lines required under subsection (b), the Commission shall

10 consider—

11 (1) the adequacy of State child support guide12 lines established pursuant to section 467 of the So13 cial Security Act;

14 (2) matters generally applicable to all support

15 orders, including—

16 (A) the feasibility of adopting uniform

17 terms in all child support orders;

18 (B) how to define income and under what

19 circumstances income should be imputed; and

20 (C) tax treatment of child support pay21 ments;

22 (3) the appropriate treatment of cases in which

23 either or both parents have financial obligations to

24 more than 1 family, including the effect (if any) to

25 be given to—
121

•S 687 IS

1 (A) the income of either parent’s spouse;

2 and

3 (B) the financial responsibilities of either

4 parent for other children or stepchildren;

5 (4) the appropriate treatment of expenses for

6 child care (including care of the children of either

7 parent, and work-related or job-training-related child

8 care);

9 (5) the appropriate treatment of expenses for

10 health care (including uninsured health care) and

11 other extraordinary expenses for children with spe12 cial needs;

13 (6) the appropriate duration of support by 1 or

14 both parents, including—

15 (A) support (including shared support) for

16 post-secondary or vocational education; and

17 (B) support for disabled adult children;

18 and

19 (7) whether, or to what extent, support levels

20 should be adjusted in cases where custody is shared

21 or where the noncustodial parent has extended visi22 tation rights.

23 (d) MEMBERSHIP.—

24 (1) NUMBER; APPOINTMENT.—
122

•S 687 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

2 be composed of 12 individuals appointed not

3 later than March 1, 1996, of which—

4 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the Chair5 man of the Committee on Finance of the

6 Senate, and 1 shall be appointed by the

7 ranking minority member of the Commit8 tee;

9 (ii) 2 shall be appointed by the Chair10 man of the Committee on Ways and Means

11 of the House of Representatives, and 1

12 shall be appointed by the ranking minority

13 member of the Committee; and

14 (iii) 6 shall be appointed by the Sec15 retary of Health and Human Services.

16 (B) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—

17 Members of the Commission shall have exper18 tise and experience in the evaluation and devel19 opment of child support guidelines. At least 1

20 member shall represent advocacy groups for

21 custodial parents, at least 1 member shall rep22 resent advocacy groups for noncustodial par23 ents, and at least 1 member shall be the direc24 tor of a State program under part D of title IV

25 of the Social Security Act.
123

•S 687 IS

1 (2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member shall be

2 appointed for the life of the Commission. A vacancy

3 in the Commission shall be filled in the manner in

4 which the original appointment was made.

5 (e) COMMISSION POWERS, COMPENSATION, ACCESS

6 TO INFORMATION, AND SUPERVISION.—The first sentence

7 of subparagraph (C), the first and third sentences of sub8 paragraph (D), subparagraph (F) (except with respect to

9 the conduct of medical studies), clauses (ii) and (iii) of

10 subparagraph (G), and subparagraph (H) of section

11 1886(e)(6) of the Social Security Act shall apply to the

12 Commission in the same manner in which such provisions

13 apply to the Prospective Payment Assessment Commis14 sion, except that references in such section to the Office

15 of Technology Assessment shall be disregarded.

16 (f) REPORT.—Not later than July 1, 1998, the Com17 mission shall report to the President and the Congress on

18 the results of the studies required under this section.

19 (g) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

20 6 months after submission of the report required under

21 subsection (f).

22 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

23 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

24 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1996 and 1997, to re25 main available until expended.
124

•S 687 IS

1 SEC. 602. STATE LAWS CONCERNING MODIFICATION OF

2 CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

3 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.—Section

4 466(a)(10) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(10)) is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub6 paragraph (E) and by inserting after subparagraph

7 (B) the following new subparagraphs:

8 ‘‘(C)(i) Procedures to ensure that, beginning

9 October 1, 2000 (or such earlier date as the State

10 may select), the State agency (or, at the option of

11 the State, the local agency) reviews and adjusts, in

12 accordance with guidelines established pursuant to

13 section 467(a), judicial and administrative child sup14 port orders included in the State case registry estab15 lished pursuant to section 454A(d), under which

16 (subject to clauses (ii) and (iii) the order—

17 ‘‘(I) is to be reviewed not later than 36

18 months after the establishment of the order or

19 the most recent adjustment of (or determina20 tion not to adjust) such order; and

21 ‘‘(II) at the option of the State, may not

22 be reviewed during a minimum period estab23 lished by the State following the establishment

24 or most recent review of the order.

25 ‘‘(ii) The requirement of clause (i)(I) shall not

26 apply in any case in which—
125

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(I) the State has determined, in accord2 ance with regulations of the Secretary, that

3 such a review would not be in the best interests

4 of the child;

5 ‘‘(II) both parents have been informed of

6 the right to a review and have been provided a

7 copy of the applicable child support guidelines

8 and have declined a modification in writing; or

9 ‘‘(III) both parents have been informed of

10 the modified support amount that would be im11 posed under the guidelines and have declined

12 such modification in writing.

13 ‘‘(iii) The State shall provide for review of a

14 child support order upon the request of either par15 ent, notwithstanding the requirement of clause

16 (i)(II), whenever, subsequent to the establishment or

17 most recent review—

18 ‘‘(I) either parent’s income has changed by

19 more than 20 percent, or

20 ‘‘(II) other substantial changes have oc21 curred in either parent’s or the child’s cir22 cumstances.

23 ‘‘(D) Procedures under which support orders

24 reviewed in accordance with subparagraph (C) must

25 be adjusted in accordance with the guidelines estab-
126

•S 687 IS

1 lished pursuant to section 467(a), without a require2 ment for any other change in circumstances (except

3 that the State may refuse to modify an order in any

4 case in which the change in the support amount, if

5 so modified, would not exceed a threshold percentage

6 (which may not be greater than 10 percent)).’’; and

7 (2) in subparagraph (E), as redesignated—

8 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by

9 striking ‘‘this part’’ and inserting ‘‘this part, in

10 accordance with State due process require11 ments’’;

12 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, at least 30

13 days before the commencement of such review’’;

14 and

15 (C) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘not less

16 than 30 days’’ and inserting ‘‘a reasonable

17 time’’.

18 (b) AUTOMATED PROCEDURES.—Section 454A, as

19 added by section 204(a)(2) and amended by sections 301,

20 302(c), and 402(d), is amended by adding at the end the

21 following new subsection:

22 ‘‘(i) MODIFICATION OF SUPPORT ORDERS.—The

23 automated system required under this section shall be

24 used, to the maximum extent feasible, to assist in the re25 view and modification of support orders in accordance
127

•S 687 IS

1 with the timetable under section 466(a)(10) and the

2 guidelines under section 467.’’.

3 SEC. 603. STUDY ON USE OF TAX RETURN INFORMATION

4 FOR MODIFICATION OF CHILD SUPPORT OR5 DERS.

6 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR STUDY.—The Secretary of

7 Health and Human Services and the Secretary of the

8 Treasury shall conduct a study to determine how return

9 information (as defined in section 6103(b) of the Internal

10 Revenue Code of 1986) filed with the Secretary of the

11 Treasury might be used to facilitate the process of deter12 mining the amount (if any) by which child support award

13 amounts should be modified in accordance with guidelines

14 established under section 467 of the Social Security Act.

15 (b) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—

16 Section 6103(l)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

17 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub18 paragraph:

19 ‘‘(C) Upon written request by the Sec20 retary of Health and Human Services, the Sec21 retary may disclose return information to offi22 cers and employees of the Department of the

23 Treasury and the Department of Health and

24 Human Services, as may be specified in such

25 written request, to be used in conducting the
128

•S 687 IS

1 study required under section 603 of the Child

2 Support Enforcement Act of 1995. Return in3 formation disclosed pursuant to this subpara4 graph shall be used only for purposes of con5 ducting such study.’’.

6 SEC. 604. COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT OF CHILD SUP7 PORT AWARDS.

8 Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amended

9 by inserting after section 467 the following new section:

10 ‘‘SEC. 467A. COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT OF CHILD SUP11 PORT AWARDS.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall include in its

13 State plan approved under this part such procedures as

14 are necessary to ensure that each child support order is15 sued or modified in the State after the effective date of

16 this section shall provide that amount of any child support

17 award specified in the order shall, on each anniversary of

18 the 1st day of the calendar month in which the order is

19 so issued or modified, increase by the percentage (if any)

20 by which—

21 ‘‘(1) the average of the Consumer Price Index

22 (as defined in section 1(f)(5) of the Internal Reve23 nue Code of 1986) for the 12-month period that

24 ends with the anniversary; exceeds
129

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(2) the average of the Consumer Price Index

2 (as so defined) for the 12-month period that ends on

3 such 1st day.

4 ‘‘(b) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—Subsection (a)

5 shall not be construed to eliminate other grounds for

6 modifying a child support award.’’.

7 TITLE VII—ENFORCEMENT OF

8 SUPPORT ORDERS

9 SEC. 701. REVOLVING LOAN FUND FOR PROGRAM IM10 PROVEMENTS TO INCREASE COLLECTIONS.

11 Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amended

12 by inserting after section 455 the following new section:

13 ‘‘REVOLVING FUND FOR PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS TO

14 INCREASE COLLECTIONS

15 ‘‘SEC. 455A. (a) PURPOSE; AUTHORIZATION OF AP16 PROPRIATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized to establish

17 a revolving fund for loans to States operating programs

18 under this part, for short-term projects by such States

19 (and political subdivisions of such States) for making

20 operational improvements in such programs with the po21 tential for achieving substantial increases in child support

22 collections. There are authorized to be appropriated for

23 payment to such fund $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years

24 1999 and 2000, and $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years

25 2001 through 2004.
130

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA FOR LOAN AWARDS.—Criteria for

2 evaluating applications for loans under this section must

3 include—

4 ‘‘(1) the likelihood that the proposed project

5 will increase child support collections, and

6 ‘‘(2) the availability to the State (or political

7 subdivision) of funding for the project from other

8 sources.

9 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT AND DURATION OF LOANS.—

10 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT.—Loans may be made to a State

11 under this section in amounts not to exceed

12 $5,000,000 per State or $1,000,000 per project (or

13 $5,000,000 for a single Statewide project in a large

14 State). States may supplement loan funds under this

15 section with funds from other sources, and may re16 quire contributions from local jurisdictions served by

17 the project.

18 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—The period for loan payments

19 to a State for a project under this section may not

20 exceed 3 years.

21 ‘‘(d) RECOUPMENT.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A loan to a State under

23 this section shall be recovered from the State over

24 3 fiscal years, beginning in the fourth calendar quar25 ter beginning after the project ends (or, if earlier,
131

•S 687 IS

1 the sixteenth calendar quarter beginning after loan

2 payments for the project began).

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF RECOUPMENT.—A loan to a

4 State under this section shall be recovered from the

5 State through an offset from payments due to the

6 State under section 455(a) for each calendar quarter

7 equal to the amount, if any, by which one-twelfth of

8 the total loan (plus interest) exceeds the amount de9 scribed under subsection (c)(1).

10 ‘‘(3) RECOUPMENT CREDITED TO FUND.—

11 Amounts recovered under this subsection shall be

12 credited to the revolving fund under this section.

13 ‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY AS STATE SHARE.—Funds re14 ceived by a State under this section may be used by the

15 State as the non-Federal share of expenditures under the

16 State program under this part.’’.

17 SEC. 702. FEDERAL INCOME TAX REFUND OFFSET.

18 (a) CHANGED ORDER OF REFUND DISTRIBUTION

19 UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6402(c) of the Inter21 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to offset of past22 due support against overpayments) is amended by

23 striking the third sentence.

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

25 6402(d)(2) of such Code (relating to priorities for
132

•S 687 IS

1 offset) is amended by striking ‘‘after such overpay2 ment’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Social Security

3 Act and’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) before such overpay4 ment is reduced pursuant to subsection (c), in the

5 case of a debt owed to the Department of Education

6 or Department of Health and Human Services with

7 respect to a student loan, (B) after such overpay8 ment is reduced pursuant to subsection (c), in the

9 case of any other debt, and (C) in either case,’’.

10 (b) ELIMINATION OF DISPARITIES IN TREATMENT

11 OF ASSIGNED AND NON-ASSIGNED ARREARAGES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 464(a) (42 U.S.C.

13 664(a)) is amended—

14 (A) in paragraph (1)—

15 (i) in the first sentence, by striking

16 ‘‘which has been assigned to such State

17 pursuant to section 402(a)(26) or section

18 471(a)(17)’’; and

19 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking

20 ‘‘in accordance with section 457(b)(4) or

21 (d)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘as provided in para22 graph (2)’’;

23 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert24 ing the following new paragraph:
133

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(2) The State agency shall distribute amounts paid

2 by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to paragraph

3 (1)—

4 ‘‘(A) in accordance with subsection (a)(4) or

5 (d)(3) of section 457, in the case of past-due sup6 port assigned to a State pursuant to section

7 402(a)(26) or section 471(a)(17); and

8 ‘‘(B) to or on behalf of the child to whom the

9 support was owed, in the case of past-due support

10 not so assigned.’’; and

11 (C) in paragraph (3)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘or (2)’’ each place it

13 appears; and

14 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking

15 ‘‘under paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘on

16 account of past-due support described in

17 paragraph (2)(B)’’.

18 (2) NOTICES OF PAST-DUE SUPPORT.—Section

19 464(b) (42 U.S.C. 664(b)) is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘(b)(1)’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘(b)’’; and

22 (B) by striking paragraph (2).

23 (3) DEFINITION OF PAST-DUE SUPPORT.—Sec24 tion 464(c) (42 U.S.C. 664(c)) is amended—
134

•S 687 IS

1 (A) by striking ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided

2 in paragraph (2), as’’ and inserting ‘‘(c) As’’;

3 and

4 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).

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

6 this section shall become effective October 1, 1997.

7 SEC. 703. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE COLLECTION OF

8 ARREARAGES.

9 (a) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—

10 Section 6305(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re11 lating to collection of certain liability) is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘except as

13 provided in paragraph (5)’’ after ‘‘collected’’;

14 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

15 (3);

16 (3) by striking the period at the end of para17 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘, and’’;

18 (4) by adding after paragraph (4) the following

19 new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(5) no additional fee may be assessed for ad21 justments to an amount previously certified pursu22 ant to such section 452(b) with respect to the same

23 obligor.’’; and
135

•S 687 IS

1 (5) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health, Edu2 cation, and Welfare’’ each place it appears and in3 serting ‘‘Secretary of Health and Human Services’’.

4 (b) REPORT BY GAO.—Within 180 days after the

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General

6 of the United States shall report to Congress on the effec7 tiveness of the Internal Revenue Service in assisting with

8 the child support collections processes of the States. The

9 report of the study shall include the following items:

10 (1) A review of the present role and operation

11 of the Internal Revenue Service in each State’s child

12 support collection efforts.

13 (2) A listing and analysis of any pilot programs

14 involving the Internal Revenue Service child support

15 collection assistance to the States.

16 (3) The barriers that prevent the Internal Reve17 nue Service from becoming more involved in such as18 sistance.

19 (4) A review of current State efforts to use

20 State tax collection agencies in support of child sup21 port collections efforts.

22 (5) Any legislative recommendations to provide

23 for a more effective role for the Internal Revenue

24 Service in the child support enforcement process.
136

•S 687 IS

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

2 subsection (a) shall become effective October 1, 1997.

3 SEC. 704. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT SUPPORT FROM EM4 PLOYMENT-RELATED PAYMENTS BY UNITED

5 STATES.

6 (a) CONSOLIDATION AND STREAMLINING OF AU7 THORITIES.—Section 459 (42 U.S.C. 659) is amended—

8 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘INCOME WITH9 HOLDING,’’ before ‘‘GARNISHMENT’’;

10 (2) in subsection (a)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘section 207’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘section 207 and section 5301 of title 38,

13 United States Code’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘to legal process’’ and all

15 that follows through the period and inserting

16 ‘‘to withholding in accordance with State law

17 pursuant to subsections (a)(1) and (b) of sec18 tion 466 and regulations of the Secretary there19 under, and to any other legal process brought,

20 by a State agency administering a program

21 under this part or by an individual obligee, to

22 enforce the legal obligation of such individual to

23 provide child support or alimony.’’;

24 (3) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d) and

25 inserting the following new subsections:
137

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, each entity

2 specified in subsection (a) shall be subject, with respect

3 to notice to withhold income pursuant to subsection (a)(1)

4 or (b) of section 466, or to any other order or process

5 to enforce support obligations against an individual (if

6 such order or process contains or is accompanied by suffi7 cient data to permit prompt identification of the individual

8 and the moneys involved), to the same requirements as

9 would apply if such entity were a private person.

10 ‘‘(c)(1) The head of each agency subject to the re11 quirements of this section shall—

12 ‘‘(A) designate an agent or agents to receive or13 ders and accept service of process; and

14 ‘‘(B) publish—

15 ‘‘(i) in the appendix of such regulations;

16 ‘‘(ii) in each subsequent republication of

17 such regulations; and

18 ‘‘(iii) annually in the Federal Register,

19 the designation of such agent or agents, identified

20 by title of position, mailing address, and telephone

21 number.

22 ‘‘(2) Whenever an agent designated pursuant to para23 graph (1) receives notice pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or

24 (b) of section 466, or is effectively served with any order,

25 process, or interrogatories, with respect to an individual’s
138

•S 687 IS

1 child support or alimony payment obligations, such agent

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(A) as soon as possible (but not later than 15

4 days) thereafter, send written notice of such notice

5 or service (together with a copy thereof) to such in6 dividual at his duty station or last-known home ad7 dress;

8 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days (or such longer pe9 riod as may be prescribed by applicable State law)

10 after receipt of a notice pursuant to subsection

11 (a)(1) or (b) of section 466, comply with all applica12 ble provisions of such section 466; and

13 ‘‘(C) not later than 30 days (or such longer pe14 riod as may be prescribed by applicable State law)

15 after effective service of any other such order, proc16 ess, or interrogatories, respond thereto.

17 ‘‘(d) In the event that a governmental entity receives

18 notice or is served with process, as provided in this section,

19 concerning amounts owed by an individual to more than

20 1 person—

21 ‘‘(1) support collection under section 466(b)

22 must be given priority over any other process, as

23 provided in section 466(b)(7);

24 ‘‘(2) allocation of moneys due or payable to an

25 individual among claimants under section 466(b)
139

•S 687 IS

1 shall be governed by the provisions of such section

2 466(b) and regulations thereunder; and

3 ‘‘(3) such moneys as remain after compliance

4 with subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be available to

5 satisfy any other such processes on a first-come,

6 first-served basis, with any such process being satis7 fied out of such moneys as remain after the satisfac8 tion of all such processes which have been previously

9 served.’’;

10 (4) in subsection (f)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘(f)(1)’’; and

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new

14 paragraph:

15 ‘‘(2) No Federal employee whose duties include tak16 ing actions necessary to comply with the requirements of

17 subsection (a) with regard to any individual shall be sub18 ject under any law to any disciplinary action or civil or

19 criminal liability or penalty for, or on account of, any dis20 closure of information made by him in connection with the

21 carrying out of such duties.’’; and

22 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub23 sections:

24 ‘‘(g) Authority to promulgate regulations for the im25 plementation of the provisions of this section shall, insofar
140

•S 687 IS

1 as the provisions of this section are applicable to moneys

2 due from (or payable by)—

3 ‘‘(1) the executive branch of the Federal Gov4 ernment (including in such branch, for the purposes

5 of this subsection, the territories and possessions of

6 the United States, the United States Postal Service,

7 the Postal Rate Commission, any wholly owned Fed8 eral corporation created by an Act of Congress, and

9 the government of the District of Columbia), be

10 vested in the President (or the President’s designee);

11 ‘‘(2) the legislative branch of the Federal Gov12 ernment, be vested jointly in the President pro tem13 pore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of

14 Representatives (or their designees); and

15 ‘‘(3) the judicial branch of the Federal Govern16 ment, be vested in the Chief Justice of the United

17 States (or the Chief Justice’s designee).

18 ‘‘(h) Subject to subsection (i), moneys paid or payable

19 to an individual which are considered to be based upon

20 remuneration for employment, for purposes of this sec21 tion—

22 ‘‘(1) consist of—

23 ‘‘(A) compensation paid or payable for per24 sonal services of such individual, whether such

25 compensation is denominated as wages, salary,
141

•S 687 IS

1 commission, bonus, pay, allowances, or other2 wise (including severance pay, sick pay, and in3 centive pay);

4 ‘‘(B) periodic benefits (including a periodic

5 benefit as defined in section 228(h)(3)) or other

6 payments—

7 ‘‘(i) under the insurance system estab8 lished by title II;

9 ‘‘(ii) under any other system or fund

10 established by the United States which

11 provides for the payment of pensions, re12 tirement or retired pay, annuities, depend13 ents’ or survivors’ benefits, or similar

14 amounts payable on account of personal

15 services performed by the individual or any

16 other individual;

17 ‘‘(iii) as compensation for death under

18 any Federal program;

19 ‘‘(iv) under any Federal program es20 tablished to provide ‘black lung’ benefits;

21 or

22 ‘‘(v) by the Secretary of Veterans Af23 fairs as pension, or as compensation for a

24 service-connected disability or death (ex25 cept any compensation paid by such Sec-
142

•S 687 IS

1 retary to a former member of the Armed

2 Forces who is in receipt of retired or re3 tainer pay if such former member has

4 waived a portion of his retired pay in order

5 to receive such compensation); and

6 ‘‘(C) worker’s compensation benefits paid

7 under Federal or State law; but

8 ‘‘(2) do not include any payment—

9 ‘‘(A) by way of reimbursement or other10 wise, to defray expenses incurred by such indi11 vidual in carrying out duties associated with his

12 employment; or

13 ‘‘(B) as allowances for members of the uni14 formed services payable pursuant to chapter 7

15 of title 37, United States Code, as prescribed

16 by the Secretaries concerned (defined by section

17 101(5) of such title) as necessary for the effi18 cient performance of duty.

19 ‘‘(i) In determining the amount of any moneys due

20 from, or payable by, the United States to any individual,

21 there shall be excluded amounts which—

22 ‘‘(1) are owed by such individual to the United

23 States;

24 ‘‘(2) are required by law to be, and are, de25 ducted from the remuneration or other payment in-
143

•S 687 IS

1 volved, including Federal employment taxes, and

2 fines and forfeitures ordered by court-martial;

3 ‘‘(3) are properly withheld for Federal, State,

4 or local income tax purposes, if the withholding of

5 such amounts is authorized or required by law and

6 if amounts withheld are not greater than would be

7 the case if such individual claimed all the depend8 ents that the individual was entitled to (the with9 holding of additional amounts pursuant to section

10 3402(i) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 may

11 be permitted only when such individual presents evi12 dence of a tax obligation which supports the addi13 tional withholding);

14 ‘‘(4) are deducted as health insurance pre15 miums;

16 ‘‘(5) are deducted as normal retirement con17 tributions (not including amounts deducted for sup18 plementary coverage); or

19 ‘‘(6) are deducted as normal life insurance pre20 miums from salary or other remuneration for em21 ployment (not including amounts deducted for sup22 plementary coverage).

23 ‘‘(j) For purposes of this section—’’.

24 (b) TRANSFER OF SUBSECTIONS.—Subsections (a)

25 through (e) of section 462 (42 U.S.C. 662), are trans-
144

•S 687 IS

1 ferred and redesignated as paragraphs (1) through (4),

2 respectively, of section 459(j) (as added by subsection

3 (a)(5)), and the left margin of each of such paragraphs

4 (1) through (4) is indented 2 ems to the right of the left

5 margin of subsection (j) (as added by subsection (a)(5)).

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) TO PART D OF TITLE IV.—Sections 461 and

8 462 (42 U.S.C. 661 and 662) are repealed.

9 (2) TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—Sec10 tion 5520a of title 5, United States Code, is amend11 ed, in subsections (h)(2) and (i), by striking ‘‘sec12 tions 459, 461, and 462 of the Social Security Act

13 (42 U.S.C. 659, 661, and 662)’’ each place it ap14 pears and inserting ‘‘section 459 of the Social Secu15 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 659)’’.

16 (d) MILITARY RETIRED AND RETAINER PAY.—Sec17 tion 1408 of title 10, United States Code, is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1)—

19 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking

20 ‘‘and’’;

21 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the

22 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (C) by adding at the end the following new

24 subparagraph:
145

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(D) any administrative or judicial tribu2 nal of a State competent to enter orders for

3 support or maintenance (including a State

4 agency administering a State program under

5 part D of title IV of the Social Security Act).’’;

6 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘or a

7 court order for the payment of child support not in8 cluded in or accompanied by such a decree or settle9 ment,’’ before ‘‘which—’’;

10 (3) in subsection (d)—

11 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘(OR FOR

12 BENEFIT OF)’’ after ‘‘CONCERNED TO’’; and

13 (B) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence,

14 by inserting ‘‘(or for the benefit of such spouse

15 or former spouse to a State central collections

16 unit or other public payee designated by a

17 State, in accordance with part D of title IV of

18 the Social Security Act, as directed by court

19 order, or as otherwise directed in accordance

20 with such part D)’’ before ‘‘in an amount suffi21 cient’’; and

22 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub23 section:

24 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—In any case

25 involving a child support order against a member who has
146

•S 687 IS

1 never been married to the other parent of the child, the

2 provisions of this section shall not apply, and the case

3 shall be subject to the provisions of section 459 of the

4 Social Security Act.’’.

5 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 this section shall become effective 6 months after the date

7 of the enactment of this Act.

8 SEC. 705. MOTOR VEHICLE LIENS.

9 Section 466(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(4)) is amend10 ed—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)(A)’’;

12 and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub14 paragraph:

15 ‘‘(B) Procedures for placing liens for arrearages

16 of child support on motor vehicle titles of individuals

17 owing such arrearages equal to or exceeding 2

18 months of support, under which—

19 ‘‘(i) any person owed such arrearages may

20 place such a lien;

21 ‘‘(ii) the State agency administering the

22 program under this part shall systematically

23 place such liens;

24 ‘‘(iii) expedited methods are provided for—
147

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(I) ascertaining the amount of ar2 rearages; and

3 ‘‘(II) affording the person owing the

4 arrearages or other titleholder to contest

5 the amount of arrearages or to obtain a re6 lease upon fulfilling the support obligation;

7 ‘‘(iv) such a lien has precedence over all

8 other encumbrances on a vehicle title other than

9 a purchase money security interest; and

10 ‘‘(v) the individual or State agency owed

11 the arrearages may execute on, seize, and sell

12 the property in accordance with State law.’’.

13 SEC. 706. VOIDING OF FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS.

14 Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by

15 sections 102(a), 308(a), and 401(a), is amended by insert16 ing after paragraph (14) the following new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(15) Procedures under which—

18 ‘‘(A) the State has in effect—

19 ‘‘(i) the Uniform Fraudulent Convey20 ance Act of 1981,

21 ‘‘(ii) the Uniform Fraudulent Trans22 fer Act of 1984, or

23 ‘‘(iii) another law, specifying indicia of

24 fraud which create a prima facie case that

25 a debtor transferred income or property to
148

•S 687 IS

1 avoid payment to a child support creditor,

2 which the Secretary finds affords com3 parable rights to child support creditors;

4 and

5 ‘‘(B) in any case in which the State knows

6 of a transfer by a child support debtor with re7 spect to which such a prima facie case is estab8 lished, the State must—

9 ‘‘(i) seek to void such transfer; or

10 ‘‘(ii) obtain a settlement in the best

11 interests of the child support creditor.’’.

12 SEC. 707. STATE LAW AUTHORIZING SUSPENSION OF LI13 CENSES.

14 Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by

15 sections 102(a), 308(a), 401(a), and 706, is amended by

16 inserting after paragraph (15) the following new para17 graph:

18 ‘‘(16) Procedures under which the State has

19 (and uses in appropriate cases) authority (subject to

20 appropriate due process safeguards) to withhold or

21 suspend, or to restrict the use of driver’s licenses,

22 professional and occupational licenses, and rec23 reational licenses of individuals owing overdue child

24 support or failing, after receiving appropriate notice,
149

•S 687 IS

1 to comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to

2 paternity or child support proceedings.’’.

3 SEC. 708. REPORTING ARREARAGES TO CREDIT BUREAUS.

4 Section 466(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(7)) is amended

5 to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(7)(A) Procedures (subject to safeguards pur7 suant to subparagraph (B)) requiring the State to

8 report periodically to consumer reporting agencies

9 (as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Re10 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) the name of any

11 absent parent who is delinquent by 1 month or more

12 in the payment of support, and the amount of over13 due support owed by such parent.

14 ‘‘(B) Procedures ensuring that, in carrying out

15 subparagraph (A), information with respect to an

16 absent parent is reported—

17 ‘‘(i) only after such parent has been af18 forded all due process required under State law,

19 including notice and a reasonable opportunity

20 to contest the accuracy of such information;

21 and

22 ‘‘(ii) only to an entity that has furnished

23 evidence satisfactory to the State that the en24 tity is a consumer reporting agency.’’.
150

•S 687 IS

1 SEC. 709. EXTENDED STATUTE OF LIMITATION FOR COL2 LECTION OF ARREARAGES.

3 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 466(a)(9) (42 U.S.C.

4 666(a)(9)) is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

6 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively;

7 (2) by striking ‘‘(9)’’ and inserting ‘‘(9)(A)’’;

8 and

9 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub10 paragraph:

11 ‘‘(B) Procedures under which the statute

12 of limitations on any arrearages of child sup13 port extends at least until the child owed such

14 support is 30 years of age.’’.

15 (b) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENT.—The amend16 ment made by this section shall not be interpreted to re17 quire any State law to revive any payment obligation

18 which had lapsed prior to the effective date of such State

19 law.

20 SEC. 710. CHARGES FOR ARREARAGES.

21 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENT.—Section 466(a) (42

22 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by sections 102(a), 308(a),

23 401(a), 706, and 707, is amended by inserting after para24 graph (16) the following new paragraph:

25 ‘‘(17) Procedures providing for the calculation

26 and collection of interest or penalties for arrearages
151

•S 687 IS

1 of child support, and for distribution of such interest

2 or penalties collected for the benefit of the child (ex3 cept where the right to support has been assigned

4 to the State).’’.

5 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and

6 Human Services shall establish by regulation a rule to re7 solve choice of law conflicts arising in the implementation

8 of the amendment made by subsection (a).

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 454(21)

10 (42 U.S.C. 654(21)) is repealed.

11 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 this section shall be effective with respect to arrearages

13 accruing on or after October 1, 1998.

14 SEC. 711. VISITATION ISSUES BARRED.

15 Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by

16 sections 102(a), 308(a), 401(a), 706, 707, and 710, is

17 amended by inserting after paragraph (17) the following

18 new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(18) Procedures under which failure to pay

20 child support is not a defense to denial of visitation

21 rights, and denial of visitation rights is not a de22 fense to failure to pay child support.’’.

23 SEC. 712. DENIAL OF PASSPORTS FOR NONPAYMENT OF

24 CHILD SUPPORT.

25 (a) HHS CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.—
152

•S 687 IS

1 (1) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Section

2 452 (42 U.S.C. 652), as amended by sections

3 205(b)(2) and 206, is amended by adding at the end

4 the following new subsection:

5 ‘‘(l)(1) If the Secretary receives a certification by a

6 State agency in accordance with the requirements of sec7 tion 454(29) that an individual owes arrearages of child

8 support in an amount exceeding $5,000, the Secretary

9 shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of State

10 for action (with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation

11 of passports) pursuant to section 712 of the Child Support

12 Enforcement Act of 1995.

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall not be liable to an individual

14 for any action with respect to a certification by a State

15 agency under this section.’’.

16 (2) STATE CSE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY.—Sec17 tion 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections

18 101, 105, 205, and 302, is further amended—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para20 graph (27);

21 (B) by striking the period at the end of

22 paragraph (28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (C) by adding after paragraph (28) the fol24 lowing new paragraph:
153

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(29) provide that the State agency will have in

2 effect a procedure (which may be combined with the

3 procedure for tax refund offset under section 464)

4 for certifying to the Secretary, for purposes of the

5 procedure under section 452(l) (concerning denial of

6 passports) determinations that individuals owe ar7 rearages of child support in an amount exceeding

8 $5,000, under which procedure—

9 ‘‘(A) each individual concerned is afforded

10 notice of such determination and the con11 sequences thereof, and an opportunity to con12 test the determination; and

13 ‘‘(B) the certification by the State agency

14 is furnished to the Secretary in such format,

15 and accompanied by such supporting docu16 mentation, as the Secretary may require.’’.

17 (b) STATE DEPARTMENT PROCEDURE FOR DENIAL

18 OF PASSPORTS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State,

20 upon certification by the Secretary of Health and

21 Human Services, in accordance with section 452(l)

22 of the Social Security Act, that an individual owes

23 arrearages of child support in excess of $5,000, shall

24 refuse to issue a passport to such individual, and
154

•S 687 IS

1 may revoke, restrict, or limit a passport issued pre2 viously to such individual.

3 (2) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary of

4 State shall not be liable to an individual for any ac5 tion with respect to a certification by a State agency

6 under this subsection.

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend8 ments made by this section shall become effective October

9 1, 1996.

10 SEC. 713. DENIAL OF FEDERAL BENEFITS, LOANS, AND

11 GUARANTEES TO CERTAIN PERSONS WITH

12 LARGE CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES.

13 (a) BENEFITS, LOANS, AND GUARANTEES.—Not14 withstanding any other provision of law, each agency or

15 instrumentality of the Federal Government may not,

16 under any program that the agency or instrumentality su17 pervises or administers, provide a benefit to, make a loan

18 to, or provide any guarantee for the benefit of, any

19 person—

20 (1) whose child support arrearages, determined

21 under a court order or an order of an administrative

22 process established under State law, exceed $1,000;

23 and

24 (2) who is not in compliance with a plan or an

25 agreement to repay the arrearages.
155

•S 687 IS

1 (b) CHILD SUPPORT DEFINED.—For purposes of this

2 subsection, the term ‘‘child support’’ has the meaning

3 given such term in section 462 of the Social Security Act.

4 SEC. 714. SEIZURE OF LOTTERY WINNINGS, SETTLEMENTS,

5 PAYOUTS, AWARDS, AND BEQUESTS, AND

6 SALE OF FORFEITED PROPERTY, TO PAY

7 CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES.

8 Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by

9 sections 102(a), 308(a), 401(a), 706, 707, 710, and 711,

10 is amended by inserting after paragraph (18) the following

11 new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(19) Procedures, in addition to other income

13 withholding procedures, under which a lien is im14 posed against property with the following effect:

15 ‘‘(A) The distributor of the winnings from

16 a State lottery or State-sanctioned or tribal17 sanctioned gambling house or casino shall—

18 ‘‘(i) suspend payment of the winnings

19 from the person otherwise entitled to the

20 payment until an inquiry is made to and a

21 response is received from the State child

22 support enforcement agency as to whether

23 the person owes a child support arrearage;

24 and
156

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage,

2 withhold from the payment the lesser of

3 the amount of the payment or the amount

4 of the arrearage, and pay the amount with5 held to the agency for distribution.

6 ‘‘(B) The person required to make a pay7 ment under a policy of insurance or a settle8 ment of a claim made with respect to the policy

9 shall—

10 ‘‘(i) suspend the payment until an in11 quiry is made to and a response received

12 from the agency as to whether the person

13 otherwise entitled to the payment owes a

14 child support arrearage; and

15 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage,

16 withhold from the payment the lesser of

17 the amount of the payment or the amount

18 of the arrearage, and pay the amount with19 held to the agency for distribution.

20 ‘‘(C) The payor of any amount pursuant to

21 an award, judgment, or settlement in any ac22 tion brought in Federal or State court shall—

23 ‘‘(i) suspend the payment of the

24 amount until an inquiry is made to and a

25 response is received from the agency as to
157

•S 687 IS

1 whether the person otherwise entitled to

2 the payment owes a child support arrear3 age; and

4 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage,

5 withhold from the payment the lesser of

6 the amount of the payment or the amount

7 of the arrearage, and pay the amount with8 held to the agency for distribution.

9 ‘‘(D) If the State seizes property forfeited

10 to the State by an individual by reason of a

11 criminal conviction, the State shall—

12 ‘‘(i) hold the property until an inquiry

13 is made to and a response is received from

14 the agency as to whether the individual

15 owes a child support arrearage; and

16 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage, sell

17 the property and, after satisfying the

18 claims of all other private or public claim19 ants to the property and deducting from

20 the proceeds of the sale the attendant costs

21 (such as for towing, storage, and the sale),

22 pay the lesser of the remaining proceeds or

23 the amount of the arrearage directly to the

24 agency for distribution.
158

•S 687 IS

1 ‘‘(E) Any person required to make a pay2 ment in respect of a decedent shall—

3 ‘‘(i) suspend the payment until an in4 quiry is made to and a response received

5 from the agency as to whether the person

6 otherwise entitled to the payment owes a

7 child support arrearage; and

8 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage,

9 withhold from the payment the lesser of

10 the amount of the payment or the amount

11 of the arrearage, and pay the amount with12 held to the agency for distribution.’’.

13 TITLE VIII—DEMONSTRATIONS

14 SEC. 801. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AND ASSURANCE

15 DEMONSTRATIONS.

16 (a) DEMONSTRATIONS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary

17 of Health and Human Services (hereafter in this section

18 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall make grants to 3

19 States for demonstrations under this section to determine

20 the effectiveness of programs to provide assured levels of

21 child support to custodial parents of children for whom

22 paternity and support obligations have been established.

23 (b) DURATION OF PROJECTS.—

24 (1) TOTAL PROJECT PERIOD.—The Secretary

25 shall make grants to States for demonstrations
159

•S 687 IS

1 under this section beginning in fiscal year 1998, for

2 periods of 7 to 10 years.

3 (2) PHASEDOWN PERIOD.—Each State imple4 menting a demonstration project under this section

5 shall—

6 (A) phase down activities under such dem7 onstration during the final 2 years of the

8 project; and

9 (B) obtain the Secretary’s approval, before

10 the beginning of such phasedown period, of a

11 plan for accomplishing such phasedown.

12 (c) CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—

13 (1) SCOPE.—Projects under this section may,

14 but need not, be statewide in scope.

15 (2) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

16 (A) RESPONSIBLE STATE AGENCY.—A

17 State demonstration project under this section

18 shall be administered either by the State agency

19 administering the program under part D of title

20 IV of the Social Security Act or the State de21 partment of revenue and taxation.

22 (B) AUTOMATION.—The State agency de23 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall operate (or

24 have automated access to) the automated data

25 system required under section 454(16) of the
160

•S 687 IS

1 Social Security Act, and shall have adequate

2 automated capacity to carry out the project

3 under this section (including the timely dis4 tribution of child support assurance benefits).

5 (3) CONTROLS.—At least 1 demonstration

6 project under this section shall include randomly as7 signed control groups.

8 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Child support assurance

10 payments under projects under this section shall be

11 available only to children for whom paternity and

12 support obligations have been established (or with

13 respect to whom a determination has been made

14 that efforts to establish paternity or support would

15 not be in the best interests of the child).

16 (2) FAMILIES WITH SHARED CUSTODY.—In

17 cases in which both parents share custody of a child,

18 a parent and child shall not be eligible for benefits

19 under a demonstration under this section unless—

20 (A) a support order is in effect entitling

21 such parent to support payments in excess of

22 the minimum benefit; or

23 (B) the agency or tribunal which issued

24 the order certifies that the child support award

25 would be below such minimum benefit if either
161

•S 687 IS

1 parent was awarded sole custody and the guide2 lines under section 467 of the Social Security

3 Act were applied.

4 (3) STATE OPTION TO BASE ELIGIBILITY ON

5 NEED.—At the option of the State, eligibility for

6 benefits under a demonstration under this section

7 may be limited to families with incomes and re8 sources below a standard of need established by the

9 State.

10 (e) BENEFIT AMOUNTS.—

11 (1) RANGE OF BENEFIT LEVELS.—States shall

12 have flexibility to set annual benefit levels under

13 demonstrations under this section, provided that

14 (subject to the remaining provisions of this sub15 section) such levels—

16 (A) are not less than $1,500 for a family

17 with 1 child or $3,000 for a family with 4 or

18 more children; and

19 (B) do not exceed $3,000 for a family with

20 1 child or $4,500 for a family with 4 or more

21 children.

22 (2) INDEXING.—Annual benefit levels for each

23 fiscal year after fiscal year 1997 shall be indexed to

24 reflect the change in the Consumer Price Index.
162

•S 687 IS

1 (3) UNMATCHED EXCESS BENEFITS.—The Sec2 retary may permit States to pay benefits in excess

3 of a maximum specified in paragraphs (1) and (2),

4 but Federal matching of such payments shall not be

5 available for benefits in excess of the amounts speci6 fied in paragraph (1) (as adjusted in accordance

7 with paragraph (2)) by more than $25 per month.

8 (f) TREATMENT OF BENEFITS.—

9 (1) FOR PURPOSES OF AFDC.—The amount of

10 aid otherwise payable to a family under part A of

11 title IV of the Social Security Act shall be reduced

12 by an amount equal to the amount of child support

13 assurance paid to such family (or, at the Secretary’s

14 discretion, by a percentage of such amount paid

15 specified by the Secretary).

16 (2) FOR PURPOSES OF OTHER BENEFIT PRO17 GRAMS.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

19 subparagraph (B), child support assurance paid

20 to a family shall be considered ordinary income

21 for purposes of determining eligibility for and

22 benefits under any Federal or State program.

23 (B) DEEMED AFDC ELIGIBILITY.—At the

24 option of the State, a child (or family) that is

25 ineligible for aid under part A of title IV of the
163

•S 687 IS

1 Social Security Act because of payments under

2 a demonstration under this section may be

3 deemed to be receiving such aid for purposes of

4 determining eligibility for other Federal and

5 State programs.

6 (3) FOR TAX PURPOSES.—Child support assur7 ance which is paid to a family under this section and

8 is not reimbursed from a child support collection

9 from a noncustodial parent shall be considered ordi10 nary income for purposes of Federal and State tax

11 liability.

12 (g) WORK PROGRAM OPTION.—At the option of the

13 State grantee, a demonstration under this section may in14 clude a work program for unemployed noncustodial par15 ents of eligible children.

16 (h) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR PAY17 MENTS TO STATES.—

18 (1) STATE ENTITLEMENT TO PART D OF TITLE

19 IV FUNDING.—A State administering an approved

20 demonstration under this section in a calendar quar21 ter shall be entitled to payments for such quarter,

22 pursuant to section 455 of the Social Security Act

23 for the Federal share of reasonable and necessary

24 expenditures (including expenditures for benefit pay25 ments and for associated administrative costs) under
164

•S 687 IS

1 such project, in an amount (subject to paragraphs

2 (2) and (3)) equal to—

3 (A) with respect to that portion of such ex4 penditures equal to the reduction of expendi5 tures under part A of title IV of the Social Se6 curity Act pursuant to subsection (g)(1), a per7 centage equal to the percentage that would have

8 been paid if such expenditures had been made

9 under such part; and

10 (B) 90 percent of the remainder of such

11 expenditures.

12 (2) STATES WITH LOW AFDC BENEFITS.—In

13 the case of a State in which benefit levels under part

14 A of title IV of such Act are less than the national

15 median for such payments, the Secretary may elect

16 to provide 90 percent Federal matching of a portion

17 of expenditures under a project under this section

18 that would otherwise be matched at the rate speci19 fied in paragraph (1)(A).

20 (3) FUNDING LIMITS; PRO RATA REDUCTIONS

21 OF STATE MATCHING.—

22 (A) FUNDS AVAILABLE.—There shall be

23 available to the Secretary, from amounts appro24 priated to carry out part D of title IV of the

25 Social Security Act, for purposes of carrying
165

•S 687 IS

1 out demonstrations under this section, amounts

2 not to exceed—

3 (i) $27,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

4 (ii) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

5 (iii) $70,000,000 for each of fiscal

6 years 2000 through 2003; and

7 (iv) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

8 (B) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—The Sec9 retary shall make pro rata reductions in the

10 amounts otherwise payable to States under this

11 section as necessary to comply with the funding

12 limitation specified in subparagraph (A).

13 (i) DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD SUPPORT COLLEC14 TIONS.—Notwithstanding section 457 of the Social Secu15 rity Act, support payments collected from the noncustodial

16 parent of a child receiving (or who has received) child sup17 port assurance payments under this section shall be dis18 tributed as follows:

19 (1) First, amounts equal to the total support

20 owed for such month shall be paid to the family.

21 (2) Second, from any remainder, amounts owed

22 to the State on account of child support assurance

23 payments to the family shall be paid to the State

24 (with appropriate reimbursement to the Federal

25 Government of its share to such payments).
166

•S 687 IS

1 (3) Third, from any remainder, arrearages of

2 support owed to the family shall be paid to the fam3 ily.

4 (4) Fourth, from any remainder, amounts owed

5 to the State on account of current or past payments

6 of aid under part A of title IV of the Social Security

7 Act shall be paid to the State (with appropriate re8 imbursement to the Federal Government of its share

9 of such payments).

10 (j) EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS.—

11 (1) STATE EVALUATIONS.—Each State admin12 istering a demonstration project under this section

13 shall—

14 (A) provide for ongoing and retrospective

15 evaluation of the project, meeting such condi16 tions and standards as the Secretary may re17 quire; and

18 (B) submit to the Secretary such reports

19 (at such times, in such format, and containing

20 such information) as the Secretary may require,

21 including at least an interim report not later

22 than 90 days after the end of the fourth year

23 of the project, and a final report not later than

24 1 year after the completion of the project,
167

•S 687 IS

1 which shall include information on and analysis

2 of the effect of the project with respect to—

3 (i) the economic circumstances of both

4 noncustodial and custodial parents;

5 (ii) the rate of compliance by

6 noncustodial parents with support orders;

7 (iii) work-force participation by both

8 custodial and noncustodial parents;

9 (iv) need for or amount of aid to fam10 ilies with dependent children under part A

11 of title IV of the Social Security Act;

12 (v) paternity establishment rates; and

13 (vi) any other matters the Secretary

14 may specify.

15 (2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary

16 shall, on the basis of reports received from States

17 administering projects under this section, make the

18 following reports, containing an assessment of the

19 effectiveness of the projects and any recommenda20 tions the Secretary considers appropriate:

21 (A) An interim report, not later than 6

22 months following receipt of the interim State

23 reports required by subsection (c).
168

•S 687 IS

1 (B) A final report, not later than 6 months

2 following receipt of the final State reports re3 quired under subsection (i).

4 (3) FUNDING FOR COSTS TO SECRETARY.—

5 There are authorized to be appropriated

6 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, to remain avail7 able until expended for payment of the cost of eval8 uations by the Secretary of demonstrations under

9 this section.

10 SEC. 802. SOCIAL SECURITY ACT DEMONSTRATIONS.

11 Section 1115(c)(3) (42 U.S.C. 1315(c)(3)) is amend12 ed by striking ‘‘increased cost’’ and all that follows and

13 inserting ‘‘an increase in total costs to the Federal Gov14 ernment.’’.

15 TITLE IX—ACCESS AND

16 VISITATION GRANTS

17 SEC. 901. GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACCESS AND VISITATION

18 PROGRAMS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C.

20 651–669) is amended by adding at the end the following

21 new section:

22 ‘‘GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACCESS AND VISITATION

23 PROGRAMS

24 ‘‘SEC. 469A. (a) PURPOSES; AUTHORIZATION OF AP25 PROPRIATIONS.—For the purposes of enabling States to

26 establish and administer programs to support and facili-
169

•S 687 IS

1 tate absent parents’ access to and visitation of their chil2 dren, by means of activities including mediation (both vol3 untary and mandatory), counseling, education, develop4 ment of parenting plans, visitation enforcement (including

5 monitoring, supervision and neutral drop-off and pickup),

6 and development of guidelines for visitation and alter7 native custody arrangements, there are authorized to be

8 appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1997 and

9 1998, and $10,000,000 for each succeeding fiscal year.

10 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall be enti12 tled to payment under this section for each fiscal

13 year in an amount equal to its allotment under sub14 section (c) for such fiscal year, to be used for pay15 ment of 90 percent of State expenditures for the

16 purposes specified in subsection (a).

17 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENTARY USE.—Payments under

18 this section shall be used by a State to supplement

19 (and not to substitute for) expenditures by the

20 State, for activities specified in subsection (a), at a

21 level at least equal to the level of such expenditures

22 for fiscal year 1995.

23 ‘‘(c) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection

25 (b), each State shall be entitled (subject to para-
170

•S 687 IS

1 graph (2)) to an amount for each fiscal year bearing

2 the same ratio to the amount authorized to be ap3 propriated pursuant to subsection (a) for such fiscal

4 year as the number of children in the State living

5 with only 1 biological parent bears to the total num6 ber of such children in all States.

7 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—Allotments to

8 States under paragraph (1) shall be adjusted as nec9 essary to ensure that no State is allotted less than

10 $50,000 for fiscal year 1997 or 1998, or $100,000

11 for any succeeding fiscal year.

12 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.—The program

13 under this section shall be administered by the Adminis14 tration for Children and Families.

15 ‘‘(e) STATE PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State may administer

17 the program under this section directly or through

18 grants to or contracts with courts, local public agen19 cies, or non-profit private entities.

20 ‘‘(2) STATEWIDE PLAN PERMISSIBLE.—State

21 programs under this section may, but need not, be

22 statewide.

23 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—States administering pro24 grams under this section shall monitor, evaluate,
171

•S 687 IS

1 and report on such programs in accordance with re2 quirements established by the Secretary.

3 TITLE X—EFFECT OF

4 ENACTMENT

5 SEC. 1001. EFFECTIVE DATES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifically

7 provided (but subject to subsections (b) and (c))—

8 (1) provisions of this Act requiring enactment

9 or amendment of State laws under section 466 of

10 the Social Security Act, or revision of State plans

11 under section 454 of such Act, shall be effective with

12 respect to periods beginning on and after October 1,

13 1996; and

14 (2) all other provisions of this Act shall become

15 effective upon the date of the enactment of this Act.

16 (b) GRACE PERIOD FOR STATE LAW CHANGES.—The

17 provisions of this Act shall become effective with respect

18 to a State on the later of—

19 (1) the date specified in this Act, or

20 (2) the effective date of laws enacted by the leg21 islature of such State implementing such provisions,

22 but in no event later than the first day of the first cal23 endar quarter beginning after the close of the first regular

24 session of the State legislature that begins after the date

25 of the enactment of this Act. For purposes of the previous
172

•S 687 IS

1 sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legisla2 tive session, each year of such session shall be deemed to

3 be a separate regular session of the State legislature.

4 (c) GRACE PERIOD FOR STATE CONSTITUTIONAL

5 AMENDMENT.—A State shall not be found out of compli6 ance with any requirement enacted by this Act if it is un7 able to comply without amending the State constitution

8 until the earlier of—

9 (1) the date which is 1 year after the effective

10 date of the necessary State constitutional amend11 ment, or

12 (2) the date which is 5 years after the date of

13 the enactment of this Act.

14 SEC. 1002. SEVERABILITY.

15 If any provision of this Act or the application thereof

16 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalid17 ity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this

18 Act which can be given effect without regard to the invalid

19 provision or application, and to this end the provisions of

20 this Act shall be severable.

Æ

S 687 IS——2

S 687 IS——3

S 687 IS——4

S 687 IS——5
173

•S 687 IS

S 687 IS——6

S 687 IS——7

S 687 IS——8

S 687 IS——9

S 687 IS——10

S 687 IS——11

S 687 IS——12