II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1977

To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to reform child support

enforcement procedures, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 24 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1994

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to reform

child support enforcement procedures, 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; REFERENCE; TABLE OF CON4 TENTS.

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

6 ‘‘Child Support Reform Act of 1994’’.

7 (b) REFERENCE TO SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Except

8 as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in this Act an

9 amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to or

10 repeal of a section or other provision, the reference shall
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1 be considered to be made to that section or other provision

2 of the Social Security Act.

3 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

4 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; reference; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

TITLE I—ESTABLISHING SUPPORT ORDERS

Subtitle A—National Child Support Guideline

Sec. 101. Process for developing recommendations for a national child support

guideline for congressional approval.

Subtitle B—Improved Procedures for Establishing Support Orders

Sec. 111. Administrative process.

Sec. 112. Evidence.

Sec. 113. Credit Reporting.

Subtitle C—Child Support Registries

Sec. 121. State central registries.

TITLE II—COLLECTIONS AND ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 201. Reporting of child support information.

Sec. 202. Occupational, professional, and business licenses.

Sec. 203. Driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations.

Sec. 204. Technical correction to ERISA definition of medical child support

order.

Sec. 205. UIFSA endorsement.

Sec. 206. Reports to credit bureaus on persons delinquent in child support payments.

TITLE III—INTERSTATE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 301. Establishment of the Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Interstate Child Support Enforcement.

Sec. 302. Division of the National Registry of Child Support Orders.

Sec. 303. Division of Enforcement.

Sec. 304. State plan requirements.

Sec. 305. Definitions.

TITLE IV—FINANCING STATE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

ACTIVITIES

Sec. 401. Federal financial participation.

Sec. 402. Audit standards.

TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATES

Sec. 501. Effective dates.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 (1) an increasing number of children live in sin4 gle-parent families, and these families are 4 times as

5 likely to be poor as 2-parent families;

6 (2) the failure of noncustodial parents to pay

7 their fair share of child support is a major contribu8 tor to poverty among single-parent families;

9 (3) in 1989, only 26 percent of all single moth10 ers received a full amount of child support, and half

11 of the mothers with child support orders received ei12 ther no child support or less than such mothers were

13 due;

14 (4) child support cases in which the parties live

15 in different States have the worst collection rates,

16 accounting for 3 of every 10 child support cases, but

17 only $1 of every $10 of child support collected;

18 (5) custodial parents in interstate cases are al19 most twice as likely as parents in in-State cases to

20 never receive child support payments;

21 (6) a more centralized system of child support

22 enforcement would help improve collections in all

23 cases;

24 (7) particularly strong measures are needed to

25 overcome the difficulties in reaching across State

26 lines to collect child support due in interstate cases;
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1 (8) increased Federal involvement in interstate

2 cases would relieve the States of the considerable

3 burden of enforcing child support orders when one

4 of the parties lives in another jurisdiction; and

5 (9) State-by-State child support guidelines have

6 resulted in orders that vary significantly from State

7 to State, resulting in low awards and inequities for

8 children.

9 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to—

10 (1) increase the economic security of children

11 by creating national child support guidelines;

12 (2) improve the enforcement of child support

13 awards through a more centralized, efficient system

14 and enhanced tools for States to use in enforcement;

15 and

16 (3) improve the enforcement of child support

17 orders when the parties live in different States by

18 placing responsibility for enforcement in the Internal

19 Revenue Service.
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1 TITLE I—ESTABLISHING

2 SUPPORT ORDERS

3 Subtitle A—National Child Support

4 Guideline

5 SEC. 101. PROCESS FOR DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS

6 FOR A NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDE7 LINE FOR CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.

8 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF IMPLEMENTING BILL.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the sepa11 rate organizational unit established under section

12 452(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 652(a))

13 shall submit to the Congress an implementing bill

14 with respect to the national child support guideline

15 developed under subsection (b) which contains such

16 provisions necessary or appropriate to implement

17 such guideline, either repealing or amending existing

18 laws or providing new statutory authority.

19 (2) USE OF ADVISORY BOARD.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—To assist the separate

21 organizational unit in developing an implement22 ing bill with respect to a national child support

23 guideline, the Secretary of Health and Human

24 Services shall appoint a 9-member National

25 Child Support Guideline Advisory Board (here-
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1 after in this paragraph referred to as the

2 ‘‘Board’’). The Board shall include—

3 (i) individuals with judicial or admin4 istrative experience in matters involving

5 child support enforcement;

6 (ii) individuals with knowledge of the

7 cost of raising children; and

8 (iii) representatives of organizations

9 which represent custodial and noncustodial

10 parents.

11 (B) COMPENSATION.—

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Members of the

13 Board shall serve as such without pay.

14 (ii) TRAVEL EXPENSES, ETC.—Mem15 bers of the Board shall be allowed travel

16 expenses, including a per diem allowance in

17 lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as

18 persons serving intermittently in the Gov19 ernment service are allowed travel expenses

20 under section 5703 of title 5 of the United

21 States Code.

22 (b) NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINE.—The

23 national child support guideline developed under this sub24 section for recommendation to the Congress shall—
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1 (1) be used by each State as a rebuttable pre2 sumption of the correct amount of support to be

3 awarded in all judicial or administrative proceedings

4 for the establishment or modification of child sup5 port;

6 (2) maximize the support for children;

7 (3) take into account—

8 (A) the definitions of ‘‘income’’ and ‘‘re9 sources’’ to be used in applying the guideline,

10 (B) the health care needs of the children,

11 through health insurance coverage or other

12 means, and

13 (C) the child care and educational needs of

14 the children; and

15 (4) include the criteria a State may use in eval16 uating a request from either parent to rebut the use

17 of the national guideline, except that issues related

18 to visitation may not be used in lowering the amount

19 of child support to be paid.

20 (c) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION OF IMPLE21 MENTING BILL.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The implementing bill de23 scribed in subsection (a) shall be considered by the

24 Congress under the procedure for consideration de25 scribed in paragraph (2).
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1 (2) PROCEDURE.—

2 (A) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTA3 TIVES AND SENATE.—This paragraph is en4 acted by Congress—

5 (i) as an exercise of the rulemaking

6 power of the House of Representatives and

7 the Senate, respectively, and as such is

8 deemed a part of the rules of each House,

9 respectively, but applicable only with re10 spect to the procedure to be followed in

11 that House in the case of an implementing

12 bill described in subsection (a)(1), and su13 persedes other rules only to the extent that

14 such rules are inconsistent therewith; and

15 (ii) with full recognition of the con16 stitutional right of either House to change

17 the rules (so far as relating to the proce18 dure of that House) at any time, in the

19 same manner and to the same extent as in

20 the case of any other rule of that House.

21 (B) INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL.—On

22 the day on which the implementing bill de23 scribed in subsection (a)(1) is transmitted to

24 the House of Representatives and the Senate,

25 such bill shall be introduced (by request) in the
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1 House of Representatives by the Majority Lead2 er of the House, for himself and the Minority

3 Leader of the House, or by Members of the

4 House designated by the Majority Leader and

5 Minority Leader of the House and shall be in6 troduced (by request) in the Senate by the Ma7 jority Leader of the Senate, for himself and the

8 Minority Leader of the Senate, or by Members

9 of the Senate designated by the Majority Lead10 er and Minority Leader of the Senate. If either

11 House is not in session on the day on which the

12 implementing bill is transmitted, the bill shall

13 be introduced in the House, as provided in the

14 preceding sentence, on the first day thereafter

15 on which the House is in session. The imple16 menting bill introduced in the House of Rep17 resentatives and the Senate shall be referred to

18 the appropriate committees of each House.

19 (C) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No

20 amendment to an implementing bill shall be in

21 order in either the House of Representatives or

22 the Senate and no motion to suspend the appli23 cation of this paragraph shall be in order in ei24 ther House, nor shall it be in order in either

25 House for the Presiding Officer to entertain a
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1 request to suspend the application of this para2 graph by unanimous consent.

3 (D) PERIOD FOR COMMITTEE AND FLOOR

4 CONSIDERATION.—

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

6 in clause (ii), if the committee or commit7 tees of either House to which an imple8 menting bill has been referred have not re9 ported it at the close of the 90th day after

10 its introduction, such committee or com11 mittees shall be automatically discharged

12 from further consideration of the imple13 menting bill and it shall be placed on the

14 appropriate calendar. A vote on final pas15 sage of the implementing bill shall be

16 taken in each House on or before the close

17 of the 90th day after the implementing bill

18 is reported by the committees or committee

19 of that House to which it was referred, or

20 after such committee or committees have

21 been discharged from further consideration

22 of the implementing bill. If prior to the

23 passage by 1 House of an implementing

24 bill of that House, that House receives the
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1 same implementing bill from the other

2 House then—

3 (I) the procedure in that House

4 shall be the same as if no implement5 ing bill had been received from the

6 other House; but

7 (II) the vote on final passage

8 shall be on the implementing bill of

9 the other House.

10 (ii) COMPUTATION OF DAYS.—For

11 purposes of clause (i), in computing a

12 number of days in either House, there

13 shall be excluded—

14 (I) the days on which either

15 House is not in session because of an

16 adjournment of more than 3 days to

17 a day certain, or an adjournment of

18 the Congress sine die; and

19 (II) any Saturday and Sunday

20 not excluded under subclause (I) when

21 either House is not in session.

22 (E) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE

23 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.—

24 (i) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion

25 in the House of Representatives to proceed
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1 to the consideration of an implementing

2 bill shall be highly privileged and not de3 batable. An amendment to the motion shall

4 not be in order, nor shall it be in order to

5 move to reconsider the vote by which the

6 motion is agreed to or disagreed to.

7 (ii) DEBATE.—Debate in the House of

8 Representatives on an implementing bill

9 shall be limited to not more than 20 hours,

10 which shall be divided equally between

11 those favoring and those opposing the bill.

12 A motion further to limit debate shall not

13 be debatable. It shall not be in order to

14 move to recommit an implementing bill or

15 to move to reconsider the vote by which an

16 implementing bill is agreed to or disagreed

17 to.

18 (iii) MOTION TO POSTPONE.—Motions

19 to postpone, made in the House of Rep20 resentatives with respect to the consider21 ation of an implementing bill, and motions

22 to proceed to the consideration of other

23 business, shall be decided without debate.

24 (iv) APPEALS.—All appeals from the

25 decisions of the Chair relating to the appli-
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1 cation of the Rules of the House of Rep2 resentatives to the procedure relating to an

3 implementing bill shall be decided without

4 debate.

5 (v) GENERAL RULES APPLY.—Except

6 to the extent specifically provided in the

7 preceding provisions of this subparagraph,

8 consideration of an implementing bill shall

9 be governed by the Rules of the House of

10 Representatives applicable to other bills

11 and resolutions in similar circumstances.

12 (F) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE SEN13 ATE.—

14 (i) MOTION TO PROCEED.—A motion in

15 the Senate to proceed to the consideration

16 of an implementing bill shall be privileged

17 and not debatable. An amendment to the

18 motion shall not be in order, nor shall it be

19 in order to move to reconsider the vote by

20 which the motion is agreed to or disagreed

21 to.

22 (ii) GENERAL DEBATE.—Debate in

23 the Senate on an implementing bill, and all

24 debatable motions and appeals in connec25 tion therewith, shall be limited to not more
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1 than 20 hours. The time shall be equally

2 divided between, and controlled by, the

3 Majority Leader and the Minority Leader

4 or their designees.

5 (iii) DEBATE OF MOTIONS AND AP6 PEALS.—Debate in the Senate on any de7 batable motion or appeal in connection

8 with an implementing bill shall be limited

9 to not more than 1 hour, to be equally di10 vided between, and controlled by, the

11 mover and the manager of the implement12 ing bill, except that in the event the man13 ager of the implementing bill is in favor of

14 any such motion or appeal, the time in op15 position thereto, shall be controlled by the

16 Minority Leader or his designee. Such

17 leaders, or either of them, may, from time

18 under their control on the passage of an

19 implementing bill, allot additional time to

20 any Senator during the consideration of

21 any debatable motion or appeal.

22 (iv) OTHER MOTIONS.—A motion in

23 the Senate to further limit debate is not

24 debatable. A motion to recommit an imple25 menting bill is not in order.
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1 (d) RESUBMISSIONS.—If an implementing bill sub2 mitted under subsection (a)(1) is not approved by the Con3 gress or is vetoed by the President (and such veto is not

4 overridden by the Congress), the separate organizational

5 unit shall resubmit a new implementing bill not later than

6 90 days after the Congress failed to approve such bill or

7 failed to override the President’s veto, and such new im8 plementing bill shall be subject to congressional consider9 ation as provided in subsection (c).

10 Subtitle B—Improved Procedures

11 for Establishing Support Orders

12 SEC. 111. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS.

13 Section 466(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(2)) is amended

14 to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(2) Procedures under which expedited admin16 istrative processes are used to establish paternity in

17 contested cases and to obtain and enforce support

18 orders in all cases. The Secretary may waive the

19 provisions of this paragraph with respect to one or

20 more political subdivisions within the State on the

21 basis of the effectiveness and timeliness of support

22 order issuance and enforcement or paternity estab23 lishment within the political subdivision (in accord24 ance with the general rule for exemptions under sub25 section (d)).’’.
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1 SEC. 112. EVIDENCE.

2 (a) NATIONAL SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM.—Section

3 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’

4 at the end of paragraph (9), by redesignating paragraph

5 (10) as paragraph (11), and by inserting after paragraph

6 (9) the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(10) draft and distribute a national subpoena

8 duces tecum for use by child support litigants to ob9 tain income information pertaining to all private,

10 Federal, State, and local government employees, as

11 well as any receivers of income; and’’.

12 (b) STATE STANDARDS.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C.

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

14 following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(12)(A) Procedures which require any unit of

16 government, person, or corporation doing business in

17 the State to accept and honor a subpoena duces

18 tecum developed pursuant to section 452(a)(10).

19 ‘‘(B) Procedures which enforce through a hear20 ing such a subpoena served in the State, at which

21 hearing the burden of specifying the reasons for not

22 timely honoring the subpoena rests with the non23 complying person or entity.

24 ‘‘(C) Procedures for the introduction in any ju25 dicial or administrative child support proceeding of
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1 information contained in the response to such a sub2 poena without the need for further verification.’’.

3 SEC. 113. CREDIT REPORTING.

4 Section 604 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act

5 (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended by adding at the end the

6 following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(4) To an agency administering a State plan under

8 section 454 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654)

9 to use the information relevant to the setting of an initial

10 or modified child support award, without the necessity of

11 a court order.’’.

12 Subtitle C—Child Support

13 Registries

14 SEC. 121. STATE CENTRAL REGISTRIES.

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

16 section 112, is amended by inserting after paragraph (12)

17 the following new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(13)(A) Procedures under which the State

19 shall maintain by not later than July 1, 1996, a

20 central child support order registry which shall in21 clude each child support order issued or modified in

22 the State. Except in the case of a child support

23 order being enforced under section 303 of the Child

24 Support Reform Act of 1994, the State shall,
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1 through the registry, receive, record, and disburse

2 payment under each such child support order.

3 ‘‘(B) Procedures under which the State pre4 pares and transmits within 5 days of entry into the

5 central State child support registry, an abstract of

6 each order maintained in such registry, to the Na7 tional Registry of Child Support Orders established

8 under section 301 of the Child Support Reform Act

9 of 1994. The abstract shall contain such information

10 as required by the Secretary of the Treasury pursu11 ant to regulations issued under section 301(b) of

12 such Act.’’.

13 TITLE II—COLLECTIONS AND

14 ENFORCEMENT

15 SEC. 201. REPORTING OF CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION.

16 (a) W–4 REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas18 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor,

19 shall require—

20 (A) all employees to file a new W–4 form

21 with their employers within 5 calendar days

22 after the latest of—

23 (i) October 1, 1996,

24 (ii) the date the employee is hired, or
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1 (iii) the date any information specified

2 under paragraph (2) is no longer accurate;

3 and

4 (B) all employers to provide a copy of

5 every employee’s W–4 form to the National

6 Registry of Child Support Orders established

7 under section 301 of this Act.

8 (2) EXPANDED USE OF FORM.—The Secretary

9 of the Treasury shall modify the W–4 form to be

10 completed by an employee to enable the employee to

11 indicate on the form—

12 (A) whether the employee has a legal obli13 gation to provide child support (as defined in

14 section 462(b) of the Social Security Act (42

15 U.S.C. 662(b)) which is to be collected, in

16 whole or in part, through wage withholding pur17 suant to an order issued by a State court or an

18 order of an administrative process established

19 under State law; and

20 (B) if so—

21 (i) the aggregate amount of all such

22 obligations,

23 (ii) the name and address of any per24 son to whom the employee has such an ob25 ligation, and
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1 (iii) whether the payment of such obli2 gation has been previously remitted to the

3 National Registry of Child Support Orders

4 established under section 301 of this Act.

5 (b) EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Internal

7 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to employment

8 taxes) is amended by inserting after chapter 24 the

9 following new chapter:

10 ‘‘CHAPTER 24A—COLLECTION OF CHILD

11 SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS AT SOURCE

12 ON WAGES

‘‘Sec. 3411. Child support obligations collected at source.

13 ‘‘SEC. 3411. CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS COLLECTED AT

14 SOURCE.

15 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF WITHHOLDING.—

16 ‘‘(1) WAGE WITHHOLDING AS INDICATED BY

17 THE EMPLOYEE.—Except as provided in paragraph

18 (2), each employer who receives a completed W–4

19 form from an employee pursuant to section

20 201(a)(2) of the Child Support Reform Act of 1994

21 which indicates that the employee has a legal obliga22 tion to provide child support (as defined in section

23 462(b) of the Social Security Act) which is payable

24 through wage withholding shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) deduct and withhold from the wages

2 of the employee the amount indicated on the

3 W–4 form as a child support obligation; and

4 ‘‘(B) send such amount to—

5 ‘‘(i) the appropriate central State

6 child support order registry established

7 under section 466(a)(13)(A) of the Social

8 Security Act, or

9 ‘‘(ii) the National Registry of Child

10 Support Orders established under section

11 301 of the Child Support Reform Act of

12 1994, if notified pursuant to the employ13 ee’s W–4 or section 302(4) of such Act.

14 ‘‘(2) CORRECTION OF WITHHOLDING INSTRUC15 TIONS.—If the central State child support order reg16 istry or the National Registry of Child Support Or17 ders notifies the employer that an employee has an

18 obligation unreported or misreported on the employ19 ee’s W–4, the employer shall—

20 ‘‘(A) deduct and withhold from the wages

21 of the employee the amount that such registry

22 indicates is to be deducted and withheld from

23 the wages of the employee to satisfy such obli24 gation; and
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1 ‘‘(B) send the amount so withheld to such

2 registry.

3 ‘‘(b) LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT.—The employer shall

4 be liable for the payment of amounts deducted and with5 held under subsection (a) to the appropriate registry.

6 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this chapter

7 (and so much of subtitle F as relates to this chapter), any

8 amount required to be deducted and withheld under this

9 section shall be treated as if it were a tax withheld under

10 chapter 24 and rules similar to the rules of chapter 24

11 shall apply.’’.

12 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of

13 chapters for subtitle C of such Code is amended by

14 inserting after the item relating to chapter 24 the

15 following new item:

‘‘Chapter 24A. Child support obligations collected at source.’’.

16 SEC. 202. OCCUPATIONAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND BUSINESS

17 LICENSES.

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

19 section 121, is amended by inserting after paragraph (13)

20 the following new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(14) Procedures under which the State occu22 pational licensing and regulating departments and

23 agencies may not issue or renew an occupational,

24 professional, or business license of—
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1 ‘‘(A) a noncustodial parent who is the sub2 ject of an outstanding failure to appear war3 rant, capias, or bench warrant related to a child

4 support proceeding that appears on the State’s

5 crime information system or the National Reg6 istry of Child Support Orders established under

7 section 301 of the Child Support Reform Act of

8 1994, until removed from the system or Reg9 istry; and

10 ‘‘(B) a noncustodial parent who is delin11 quent in such parent’s child support obligation

12 in an amount at least equal to the support pay13 able for one month, as recorded in the central

14 State child support order registry established

15 under paragraph (13)(A) or the National Reg16 istry of Child Support Orders established under

17 section 301 of the Child Support Reform Act of

18 1994, until—

19 ‘‘(i) the pro se obligee, the obligee’s

20 attorney, a State prosecutor responsible for

21 child support enforcement, or the Division

22 of Enforcement established under such sec23 tion 301 consents to the release of the hold

24 on the license,
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1 ‘‘(ii) a court or administrative agency

2 that is responsible for the order’s enforce3 ment orders the release of the hold on the

4 license, or

5 ‘‘(iii) an expedited inquiry and review

6 is completed while such parent is granted

7 a 30-day temporary license.’’.

8 SEC. 203. DRIVER’S LICENSES AND VEHICLE REGISTRA9 TIONS.

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

11 section 202, is amended by inserting after paragraph (14)

12 the following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(15) Procedures under which the State motor

14 vehicle department—

15 ‘‘(A) may not issue or renew a driver’s li16 cense (other than a temporary license of not

17 more than 60-days duration) of any

18 noncustodial parent who is the subject of an

19 outstanding failure to appear warrant, capias,

20 or bench warrant related to a child support pro21 ceeding that appears on the State’s crime infor22 mation system or the National Registry of

23 Child Support Orders established under section

24 301 of the Child Support Reform Act of 1994,

25 until removed from the system or Registry;
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1 ‘‘(B) may not issue or renew a driver’s li2 cense or vehicle registration (other than tem3 porary) of any noncustodial parent who is delin4 quent in such parent’s child support obligation

5 in an amount at least equal to the support pay6 able for one month, as recorded in the central

7 State child support order registry established

8 under paragraph (13)(A) or the National Reg9 istry of Child Support Orders established under

10 section 301 of the Child Support Reform Act of

11 1994, until—

12 ‘‘(i) the pro se obligee, the obligee’s

13 attorney, a State prosecutor responsible for

14 child support enforcement, or the Division

15 of Enforcement established under such sec16 tion 301 consents to the release of the hold

17 on the license or registration,

18 ‘‘(ii) a court or administrative agency

19 that is responsible for the order’s enforce20 ment orders the release of the hold on the

21 license or registration, or

22 ‘‘(iii) an expedited inquiry and review

23 is completed while such parent is granted

24 a 30-day temporary license or registration;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(C) upon receiving notice that an individ2 ual holds a State driver’s license or vehicle reg3 istration who is the subject of a warrant related

4 to a child support proceeding—

5 ‘‘(i) issues a show cause order to such

6 individual asking such individual to dem7 onstrate why such individual’s driver’s li8 cense or vehicle registration ought not be

9 suspended until the warrant is removed by

10 the court responsible for issuing the war11 rant, and

12 ‘‘(ii) in cases in which a show cause

13 order pursuant to clause (i) has been is14 sued, may grant a temporary license or ve15 hicle registration to such individual pend16 ing the show cause hearing or the removal

17 of the warrant, whichever occurs first.’’.

18 SEC. 204. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO ERISA DEFINITION

19 OF MEDICAL CHILD SUPPORT ORDER.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609(a)(2)(B) of the Em21 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

22 U.S.C. 1169(a)(2)(B)) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘issued by a court of competent

24 jurisdiction’’;
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

2 (ii) and inserting a comma; and

3 (3) by adding, after and below clause (ii), the

4 following:

5 ‘‘if such judgment, decree, or order (I) is issued

6 by a court of competent jurisdiction or (II) is

7 issued by an administrative adjudicator and has

8 the force and effect of law under applicable

9 State law.’’.

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by

12 this section shall take effect on the date of the en13 actment of this Act.

14 (2) PLAN AMENDMENTS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL

15 JANUARY 1, 1995.—Any amendment to a plan re16 quired to be made by an amendment made by this

17 section shall not be required to be made before the

18 first plan year beginning on or after January 1,

19 1995, if—

20 (A) during the period after the date before

21 the date of the enactment of this Act and be22 fore such first plan year, the plan is operated

23 in accordance with the requirements of the

24 amendments made by this section, and
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1 (B) such plan amendment applies retro2 actively to the period after the date before the

3 date of the enactment of this Act and before

4 such first plan year.

5 A plan shall not be treated as failing to be operated

6 in accordance with the provisions of the plan merely

7 because it operates in accordance with this para8 graph.

9 SEC. 205. UIFSA ENDORSEMENT.

10 Section 466 (42 U.S.C. 666) is amended by adding

11 at the end the following new subsection:

12 ‘‘(f) In order to satisfy section 454(20)(A), each

13 State must have in effect by January 1, 1996, laws which

14 adopt without material change the officially approved ver15 sion of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act adopt16 ed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uni17 form State Laws and approved by the American Bar Asso18 ciation House of Delegates on February 9, 1993.’’.

19 SEC. 206. REPORTS TO CREDIT BUREAUS ON PERSONS DE20 LINQUENT IN CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 466(a)(7) (42 U.S.C.

22 666(a)(7)) is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(7) Procedures requiring the State to provide to

24 each consumer reporting agency (as defined in section

25 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.
29

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1 1681a(f))) information regarding the amount of overdue

2 support owed by any absent parent who resides in the

3 State.’’.

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

5 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1994.

6 TITLE III—INTERSTATE CHILD

7 SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

8 SEC. 301. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF THE ASSIST9 ANT COMMISSIONER FOR INTERSTATE CHILD

10 SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— For purposes of locating absent

12 parents and facilitating the enforcement of child support

13 obligations, the Secretary of the Treasury shall establish

14 within the Internal Revenue Service an Office of the As15 sistant Commissioner for Interstate Child Support En16 forcement which shall establish not later than July 1,

17 1996—

18 (1) a Division of the National Registry of Child

19 Support Orders for the purpose of carrying out the

20 duties described in section 302; and

21 (2) a Division of Enforcement for the purpose

22 of carrying out the duties described in section 303.

23 (b) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of the Treasury,

24 in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human

25 Services shall issue regulations for the coordination of ac-
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1 tivities among the Office of the Assistant Commissioner

2 for Interstate Child Support Enforcement, the Assistant

3 Secretary for Children and Families, and the States, to

4 facilitate the purposes of this title.

5 SEC. 302. DIVISION OF THE NATIONAL REGISTRY OF CHILD

6 SUPPORT ORDERS.

7 With respect to the Division of the National Registry

8 of Child Support Orders (hereafter in this title referred

9 to as the ‘‘Registry’’), the duties described in this section

10 are as follows:

11 (1) Retain an abstract of all child support or12 ders issued or modified by the States, including the

13 names, social security numbers, and addresses of the

14 parties, the amount of the order, whether the order

15 is being enforced under the State plan approved

16 under part D of title IV of the Social Security Act

17 (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), and such other information

18 as the Secretary of Treasury, in consultation with

19 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall,

20 by regulation, require.

21 (2) Promptly notify the Division of Enforce22 ment whenever the Registry receives notice from a

23 State that an order being enforced by the Division

24 of Enforcement has been modified, specifying which

25 terms of such order are modified.
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1 (3)(A) Receive from employers the reports re2 quired under section 201(a)(1) of this Act, match

3 such reports against the abstracts contained in the

4 Registry, confirm that support is owed, to whom

5 such support is owed, and in what amount, and re6 port any corrections to the employers.

7 (B) Upon receipt of such a report—

8 (i) if the employee is subject to a child

9 support order, retain the information contained

10 in such report with respect to such employee;

11 and

12 (ii) if the employee is not subject to a child

13 support order, promptly destroy such in14 formation.

15 (C) Upon receipt of such a report—

16 (i) if both parents reside in the same State

17 and the child support order has not been pre18 viously referred to the Division of Enforcement,

19 report to the appropriate central State child

20 support order registry established under section

21 466(a)(13)(A) of the Social Security Act (42

22 U.S.C. 666(a)(13)(A)), the name, address, so23 cial security number, and date of birth of the

24 employee, the employer’s name and address, the

25 employee’s date of hire, and any other informa-
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1 tion obtained which would be useful in enforc2 ing the child support order according to its

3 terms;

4 (ii) if the parents reside in different States

5 and the order has not been previously referred

6 to the Division of Enforcement, refer the order

7 for interstate enforcement to the Division of

8 Enforcement; and

9 (iii) if the order has been previously re10 ferred to the Division of Enforcement, refer the

11 information specified in clause (i) to the Divi12 sion of Enforcement.

13 (4) If an order is referred to the Division of

14 Enforcement by the Registry under paragraph

15 (3)(C)(ii) or by a State child support enforcement

16 agency under section 454(26) of the Social Security

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 654(26))—

18 (A) notify the custodial and noncustodial

19 parents of such referral; and

20 (B) notify the employer to remit all child

21 support payments to the Registry, receive all

22 child support payments made pursuant to the

23 order, record such payments, and promptly dis24 burse the funds—
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1 (i) in cases where there is an assign2 ment of rights under section 402(a)(26) of

3 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

4 602(a)(26)), in accordance with section

5 457(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 657(b)),

6 and

7 (ii) in all other cases, to the custodial

8 parent.

9 SEC. 303. DIVISION OF ENFORCEMENT.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the Division of

11 Enforcement, the duties described in this section are as

12 follows:

13 (1) Enforce all child support orders referred to

14 the Division of Enforcement—

15 (A) under section 302(3)(C)(ii);

16 (B) by a State child support enforcement

17 agency under section 454(26) of the Social Se18 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 654(26)); and

19 (C) under section 452(b) of the Social Se20 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 652(b)).

21 (2) Enforce a child support order in accordance

22 with the terms of the abstract contained in the Reg23 istry pursuant to section 302(1) or the modified

24 terms of such an order upon notification of such

25 modifications by the Registry under section 302(2).
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1 (3) Enforce medical support provisions of any

2 child support order using any means available under

3 State or Federal law.

4 (4) Receive and process requests for Federal in5 come intercept made in accordance with section 464

6 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 664).

7 With respect to orders referred to the Division of Enforce8 ment under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1),

9 once the referral is made, the Division of Enforcement

10 shall retain responsibility for enforcement even if the par11 ties resume residence in the same State.

12 (b) FAILURE TO PAY AMOUNT OWING.—With re13 spect to any child support order being enforced by the Di14 vision of Enforcement, if an individual fails to pay the full

15 amount required to be paid on or before the due date for

16 such payment, the Office of the Assistant Commissioner

17 for Interstate Child Enforcement, through the Division of

18 Enforcement, may assess and collect the unpaid amount

19 in the same manner, with the same powers, and subject

20 to the same limitations applicable to a tax imposed by sub21 title C of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 the collection

22 of which would be jeopardized by delay.

23 (c) USE OF FEDERAL COURTS.—The Office of the

24 Assistant Commissioner for Interstate Child Enforcement,

25 through the Division of Enforcement, may utilize the
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1 courts of the United States to enforce child support orders

2 against absent parents upon a finding that—

3 (1) the order is being enforced by the Division

4 of Enforcement; and

5 (2) utilization of such courts is a reasonable

6 method of enforcing the child support order.

7 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

8 (1) Section 452(a)(8) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(8)) is

9 repealed.

10 (2) Section 452(c) (42 U.S.C. 652(c)) is re11 pealed.

12 SEC. 304. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENTS.

13 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended by striking

14 ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (23), by striking the period

15 at the end of paragraph (24) and inserting a semicolon,

16 and by inserting after paragraph (24) the following new

17 paragraphs:

18 ‘‘(25) provide that the State will cooperate with

19 the Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Inter20 state Child Support Enforcement to facilitate the ex21 change of information regarding child support cases

22 and the enforcement of orders by the Commissioner;

23 and

24 ‘‘(26) provide that the State child support en25 forcement agency shall refer for enforcement to the
36

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1 Division of Enforcement established under section

2 301 of the Child Support Reform Act of 1994 any

3 child support order if an amount equal to at least

4 1 month’s support is in arrears and the State be5 lieves the parties reside in different States.’’.

6 SEC. 305. DEFINITIONS.

7 Any term used in this title which is also used in part

8 D of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651

9 et seq.) shall have the meaning given such term by such

10 part.

11 TITLE IV—FINANCING STATE

12 CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCE13 MENT ACTIVITIES

14 SEC. 401. FEDERAL FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(a) (42 U.S.C.

16 655(a)) is amended—

17 (1) at the end of paragraph (1), by adding the

18 following new sentence: ‘‘For fiscal year 1995 and

19 thereafter, no amount shall be paid to any State

20 under this section unless the amounts expended by

21 such State during such year for the operation of the

22 plan approved under this part are not less than such

23 amounts expended by such State in fiscal year

24 1994.’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end of subparagraph (B) and by striking subpara3 graph (C) and inserting the following new subpara4 graphs:

5 ‘‘(C) 66 percent for fiscal years 1990,

6 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994, and

7 ‘‘(D) 85 percent for fiscal year 1995 and

8 each fiscal year thereafter.’’.

9 (b) REPEAL OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES.—

10 Section 458 (42 U.S.C. 658) is repealed.

11 SEC. 402. AUDIT STANDARDS.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary (hereafter in

14 this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall es15 tablish a Child Support Audit Advisory Committee

16 (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Com17 mittee’’).

18 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—

19 (A) NUMBER OF MEMBERS.—The Sec20 retary shall determine the number of members

21 on the Committee.

22 (B) APPOINTMENT.—The members of the

23 Committee shall be appointed by the Secretary

24 and shall include representatives of directors of

25 State child support enforcement programs oper-
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1 ating under part D of title IV of the Social Se2 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), recipients of

3 child support enforcement services, and inde4 pendent management consultants.

5 (3) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.—The Com6 mittee shall assist the Secretary in preparing revised

7 audit criteria to be used pursuant to section

8 452(a)(4) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

9 652(a)(4)) based on—

10 (A) common data elements which are de11 fined, collected, and reported in a uniform man12 ner from each State;

13 (B) numeric measures of program out14 comes in locating absent parents, establishing

15 paternity, obtaining child support orders, peri16 odically modifying such orders, and enforcing

17 such orders (including orders for health insur18 ance coverage);

19 (C) numeric measures for assessing com20 pliance with the regulations issued by the Sec21 retary pursuant to subsections (h) and (i) of

22 section 452 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 652); and

23 (D) a definition of substantial compliance

24 with such criteria.

25 (4) COMPENSATION.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Com2 mittee shall serve without compensation.

3 (B) EXPENSES, ETC., REIMBURSED.—The

4 members of the Committee may be allowed

5 travel expenses while on the business of the

6 Committee, including per diem in lieu of sub7 sistence, as authorized by section 5703 of title

8 5, United States Code, for persons employed

9 intermittently in Government service.

10 (5) APPLICATION OF ACT.—The provisions of

11 the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply

12 with respect to the Committee.

13 (6) SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall supply such

14 necessary office facilities, office supplies, support

15 services, and related expenses as necessary to carry

16 out the functions of the Committee.

17 (7) TIMING.—The Secretary shall—

18 (A) not later than 60 days after the date

19 of the enactment of this Act establish the Com20 mittee; and

21 (B) not later than 180 days after such

22 date issue a notice of proposed rulemaking with

23 respect to the audit standards required by this

24 subsection, and, after allowing not less than 45

25 days for public comment, issue final regulations
40

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1 not later than 270 days after the date of the

2 enactment of this Act, to be effective beginning

3 1 year after the date of the issuance of such

4 regulations.

5 (b) COMPLIANCE ENFORCEMENT.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(h)(1) (42

7 U.S.C. 603(h)(1)) is amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘part D’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘this part’’; and

10 (B) by striking ‘‘by—’’ and all that follows

11 and inserting ‘‘by not less than 5 percent nor

12 more than 10 percent.’’.

13 (2) REDESIGNATION.—Title IV is amended—

14 (A) by redesignating subsection (h) of sec15 tion 403 (42 U.S.C. 603), as amended by para16 graph (1), as subsection (f); and

17 (B) by relocating subsection (f) (as so re18 designated) immediately following subsection (e)

19 of section 455 (42 U.S.C. 655).

20 TITLE V—EFFECTIVE DATES

21 SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATES.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

23 this Act or subsection (b), the amendments made by this

24 Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this

25 Act.
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1 (b) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a State that the

2 Secretary of Health and Human Services determines re3 quires State legislation (other than legislation appropriat4 ing funds) in order to meet the additional requirements

5 imposed by the amendments made by this Act, the State

6 shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the require7 ments of such amendments before the first day of the first

8 calendar quarter beginning after the close of the first reg9 ular session of the State legislature that begins after the

10 date of enactment of this Act. For purposes of this sub11 section, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative

12 session, each year of the session shall be treated as a sepa13 rate regular session of the State legislature.

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