I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3857

To ensure economic equity for American women and their families by promoting fairness in the workplace, creating new economic opportunities for

women workers and women business owners, helping workers better meet

the competing demands of work and family, and enhancing economic

self-sufficiency through public and private pension reform and improved

child support and enforcement.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 18, 1996

Mrs. MORELLA (for herself, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. WATERS,

Ms. BROWN of Florida, Ms. FURSE, Ms. VELAZ ́QUEZ, Mrs. MEEK of

Florida, Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois, Mrs. MALONEY, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Ms.

LOFGREN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mrs. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas,

Mrs. KENNELLY, Ms. PELOSI, Mrs. CLAYTON, and Ms. JACKSON-LEE of

Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture,

Banking and Financial Services, Commerce, Economic and Educational

Opportunities, Government Reform and Oversight, House Oversight,

International Relations, the Judiciary, National Security, Resources, and

Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To ensure economic equity for American women and their

families by promoting fairness in the workplace, creating

new economic opportunities for women workers and

women business owners, helping workers better meet the

competing demands of work and family, and enhancing
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economic self-sufficiency through public and private pension reform and improved child support and enforcement.

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 ‘‘Economic Equity Act

5 of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I—WORKPLACE FAIRNESS

Subtitle A—Part-Time and Temporary Workers Protection

CHAPTER 1—PROTECTION OF PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY WORKERS

Sec. 11101. Eligibility for unemployment compensation of certain individuals

seeking part-time employment.

Sec. 11102. Annual Bureau of Labor Statistics survey relating to temporary

workers.

Sec. 11103. Protection of part-time and temporary workers.

CHAPTER 2—MISCLASSIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES AS INDEPENDENT

CONTRACTORS

Sec. 11201. Internal Revenue Service procedures.

Sec. 11202. Federal contracts.

Sec. 11203. Defense contracts.

Subtitle B—Federal Employee Fairness

Sec. 12001. Amendments relating to administrative determination of Federal

employee discrimination claims.

Sec. 12002. Amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Sec. 12003. Amendments to title 5 of the United States Code.

Sec. 12004. Technical amendments.

Sec. 12005. Issuance of procedural guidelines and notice rules.

Sec. 12006. Issuance of rules regarding classified information.

Sec. 12007. Rules of construction.

Sec. 12008. Sense of the Congress.

Sec. 12009. Effective dates; application of amendments.

Subtitle C—Legislative Pay Equity Study
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Sec. 13001. Declaration of policy.

Sec. 13002. Establishment of commission.

Sec. 13003. Functions of commission.

Sec. 13004. Staff of commission.

Sec. 13005. Compensation of members.

Sec. 13006. Powers of commission.

Sec. 13007. Reports and termination of commission.

Sec. 13008. Administrative provisions.

Subtitle D—Sexual Harassment Prevention

Sec. 14001. Civil action.

Sec. 14002. Additional funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Subtitle E—Sexual Harassment Information

Sec. 15001. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 15002. Employer requirements.

Sec. 15003. Duties of the commission.

Sec. 15004. Enforcement.

Sec. 15005. Definitions.

Sec. 15006. Effective dates.

Subtitle F—Sexual Harassment Tax Equity

Sec. 16001. Deduction for legal expenses of individuals bringing sexual harassment suits against their employers.

Subtitle G—Equal Remedies

Sec. 17001. Equalization of remedies.

Subtitle H—Federal Temporary Workers Protection

Sec. 18001. Eligibility for health benefits.

Sec. 18002. Effective date.

Subtitle I—Contingent Work Force Equity

Sec. 19001. Equal pay.

Sec. 19002. Occupational safety and health.

Sec. 19003. Family and medical leave.

Sec. 19004. Contingent workforce survey.

Sec. 19005. Collective bargaining rights.

Sec. 19006. Protection of part-time and temporary workers.

Sec. 19007. Unemployment compensation.

TITLE II—ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

Subtitle A—Microenterprise Opportunity Expansion

Sec. 21001. Public assistance provisions.

Sec. 21002. Unemployment compensation for individuals starting microenterprises.

Sec. 21003. Treatment of microenterprise loans and grants by insured depository institutions as community reinvestment.

Sec. 21004. Treatment of microenterprise loans of savings associations as

qualified thrift investments.
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Sec. 21005. Use of CDBG assistance for administrative costs of entities assisting microenterprises.

Sec. 21006. Establishment of microenterprise division in each Federal banking

agency.

Sec. 21007. Study.

Subtitle B—Commission on the Advancement of Women in the Science and

Engineering Work Forces

Sec. 22001. Findings.

Sec. 22002. Establishment.

Sec. 22003. Duty of commission.

Sec. 22004. Membership.

Sec. 22005. Director and staff of commission; experts and consultants.

Sec. 22006. Powers of commission.

Sec. 22007. Reports.

Sec. 22008. Construction; use of information obtained.

Sec. 22009. Termination.

Sec. 22010. Authorization of appropriations.

Subtitle C—Equal Surety Bond Opportunity

Sec. 23001. Equal surety bond opportunity requirements.

Sec. 23002. Civil liability.

Sec. 23003. Administrative enforcement.

Sec. 23004. Effective date.

Subtitle D—Self-Sufficiency Standard

Sec. 24001. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 24002. Definition of economic self-sufficiency.

Sec. 24003. Establishment of economic self-sufficiency standards for adult

training programs.

Sec. 24004. Prohibition of incentive grants to service delivery areas that do not

have in effect an approved local economic self-sufficiency standards table.

Sec. 24005. Inclusion of local economic self-sufficiency standards table and related reports in job training plan.

Sec. 24006. Inclusion of local economic self-sufficiency standards tables and related reports in Governor’s coordination and special services

plan.

Sec. 24007. Demonstration programs to implement local economic self-sufficiency standards tables.

Sec. 24008. Report and recommendations.

Subtitle E—Community Reinvestment

Sec. 25001. Reporting of actual performance data.

Subtitle F—Telecommunications Economic Opportunity

Sec. 26001. Findings.

Sec. 26002. Purpose.

Sec. 26003. Annual plan submission.

Sec. 26004. Sanctions and remedies.

Sec. 26005. Definitions.

Subtitle G—HHS Women Scientist Employment Opportunity
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Sec. 27001. Women’s scientific employment.

Subtitle H—Women in Enterprise Development

Sec. 28001. Women in enterprise development.

TITLE III—WORK AND FAMILY

Subtitle A—Child Care Consolidation and Investment

Sec. 31001. Findings.

Sec. 31002. Purpose.

Sec. 31003. Amendments to Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of

1990.

Sec. 31004. Program repeals.

Sec. 31005. Effective date.

Subtitle B—Child Care Public-Private Partnership

Sec. 32001. Establishment of business incentive grant program.

Sec. 32002. Eligibility to receive grants.

Sec. 32003. Application.

Sec. 32004. Selection of grantees.

Sec. 32005. Definitions.

Sec. 32006. Authorization of appropriations.

Subtitle C—Dependent Care Tax Credit Refundability

Sec. 33001. Dependent care tax credit.

Subtitle D—IRA Deductions for Homemakers

Sec. 34001. Homemakers eligible for full IRA deduction.

Subtitle E—Federal Parental Leave for Education Activities

Sec. 35001. Coverage of employees.

Sec. 35002. Parental involvement leave.

Sec. 35003. Parental involvement leave for civil servants.

Subtitle F—Tax Incentives for Family-Friendly Workplaces

Sec. 36001. Small business family and medical leave credit.

Sec. 36002. Credit for wages paid to employee who is allowed to shift hours

of employment or to work at home in order to reduce child care

needs.

Subtitle G—Parental Equity Leave

Sec. 37001. Leave for adopted and foster children.

TITLE IV—ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Subtitle A—Child Support Responsibility

Sec. 41001. Reference to Social Security Act.

CHAPTER 1—ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER MATTERS CONCERNING TITLE IV–D

PROGRAM CLIENTS
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Sec. 41101. State obligation to provide paternity establishment and child support enforcement services.

Sec. 41102. Distribution of payments.

Sec. 41103. Due process rights.

Sec. 41104. Privacy safeguards.

CHAPTER 2—PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING

Sec. 41201. Federal matching payments.

Sec. 41202. Performance-based incentives and penalties.

Sec. 41203. Federal and State reviews and audits.

Sec. 41204. Required reporting procedures.

Sec. 41205. Automated data processing requirements.

Sec. 41206. Director of CSE program; staffing study.

Sec. 41207. Funding for secretarial assistance to State programs.

Sec. 41208. Reports and data collection by the Secretary.

CHAPTER 3—LOCATE AND CASE TRACKING

Sec. 41301. Central State and case registry.

Sec. 41302. Centralized collection and disbursement of support payments.

Sec. 41303. Amendments concerning income withholding.

Sec. 41304. Locator information from interstate networks.

Sec. 41305. Expanded Federal Parent Locator Service.

Sec. 41306. Use of social security numbers.

CHAPTER 4—STREAMLINING AND UNIFORMITY OF PROCEDURES

Sec. 41401. Adoption of uniform State laws.

Sec. 41402. Improvements to full faith and credit for child support orders.

Sec. 41403. State laws providing expedited procedures.

CHAPTER 5—PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT

Sec. 41501. State laws concerning paternity establishment.

Sec. 41502. Outreach for voluntary paternity establishment.

CHAPTER 6—ESTABLISHMENT AND MODIFICATION OF SUPPORT ORDERS

Sec. 41601. National Child Support Guidelines Commission.

Sec. 41602. Simplified process for review and adjustment of child support orders.

CHAPTER 7—ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT ORDERS

Sec. 41701. Federal income tax refund offset.

Sec. 41702. Internal Revenue Service collection of arrears.

Sec. 41703. Authority to collect support from Federal employees.

Sec. 41704. Enforcement of child support obligations of members of the armed

forces.

Sec. 41705. Motor vehicle liens.

Sec. 41706. Voiding of fraudulent transfers.

Sec. 41707. State law authorizing suspension of licenses.

Sec. 41708. Reporting arrearages to credit bureaus.

Sec. 41709. Extended statute of limitation for collection of arrearages.

Sec. 41710. Charges for arrearages.

Sec. 41711. Denial of passports for nonpayment of child support.

Sec. 41712. International child support enforcement.
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CHAPTER 8—MEDICAL SUPPORT

Sec. 41801. Technical correction to ERISA definition of medical child support

order.

CHAPTER 9—EFFECT OF ENACTMENT

Sec. 41901. Effective dates.

Sec. 41902. Severability.

Subtitle B—Interstate Child Support

Sec. 42001. Reference.

Sec. 42002. Findings, declarations, and purposes.

CHAPTER 1—LOCATE AND CASE TRACKING

Sec. 42101. Expansion of functions of Federal Parent Locator Service.

Sec. 42102. Expansion of data bases accessed by parent locator systems.

Sec. 42103. Expansion of access to national network for location of parents.

Sec. 42104. Private access to locate and enforcement services.

Sec. 42105. National reporting of new hires and child support information.

Sec. 42106. Access to law enforcement records systems.

Sec. 42107. Broadcasting of warrants on State networks.

Sec. 42108. Case monitoring.

Sec. 42109. Access to financial records.

CHAPTER 2—ESTABLISHMENT

Sec. 42201. Service of process on Federal employees and members of the

Armed Services in connection with proceedings relating to child

support and parentage obligations.

Sec. 42202. Presumed address of obligor and obligee.

Sec. 42203. Notice to custodial parents.

Sec. 42204. Uniform State rules in parentage and child support cases.

Sec. 42205. Fair Credit Reporting Act amendment.

Sec. 42206. National Child Support Guidelines Commission.

Sec. 42207. Guideline principles.

Sec. 42208. Duration of support.

Sec. 42209. Evidence.

Sec. 42210. Telephonic appearance in interstate cases.

Sec. 42211. Uniform terms in orders.

Sec. 42212. Social security numbers on marriage licenses, divorce decrees, parentage decrees, and birth certificates.

Sec. 42213. Administrative subpoena power.

Sec. 42214. Legal assistance programs.

Sec. 42215. Indian child support.

Sec. 42216. Support orders outreach and demonstrations.

CHAPTER 3—PARENTAGE

Sec. 42301. Parentage.

CHAPTER 4—ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 42401. Direct wage withholding.

Sec. 42402. Priorities in application of withheld wages.

Sec. 42403. Additional benefits subject to garnishment.
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Sec. 42404. Consumer Credit Protection Act amendments.

Sec. 42405. Prohibition against use of election of remedies doctrine to prevent

collection of child support.

Sec. 42406. Hold on occupational, professional, and business licenses.

Sec. 42407. Driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations denied to persons failing

to appear in child support cases.

Sec. 42408. Liens on certificates of vehicle title.

Sec. 42409. Attachment of bank accounts.

Sec. 42410. Seizure of lottery winnings, settlements, payouts, awards, and bequests, and sale of forfeited property, to pay child support arrearages.

Sec. 42411. Fraudulent transfer pursuit.

Sec. 42412. Full IRS collection.

Sec. 42413. Tax refund offset program expanded to cover non-AFDC postminor children.

Sec. 42414. Attachment of public and private retirement funds.

Sec. 42415. Statutes of limitation.

Sec. 42416. Interest.

Sec. 42417. Armed forces cooperation in enforcement of support obligations of

members and former members of the armed forces.

Sec. 42418. States required to enact the Uniform Interstate Family Support

Act.

Sec. 42419. IRS reconciliation process.

Sec. 42420. Denial of passports to noncustodial parents subject to State arrest

warrants in cases of nonpayment of child support.

Sec. 42421. Denial of Federal benefits, loans, guarantees, and employment to

certain persons with large child support arrearages.

Sec. 42422. States required to order courts to allow assignment of life insurance benefits to satisfy child support arrearages.

Sec. 42423. Interests in jointly held property subject to assignment to satisfy

child support arrearages.

Sec. 42424. International child support enforcement.

CHAPTER 5—COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION

Sec. 42501. Priorities in distribution of collected child support.

Sec. 42502. State claims against noncustodial parent limited to assistance provided to the child.

Sec. 42503. Fees for non-AFDC clients.

Sec. 42504. Collection and disbursement points for child support.

Sec. 42505. Sense of the Congress that States should encourage parents to use

the State child support agency to collect and process child support payments.

CHAPTER 6—FEDERAL ROLE

Sec. 42601. Placement and role of the office of child support enforcement.

Sec. 42602. Training.

Sec. 42603. Staffing.

Sec. 42604. Demonstration projects to test alternative approaches to incentive

funding for State child support programs.

Sec. 42605. Child support definition.

Sec. 42606. Audits.

Sec. 42607. Child support assurance demonstration projects.

Sec. 42608. Children’s Trust Fund.

Sec. 42609. Study of reasons for nonpayment of child support; report.
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Sec. 42610. Study of effectiveness of administrative processes; report.

Sec. 42611. Publication of best child support practices.

Sec. 42612. Establishment of Permanent Child Support Advisory Committee.

CHAPTER 7—STATE ROLE

Sec. 42701. Advocation of children’s economic security.

Sec. 42702. Duties of State child support agencies.

Sec. 42703. Sense of the Congress regarding quality of and accessibility to

child support services.

Sec. 42704. Administrative process for change of payee in IV–D cases.

Sec. 42705. Sense of the Congress supporting use of administrative procedures

in child support cases.

Sec. 42706. Sense of the Congress supporting establishment of State child support councils.

CHAPTER 8—JOBS FOR UNEMPLOYED NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS

Sec. 42801. Parents fair share demonstration projects.

CHAPTER 9—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 42901. Effective date.

Subtitle C—Child Support Enforcement Improvements

Sec. 43001. Nonliability for depository institutions providing financial records

to State child support enforcement agencies in child support

cases.

Sec. 43002. Access to and use of consumer reports by State child support enforcement agencies in child support cases.

Sec. 43003. Health care support.

Sec. 43004. Annual reports on State compliance with time limits within which

State must provide certain child support assistance.

Sec. 43005. Wages withheld by employers to pay child support obligations required to be paid to State within 10 days; late payment penalty

imposed on employers.

Sec. 43006. National parent locator network.

Subtitle D—Single Parent Protection

Sec. 44001. Treatment of unpaid child support.

Subtitle E—Women’s Pension Equity

Sec. 45001. Model spousal consent form and qualified domestic relations order.

Sec. 45002. Extension of tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former

spouses pursuant to divorce agreements.

Sec. 45003. Survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of

Federal employees who die before attaining age for deferred

annuity under Civil Service Retirement System.

Sec. 45004. Court orders relating to Federal retirement benefits for former

spouses of Federal employees.

Sec. 45005. Prevention of circumvention of court order by waiver of retired pay

to enhance civil service retirement annuity.

Subtitle F—Pension Reform
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Sec. 46001. Pension integration rules.

Sec. 46002. Application of minimum coverage requirements with respect to separate lines of business.

Sec. 46003. Elimination of special vesting rule for multiemployer plans.

Sec. 46004. Division of pension benefits upon divorce.

Sec. 46005. Effective dates.

Sec. 46006. Clarification of continued availability of remedies relating to matters treated in domestic relations orders entered before 1985.

Sec. 46007. Entitlement of divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities

independent of actual entitlement of employee.

Subtitle G—Social Security Caregiver

Sec. 47001. Increase in number of years disregarded.

Sec. 47002. Effective date and related provisions.

Sec. 47003. Repeal of 7-year restriction on eligibility for widow’s and widower’s

insurance benefits based on disability.

Sec. 47004. Increase in widow’s and widower’s insurance benefits by reason of

delayed retirement.

Sec. 47005. Effective date.

Sec. 47006. Exemption from two-year waiting period for divorced spouse’s benefits following the divorce in cases of prior receipt of spouse’s

benefits.

Sec. 47007. Effective date.

Sec. 47008. Full benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to

age.

Sec. 47009. Exemption from reductions in benefits.

Sec. 47010. Effective date and redetermination of benefits.

TITLE V—ECONOMIC IMPACT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Subtitle A—Workplace Violence Prevention Tax Credit

Sec. 51001. Congressional findings.

Sec. 51002. Credit for costs to employers of implementing workplace safety

programs to combat violence against women.

Subtitle B—Insurance Protection for Victims of Domestic Violence

Sec. 52001. Prohibition of health insurance discrimination with respect to victims of domestic violence.

Subtitle C—Fairness to Minority Women Health

Sec. 53001. Exception to AFDC income and resources attribution rule for certain battered aliens.

Sec. 53002. Amendment to the Food Stamp Act of 1977.

Sec. 53003. Requiring certain recipients of Federal financial assistance to have

personnel available who speak predominant language used in

area.

Sec. 53004. Study regarding domestic violence and Latina women.

Subtitle D—Battered Women’s Employment Protection

Sec. 54001. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 54002. Unemployment compensation.

Sec. 54003. Leave from employment.

Sec. 54004. Effect on other laws and employment benefits.
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Subtitle E—Domestic Violence Legal Services Eligibility

Sec. 55001. Income rule for victims of domestic violence.

1 TITLE I—WORKPLACE FAIRNESS

2 Subtitle A—Part-Time and

3 Temporary Workers Protection

4 CHAPTER 1—PROTECTION OF PART-TIME

5 AND TEMPORARY WORKERS

6 SEC. 11101. ELIGIBILITY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSA7 TION OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS SEEKING

8 PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT.

9 (a) GENERAL RULE.—Subsection (a) of section 3304

10 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to require11 ments for approval of State unemployment compensation

12 laws) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para13 graph (18), by redesignating paragraph (19) as paragraph

14 (20), and by inserting after paragraph (18) the following

15 new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(19) in applying the State law provisions relat17 ing to availability for work, active search for work,

18 or refusal to accept work, the term ‘suitable work’

19 shall not include any work where the individual

20 would normally perform services for more hours per

21 week than the number of hours per week for which

22 the individual normally performed services in the in23 dividual’s last job in the base period, and’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact3 ment of this subtitle.

4 SEC. 11102. ANNUAL BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS SUR5 VEY RELATING TO TEMPORARY WORKERS.

6 The Secretary of Labor, acting through the Commis7 sioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shall establish

8 and carry out an annual survey identifying—

9 (1) the characteristics of temporary workers in

10 the United States;

11 (2) the relationship between such workers and

12 the establishments at which such workers are tempo13 rarily employed; and

14 (3) where appropriate, the relationship between

15 such workers and their permanent employers.

16 SEC. 11103. PROTECTION OF PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY

17 WORKERS.

18 (a) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES WORKING AT LESS

19 THAN FULL-TIME UNDER PARTICIPATION, VESTING, AND

20 ACCRUAL RULES GOVERNING PENSION PLANS.—

21 (1) PARTICIPATION RULES.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(3) of

23 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

24 of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1052(a)(3)) is amended by
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1 adding at the end the following new subpara2 graph:

3 ‘‘(E)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case

4 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the 12-month

5 period referred to in subparagraph (A)—

6 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

7 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

8 of service per year, or

9 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

10 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

11 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

12 of service per year,

13 completion of 500 hours of service within such 12-month

14 period shall be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of

15 service.

16 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent

17 to which employment in any type of position customarily

18 constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall

19 be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord20 ance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe

21 providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe22 culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in

23 such plan.’’.

24 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

25 204(b)(1)(E) of such Act (29 U.S.C.
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1 1054(b)(1)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘section

2 202(a)(3)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs

3 (A) and (E) of section 202(a)(3)’’.

4 (2) VESTING RULES.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(2) of

6 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1053(b)(2)) is amended by

7 adding at the end the following new subpara8 graph:

9 ‘‘(E)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case

10 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period

11 designated by the plan pursuant to subparagraph (A)—

12 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

13 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

14 of service per year, or

15 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

16 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

17 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

18 of service per year,

19 completion of 500 hours of service within such period shall

20 be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service.

21 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent

22 to which employment in any type of position customarily

23 constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall

24 be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord25 ance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe
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1 providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe2 culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in

3 such plan.’’.

4 (B) 1-YEAR BREAKS IN SERVICE.—Section

5 203(b)(3) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1053(b)(3))

6 is amended by adding at the end the following

7 new subparagraph:

8 ‘‘(F)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case

9 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period

10 designated by the plan pursuant to subparagraph (A)—

11 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

12 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

13 of service per year, or

14 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

15 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

16 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

17 of service per year,

18 completion of 250 hours of service within such period shall

19 be treated as completion of 500 hours of service.

20 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent

21 to which employment in any type of position customarily

22 constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall

23 be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord24 ance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe

25 providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe-
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1 culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in

2 such plan.’’.

3 (3) ACCRUAL RULES.—Section 204(b)(4)(C) of

4 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(4)(C)) is amended—

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(C)’’; and

6 (B) by adding at the end the following new

7 clauses:

8 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, in the case

9 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period

10 designated by the plan pursuant to clause (i)—

11 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

12 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

13 of service per year, or

14 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

15 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

16 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

17 of service per year,

18 completion of 500 hours of service within such period shall

19 be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service.

20 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of clause (ii), the extent to which

21 employment in any type of position customarily constitutes

22 less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall be deter23 mined with respect to each pension plan in accordance

24 with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe pro25 viding for consideration of facts and circumstances pecu-
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1 liar to the work-force constituting the participants in such

2 plan.’’.

3 (b) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES WORKING AT LESS

4 THAN FULL-TIME UNDER GROUP HEALTH PLANS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part 2 of subtitle B of title

6 I of such Act is amended—

7 (A) by redesignating section 211 (29

8 U.S.C. 1061) as section 212; and

9 (B) by inserting after section 210 (29

10 U.S.C. 1060) the following new section:

11 ‘‘TREATMENT OF PART-TIME WORKERS UNDER GROUP

12 HEALTH PLANS

13 ‘‘SEC. 211. (a) IN GENERAL.—A reduction in the em14 ployer-provided premium under a group health plan with

15 respect to any employee for any period of coverage solely

16 because the employee’s customary employment is less than

17 full-time may be provided under such plan only if the em18 ployee is described in subsection (b) and only to the extent

19 permitted under subsection (c).

20 ‘‘(b) REDUCTIONS APPLICABLE TO EMPLOYEES

21 WORKING LESS THAN FULL-TIME.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee is described in

23 this subsection if such employee, as of the beginning

24 of the period of coverage referred to in subsection

25 (a)—
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1 ‘‘(A) has customarily completed less than

2 30 hours of service per week, or

3 ‘‘(B) is employed in a type of position in

4 which employment customarily constitutes less

5 than 30 hours of service per week.

6 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—For purposes of para7 graph (1), whether employment in any type of posi8 tion customarily constitutes less than 30 hours of

9 service per week shall be determined with respect to

10 each group health plan in accordance with such reg11 ulations as the Secretary may prescribe providing

12 for consideration of facts and circumstances peculiar

13 to the work force constituting the participants in

14 such plan.

15 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PERMISSIBLE REDUCTION.—The

16 employer-provided premium under a group health plan

17 with respect to any employee for any period of coverage,

18 after the reduction permitted under subsection (a), shall

19 not be less than a ratable portion of the employer-provided

20 premium which would be provided under such plan for

21 such period of coverage with respect to an employee who

22 completes 30 hours of service per week.

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
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1 ‘‘(1) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The term ‘group

2 health plan’ has the meaning provided such term in

3 section 607(1).

4 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER-PROVIDED PREMIUM.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employer6 provided premium’ under a plan for any period

7 of coverage means the portion of the applicable

8 premium under the plan for such period of cov9 erage which is attributable under the plan to

10 employer contributions.

11 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PREMIUM.—For pur12 poses of subparagraph (A), in determining the

13 applicable premium of a group health plan,

14 principles similar to the principles applicable

15 under section 604 shall apply.’’.

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

17 (A) Section 201(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

18 1051(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except with

19 respect to section 211’’ before the semicolon.

20 (B) The table of contents in section 1 of

21 such Act is amended by striking the item relat22 ing to section 211 and inserting the following

23 new items:

‘‘Sec. 211. Treatment of part-time workers under group health plans.

‘‘Sec. 212. Effective date.’’.
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1 (c) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE TO

2 INCLUDE CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHOSE SERVICES ARE

3 LEASED OR CONTRACTED FOR.—Paragraph (6) of section

4 3 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1002(6)) is amended—

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(6)’’; and

6 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub7 paragraph:

8 ‘‘(B) Such term includes, with respect to any em9 ployer, any person who is not an employee (within the

10 meaning of subparagraph (A)) of such employer and who

11 provides services to such employer, if—

12 ‘‘(i) such person has (pursuant to an agreement

13 with such employer or any other person) performed

14 such services for such employer (or for such em15 ployer and related persons (within the meaning of

16 section 144(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of

17 1986)) for a period of at least 1 year (6 months in

18 the case of core health benefits) at the rate of at

19 least 500 hours of service per year, and

20 ‘‘(ii) such services are of a type historically per21 formed, in the business field of the employer, by em22 ployees (within the meaning of subparagraph (A)).’’.

23 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), the amendments made by this section
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1 shall apply with respect to plan years beginning on

2 or after January 1, 1997.

3 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVELY BAR4 GAINED PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained

5 pursuant to 1 or more collective bargaining agree6 ments between employee representatives and 1 or

7 more employers ratified on or before the date of the

8 enactment of this subtitle, paragraph (1) shall be

9 applied to benefits pursuant to, and individuals cov10 ered by, any such agreement by substituting for

11 ‘‘January 1, 1997’’ the date of the commencement

12 of the first plan year beginning on or after the ear13 lier of—

14 (A) the later of—

15 (i) January 1, 1997, or

16 (ii) the date on which the last of such

17 collective bargaining agreements termi18 nates (determined without regard to any

19 extension thereof after the date of the en20 actment of this subtitle), or

21 (B) January 1, 1999.

22 (3) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—If any amendment

23 made by this section requires an amendment to any

24 plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to
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1 be made before the first plan year beginning on or

2 after January 1, 1998, if—

3 (A) during the period after such amend4 ment made by this section takes effect and be5 fore such first plan year, the plan is operated

6 in accordance with the requirements of such

7 amendment made by this section, and

8 (B) such plan amendment applies retro9 actively to the period after such amendment

10 made by this section takes effect and such first

11 plan year.

12 A plan shall not be treated as failing to provide defi13 nitely determinable benefits or contributions, or to

14 be operated in accordance with the provisions of the

15 plan, merely because it operates in accordance with

16 this paragraph.

17 CHAPTER 2—MISCLASSIFICATION OF EM18 PLOYEES AS INDEPENDENT CONTRAC19 TORS

20 SEC. 11201. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE PROCEDURES.

21 (a) WAIVER OF EMPLOYMENT TAX LIABILITY FOR

22 REASONABLE GOOD FAITH MISCLASSIFICATION BASED

23 ON COMMON LAW RULES.—Section 3509 of the Internal

24 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to determination of em-
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1 ployer’s liability for certain employment taxes) is amended

2 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

3 ‘‘(e) WAIVER OF EMPLOYMENT TAX LIABILITY FOR

4 REASONABLE GOOD FAITH MISCLASSIFICATION BASED

5 ON COMMON LAW RULES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of determin7 ing the liability of any taxpayer for employment

8 taxes with respect to any individual for any period,

9 such individual shall be deemed not to have been an

10 employee of the taxpayer for such period if—

11 ‘‘(A) the taxpayer did not treat such indi12 vidual as an employee for purposes of the em13 ployment taxes for such period,

14 ‘‘(B) the taxpayer’s treatment of such indi15 vidual as not being an employee was based on

16 a reasonable good faith misapplication of the

17 common law rules used for determining the em18 ployer-employee relationship,

19 ‘‘(C) all Federal tax returns (including in20 formation returns) required to be filed by the

21 taxpayer with respect to such individual for

22 such period were filed on a basis consistent with

23 the taxpayer’s treatment of such individual as

24 not being an employee,
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1 ‘‘(D) the taxpayer (and any predecessor)

2 did not treat any other individual holding a

3 substantially similar position as an employee for

4 purposes of the employment taxes for any pe5 riod beginning after December 31, 1977, and

6 ‘‘(E) the taxpayer enters into a closing

7 agreement under section 7121 with the Sec8 retary (in the time and manner determined by

9 the Secretary) agreeing to treat such individual,

10 and any other individual holding a substantially

11 similar position, as employees and to file all

12 Federal employment tax returns with respect to

13 such individuals on a basis consistent with the

14 taxpayer’s treatment of such individuals as em15 ployees.

16 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—

17 ‘‘(A) EMPLOYMENT TAX.—For purposes of

18 this subsection, the term ‘employment tax’

19 means any tax imposed by subtitle C, including

20 any interest, penalty, or additional amount with

21 respect to such tax.

22 ‘‘(B) NO REFUND OR CREDIT OF OVERPAY23 MENT.—No refund or credit of any overpay24 ment of an employment tax resulting from the

25 application of paragraph (1) shall be allowed,
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1 notwithstanding that the period for filing a

2 claim for refund or credit of such overpayment

3 is not barred on the effective date of this sub4 section.’’

5 (b) MODIFICATIONS TO SAFE HARBOR FOR CLASSI6 FICATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS AS NONEMPLOYEES.—

7 (1) REQUIREMENT OF REASONABLE BASIS.—

8 Paragraph (1) of section 530(a) of the Revenue Act

9 of 1978 (relating to controversies involving whether

10 individuals are employees for purposes of the em11 ployment taxes) is amended by striking ‘‘unless the

12 taxpayer had no reasonable basis’’ and inserting the

13 following: ‘‘if the taxpayer had a reasonable basis’’.

14 (2) REPEAL OF PRIOR AUDIT AS REASONABLE

15 BASIS, ETC.—Paragraph (2) of section 530(a) of the

16 Revenue Act of 1978 is amended—

17 (A) by striking the paragraph caption and

18 inserting the following: ‘‘REASONABLE BASIS

19 FOR NOT TREATING INDIVIDUAL AS EM20 PLOYEE.—’’,

21 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph

22 (A)—

23 (i) by striking ‘‘in any case’’, and

24 (ii) by inserting ‘‘only’’ before ‘‘if the

25 taxpayer’s’’,
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1 (C) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara2 graph (A), and

3 (D) by striking subparagraph (B) and by

4 redesignating subparagraph (C) as subpara5 graph (B).

6 (c) AUTHORITY FOR REGULATIONS AND RULINGS ON

7 EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Section 530 of the Revenue Act

8 of 1978 is amended by striking subsection (b) and by re9 designating subsections (c) and (d) as subsections (b) and

10 (c), respectively.

11 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

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

13 this section shall take effect beginning on the date

14 which is 120 days after the date of the enactment

15 of this subtitle.

16 (2) MODIFICATIONS TO SAFE HARBOR.—The

17 amendments made by subsection (b) shall apply to

18 periods ending on or after the date which is 120

19 days after the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

20 SEC. 11202. FEDERAL CONTRACTS.

21 (a) CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONS AS EMPLOYEES

22 AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS UNDER CERTAIN

23 PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS.—(1) Title III of the Federal

24 Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41
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1 U.S.C. 251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the

2 following new section:

3 ‘‘SEC. 317. CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONS AS EMPLOYEES

4 AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.

5 ‘‘(a) INELIGIBILITY FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

6 AND SUBCONTRACTS.—(1) A person (including any sub7 sidiary, successor, or related entity of a person) shall not

8 be eligible for a contract during the 2-year period begin9 ning on the date of the issuance of any final determination

10 under Federal law that the person (including any subsidi11 ary or related entity of the person) willfully misclassified

12 an individual for purposes of any employment tax.

13 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, a determination

14 is final if all rights to appeal the determination, or to re15 quest a review, rehearing, or redetermination of the mat16 ter that is the subject of the determination, have been ex17 hausted or have lapsed.

18 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF ADEQUACY OF BIDS TO PAY

19 EMPLOYMENT TAXES.—A person who submits a bid or

20 proposal for a contract shall certify that the amount of

21 the bid or proposal is adequate to pay all employment

22 taxes with respect to all work to be performed under the

23 contract by employees of the person.

24 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT CONTRAC25 TORS.—Each contract shall include a requirement that the
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1 contractor provide, to each person who performs work

2 under the contract and who is treated by the contractor

3 as an independent contractor for purposes of employment

4 taxes, a notification regarding—

5 ‘‘(1) all obligations of the independent contrac6 tor under Federal and State law to withhold and pay

7 employment taxes with respect to work performed

8 under the contract by the independent contractor

9 (including work performed by employees of the inde10 pendent contractor); and

11 ‘‘(2) all statutory rights and protections that

12 are available under Federal and State law to em13 ployees of the contractor and are not available to the

14 independent contractor (including employees of the

15 independent contractor), including rights and protec16 tions under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,

17 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1978,

18 and title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

19 ‘‘(d) RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person who submits a

20 bid or proposal for a contract and who suffers damages

21 as a result of the award of the contract to a person who

22 knowingly and willfully submits a certification under sub23 section (b) with respect to the contract that is false, may

24 bring an action for damages against the person awarded
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1 the contract in any district court of the United States in

2 which the defendant is located.

3 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘employment tax’ means any tax

5 imposed by subtitle C of the Internal Revenue Code

6 of 1986.

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘contract’ means a contract that

8 is entered into by an executive agency under this

9 title, and all subcontracts under such a contract.

10 ‘‘(3) The term ‘misclassify’ means to treat as

11 an independent contractor an individual who is an

12 employee.’’.

13 (2) The table of contents in section 1 of the Federal

14 Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 is

15 amended by inserting after the item relating to the last

16 section in title III the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 317. Classification of persons as employees and independent contractors.’’.

17 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 317 of the Federal

18 Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as

19 added by subsection (a), shall apply to—

20 (1) contracts entered into under title III of

21 such Act after the expiration of the 180-day period

22 beginning on the date of the enactment of this sub23 title;

24 (2) subcontracts under contracts covered by

25 paragraph (1); and
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1 (3) options exercised under any such contract

2 after the expiration of the 180-day period beginning

3 on the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

4 SEC. 11203. DEFENSE CONTRACTS.

5 (a) CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONS AS EMPLOYEES

6 AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS UNDER DEFENSE

7 CONTRACTS.—(1) Chapter 141 of title 10, United States

8 Code, is amended by inserting after section 2393 the fol9 lowing new section:

10 ‘‘§ 2393a. Classification of persons as employees and

11 independent contractors

12 ‘‘(a) INELIGIBILITY FOR DEFENSE CONTRACTS AND

13 SUBCONTRACTS.—(1) A person (including any subsidiary,

14 successor, or related entity of a person) shall not be eligi15 ble for a contract during the 2-year period beginning on

16 the date of the issuance of any final determination under

17 Federal law that the person (including any subsidiary or

18 related entity of the person) willfully misclassified an indi19 vidual for purposes of any employment tax.

20 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, a determination

21 is final if all rights to appeal the determination, or to re22 quest a review, rehearing, or redetermination of the mat23 ter that is the subject of the determination, have been ex24 hausted or have lapsed.
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1 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF ADEQUACY OF BIDS TO PAY

2 EMPLOYMENT TAXES.—A person who submits a bid or

3 proposal for a contract shall certify that the amount of

4 the bid or proposal is adequate to pay all employment

5 taxes with respect to all work to be performed under the

6 contract by employees of the person.

7 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT CONTRAC8 TORS.—Each contract shall include a requirement that the

9 contractor shall provide, to each person who performs

10 work under the contract and who is treated by the contrac11 tor as an independent contractor for purposes of employ12 ment taxes, a notification regarding—

13 ‘‘(1) all obligations of the independent contrac14 tor under Federal and State law to withhold and pay

15 employment taxes with respect to work performed

16 under the contract by the independent contractor

17 (including work performed by employees of the inde18 pendent contractor); and

19 ‘‘(2) all statutory rights and protections that

20 are available under Federal and State law to em21 ployees of the contractor and are not available to the

22 independent contractor (including employees of the

23 independent contractor), including rights and protec24 tions under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,
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1 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1978,

2 and title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

3 ‘‘(d) RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person who submits a

4 bid or proposal for a contract and who suffers damages

5 as a result of the award of the contract to a person who

6 knowingly and willfully submits a certification under sub7 section (b) with respect to the contract that is false, may

8 bring an action for damages against the person awarded

9 the contract in any district court of the United States in

10 which the defendant is located.

11 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies to con12 tracts entered into under chapter 137 of this title.

13 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

14 ‘‘(1) The term ‘employment tax’ means any tax

15 imposed by subtitle C of the Internal Revenue Code

16 of 1986.

17 ‘‘(2) The term ‘contract’ includes subcontracts.

18 ‘‘(3) The term ‘misclassify’ means to treat as

19 an independent contractor an individual who is an

20 employee.’’.

21 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

22 chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating

23 to section 2393 the following new item:

‘‘2393a. Classification of persons as employees and independent contractors.’’.
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1 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 2393a of title 10, Unit2 ed States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply

3 to—

4 (1) contracts entered into under chapter 137 of

5 title 10, United States Code, after the expiration of

6 the 180-day period beginning on the date of the en7 actment of this subtitle;

8 (2) subcontracts under contracts covered by

9 paragraph (1); and

10 (3) options exercised under any such contract

11 after the expiration of the 180-day period beginning

12 on the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

13 Subtitle B—Federal Employee

14 Fairness

15 SEC. 12001. AMENDMENTS RELATING TO ADMINISTRATIVE

16 DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEE

17 DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS.

18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 701 of the Civil Rights

19 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e) is amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (f) by striking ‘‘The term’’

21 and inserting ‘‘Except when it appears as part of the

22 term ‘Federal employee’, the term’’, and

23 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(o) The term ‘administrative judge’ includes an ad2 ministrative law judge appointed under section 3105 of

3 title 5 of the United States Code.

4 ‘‘(p) The term ‘Commission’ means the Equal Em5 ployment Opportunity Commission.

6 ‘‘(q) The term ‘entity of the Federal Government’

7 means an entity to which section 717(a) applies, except

8 that such term does not include the Library of Congress.

9 ‘‘(r) The term ‘Federal employee’ means an individ10 ual employed by, or who applies for employment with, an

11 entity of the Federal Government.

12 ‘‘(s) The term ‘Federal employment’ means employ13 ment by an entity of the Federal Government.

14 ‘‘(t) The terms ‘government’, ‘government agency’,

15 and ‘political subdivision’ do not include an entity of the

16 Federal Government.’’.

17 (b) EEOC DETERMINATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOY18 MENT DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS.—Section 717 of the Civil

19 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (b)—

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’,

22 (B) in the second sentence—

23 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (1),

24 (2), and (3), as subparagraphs (A), (B),

25 and (C), respectively,
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1 (ii) in the subparagraph (B), as so re2 designated, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end,

3 (iii) in subparagraph (C), as so redes4 ignated, by striking the period at the end

5 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and

6 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph

7 (C), as so redesignated, the following:

8 ‘‘(D) require each entity of the Federal Govern9 ment—

10 ‘‘(i) to make counseling available to Fed11 eral employees who believe such entity has dis12 criminated against them in violation of this sec13 tion, for the purpose of trying to resolve the

14 matters with respect to which such discrimina15 tion is alleged (Such entity shall assist such em16 ployee to identify the respondent required by

17 subsection (c)(1) to be named in a complaint al18 leging such violation, shall inform such Federal

19 employee individually of the procedures and

20 deadlines that apply under this section to a

21 claim alleging such discrimination, and shall

22 make such counseling available throughout the

23 administrative process.);

24 ‘‘(ii) to establish a voluntary alternative

25 dispute resolution process to resolve complaints,
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1 except that a Federal employee’s decision to

2 forgo such process shall not affect the rights

3 of such employee under this title;

4 ‘‘(iii) not to discourage Federal employees

5 from filing complaints on any matter relating to

6 discrimination in violation of this section;

7 ‘‘(iv) not to require Federal employees to

8 participate in conciliation made available under

9 subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii) unless such entity has

10 an alternative dispute resolution process ap11 proved by the Commission as described in such

12 subsection; and

13 ‘‘(v) not to require Federal employees to

14 participate in a dispute resolution process made

15 available under clause (ii).

16 ‘‘(2)(A) A Federal employee who believes that an en17 tity of the Federal Government has discriminated against

18 such employee in violation of this section, to whom sub19 section (c)(1)(A)(ii) applies, who has requested such entity

20 to provide the conciliation described in subsection

21 (c)(1)(A)(ii), and who is the subject of, or about to be

22 the subject of, a personnel action to be taken against such

23 employee as a result of expressing that belief or requesting

24 such conciliation may file with the Commission a request
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1 for a stay of such personnel action, together with an affi2 davit made by such employee in support of such request.

3 ‘‘(B) Immediately after receiving such request so sup4 ported, the Commission shall appoint an administrative

5 judge to review such request. Subsection (f)(3) shall apply

6 with respect to such review and to the issuance of a stay

7 requested under subparagraph (A).’’.

8 (C) in the third sentence by striking ‘‘The’’

9 and inserting the following:

10 ‘‘(3) The’’,

11 (D) in the fourth sentence by redesignating

12 paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A)

13 and (B), respectively,

14 (E) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘With’’

15 and inserting the following:

16 ‘‘(4) With’’, and

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

18 ‘‘(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an unlawful

19 employment practice of the kind described in section

20 704(a) is established under this section if an employee or

21 applicant for employment demonstrates that his opposing

22 any practice made an unlawful employment practice by

23 this title, his making a charge, testifying, assisting, or par24 ticipating in any manner in an investigation, proceeding,

25 or hearing under this title, or his communicating with the
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1 Congress regarding discrimination in violation of this sec2 tion was a contributing factor in an adverse personnel ac3 tion that was taken or is to be taken against such em4 ployee or applicant.

5 ‘‘(B) On a claim in which a Federal employee proves

6 a violation under subparagraph (A) and a respondent

7 demonstrates, on the basis of the evidentiary standard

8 specified in section 1221(e)(2) of title 5 of the United

9 States Code, that the respondent would have to take the

10 same personnel action in the absence of the impermissible

11 motivating factor, the court—

12 ‘‘(i) may grant declaratory relief, injunctive re13 lief (except as provided in clause (ii)), and attorney’s

14 fees and costs demonstrated to be directly attrib15 utable only to the pursuit of a claim under subpara16 graph (A); and

17 ‘‘(ii) shall not award damages or issue an order

18 requiring any admission, reinstatement, hiring, pro19 motion, or payment not described in clause (i).’’,

20 (2) by striking subsection (c),

21 (3) in subsection (d)—

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’,

23 (B) by striking ‘‘(k)’’ and inserting ‘‘(j)’’,

24 (C) by striking ‘‘brought hereunder’’ and

25 inserting ‘‘commenced under this section’’, and
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1 (D) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(2) The head of the department, agency, or unit in

3 which discrimination in violation of this section is alleged

4 to have occurred shall be the defendant in a civil action

5 alleging such violation. If a department, unit, or agency

6 is named as the defendant, the court shall freely grant

7 leave to amend the complaint to name the head of such

8 department, agency, or unit.

9 ‘‘(3)(A) In any action or proceeding under this sec10 tion, the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing

11 party (other than an entity of the Federal Government)

12 a reasonable attorney’s fee (including expert fees) and

13 costs as a court has authority to award under section

14 706(k), as amended from time to time, and the same inter15 est to compensate for delay in payment as in cases involv16 ing nonpublic parties.

17 ‘‘(B) If an action brought under this section by or

18 on behalf a Federal employee is found by the court to be

19 unreasonable, groundless, or vexatious, the court, in its

20 discretion, may allow the respondent a reasonable attor21 ney’s fee (including expert fees), costs, and interest as a

22 court has authority to award in an action to a prevailing

23 party under subparagraph (A).’’,

24 (4) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as

25 subsections (o) and (p), respectively, and
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1 (5) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow2 ing:

3 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B),

4 (C), (D), and (E), a complaint filed by or on behalf of

5 a Federal employee or a class of Federal employees and

6 alleging a claim of discrimination arising under this sec7 tion shall name as the respondent, and be filed with, the

8 head of the department, agency, or unit in which such dis9 crimination is alleged to have occurred, or with the Com10 mission—

11 ‘‘(i) not later than 180 days after the alleged

12 discrimination occurs, except as provided in clause

13 (ii); and

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a respondent that provides

15 to such employee a voluntary alternative dispute res16 olution process approved by the Commission in ac17 cordance with rules issued by the Commission under

18 section 12005(a)(4) of the Economic Equity Act of

19 1996, after the expiration of the 20-day period be20 ginning on the date the Federal employee specifically

21 named in the complaint (or an individual authorized

22 to represent such Federal employee or both) re23 quests and offers to meet once with an individual

24 authorized to represent the respondent in accordance

25 with subparagraph (B) to engage in the
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1 precomplaint conciliation approved under such sec2 tion by the Commission to be provided by the re3 spondent, except that such 20-day period shall be

4 excluded for purposes calculating such 180 days.

5 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(ii)—

6 ‘‘(i) conciliation shall occur during the regular

7 working hours of such Federal employee; and

8 ‘‘(ii) an individual may not be authorized to

9 represent the respondent if such individual—

10 ‘‘(I) has or has had any involvement in the

11 circumstances relating to any of such claims; or

12 ‘‘(II) has or has had supervisory authority

13 over such Federal employee.

14 ‘‘(C) If, not later than 180 days (determined under

15 subparagraph (A)) after the alleged discrimination occurs,

16 the complaint is filed—

17 ‘‘(i) with such department, agency, or unit and

18 fails to name the head of the department, agency, or

19 unit as the respondent; or

20 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in subparagraph (E),

21 with any other entity of the Federal Government, re22 gardless of the respondent named;

23 the complaint shall be considered to be filed in compliance

24 with subparagraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(D) A complaint filed under this section with respect

2 to a claim of discrimination arising under this section shall

3 be dismissed if—

4 ‘‘(i) such claim is a grievance that is subject to

5 section 7121 of title 5, United States Code; and

6 ‘‘(ii) the aggrieved Federal employee has, in the

7 discretion of the Federal employee, exercised the op8 tion under section 7121(d) of such title to raise the

9 matter under the negotiated grievance procedure be10 fore filing the complaint.

11 ‘‘(E) A complaint filed by or on behalf of a Federal

12 employee, or a class of Federal employees, employed by

13 a department, agency, or unit in the intelligence commu14 nity (as defined by Executive Order 12333 or any succes15 sor to such order) and alleging a claim of discrimination

16 arising under this section shall be filed with the depart17 ment, agency, or unit in which such discrimination is al18 leged to have occurred not later than 180 days (deter19 mined under subparagraph (A)) after the alleged discrimi20 nation occurs.

21 ‘‘(2) If the complaint is filed with an entity of the

22 Federal Government other than the department, agency,

23 or unit in which such discrimination is alleged to have oc24 curred, then—
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1 ‘‘(A) such entity (other than the Commission)

2 shall transmit the complaint to the Commission, not

3 later than 10 days after receiving the complaint; and

4 ‘‘(B) the Commission shall transmit a copy of

5 the complaint, not later than 10 days after receiving

6 the complaint, to the head of the department, agen7 cy, or unit in which such discrimination is alleged to

8 have occurred (hereinafter in this section referred to

9 as the ‘respondent’).

10 ‘‘(3) Not later than 10 days after the respondent re11 ceives the complaint from a source other than the Com12 mission, the respondent shall transmit to the Commission

13 a copy of the complaint.

14 ‘‘(d) Throughout the period beginning on the date the

15 respondent receives the complaint and ending on the latest

16 date by which all administrative and judicial proceedings

17 available under this section have been concluded with re18 spect to such claim, the respondent shall collect and pre19 serve documents and information (including the com20 plaint) that are relevant to such claim, including the docu21 ments and information that comply with rules issued by

22 the Commission.

23 ‘‘(e)(1) The respondent shall make reasonable efforts

24 to conciliate each claim alleged in the complaint beginning

25 on the date the complaint is filed under subsection (c).
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1 After the complaint is filed, the respondent shall promptly

2 inform such Federal employee individually of the proce3 dures and deadlines that apply under this section to a

4 claim alleging such discrimination.

5 ‘‘(2)(A) With respect to such claim, the respondent

6 may enter into a settlement agreement with such Federal

7 employee.

8 ‘‘(B) The entity of the Federal Government with

9 which the complaint is filed under subsection (c) shall im10 mediately give formal written notice to such Federal em11 ployee that such Federal employee may either—

12 ‘‘(i) before the expiration of the 90-day period

13 beginning on the date such Federal employee re14 ceives such notice, file with the Commission—

15 ‘‘(I) a written request for a determination

16 of such claim under subsection (f) by an admin17 istrative judge of the Commission, together

18 with, at the option of such Federal employee, a

19 request that the administrative judge request a

20 stay described in subsection (f)(3)(A);

21 ‘‘(II) if such claim alleges discrimination in

22 the Commission or alleges an action appealable

23 to the Merit Systems Protection Board, a writ24 ten request electing that a determination of

25 such claim be made under the procedures speci-
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1 fied in either subparagraph (A) or (B) of sec2 tion 7702(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code,

3 or a request described in subclause (I); or

4 ‘‘(III) if such claim alleges a grievance

5 that is subject to section 7121 of title 5, United

6 States Code, but not appealable to the Merit

7 Systems Protection Board, a written request to

8 raise such claim under the administrative and

9 judicial procedures provided in such section

10 7121 or a request described in subclause (I); or

11 ‘‘(ii) in the 90-day period beginning on the date

12 the complaint is filed under subsection (c) or in the

13 90-day period beginning on the date such Federal

14 employee receives such notice (whichever 90-day pe15 riod begins later), commence a civil action in an ap16 propriate district court of the United States for de

17 novo review of such claim.

18 ‘‘(3)(A) Such Federal employee may either—

19 ‘‘(i) file a written request described in clause (i)

20 of paragraph (2)(B) at any time before the expira21 tion of the 90-day period specified in clause (i) of

22 such paragraph; or

23 ‘‘(ii) commence a civil action described in clause

24 (ii) of such paragraph before the expiration of the
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1 applicable 90-day period specified in paragraph

2 (2)(B)(ii).

3 ‘‘(B) If such Federal employee files a written request

4 under subclause (II) or (III) of paragraph (2)(B)(i) and

5 in accordance with subparagraph (A)(i), the Commission

6 shall transmit the complaint, not later than 10 days after

7 the Commission receives the complaint, to the appropriate

8 agency for determination.

9 ‘‘(f)(1) If such Federal employee files a written re10 quest under subsection (e)(2)(B)(i)(I) and in accordance

11 with subsection (e)(3)(A) with the Commission for a deter12 mination under this subsection of a claim with respect to

13 which notice is required by subsection (e)(2), then the

14 Commission shall transmit a copy of such request to the

15 respondent and, not later than 10 days after receiving

16 such request, shall appoint an administrative judge of the

17 Commission to determine such claim. If such request in18 cludes a request for a stay described in paragraph (3)(A),

19 then the Commission shall appoint an administrative

20 judge immediately after receiving such request.

21 ‘‘(2) Not later than 5 days after receiving a copy of

22 a request under subsection (e)(2)(B)(i), the respondent

23 shall transmit—

24 ‘‘(A) to the Commission if such request is for

25 a determination under this subsection; or
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1 ‘‘(B) to the Merit Systems Protection Board if

2 such request is for a determination be made under

3 the procedures specified in section 7702(a)(2)(A) of

4 title 5, United States Code;

5 a copy of all documents and information collected by the

6 respondent under subsection (d) with respect to such

7 claim.

8 ‘‘(3)(A) The administrative judge, in accordance with

9 rules issued by the Commission, may request any member

10 of the Commission to order a stay of any personnel action

11 for 45 days if the administrative judge determines that

12 there are reasonable grounds to believe that the personnel

13 action was taken for discriminatory or retaliatory reasons

14 prohibited under this section.

15 ‘‘(B)(i) Any member of the Commission requested

16 under subparagraph (A) to order a stay shall order such

17 stay unless the member determines that, under the facts

18 and circumstances involved, such a stay does not comply

19 with such rules or otherwise would not be appropriate.

20 ‘‘(ii) Unless denied under clause (i), any stay re21 quested under subparagraph (A) shall be deemed to be

22 ordered on the third calendar day (excluding Saturdays,

23 Sundays, and legal holidays) after the date of the request.

24 ‘‘(C) If a stay is ordered under subparagraph (B),

25 the member who received the request for such stay may
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1 terminate such stay at any time after giving notice, and

2 an opportunity for oral or written comments, to the ag3 grieved Federal employee on whose behalf such stay was

4 ordered.

5 ‘‘(D)(i) The Commission may extend the period of

6 any stay granted under subparagraph (B) for any period

7 that the Commission considers appropriate.

8 ‘‘(ii) Members of the Commission shall allow any en9 tity of the Federal Government that would be subject to

10 a stay, or to the extension of a stay, to comment to such

11 members and the Commission on the request for such stay

12 and on a request for such extension.

13 ‘‘(iii) The respondent shall comply with a stay in ef14 fect under this section.

15 ‘‘(4) The administrative judge shall determine wheth16 er the documents and information received under para17 graph (2) comply with subsection (d) and are complete

18 and accurate. If the administrative judge finds that the

19 respondent has failed to produce the documents and infor20 mation necessary to comply with such subsection, the ad21 ministrative judge shall, in the absence of good cause

22 shown by the respondent, impose any of the sanctions

23 specified in paragraph (6)(C) and shall require the re24 spondent—
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•HR 3857 IH

1 ‘‘(A) to obtain any additional documents and

2 information necessary to comply with such sub3 section; and

4 ‘‘(B) to correct any inaccuracy in the docu5 ments and information so received.

6 ‘‘(5)(A) After examining the documents and informa7 tion received under paragraph (4), the administrative

8 judge shall issue an order dismissing—

9 ‘‘(i) any frivolous claim alleged in the com10 plaint;

11 ‘‘(ii) any claim of a Federal employee who fails

12 to comply with subsection (c)(1)(A)(ii) if applicable

13 to such employee; and

14 ‘‘(iii) the complaint if it fails to state a non15 frivolous claim for which relief may be granted

16 under this section.

17 ‘‘(B)(i) If a claim or the complaint is dismissed under

18 subparagraph (A), the administrative judge shall give for19 mal written notice to the aggrieved Federal employee that

20 such Federal employee may, before the expiration of the

21 90-day period beginning on the date such Federal em22 ployee receives such notice—

23 ‘‘(I) file with the Commission a written request

24 for appellate review of such order; or
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1 ‘‘(II) commence a civil action in an appropriate

2 district court of the United States for de novo review

3 of such claim or the complaint.

4 ‘‘(ii) Such Federal employee may commence such civil

5 action after the dismissal of such claim or the complaint

6 and before the expiration of the 90-day period specified

7 in clause (i).

8 ‘‘(6)(A)(i) If the complaint is not dismissed under

9 paragraph (5)(A), the administrative judge shall make a

10 determination, after an opportunity for a hearing, on the

11 merits of each claim that is not dismissed under such

12 paragraph. The administrative judge shall make a deter13 mination on the merits of any other nonfrivolous claim

14 under this section, and on the merits of any action such

15 Federal employee may appeal to the Merit Systems Pro16 tection Board, reasonably expected to arise from the facts

17 on which the complaint is based.

18 ‘‘(ii) On the request of the aggrieved Federal em19 ployee, the administrative judge shall—

20 ‘‘(I) determine whether the administrative pro21 ceeding with respect to such claim may be main22 tained as a class proceeding; and

23 ‘‘(II) if the administrative proceeding may be so

24 maintained, shall describe those whom the adminis25 trative judge finds to be members of such class.
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•HR 3857 IH

1 ‘‘(B) With respect to such claim, a party may conduct

2 discovery by such means as may be available in a civil ac3 tion to the extent deemed appropriate by the administra4 tive judge.

5 ‘‘(C) If the aggrieved Federal employee or the re6 spondent fails without good cause to respond fully and in

7 a timely fashion to a request made or approved by the

8 administrative judge for information or the attendance of

9 a witness, and if such information or such witness is solely

10 in the control of the party who so fails to respond, then

11 the administrative judge shall—

12 ‘‘(i) draw an adverse inference that the re13 quested information, or the testimony of the re14 quested witness, would have reflected unfavorably on

15 the party who so fails to respond;

16 ‘‘(ii) consider the matters to which such infor17 mation or such testimony pertains to be established

18 in favor of the opposing party;

19 ‘‘(iii) exclude other evidence offered by the

20 party who so fails to respond;

21 ‘‘(iv) grant full or partial relief, including—

22 ‘‘(I) relief of the kinds described in section

23 706(g); and

24 ‘‘(II) compensatory damages for unlawful

25 intentional discrimination (not an employment
52

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1 practice that is unlawful because of its dispar2 ate impact) prohibited under this section, sub3 ject to the limitations specified in section

4 1977A(b)(3) of the Revised Statutes of the

5 United States;

6 to the aggrieved Federal employee; or

7 ‘‘(v) take such other action the administrative

8 judge considers to be appropriate.

9 ‘‘(D) In a hearing on a claim, the administrative

10 judge shall—

11 ‘‘(i) limit attendance to persons who have a di12 rect connection with such claim;

13 ‘‘(ii) bring out pertinent facts and relevant em14 ployment practices and policies, and ensure that the

15 record is developed for a full and fair determination

16 of such claim, but exclude irrelevant or unduly rep17 etitious information;

18 ‘‘(iii) permit all parties to examine and cross

19 examine witnesses; and

20 ‘‘(iv) require that testimony be given under

21 oath or affirmation.

22 ‘‘(E) At the request of any party or the administra23 tive judge, a transcript of all or part of such hearing shall

24 be provided in a timely manner and simultaneously to the
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1 parties and the Commission. The respondent shall bear

2 the cost of providing such transcript.

3 ‘‘(F) The administrative judge shall have authority—

4 ‘‘(i) to administer oaths and affirmations;

5 ‘‘(ii) to regulate the course of hearings;

6 ‘‘(iii) to rule on offers of proof and receive evi7 dence;

8 ‘‘(iv) to issue subpoenas to compel—

9 ‘‘(I) the production of documents or infor10 mation by the entity of the Federal Government

11 in which discrimination is alleged to have oc12 curred; and

13 ‘‘(II) the attendance of witnesses who are

14 Federal officers or employees of such entity;

15 ‘‘(v) to request the Commission to issue subpoe16 nas to compel the production of documents or infor17 mation by any other entity of the Federal Govern18 ment or by the aggrieved Federal employee, and the

19 attendance of other witnesses, except that any wit20 ness who is not an officer or employee of an entity

21 of the Federal Government may be compelled only to

22 attend any place—

23 ‘‘(I) less than 100 miles from the place

24 where such witness resides, is employed, trans25 acts business in person, or is served; or
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1 ‘‘(II) at such other convenient place as is

2 fixed by the administrative judge;

3 and shall be paid fees and allowances, by the party

4 that requests the subpoena, to the same extent that

5 fees and allowances are paid to witnesses under

6 chapter 119 of title 28, United States Code, as

7 amended from time to time;

8 ‘‘(vi) to exclude witnesses whose testimony

9 would be unduly repetitious;

10 ‘‘(vii) to exclude any person from a hearing for

11 contumacious conduct, or for misbehavior, that ob12 structs such hearing; and

13 ‘‘(viii) to grant full or partial relief, including—

14 ‘‘(I) relief of the kinds described in section

15 706(g); and

16 ‘‘(II) compensatory damages for unlawful

17 intentional discrimination (not an employment

18 practice that is unlawful because of its dispar19 ate impact) prohibited under this section, sub20 ject to the limitations specified in section

21 1977A(b)(3) of the Revised Statutes of the

22 United States.

23 ‘‘(G) The administrative judge and the Commission

24 shall have authority to award to a prevailing party (other

25 than an entity of the Federal Government)—
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1 ‘‘(i) a reasonable attorney’s fee (including ex2 pert fees) and costs as a court has authority to

3 award under section 706(k), as amended from time

4 to time; and

5 ‘‘(ii) the same interest to compensate for delay

6 in payment as in cases involving nonpublic parties.

7 ‘‘(H) The Commission shall have authority to issue

8 subpoenas described in subparagraph (F)(v).

9 ‘‘(I) In the case of contumacy or failure to obey a

10 subpoena issued under subparagraph (F) or (H), the Unit11 ed States district court for the judicial district in which

12 the person to whom the subpoena is addressed resides or

13 is served may issue an order requiring such person to ap14 pear at any designated place to testify or to produce docu15 mentary or other evidence.

16 ‘‘(7)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the

17 administrative judge shall issue a written order making

18 the determination required by paragraph (6)(A), and

19 granting or denying relief, not later than—

20 ‘‘(i)(I) 300 days after the complaint containing

21 such claim is filed by or on behalf of a Federal em22 ployee if such complaint is filed in the 1-year period

23 beginning on the effective date of this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(II) except as provided in subclause (I), 210

2 days after the complaint containing such claim is

3 filed by or on behalf of a Federal employee; or

4 ‘‘(ii) 2 years and 30 days after the complaint

5 containing such claim is filed on behalf of a class of

6 Federal employees;

7 except that these time periods shall be extended for 30

8 days if the administrative judge certifies, in writing, that

9 such 30-day period is needed to secure additional docu10 ments or information from the respondent to have a com11 plete administrative record.

12 ‘‘(B) The administrative judge shall issue such order

13 not later than 30 days after the applicable period specified

14 in subparagraph (A) if the administrative judge certifies

15 in writing, before the expiration of such applicable pe16 riod—

17 ‘‘(i) that such 30-day period is necessary to

18 make such determination; and

19 ‘‘(ii) the particular and unusual circumstances

20 that prevent the administrative judge from comply21 ing with the applicable period specified in subpara22 graph (A).

23 ‘‘(C) The administrative judge may apply to the Com24 mission to extend any period applicable under subpara-
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1 graph (A) or (B) if manifest injustice would occur in the

2 absence of such an extension.

3 ‘‘(D) The Commission—

4 ‘‘(i) may not grant such extension; or

5 ‘‘(ii) shall terminate such extension;

6 if the aggrieved Federal employee shows that such exten7 sion would prejudice a claim of, or otherwise harm, such

8 Federal employee.

9 ‘‘(E) In addition to findings of fact and conclusions

10 of law, such order shall include formal written notice to

11 each party that before the expiration of the 90-day period

12 beginning on the date such party receives such order—

13 ‘‘(i) the aggrieved Federal employee may com14 mence a civil action in an appropriate district court

15 of the United States for de novo review of a claim

16 with respect to which such order is issued; and

17 ‘‘(ii) unless and until a civil action is com18 menced in such 90-day period under clause (i) with

19 respect to such claim, any party may file with the

20 Commission a written request for appellate review of

21 the determination made, and relief granted or de22 nied, in such order with respect to such claim.

23 ‘‘(F) Such Federal employee may commence such

24 civil action at any time before the expiration of the 90-
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1 day period beginning on the date such Federal employee

2 receives an order described in subparagraph (A).

3 ‘‘(G) If such order applies to more than one claim

4 and if—

5 ‘‘(i) such employee does not commence a civil

6 action in accordance with subparagraph (E)(i); and

7 ‘‘(ii) neither party requests appellate review in

8 accordance with subparagraph (E)(ii);

9 with respect to a particular claim, then the determination

10 made, and relief granted, in such order with respect to

11 such particular claim shall be enforceable immediately.

12 ‘‘(g)(1) If a party files timely a written request in

13 accordance with subsection (f)(5)(B)(i) or (f)(7)(E)(ii)

14 with the Commission for appellate review of the deter15 mination made, and relief granted or denied, with respect

16 to a claim in such order, then the Commission shall imme17 diately transmit a copy of such request to the other parties

18 involved and to the administrative judge who issued such

19 order.

20 ‘‘(2) Not later than 7 days after receiving a copy of

21 such request, the administrative judge shall transmit to

22 the Commission the record of the proceeding on which

23 such order is based, including all documents and informa24 tion collected by the respondent under subsection (d).
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1 ‘‘(3)(A) After allowing the parties to file briefs with

2 respect to such determination, the Commission shall issue

3 a written order with respect to such claim affirming, re4 versing, or modifying the applicable provisions of the order

5 of the administrative judge not later than—

6 ‘‘(i) 150 days after receiving such request; or

7 ‘‘(ii) 30 days after such 150-day period if the

8 Commission certifies in writing, before the expiration

9 of such 150-day period—

10 ‘‘(I) that such 30-day period is necessary

11 to review such claim; and

12 ‘‘(II) the particular and unusual cir13 cumstances that prevent the Commission from

14 complying with clause (i).

15 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall affirm the determination

16 made, and relief granted or denied, by the administrative

17 judge with respect to such claim if such determination and

18 such relief are supported by a preponderance of the evi19 dence in the record taken as a whole and are otherwise

20 in accordance with law. The Commission shall accord sub21 stantial deference to the findings of fact of the administra22 tive judge.

23 ‘‘(C) In addition to findings of fact and conclusions

24 of law, the Commission shall include in its order formal

25 written notice to the aggrieved Federal employee that, be-
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1 fore the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the

2 date such Federal employee receives such order, such Fed3 eral employee may commence a civil action in an appro4 priate district court of the United States for de novo re5 view of a claim with respect to which such order is issued.

6 ‘‘(D) Such Federal employee may commence such

7 civil action at any time before the expiration of the 90-

8 day period beginning on the date such Federal employee

9 receives an order described in subparagraph (A).

10 ‘‘(h)(1) In addition to the periods authorized by sub11 sections (f)(7)(F) and (g)(3)(D)—

12 ‘‘(A) during the period beginning 20 days after

13 the expiration of the applicable period specified in

14 subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (f)(7) and

15 ending on the date the administrative judge issues

16 under such subsection an order with respect to such

17 claim; and

18 ‘‘(B) during the period beginning 20 days after

19 the expiration of the applicable period specified in

20 subsection (g)(3)(A) and ending on the date the

21 Commission issues under such subsection an order

22 with respect to such claim;

23 such Federal employee may commence a civil action in an

24 appropriate district court of the United States for de novo

25 review of such claim.
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1 ‘‘(2) Whenever a civil action is commenced timely and

2 otherwise in accordance with this section to determine the

3 merits of a claim arising under this section, the jurisdic4 tion of the administrative judge or the Commission (as

5 the case may be) to determine the merits of such claim

6 shall terminate.

7 ‘‘(i) A Federal employee who prevails on a claim aris8 ing under this section may bring a civil action in an appro9 priate district court of the United States to enforce—

10 ‘‘(1) the provisions of a settlement agreement

11 applicable to such claim;

12 ‘‘(2) the provisions of an order issued by an ad13 ministrative judge under subsection (f)(7)(A) appli14 cable to such claim if—

15 ‘‘(A) a request is not filed timely under

16 subsection (g)(1) for appellate review by the

17 Commission; and

18 ‘‘(B) a civil action is not commenced time19 ly under subsection (g)(3)(D) for de novo re20 view;

21 of such claim; or

22 ‘‘(3) the provisions of an order issued by the

23 Commission under subsection (g)(3)(A) applicable to

24 such claim if a civil action is not commenced timely
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1 under subsection (g)(3)(D) for de novo review of

2 such claim.

3 ‘‘(j) Any amount awarded under this section (includ4 ing fees, costs, and interest awarded under subsection

5 (f)(6)(G)), or under title 28 of the United States Code,

6 with respect to a violation of this section, shall be paid

7 by the entity of the Federal Government that violated such

8 subsection from any funds made available to such entity

9 by appropriation or otherwise.

10 ‘‘(k)(1) An entity of the Federal Government against

11 which a claim of discrimination is alleged in a complaint

12 filed in an administrative proceeding or a civil action

13 under this section shall grant the aggrieved Federal em14 ployee paid administrative leave if otherwise on duty, for

15 time expended in accordance with rules issued by the Com16 mission to carry out this section, except that such leave

17 shall include reasonable time for—

18 ‘‘(A) preparation of a complaint based on such

19 allegation;

20 ‘‘(B) conciliation required by subsection

21 (c)(1)(A)(ii);

22 ‘‘(C) responding to requests made by the Com23 mission (including administrative judges) or the re24 spondent for information; and

25 ‘‘(D) attendance at such proceeding or action.
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1 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), an entity

2 of the Federal Government shall grant a Federal em3 ployee—

4 ‘‘(A) paid administrative leave to participate for

5 the benefit of a claimant in an administrative pro6 ceeding or civil action commenced under this section

7 to the same extent and under such circumstances as

8 such entity would grant an employee official duty or

9 paid administrative leave to participate for the bene10 fit of a Federal entity in an administrative proceed11 ing or civil action commenced under this section

12 against such entity; and

13 ‘‘(B) other leave to participate for the benefit of

14 a claimant in an administrative proceeding or civil

15 action commenced under this section to the same ex16 tent and under such circumstances as such entity

17 would grant an employee other leave to participate

18 for the benefit of a Federal entity in an administra19 tive proceeding or civil action commenced under this

20 section against such entity.

21 ‘‘(l)(1) In enforcing compliance with an order issued

22 by an administrative judge or the Commission, the Com23 mission may make a written determination that—
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1 ‘‘(A) any officer or employee of the agency, de2 partment, or unit charged with complying with such

3 order; or

4 ‘‘(B) any officer or employee of the United

5 States determined to be responsible for the failure of

6 the agency, department, or unit to comply with such

7 order;

8 who is not an officer or employee appointed by the Presi9 dent by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,

10 shall not be entitled to receive payment for service as an

11 officer or employee for the period during which such order

12 has not been complied with. The Commission shall certify

13 to the Comptroller General of the United States that a

14 determination under this paragraph has been made, and

15 no payment shall be made out of the Treasury of the Unit16 ed States for any service specified in such determination.

17 ‘‘(2) In enforcing compliance with such order with re18 spect to any officer or employee described in subparagraph

19 (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) who is an officer or employee

20 appointed by the President by and with the advice and

21 consent of the Senate, the Commission shall notify the

22 President that such officer or employee has failed to obey

23 such order.

24 ‘‘(m) If with respect to the merits of a claim of inten25 tional discrimination (other than an employment practice
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1 that is unlawful because of its disparate impact) prohib2 ited by this section, a Federal employee prevails in a pro3 ceeding under subsection (f) or a civil action commenced

4 under this section, then not later than 15 days after issu5 ing an order finding liability under this section, the admin6 istrative judge or the district court involved shall transmit

7 to the Office of Special Counsel a copy of such order.

8 ‘‘(n) This section, as in effect immediately before the

9 effective date of the Economic Equity Act of 1996, shall

10 apply with respect to employment in the Library of Con11 gress.’’.

12 SEC. 12002. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN

13 EMPLOYMENT ACT AND THE REHABILITA14 TION ACT OF 1973.

15 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY EEOC.—(1) Section 15 of the

16 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29

17 U.S.C. 633a) is amended—

18 (A) by striking subsections (c) and (d),

19 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(c)(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),

22 any individual aggrieved by a violation of subsection (a)

23 of this section may file a complaint with the Commission

24 in accordance with section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of

25 1964.
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1 ‘‘(B) Subsections (c) and (d) of this section, as in

2 effect immediately before the effective date of the Eco3 nomic Equity Act of 1996, shall apply with respect to em4 ployment in the Library of Congress.

5 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1)(B) and

6 subsection (d), such section 717 shall apply to a violation

7 alleged in a complaint filed under paragraph (1) in the

8 same manner as such section applies to a claim arising

9 under section 717 of such Act.

10 ‘‘(d)(1) If an individual aggrieved by a violation of

11 this section does not file a complaint under subsection

12 (c)(1), such individual may commence a civil action—

13 ‘‘(A) not less than 30 days after filing with the

14 Commission a notice of intent to commence such ac15 tion; and

16 ‘‘(B) not more than 2 years after the alleged

17 violation of this section occurs;

18 in an appropriate district court of the United States for

19 de novo review of such violation.

20 ‘‘(2) On receiving such notice, the Commission

21 shall—

22 ‘‘(A) promptly notify all persons named in such

23 notice as prospective defendants in such action; and

24 ‘‘(B) take any appropriate action to ensure the

25 elimination of any unlawful practice.
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1 ‘‘(3) Section 717(o) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

2 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(o)) shall apply to civil actions com3 menced under this subsection in the same manner as such

4 section applies to civil actions commenced under section

5 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.’’,

6 (C) in subsection (f)—

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’,

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 12(b)’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘sections 12(b) and 4(d)’’, and

10 (iii) by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), an unlawful

12 personnel action of the kind described in section 4(d) is

13 established under subsection (a) if an employee or appli14 cant for employment demonstrates that his opposing any

15 practice made an unlawful employment practice by sub16 section (a), his making a charge, testifying, assisting, or

17 participating in any manner in an investigation, proceed18 ing, or hearing under this section, or his communicating

19 with the Congress regarding discrimination in violation of

20 subsection (a) was a contributing factor in an adverse per21 sonnel action that was taken or is to be taken against such

22 employee or applicant.

23 ‘‘(B) On a claim in which a Federal employee proves

24 a violation under subparagraph (A) and a respondent

25 demonstrates, on the basis of the evidentiary standard
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1 specified in section 1221(e)(2) of title 5 of the United

2 States Code, that the respondent would have taken the

3 same personnel action in the absence of the impermissible

4 motivating factor, the court—

5 ‘‘(i) may grant declaratory relief, injunctive re6 lief (except as provided in clause (ii)), and attorney’s

7 fees and costs demonstrated to be directly attrib8 utable only to the pursuit of a claim under subpara9 graph (A); and

10 ‘‘(ii) shall not award damages or issue an order

11 requiring any admission, reinstatement, hiring, pro12 motion, or payment not described in clause (i).’’,

13 (2) Section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

14 U.S.C. 794a) is amended—

15 (A) in subsection (a)(1)—

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(a)(1)’’,

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘706(k)’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘706(j)’’,

19 (iii) by striking ‘‘through (k)’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘through (j)’’, and

21 (iv) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(B) The first sentence of this paragraph, as in effect

23 immediately before the effective date of the Economic Eq24 uity Act of 1996, shall apply with respect to employment

25 in the Library of Congress.’’, and
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1 (B) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘In’’ and in2 serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (a)(1),

3 in’’.

4 (b) OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENCE CIVIL ACTION.—

5 If a complaint filed under section 15 of the Age Discrimi6 nation in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 633a), or

7 section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

8 791)), with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis9 sion is pending in the period beginning on the date of the

10 enactment of this subtitle and ending on December 31,

11 1996, the individual who filed such complaint may com12 mence a civil action under such section not later than June

13 30, 1997.

14 SEC. 12003. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 5 OF THE UNITED

15 STATES CODE.

16 (a) GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES.—Section 7121 of title

17 5, United States Code, is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by inserting ‘‘adminis19 trative’’ after ‘‘exclusive’’, and

20 (2) in subsection (d)—

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’,

22 (B) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘, in

23 the discretion of the aggrieved employee,’’ after

24 ‘‘may’’, and
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1 (C) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘Selec2 tion’’ and all that follows through ‘‘any other’’,

3 and inserting the following:

4 ‘‘(2) An employee may commence, not later than 120

5 days after a final decision, a civil action in an appropriate

6 district court of the United States for de novo review of

7 a’’.

8 (b) ACTIONS INVOLVING DISCRIMINATION.—Section

9 7702 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read

10 as follows:

11 ‘‘§ 7702. Actions involving discrimination

12 ‘‘(a)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

13 in the case of any employee or applicant for employment

14 who—

15 ‘‘(A) is affected by—

16 ‘‘(i) an action which the employee or appli17 cant may appeal to the Merit Systems Protec18 tion Board, or

19 ‘‘(ii) an action, not described in clause

20 (i)—

21 ‘‘(I) on the part the Equal Employ22 ment Opportunity Commission, and

23 ‘‘(II) with respect to which the em24 ployee or applicant makes an election
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1 under section 717(e)(2)(B)(i)(II) of the

2 Civil Rights Act of 1964, and

3 ‘‘(B) alleges that a basis for the action was dis4 crimination prohibited by—

5 ‘‘(i) section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of

6 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a–16),

7 ‘‘(ii) section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Stand8 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)),

9 ‘‘(iii) section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act

10 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791),

11 ‘‘(iv) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Dis12 crimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29

13 U.S.C. 631, 633a), or

14 ‘‘(v) any rule, regulation, or policy directive

15 prescribed under any provision of law described

16 in clauses (i) through (iv) of this subparagraph,

17 the employee or applicant may raise the action as provided

18 in paragraph (2).

19 ‘‘(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the employee

20 shall raise the action by filing a complaint in accordance

21 with section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and shall

22 make a request described in section 717(e)(2)(B)(i) select23 ing the procedures specified in one of the following sub24 paragraphs:
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1 ‘‘(A) The administrative and judicial procedures

2 provided under sections 7701 and 7703.

3 ‘‘(B) The administrative and judicial procedures

4 provided under section 7121.

5 ‘‘(C) The administrative and judicial procedures

6 provided under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act

7 of 1964.

8 ‘‘(3) The agency (including the Board and the Equal

9 Employment Opportunity Commission) that carries out

10 such procedures shall apply the substantive law that is ap11 plied by the agency that administers the particular law

12 referred to in subsection (a)(1) that prohibits the conduct

13 alleged to be the basis of the action referred to in sub14 section (a)(1)(A).

15 ‘‘(b) If—

16 ‘‘(1) an employee elects the procedures specified

17 in subsection (a)(2)(C), and

18 ‘‘(2) the Equal Employment Opportunity Com19 mission dismisses under section 717(f)(5)(A) of the

20 Civil Rights Act of 1964 a claim that is based on

21 the action raised by the employee,

22 then the employee shall have 20 days in which to raise

23 the action under the procedures specified in subparagraph

24 (A) or (B) of subsection (a)(2), except that no allegation
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1 of a kind described in subsection (a)(1)(B) may be raised

2 under this subsection.

3 ‘‘(c) If at any time after the 120th day following the

4 receipt under section 717(e)(3)(B) of the Civil Rights Act

5 of 1964 of a complaint as a result of an election made

6 under section 717(e)(2)(B)(i) of the Civil Rights Act of

7 1964 to raise an action under the procedures specified in

8 subsection (a)(2)(A) there is no judicially reviewable ac9 tion, an employee shall be entitled to file, not later than

10 240 days after making such election, a civil action in an

11 appropriate district court of the United States for de novo

12 review of the action raised under subsection (a).

13 ‘‘(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to af14 fect the right to trial de novo under any provision of law

15 described in subsection (a)(1) after a judicially reviewable

16 action.’’.

17 (c) DISCIPLINARY ACTION.—(1) Section 1214 of title

18 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(g)(1) Whenever the Office of Special Counsel re21 ceives any copy of an order, in accordance with section

22 717(m) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, with respect to

23 a claim arising under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act

24 of 1964, section 15(a) of the Age Discrimination in Em25 ployment Act of 1967, or section 501 of the Rehabilitation
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1 Act of 1973, the Special Counsel shall investigate the mat2 ter to the extent necessary to determine whether there are

3 reasonable grounds to believe that a prohibited personnel

4 practice described in section 2302(b)(1) has occurred and,

5 if so, shall seek the appropriate disciplinary action under

6 section 1215.

7 ‘‘(2) A determination under this subsection shall be

8 made not later than 180 days after the appropriate date

9 under paragraph (3) for the last applicable event described

10 in such paragraph.

11 ‘‘(3)(A) With respect to a claim—

12 ‘‘(i) to which an order issued by an administra13 tive judge of the Equal Employment Opportunity

14 Commission applies, and

15 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which the aggrieved em16 ployee neither—

17 ‘‘(I) commences a civil action in accord18 ance with section 717(f)(7)(E)(i) of the Civil

19 Rights Act of 1964, nor

20 ‘‘(II) requests appellate review in accord21 ance with section 717(f)(7)(E)(ii) of the Civil

22 Rights Act of 1964,

23 the appropriate date is the date on which the Office of

24 Special Counsel receives a copy of an order (referred to

25 in paragraph (1)) from the administrative judge.
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1 ‘‘(B) With respect to a claim—

2 ‘‘(i) to which an order issued by the Equal Em3 ployment Opportunity Commission applies, and

4 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which the aggrieved em5 ployee does not commence a civil action in accord6 ance with section 717(g)(3)(D),

7 the appropriate date is the date on which the Office of

8 Special Counsel receives a copy of an order (referred to

9 in paragraph (1)) from the Commission.

10 ‘‘(C) With respect to a claim to which a final judg11 ment issued by a court of the United States applies, the

12 appropriate date is the date on which the Office of Special

13 Counsel receives a copy of an order (referred to in para14 graph (1)) from such court.

15 ‘‘(4) For the purpose of this subsection—

16 ‘‘(A) the term ‘order’ means an order issued on

17 the merits;

18 ‘‘(B) the term ‘judgment’ means a judgment is19 sued on the merits; and

20 ‘‘(C) the term ‘final judgment’ means a judg21 ment that is either—

22 ‘‘(i) not reviewed by any other court that

23 has authority to review such judgment; or

24 ‘‘(ii) not reviewable by any other court.’’.
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1 (2) Section 1218 of title 5, United States Code, is

2 amended—

3 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before the first sentence;

4 and

5 (B) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(b) Any statistical or other information provided

7 under the first sentence of subsection (a) shall specify with

8 respect to each particular prohibited personnel practice,

9 the extent to which such information relates to any matter

10 referred to in section 1214(g), the disposition of such

11 practice, and the basis for such disposition.’’.

12 (d) RECORDKEEPING.—(1) Chapter 23 of title 5,

13 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

14 following:

15 ‘‘§ 2306. Federal personnel records

16 ‘‘(a) For the purpose of this section—

17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘personnel action’ has the mean18 ing given such term in section 2302(a)(2)(A);

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘record’ has the meaning given

20 such term in section 552a(a)(4); and

21 ‘‘(3) the term ‘employee’ means an employee or

22 applicant for employment in any entity of the Fed23 eral Government to which—

24 ‘‘(A) section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act

25 of 1964 applies;
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1 ‘‘(B) section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act

2 of 1973 applies; or,

3 ‘‘(C) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Dis4 crimination in Employment Act of 1967 apply;

5 but does not include any employee or applicant for

6 employment with respect to whom section 117, or

7 title III (excluding section 320), of the Civil Rights

8 Act of 1991 applies.

9 ‘‘(b) Records relating to any personnel action taken

10 with respect to an employee shall be maintained by the

11 employing authority for at least the greater of—

12 ‘‘(1) 270 days after the effective date of the

13 personnel action to which such records relate; or

14 ‘‘(2) the period of time otherwise required

15 under applicable provisions of law, rule, or regula16 tion, if any.

17 ‘‘(c) The Office of Personnel Management, in con18 sultation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Com19 mission, shall issue guidelines for the implementation of

20 this section by an entity of the Federal Government (as

21 defined in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).’’.

22 (2) The table of sections for chapter 23 of title 5,

23 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

24 following:

‘‘2306. Federal personnel records.’’.
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1 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 7703(b)

2 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘(1) Except as

4 provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘A’’, and

6 (2) by striking paragraph (2).

7 (f) RIGHT TO INTERVENE.—Section 1212(c)(2) of

8 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2)(A)’’;

10 and

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

12 ‘‘(B) Consent under subparagraph (A) shall not be

13 required, in the case of an appeal from an action, if—

14 ‘‘(i) section 7513(d) is the provision making the

15 action appealable to the Board;

16 ‘‘(ii) the appeal is brought in a matter with re17 spect to which a copy of an order has been received

18 by the Office of Special Counsel under section

19 717(m) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and

20 ‘‘(iii) 1 of the grounds for the action being ap21 pealed is discrimination of a type described in sec22 tion 2302(b)(1).’’.

23 SEC. 12004. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

24 Section 717(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

25 U.S.C. 2000e–16(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘Civil Service
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1 Commission’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Com2 mission’’.

3 SEC. 12005. ISSUANCE OF PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES AND

4 NOTICE RULES.

5 (a) ISSUANCE OF CERTAIN RULES AND GUIDE6 LINES.—After providing notice in accordance with section

7 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, and not later than

8 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subtitle,

9 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall

10 issue—

11 (1) rules to assist entities of the Federal Gov12 ernment to comply with section 717(d) of the Civil

13 Rights Act of 1964, as added by section 12002 of

14 this subtitle,

15 (2) rules establishing—

16 (A) a uniform written official notice to be

17 used to comply with section 717 of such Act, as

18 added by section 12002 of this subtitle, and

19 (B) detailed requirements applicable to col20 lecting and preserving documents and informa21 tion under section 717(d), as added by section

22 12002 of this subtitle,

23 (3) guidelines describing an alternative dispute

24 resolution process that may be used by entities of

25 the Federal Government (as defined in section
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1 701(p) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (7 U.S.C.

2 2000e(p)), in their discretion, consistent with the

3 administrative process applicable to claims under

4 section 717 of such Act, and

5 (4) rules establishing the criteria, standards,

6 and process for obtaining Commission simultaneous

7 approval of—

8 (A) a process for precomplaint conciliation

9 of the kind required by section 717(c)(1)(A)(i)

10 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and

11 (B) an alternative dispute resolution proc12 ess for purposes of such section.

13 (b) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED GUIDELINES.—Not

14 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of

15 this subtitle, the Equal Employment Opportunity Com16 mission shall publish in the Federal Register proposed

17 guidelines of the kind described in subsection (a)(3) and

18 proposed rules of the kind described in subsection (a)(4),

19 and allow not less than 30 days for public comment before

20 issuing guidelines and rules under paragraphs (3) and (4)

21 of subsection (a).

22 (c) STANDARDS FOR ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESO23 LUTION PROCESSES.—The guidelines required by sub24 sections (a) and (b) shall provide for alternative dispute

25 resolution processes that include—
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1 (1) procedural rules applicable to the operation

2 of such processes, including a description of the

3 roles of Federal employees and the authorized rep4 resentatives of such employees in such processes,

5 (2) an opportunity for meaningful participation

6 by Federal employees, and their authorized rep7 resentatives if appropriate, in the design and devel8 opment of such processes and such rules,

9 (3) methods for selecting and training qualified

10 facilitators, including the use of nonparty neutrals

11 not from the employing activities,

12 (4) providing to the parties access to relevant

13 documents and witnesses,

14 (5) application of decisional law and legal prin15 ciples,

16 (6) periodic evaluation of the efficacy of

17 facilitators,

18 (7) periodic evaluation of the efficacy of the al19 ternative dispute resolution process and conciliation

20 (including precomplaint conciliation), and reporting

21 on the resolution and settlement of disputes under

22 such process, and

23 (8) confidentiality of communications (including

24 offers of settlement) among participants in such

25 process.
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1 (d) IDENTIFICATION OF APPROVED ALTERNATIVE

2 DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESSES.—Not later than 21

3 months after the date of the enactment of this subtitle,

4 and annually thereafter, the Equal Employment Oppor5 tunity Commission shall publish in the Federal Register

6 the names of the entities of the Federal Government (as

7 defined in section 701 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)

8 that provide a voluntary alternative dispute resolution

9 process approved by the Commission in accordance with

10 the rules in effect under subsection (a)(4).

11 (e) VOLUNTARY SETTLEMENT PROGRAM.—The

12 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall issue

13 rules establishing a program and procedures, consistent

14 with the administrative adjudication of claims under sec15 tion 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by

16 this subtitle, to foster the voluntary settlement of such

17 claims.

18 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 705 of the

19 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000–e4) is amended

20 by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(l) The Commission shall include in each report

22 made under subsection (e) the following information sepa23 rately identified with respect to each entity of the Federal

24 Government for the period for which such report is made:
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1 ‘‘(1) The number of Federal employees who

2 participated in conciliation provided under section

3 717(c)(1)(A)(ii) as added by the Economic Equity

4 Act of 1996.

5 ‘‘(2) The number of such employees who en6 tered into a settlement under section 717, as amend7 ed by such Act, for relief of any kind.

8 ‘‘(3) The number of such employees who filed

9 complaints under such section 717.

10 ‘‘(4) The number of other Federal employees

11 who filed complaints under such section.

12 The head of each such entity shall provide such informa13 tion timely to the Commission to enable the Commission

14 to comply with this subsection.’’.

15 SEC. 12006. ISSUANCE OF RULES REGARDING CLASSIFIED

16 INFORMATION.

17 (a) RULES REQUIRED.—The Equal Employment Op18 portunity Commission, in consultation with the Director

19 of Central Intelligence, the Secretary of Defense, and the

20 Director of the Information Security Oversight Office of

21 the General Services Administration, shall issue rules to

22 ensure the protection of classified information and na23 tional security information in administrative proceedings

24 under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

25 U.S.C. 2000e–16). Such rules shall include a requirement
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1 that complaints filed under section 717(c) of such Act that

2 bear on classified information shall be handled only by ad3 ministrative judges, and other personnel, who have appro4 priate security clearances.

5 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of subsection (a),

6 the term ‘‘classified information’’ has the meaning given

7 such term in section 606(1) of the National Security Act

8 of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 426(1)).

9 SEC. 12007. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

10 Any reference in any law (other than title VII of the

11 Civil Rights Act of 1964) to any provision of title VII of

12 the Civil Rights Act of 1964 amended by this subtitle shall

13 be deemed to be a reference to such provision as amended

14 by this subtitle.

15 SEC. 12008. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

16 (a) APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS.—It is the sense of

17 the Congress that because the amendments made by this

18 subtitle—

19 (1) impose on the Equal Employment Oppor20 tunity Commission additional administrative respon21 sibility in the processing of claims of Federal em22 ployees based on discrimination in employment, and

23 (2) increase the financial burden on the Com24 mission to carry out such responsibility,
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1 the amount appropriated to the Commission to carry out

2 laws prohibiting discrimination in Federal employment

3 should be increased accordingly to enable the Commission

4 to carry out its additional responsibility.

5 (b) PAYMENT OF RELIEF AWARDED.—It is the sense

6 of the Congress that the payment of any relief awarded

7 under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

8 U.S.C. 20003–16) should not be made by any Federal

9 agency out of any funds appropriated to such agency for

10 the salaries and expenses.

11 SEC. 12009. EFFECTIVE DATES; APPLICATION OF AMEND12 MENTS.

13 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as pro14 vided in subsections (b) and (c), this subtitle and the

15 amendments made by this subtitle shall take effect on

16 January 1, 1998.

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE OF SECTIONS 12005 AND

18 12006.—Sections 12005 and 12006 shall take effect on

19 the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

20 (c) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The amend21 ments made by this subtitle shall not apply with respect

22 to—

23 (1) complaints filed under section 717 of the

24 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) be25 fore the effective date of this subtitle; and
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1 (2) proceedings pending under title 5 of the

2 United States Code before the effective date of this

3 subtitle.

4 Subtitle C—Legislative Pay Equity

5 Study

6 SEC. 13001. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

7 The Congress is committed to the elimination of all

8 forms of discrimination that adversely affect pay or work9 ing conditions of any employee because of the race, color,

10 religion, sex, or national origin of the employee, and it is

11 the policy of the Congress that persons employed in the

12 legislative branch shall receive equal pay in cases in which

13 the work performed is comparable, as measured by the

14 composite of skill, effort, responsibility, and working con15 ditions normally required in the performance of the job.

16 SEC. 13002. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Commis18 sion on Employment Discrimination in the Legislative

19 Branch (hereinafter in this subtitle referred to as the

20 ‘‘Commission’’).

21 (b) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—The Commission

22 shall consist of thirteen members to be appointed for the

23 life of the Commission as follows:

24 (1) Four shall be Members of the House of

25 Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the
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1 House of Representatives, two upon recommendation

2 of the majority leader and two upon recommendation

3 of the minority leader.

4 (2) Four shall be Senators, appointed by the

5 President pro tempore, two upon recommendation of

6 the majority leader and two upon recommendation of

7 the minority leader.

8 (3) Two shall be other than Members of Con9 gress, appointed by the Speaker of the House of

10 Representatives and shall, to the extent practicable,

11 be persons with expertise in job evaluation. One such

12 member shall be appointed upon recommendation of

13 the majority leader and one upon recommendation of

14 the minority leader.

15 (4) Two shall be other than Members of Con16 gress, appointed by the President pro tempore of the

17 Senate and shall, to the extent practicable, be per18 sons with expertise in job evaluation. One such

19 member shall be appointed upon recommendation of

20 the majority leader and one shall be appointed upon

21 recommendation of the minority leader.

22 (5) One shall be appointed by the Speaker of

23 the House of Representatives and the President pro

24 tempore of the Senate, acting jointly, upon rec-
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1 ommendation of the members appointed under para2 graphs (1) through (4).

3 (c) PREREQUISITES RELATING TO CERTAIN AP4 POINTMENTS.—(1) Of the members of the Commission ap5 pointed under subsection (b)(3)—

6 (A) one shall be a member of one of the two

7 largest labor unions at the Library of Congress; and

8 (B) one shall be a manager at the Library of

9 Congress.

10 (2) Of the members of the Commission appointed

11 under subsection (b)(4)—

12 (A) one shall be a member of one of the two

13 largest labor unions at the Library of Congress; and

14 (B) one shall be a manager at the Library of

15 Congress.

16 (3) The member appointed under paragraph (1)(A)

17 shall not be from the same labor union as the member

18 appointed under paragraph (2)(A).

19 (d) REMOVAL.—The person making an appointment

20 may remove a member of the Commission for neglect of

21 duty or malfeasance in office.

22 (e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall

23 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment

24 is made.
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1 (f) CHAIRMAN; VICE CHAIRMAN.—The Commission

2 shall elect a chairman and a vice chairman from among

3 its members. The chairman and vice chairman shall not

4 be of the same political party.

5 (g) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commission

6 shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,

7 but the Commission may establish a lesser number for

8 holding hearings, taking testimony, and receiving evi9 dence.

10 (h) COMMENCEMENT OF OPERATIONS.—Members

11 shall be appointed and the Commission shall commence

12 operation not later than four weeks after the date on

13 which this subtitle is agreed to.

14 SEC. 13003. FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall—

16 (1) employ a nongovernmental consultant with

17 expertise in job evaluation to study and compare the

18 compensation paid within and between job classifica19 tions in the Library of Congress and to analyze per20 sonnel policies and practices in the Library of Con21 gress;

22 (2) evaluate the compensation system and per23 sonnel policies and practices in the Library of Con24 gress for compliance with title VII of the Civil

25 Rights Act of 1964 and make specific recommenda-
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1 tions (other than any recommendation that, if imple2 mented, would result in a reduction in the rate of

3 pay payable for any position) to the Congress for

4 such action as may be necessary to achieve that

5 compliance;

6 (3) develop a comprehensive plan for applica7 tion of the principles of title VII of the Civil Rights

8 Act of 1964 throughout the legislative branch; and

9 (4) make specific recommendations (other than

10 any recommendation that, if implemented, would re11 sult in a reduction in the rate of pay payable for any

12 position) to the Congress for improvement of person13 nel policies and practices in the legislative branch

14 that may be necessary to carry out the policy de15 clared in section 13001.

16 (b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT RELATING TO THE

17 CONSULTANT.—In carrying out the requirements of para18 graph (1) of subsection (a), the consultant employed under

19 such paragraph shall use standard objective job-evaluation

20 techniques to determine whether the compensation system

21 at the Library of Congress is in compliance with the policy

22 objectives in section 13001.

23 SEC. 13004. STAFF OF COMMISSION.

24 (a) STAFF DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have

25 a staff director who shall be appointed by the chairman
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1 and who shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum

2 rate of basic pay payable under the General Schedule (as

3 determined under section 5376 of title 5, United States

4 Code).

5 (b) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—With the approval of the

6 Commission, the chairman may appoint, terminate, and

7 fix the pay of additional staff. Any person so appointed

8 may be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum rate

9 of basic pay payable for grade GS–15 of the General

10 Schedule, under section 5332 of title 5, United States

11 Code.

12 SEC. 13005. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.

13 (a) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF CERTAIN

14 MEMBERS.—A member of the Commission who is a Mem15 ber of Congress or a full-time officer or employee of the

16 United States shall receive no additional pay by reason

17 of service on the Commission.

18 (b) COMPENSATION OF OTHER MEMBERS.—Any

19 other member of the Commission shall be paid at a rate

20 equal to the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate

21 of basic pay payable under the General Schedule (as deter22 mined under section 5376 of title 5, United States Code)

23 for each day, including travel time, such member is en24 gaged in the performance of duties of the Commission.
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1 SEC. 13006. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

2 The Commission may hold hearings, take testimony,

3 receive evidence, administer oaths or affirmations to wit4 nesses appearing before it, and authorize any member or

5 agent of the Commission to exercise such powers.

6 SEC. 13007. REPORTS AND TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

7 The Commission may submit interim reports to the

8 Congress and shall submit a final report to the Congress

9 not later than 18 months after the date on which this sub10 title is agreed to. The Commission shall cease to exist thir11 ty days after submitting the final report.

12 SEC. 13008. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

13 (a) FUNDING.—There shall be paid from the applica14 ble accounts of the House of Representatives and from

15 the contingent fund of the Senate such sums as may be

16 necessary to carry out this subtitle. One-half of the total

17 of such sums shall be paid from each such source. Pay18 ment shall be upon vouchers submitted by the chairman

19 of the Commission and approved by the Committee on

20 House Oversight of the House of Representatives or the

21 Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, as

22 appropriate.

23 (b) STATUS OF MEMBERS AND STAFF.—Members of

24 the Commission (other than Members of Congress) and

25 the staff of the Commission shall be treated as detailed
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1 employees, or as temporary or intermittent employees of

2 the House or of the Senate, as appropriate.

3 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Committee on House Over4 sight of the House of Representatives and the Committee

5 on Rules and Administration of the Senate, acting jointly,

6 shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to

7 carry out this subtitle. Employment of experts and con8 sultants, travel, procurement of support services, proce9 dures for securing information, and other administrative

10 matters with respect to the Commission shall be in accord11 ance with such regulations.

12 Subtitle D—Sexual Harassment

13 Prevention

14 SEC. 14001. CIVIL ACTION.

15 (a) GENERALLY.—Whoever (including a govern16 mental entity), in or affecting interstate or foreign com17 merce—

18 (1) engages in any sexual harassment; or

19 (2) retaliates against any person for opposing

20 sexual harassment or filing a complaint, or otherwise

21 participating in any manner, in a civil action under

22 paragraph (1);

23 shall be liable to the person injured by that harassment

24 or retaliation for any appropriate relief, which may include

25 money damages. In a civil action under this section, the
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1 court may award a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attor2 neys’ fee and other litigation expenses (including expert

3 witness fees) as a part of the costs.

4 (b) WHAT CONSTITUTES SEXUAL HARASSMENT.—

5 (1) GENERALLY.—As used in this section, the

6 term ‘‘sexual harassment’’ means conduct described

7 in paragraph (2) in a relationship described in para8 graph (3).

9 (2) CONDUCT.—The conduct referred to in

10 paragraph (1) is an unwelcome sexual advance, un11 welcome request for sexual favors, or other unwel12 come conduct of a sexual nature where—

13 (A) submission to such conduct is either

14 explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of the

15 relationship described in paragraph (3);

16 (B) submission to or rejection of such con17 duct is the basis for decisions or actions regard18 ing the person who submitted to or rejected

19 that conduct; or

20 (C) such conduct has the purpose or effect

21 of unreasonably interfering with the relation22 ship described in paragraph (3) or creates an

23 intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment

24 within that relationship.
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1 (3) RELATIONSHIP.—The relationship referred

2 to in paragraphs (1) and (2) is a relationship—

3 (A) between a patient and a physician,

4 psychotherapist, or dentist;

5 (B) between a client and an attorney, mar6 riage, family, or child counselor, social worker,

7 or accountant;

8 (C) between a beneficiary and an executor,

9 trustee, or administrator of a trust or estate;

10 (D) between an employee and an employer,

11 if the employer has fewer than 15 employees for

12 each working day in each of 33 or more cal13 endar weeks in the current and in the preceding

14 calendar year; or

15 (E) between the parties to a contract or

16 between persons negotiating a contract or seek17 ing to enforce claimed rights under a contract.

18 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subtitle shall take effect

19 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

20 SEC. 14002. ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE EQUAL EM21 PLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION.

22 In addition to any other sums authorized to be appro23 priated to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis24 sion, there are authorized to be appropriated to such Com-
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1 mission $268,000,000 for fiscal year 1997, and such sums

2 thereafter as may be necessary.

3 Subtitle E—Sexual Harassment

4 Information

5 SEC. 15001. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

6 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

7 (1) Sexual harassment in employment persists

8 widely in the workplace, although it violates title VII

9 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and adversely affects

10 employees.

11 (2) According to guidelines issued by the Equal

12 Employment Opportunity Commission in 1980, the

13 most effective tool for eliminating sexual harassment

14 is prevention.

15 (3) The United States Merit Systems Protec16 tion Board found in 1981 and 1988 surveys of Fed17 eral Government employees that 42 percent of fe18 male employees and 14 percent of male employees

19 questioned had experienced some kind of harassment

20 in employment. The American Psychological Association estimates that at least 1 21 ⁄2 of all working women

22 have been sexually harassed at the workplace during

23 their careers.

24 (4) The vast majority of sexual harassment epi25 sodes go unreported to a supervisory employee or
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1 other individual designated by the employer. Only 5

2 percent of the Federal Government employees who

3 indicated in the 1988 Merit Systems Protection

4 Board survey that they had been harassed filed a

5 formal complaint or requested an investigation of

6 the harassment.

7 (5) Sexual harassment has a significant cost for

8 employees and employers. A 1988 study by Working

9 Woman Magazine shows that sexual harassment

10 costs a typical ‘‘Fortune 500’’ private employer

11 $6,000,000, or $292.53 per employee, each year.

12 The same study estimates that it is 34 times more

13 expensive for such an employer to ignore the prob14 lem than it is to establish effective programs and

15 policies to address the problem.

16 (6) Most job growth over the next decade is ex17 pected to occur in employment by small employers.

18 Sixty-six percent of the individuals who will enter

19 the work force during this period are expected to be

20 female. The establishment of programs and policies

21 in small-business environments, at a low cost to em22 ployers, will be a key prevention priority to reduce

23 sexual harassment in employment.

24 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subtitle are—
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1 (1) to establish workplace requirements that

2 will reduce the incidence of sexual harassment in

3 employment,

4 (2) to provide a low-cost system to assist em5 ployers to establish programs and policies to prevent

6 sexual harassment in employment,

7 (3) to raise the awareness of employees of the

8 definition of sexual harassment and of available ave9 nues of redress, and

10 (4) to increase the authority and capacity of the

11 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to as12 sist in preventing sexual harassment in employment.

13 SEC. 15002. EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS.

14 (a) POSTING OF NOTICE IN THE WORKPLACE.—

15 Each employer shall post and keep posted in conspicuous

16 places upon its premises where notices to employees and

17 applicants for employment are customarily posted, a no18 tice that shall be prepared or approved by the Commission

19 and shall set forth—

20 (1) the definition of sexual harassment found in

21 section 1604.11(a) of title 29 of the Code of Federal

22 Regulations (July 1, 1992),

23 (2) the fact that sexual harassment in employ24 ment is a violation of title VII of the Civil Rights

25 Act of 1964,
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1 (3) information describing how to file a claim

2 alleging such harassment, including information on

3 the time periods within which an alleged victim of

4 discrimination (including sexual harassment) must

5 file a claim in order to satisfy the applicable statute

6 of limitations applicable to such claim,

7 (4) an address, and the toll-free telephone num8 ber, to be used to contact the Commission regarding

9 such harassment or compliance with the require10 ments of this subtitle, and

11 (5) such other information as the Commission

12 may require.

13 (b) SEPARATE NOTICE TO INDIVIDUAL EMPLOY14 EES.—Each employer shall provide annually to each em15 ployee separately a written notice that includes—

16 (1) the matters specified in paragraphs (1)

17 through (4) of subsection (a),

18 (2) a description of the procedures established

19 by such employer to resolve allegations of sexual

20 harassment in employment, and

21 (3) such other information as the Commission

22 may require.

23 Such notice shall be provided in a manner that ensures

24 that such employee actually receives such notice.
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1 (c) MANAGEMENT INFORMATION FOR SUPERVISORY

2 EMPLOYEES.—Not later than 60 days after an employer

3 places an individual in a supervisory employment position

4 or 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subtitle,

5 whichever occurs later, such employer shall provide to the

6 supervisory employee information specifying the respon7 sibilities of, and the methods to be used by, such employee

8 to ensure that immediate and corrective action is taken

9 to address allegations of sexual harassment in employ10 ment.

11 (d) CIVIL PENALTY.—A willful violation of this sec12 tion shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than

13 $1,000 for each separate violation.

14 SEC. 15003. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

15 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE MATERIALS.—Not later

16 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this sub17 title, the Commission shall prepare, revise from time to

18 time as needed, and make available to employers at no

19 cost (by publication in the Federal Register or other

20 means)—

21 (1) a model notice of the kind required by sec22 tion 15002(a) to be posted,

23 (2) a model notice of the kind required by sec24 tion 15002(b) to be provided to employees, and
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1 (3) voluntary guidelines for the establishment of

2 policies and procedures by employers to address alle3 gations of discrimination (including sexual harass4 ment) in employment.

5 (b) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER.—Not later

6 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this sub7 title, the Commission shall provide a toll-free telephone

8 number for use by employees and employers in the United

9 States to obtain—

10 (1) information regarding compliance with this

11 subtitle, and

12 (2) the model notices and guidelines prepared

13 under subsection (a).

14 SEC. 15004. ENFORCEMENT.

15 Section 15002 shall be enforced—

16 (1) by the Commission with respect to viola17 tions alleged by employees as defined in subpara18 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 15005(2), and

19 (2) the Board of the Office of Compliance with

20 respect to violations alleged by employees as defined

21 in subparagraph (D) of section 15005(2).

22 SEC. 15005. DEFINITIONS.

23 For purposes of this subtitle—

24 (1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Equal

25 Employment Opportunity Commission,
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1 (2) the term ‘‘employee’’ means—

2 (A) an employee as defined in section

3 701(f) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

4 U.S.C. 2000e(f)),

5 (B) an employee referred to in section

6 717(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)),

7 (C) an individual with respect to whom

8 section 302(a)(1) of the Government Employee

9 Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1202(a)(1)) ap10 plies, or

11 (D) a covered employee as defined in sec12 tion 101 of the Congressional Accountability

13 Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–1; 109 Stat. 3),

14 (3) the term ‘‘employer’’ means—

15 (A) an employer as defined in section

16 701(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

17 U.S.C. 2000e(b)),

18 (B) a Federal entity to which section

19 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

20 U.S.C. 2000e–716(a)) applies,

21 (C) an employing authority to which sec22 tion 302(a)(1) of the Government Employee

23 Rights Act of 1991 (2 U.S.C. 1202(a)(1)) ap24 plies, or
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1 (D) an employing authority to which sec2 tion 201(a) of the Congressional Accountability

3 Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–1; 109 Stat. 3)

4 applies, and

5 (4) the term ‘‘sexual harassment’’ has the same

6 meaning as such term has for purposes of title VII

7 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–

8 2000e–17).

9 SEC. 15006. EFFECTIVE DATES.

10 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as pro11 vided in subsection (b), this subtitle shall take effect on

12 the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE OF SECTION 15002.—Section

14 15002 shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enact15 ment of this subtitle.

16 Subtitle F—Sexual Harassment Tax

17 Equity

18 SEC. 16001. DEDUCTION FOR LEGAL EXPENSES OF INDIVID19 UALS BRINGING SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUITS

20 AGAINST THEIR EMPLOYERS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VII of subchapter B of chap22 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended

23 by redesignating section 220 as section 221 and by insert24 ing after section 219 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 220. LEGAL EXPENSES OF INDIVIDUALS BRINGING

2 SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUITS AGAINST THEIR

3 EMPLOYERS.

4 ‘‘In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed

5 as a deduction the amount paid during the taxable year

6 for reasonable legal fees and related expenses (including

7 attorney’s fees) with respect to a sexual harassment suit

8 by such individual against an employer or former em9 ployer.’’

10 (b) DEDUCTION ALLOWED WHETHER OR NOT TAX11 PAYER ITEMIZES.—Subsection (a) of section 62 of such

12 Code is amended by inserting the following new paragraph

13 after paragraph (15):

14 ‘‘(16) SEXUAL HARASSMENT SUIT LEGAL

15 COSTS.—The deduction allowed by section 220.’’

16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

17 for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code

18 is amended by striking the item relating to section 220

19 and inserting the following new items:

‘‘Sec. 219. Legal expenses of individuals bringing sexual harassment suits against their employers.

‘‘Sec. 220. Cross reference.’’

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

21 this section shall apply to suits filed after January 1,

22 1997.
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1 Subtitle G—Equal Remedies

2 SEC. 17001. EQUALIZATION OF REMEDIES.

3 Section 1977A of the Revised Statutes, as added by

4 section 102 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (b)—

6 (A) by striking paragraph (3), and

7 (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as

8 paragraph (3), and

9 (2) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘section—’’

10 and all that follows through the period, and insert11 ing ‘‘section, any party may demand a jury trial.’’.

12 Subtitle H—Federal Temporary

13 Workers Protection

14 SEC. 18001. ELIGIBILITY FOR HEALTH BENEFITS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 8913(b)

16 of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as fol17 lows:

18 ‘‘(4) an employee who is occupying a position

19 on a temporary basis, if such employee has, in the

20 aggregate, completed the equivalent of at least 1

21 year of service in such position within the preceding

22 2 years.’’.

23 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

24 (1) Section 8906a of title 5, United States Code, is re25 pealed.
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1 (2) The table of sections for chapter 89 of title 5,

2 United States Code, is amended by striking the item relat3 ing to section 8906a.

4 SEC. 18002. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—This subtitle and the amendments

6 made by this subtitle shall take effect on the date of the

7 enactment of this subtitle, and any change in contribu8 tions payable by or on behalf of an individual to the Em9 ployees Health Benefits Fund (described in section 8909

10 of title 5, United States Code) as a result of the enactment

11 of this subtitle shall take effect as of the first applicable

12 pay period beginning on or after such date.

13 (b) CREDITABILITY OF PRIOR SERVICE.—Service

14 performed before the effective date of this subtitle may

15 be taken into account for purposes of the amendment

16 made by section 18001(a).

17 Subtitle I—Contingent Work Force

18 Equity

19 SEC. 19001. EQUAL PAY.

20 Section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

21 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing:

23 ‘‘(g)(1) No employer having employees subject to any

24 provision of this section shall discriminate, within any es25 tablishment in which such employees are employed, be-
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1 tween employees on the basis of employment status by

2 paying wages to part-time or temporary employees in such

3 establishment at a rate less than the rate at which the

4 employer pays wages to full-time employees in such estab5 lishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which

6 requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility and which

7 are performed under similar working conditions unless

8 such payment is made pursuant to—

9 ‘‘(A) a seniority system;

10 ‘‘(B) a merit system;

11 ‘‘(C) a system that measures earnings by quan12 tity or quality of production; or

13 ‘‘(D) a differential based on any other factor

14 other than employment status.

15 An employer who is paying a wage rate differential in vio16 lation of this paragraph shall not, in order to comply with

17 the requirements of this paragraph, reduce the wage rate

18 of any employee.

19 ‘‘(2) No labor organization, or its agents, represent20 ing employees of an employer having employees subject to

21 any provision of this section shall cause or attempt to

22 cause such an employer to discriminate against an em23 ployee in violation of paragraph (1).

24 ‘‘(3) For purposes of administration and enforcement

25 of paragraph (1), any amount owing to any employee that
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1 has been withheld in violation of paragraph (1) shall be

2 deemed to be unpaid minimum wages under subsection (a)

3 or unpaid overtime compensation under section 7.

4 ‘‘(4) As used in paragraph (2), the term ‘labor orga5 nization’ means any organization of any kind, or any agen6 cy or employee representation committee or plan, in which

7 employees participate and which exists for the purpose,

8 in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning

9 grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of

10 employment, or conditions of work.’’.

11 SEC. 19002. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH.

12 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupa13 tional Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C.

14 654(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(1) shall furnish employment and a place of

16 employment that are free from recognized hazards

17 that are causing or are likely to cause death or seri18 ous physical harm to the employees of the employer

19 or to individuals who are employed by another em20 ployer and are performing services at such place of

21 employment;’’.

22 (b) STUDY.—The Secretary of Labor shall conduct

23 a study to determine if the health and safety of part-time

24 or temporary employees are being adequately monitored
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1 and, if the monitoring is not adequate, to determine how

2 such monitoring can be made adequate.

3 SEC. 19003. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE.

4 (a) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT.—Section

5 101(2)(A) of the Family and Medical Leave Act (29

6 U.S.C. 2611(2)(A)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘at least 12 months’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘at least 3 months’’; and

9 (2) by striking ‘‘at least 1,250 hours of service

10 with such employer during the previous 12-month

11 period’’ and inserting ‘‘at least 125 hours of service

12 with such employer during the previous 3-month pe13 riod’’.

14 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Section 6381(1)(B) of

15 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘12

16 months’’ and inserting ‘‘3 months’’.

17 (c) CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEES.—Section

18 202(a)(2)(B) of the Congressional Accountability Act of

19 1995 is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘for 12 months’’ and inserting

21 ‘‘for 3 months’’; and

22 (2) by striking ‘‘at least 1,250 hours of

23 employement during the previous 12 months’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘at least 125 hours of employment during

25 the previous 3-month period’’.
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1 SEC. 19004. CONTINGENT WORKFORCE SURVEY.

2 The Secretary of Labor, acting through the Commis3 sioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shall establish

4 and carry out an annual survey identifying—

5 (1) the characteristics of temporary workers in

6 the United States;

7 (2) the relationship between such workers and

8 the establishments at which such workers are tempo9 rarily employed; and

10 (3) where appropriate, the relationship between

11 such workers and their permanent employers.

12 SEC. 19005. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS.

13 Section 9(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (29

14 U.S.C. 195(b)) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘; or (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘2’’;

16 (2) by striking ‘‘or (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘; (3)’’;

17 and

18 (3) by inserting before the period the following:

19 ‘‘; or (4) decide that an employee shall be excluded

20 from a unit otherwise appropriate for the purposes

21 of collective bargaining based on the employee’s

22 part-time or temporary status, if such employee (A)

23 has a reasonable expectation of continued employ24 ment; and (B) is employed by the employer on the

25 date on which eligibility for participation in a rep-
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1 resentation election is determined and on the date of

2 the election.’’.

3 SEC. 19006. PROTECTION OF PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY

4 WORKERS.

5 (a) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES WORKING AT LESS

6 THAN FULL-TIME UNDER PARTICIPATION, VESTING, AND

7 ACCRUAL RULES GOVERNING PENSION PLANS.—

8 (1) PARTICIPATION RULES.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(3) of

10 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

11 of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1052(a)(3)) is amended by

12 adding at the end the following new subpara13 graph:

14 ‘‘(E)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case

15 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the 12-month

16 period referred to in subparagraph (A)—

17 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

18 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

19 of service per year, or

20 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

21 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

22 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

23 of service per year,
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1 completion of 500 hours of service within such 12-month

2 period shall be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of

3 service.

4 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent

5 to which employment in any type of position customarily

6 constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall

7 be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord8 ance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe

9 providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe10 culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in

11 such plan.’’.

12 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

13 204(b)(1)(E) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

14 1054(b)(1)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘section

15 202(a)(3)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs

16 (A) and (E) of section 202(a)(3)’’.

17 (2) VESTING RULES.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(2) of

19 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1053(b)(2)) is amended by

20 adding at the end the following new subpara21 graph:

22 ‘‘(E)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case

23 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period

24 designated by the plan pursuant to subparagraph (A)—
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1 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

2 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

3 of service per year, or

4 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

5 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

6 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

7 of service per year,

8 completion of 500 hours of service within such period shall

9 be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service.

10 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent

11 to which employment in any type of position customarily

12 constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall

13 be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord14 ance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe

15 providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe16 culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in

17 such plan.’’.

18 (B) 1-YEAR BREAKS IN SERVICE.—Section

19 203(b)(3) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1053(b)(3))

20 is amended by adding at the end the following

21 new subparagraph:

22 ‘‘(F)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, in the case

23 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period

24 designated by the plan pursuant to subparagraph (A)—
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1 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

2 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

3 of service per year, or

4 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

5 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

6 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

7 of service per year,

8 completion of 250 hours of service within such period shall

9 be treated as completion of 500 hours of service.

10 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the extent

11 to which employment in any type of position customarily

12 constitutes less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall

13 be determined with respect to each pension plan in accord14 ance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe

15 providing for consideration of facts and circumstances pe16 culiar to the work-force constituting the participants in

17 such plan.’’.

18 (3) ACCRUAL RULES.—Section 204(b)(4)(C) of

19 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1054(b)(4)(C)) is amended—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(C)’’; and

21 (B) by adding at the end the following new

22 clauses:

23 ‘‘(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, in the case

24 of any employee who, as of the beginning of the period

25 designated by the plan pursuant to clause (i)—
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1 ‘‘(I) has customarily completed 500 or more

2 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

3 of service per year, or

4 ‘‘(II) is employed in a type of position in which

5 employment customarily constitutes 500 or more

6 hours of service per year but less than 1,000 hours

7 of service per year,

8 completion of 500 hours of service within such period shall

9 be treated as completion of 1,000 hours of service.

10 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of clause (ii), the extent to which

11 employment in any type of position customarily constitutes

12 less than 1,000 hours of service per year shall be deter13 mined with respect to each pension plan in accordance

14 with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe pro15 viding for consideration of facts and circumstances pecu16 liar to the work-force constituting the participants in such

17 plan.’’.

18 (b) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES WORKING AT LESS

19 THAN FULL-TIME UNDER GROUP HEALTH PLANS.

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part 2 of subtitle B of title

21 I of such Act is amended—

22 (A) by redesignating section 211 (29

23 U.S.C. 1061) as section 212; and

24 (B) by inserting after section 210 (29

25 U.S.C. 1060) the following new section:
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1 ‘‘TREATMENT OF PART-TIME WORKERS UNDER GROUP

2 HEALTH PLANS

3 ‘‘SEC. 211. (a) IN GENERAL.—A reduction in the em4 ployer-provided premium under a group health plan with

5 respect to any employee for any period of coverage solely

6 because the employee’s customary employment is less than

7 full-time may be provided under such plan only if the em8 ployee is described in subsection (b) and only to the extent

9 permitted under subsection (c).

10 ‘‘(b) REDUCTIONS APPLICABLE TO EMPLOYEES

11 WORKING LESS THAN FULL-TIME.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employee is described in

13 this subsection if such employee, as of the beginning

14 of the period of coverage referred to in subsection

15 (a)—

16 ‘‘(A) has customarily completed less than

17 30 hours of service per week, or

18 ‘‘(B) is employed in a type of position in

19 which employment customarily constitutes less

20 than 30 hours of service per week.

21 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—For purposes of para22 graph (1), whether employment in any type of posi23 tion customarily constitutes less than 30 hours of

24 service per week shall be determined with respect to

25 each group health plan in accordance with such reg-
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1 ulations as the Secretary shall prescribe providing

2 for consideration of facts and circumstances peculiar

3 to the work-force constituting the participants in

4 such plan.

5 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PERMISSIBLE REDUCTION.—The

6 employer-provided premium under a group health plan

7 with respect to any employee for any period of coverage,

8 after the reduction permitted under subsection (a), shall

9 not be less than a ratable portion of the employer-provided

10 premium which would be provided under such plan for

11 such period of coverage with respect to an employee who

12 completes 30 hours of service per week.

13 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

14 ‘‘(1) GROUP HEALTH PLAN.—The term ‘group

15 health plan’ has the meaning provided such term in

16 section 607(1).

17 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER-PROVIDED PREMIUM.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employer19 provided premium’ under a plan for any period

20 of coverage means the portion of the applicable

21 premium under the plan for such period of cov22 erage which is attributable under the plan to

23 employer contributions.

24 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PREMIUM.—For pur25 poses of subparagraph (A), in determining the
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1 applicable premium of a group health plan,

2 principles similar to the principles applicable

3 under section 604 shall apply.’’.

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

5 (A) Section 201(1) of such Act (29 U.S.C.

6 1051(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, except with

7 respect to section 211’’ before the semicolon.

8 (B) The table of contents in section 1 of

9 such Act is amended by striking the item relat10 ing to section 211 and inserting the following

11 new items:

‘‘Sec. 211. Treatment of part-time workers under group health plans.

‘‘Sec. 212. Effective date.’’.

12 (c) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE TO

13 INCLUDE CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS WHOSE SERVICES ARE

14 LEASED OR CONTRACTED FOR.—Paragraph (6) of section

15 3 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1002(6)) is amended—

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(6)’’; and

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub18 paragraph:

19 ‘‘(B) Such term includes, with respect to any em20 ployer, any person who is not an employee (within the

21 meaning of subparagraph (A)) of such employer and who

22 provides services to such employer, if—

23 ‘‘(i) such person has (pursuant to an agreement

24 with such employer or any other person) performed
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1 such services for such employer (or for such em2 ployer and related persons (within the meaning of

3 section 144(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of

4 1986)) for a period of at least 1 year (6 months in

5 the case of core health benefits) at the rate of at

6 least 500 hours of service per year, and

7 ‘‘(ii) such services are of a type historically per8 formed, in the business field of the employer, by em9 ployees (within the meaning of subparagraph (A)).’’.

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), the amendments made by this section

13 shall apply with respect to plan years beginning on

14 or after January 1, 1997.

15 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVELY BAR16 GAINED PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained

17 pursuant to 1 or more collective bargaining agree18 ments between employee representatives and 1 or

19 more employers ratified on or before the date of the

20 enactment of this subtitle, paragraph (1) shall be

21 applied to benefits pursuant to, and individuals cov22 ered by, any such agreement by substituting for

23 ‘‘January 1, 1997’’ the date of the commencement

24 of the first plan year beginning on or after the ear25 lier of—
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1 (A) the later of—

2 (i) January 1, 1997, or

3 (ii) the date on which the last of such

4 collective bargaining agreements termi5 nates (determined without regard to any

6 extension thereof after the date of the en7 actment of this subtitle), or

8 (B) January 1, 1999.

9 (3) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—If any amendment

10 made by this section requires an amendment to any

11 plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to

12 be made before the first plan year beginning on or

13 after January 1, 1998, if—

14 (A) during the period after such amend15 ment made by this section takes effect and be16 fore such first plan year, the plan is operated

17 in accordance with the requirements of such

18 amendment made by this section, and

19 (B) such plan amendment applies retro20 actively to the period after such amendment

21 made by this section takes effect and such first

22 plan year.

23 A plan shall not be treated as failing to provide defi24 nitely determinable benefits or contributions, or to

25 be operated in accordance with the provisions of the
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1 plan, merely because it operates in accordance with

2 this paragraph.

3 SEC. 19007. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

4 (a) PART-TIME EMPLOYEES; INDEPENDENT CON5 TRACTORS.—Subsection (a) of section 3304 of the Inter6 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to requirements for

7 approval of State unemployment compensation laws) is

8 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (17),

9 by redesignating paragraph (18) as paragraph (20), and

10 by inserting after paragraph (17) the following new para11 graphs:

12 ‘‘(18) in applying the State law provisions relat13 ing to availability for work, active search for work,

14 or refusal to accept work, to an individual seeking

15 part-time employment, the term ‘suitable work’ shall

16 not include any work where the individual would

17 normally perform services for more hours per week

18 than the number of hours per week for which the in19 dividual is available if the individual demonstrates

20 good cause for the individual’s limited availability

21 and such limitation does not substantially impair the

22 individual’s current attachment to the labor force;

23 ‘‘(19) the determination of whether an individ24 ual is an employee of another person shall be made

25 in accordance with section 3306(i); and’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), the amendments made by this section

4 shall take effect on January 1, 1997.

5 (2) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of any State

6 the legislature of which has not been in session for

7 at least 30 calendar days (whether or not successive)

8 between the date of the enactment of this subtitle

9 and January 1, 1997, the amendments made by this

10 section shall take effect 30 calendar days after the

11 1st day on which such legislature is in session on or

12 after January 1, 1998.

13 TITLE II—ECONOMIC

14 OPPORTUNITY

15 Subtitle A—Microenterprise

16 Opportunity Expansion

17 SEC. 21001. PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROVISIONS.

18 (a) BUSINESS ASSETS EXCLUDED FROM RESOURCES

19 AND INCOME.—

20 (1) AFDC.—

21 (A) EXCLUSION FROM RESOURCES.—Sec22 tion 402(a)(7)(B) of the Social Security Act

23 (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(8)(A)) is amended—

24 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of

25 clause (iii); and
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1 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon

2 the following: ‘‘, or (v) any asset of the

3 family which is primarily used for business

4 purposes in a business owned, in whole or

5 in part, by an individual eligible for aid

6 under any State plan approved under this

7 part; and’’.

8 (B) EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.—Section

9 402(a)(8)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

10 602(a)(8)(A)) is amended—

11 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

12 clause (vii); and

13 (ii) by inserting after clause (viii) the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(ix) shall disregard from the income of

16 any child, relative, or other individual specified

17 in clause (ii) any asset which is primarily used

18 for business purposes in a business owned, in

19 whole or in part, by an individual eligible for

20 aid under any State plan approved under this

21 part; and’’.

22 (2) SSI.—

23 (A) EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.—Section

24 1612(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)) is

25 amended—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

2 paragraph (17);

3 (ii) in paragraph (18), by striking the

4 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (iii) by adding at the end the follow6 ing:

7 ‘‘(19) any asset of such individual (or such

8 spouse) which is primarily used for business pur9 poses in a business owned, in whole or in part, by

10 an individual eligible for aid under any State plan

11 approved under part A of title IV.’’.

12 (B) EXCLUSION FROM RESOURCES.—Sec13 tion 1613(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a))

14 is amended—

15 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

16 paragraph (9);

17 (ii) in paragraph (10), by striking the

18 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (10)

20 the following:

21 ‘‘(11) any asset of (including any amount re22 ceived as a loan by) such individual (or such spouse)

23 which is primarily used for business purposes in a

24 business owned, in whole or in part, by an individual
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1 eligible for aid under any State plan approved under

2 part A of title IV.’’.

3 (b) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BENEFITS EXTENDED FOR

4 PERSONS WITH INCOME FROM OR RESOURCES IN A

5 MICROENTERPRISE.—

6 (1) AFDC AND MEDICAID.—Section 402(a) of

7 such Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)) is amended by inserting

8 after paragraph (28) the following:

9 ‘‘(29) notwithstanding paragraphs (7) and (8),

10 provide that, during the 2-year period beginning on

11 the first day any member of a family eligible for

12 benefits under the State plan sells any good or serv13 ice as part of operating a commercial enterprise with

14 5 or fewer employees, which is owned in whole or in

15 part by such family member, all income of such fam16 ily member attributable to the enterprise and all re17 sources in which such family member has a bene18 ficial interest used primarily in the enterprise shall

19 be disregarded in determining the amount of aid to

20 which the family is entitled under the State plan;’’.

21 (2) SSI AND MEDICAID.—

22 (A) EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.—Section

23 1612(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)), as

24 amended by subsection (a)(2)(A) of this section,

25 is amended—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

2 paragraph (18);

3 (ii) in paragraph (19), by striking the

4 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (iii) by adding at the end the follow6 ing:

7 ‘‘(20) during the 2-year period beginning on the

8 first day such individual (or such spouse) sells any

9 good or service as part of operating a commercial

10 enterprise with 5 or fewer employees, which is owned

11 in whole or in part by such individual (or such

12 spouse), all income of such individual (or such

13 spouse) attributable to the enterprise.’’.

14 (B) EXCLUSION FROM RESOURCES.—Sec15 tion 1613(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)),

16 as amended by subsection (a)(2)(B) of this sec17 tion, is amended—

18 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

19 paragraph (10);

20 (ii) in paragraph (11), by striking the

21 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

22 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (11)

23 the following:

24 ‘‘(12) during the 2-year period beginning on the

25 first day such individual (or such spouse) sells any
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1 good or service as part of operating a commercial

2 enterprise with 5 or fewer employees, which is owned

3 in whole or in part by such individual (or such

4 spouse), all resources of such individual (or such

5 spouse) that are used primarily in the enterprise.’’.

6 SEC. 21002. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION FOR INDIVID7 UALS STARTING MICROENTERPRISES.

8 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.—Subsection (a) of

9 section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relat10 ing to State law requirements) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (17), by redesignating

12 paragraph (18) as paragraph (19), and by inserting after

13 paragraph (17) the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(18) compensation shall be payable to individ15 uals starting microenterprises as provided in section

16 3(b) of the Act for microenterprises; and’’.

17 (b) PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION TO INDIVIDUALS

18 STARTING MICROENTERPRISES.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section

20 3304(a)(18) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,

21 a State law shall provide that—

22 (A) each individual who is an eligible indi23 vidual with respect to any benefit year shall be

24 entitled to receive regular or extended unem25 ployment compensation, as the case may be,
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1 without regard to any State or Federal require2 ments relating to availability for work, active

3 search for work, or refusal to accept suitable

4 work, and

5 (B) such individual shall be considered to

6 be unemployed for purposes of the State and

7 Federal laws applicable to unemployment com8 pensation, as long as the individual is actively

9 involved in the ownership and operation of a

10 microenterprise or the preparation of a business

11 plan for the ownership and operation of a

12 microenterprise and is receiving guidance or

13 consultation in starting up or operating a

14 microenterprise from an experienced entre15 preneur or provider of technical business assist16 ance.

17 (2) AUTHORIZATION FOR USING UNEMPLOY18 MENT FUNDS TO PROVIDE STARTUP ASSISTANCE.—

19 Nothing in section 3304(a)(4) or 3306(f) of the In20 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 or section 303(a)(5) of

21 the Social Security Act shall prevent amounts in a

22 State unemployment fund from being used to pro23 vide assistance to eligible individuals in starting

24 microenterprises. The amount of assistance so pro25 vided may be in the form of a lump sum and shall
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1 be in lieu of the periodic payments of compensation

2 to which the individual would otherwise have been

3 entitled and shall not exceed the aggregate amount

4 of compensation to which the individual would other5 wise have been so entitled.

6 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec7 tion—

8 (A) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘el9 igible individual’’ means, with respect to any

10 benefit year, an individual who—

11 (i) is eligible to receive regular or ex12 tended compensation under the State law

13 during such benefit year,

14 (ii) is starting a microenterprise in

15 which the individual will have an ownership

16 interest, and

17 (iii) submits a request to the State

18 agency for compensation under this sub19 section.

20 (B) MICROENTERPRISE.—The term

21 ‘‘microenterprise’’ means any unincorporated

22 trade or business with 5 or fewer employees, 1

23 or more of whom own the enterprise.

24 (C) OTHER TERMS.—The terms ‘‘com25 pensation’’, ‘‘extended compensation’’, ‘‘regular
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1 compensation’’, ‘‘benefit year’’, ‘‘State’’, and

2 ‘‘State law’’ have the respective meanings given

3 to such terms under section 205 of the Federal4 State Extended Unemployment Compensation

5 Act of 1970.

6 SEC. 21003. TREATMENT OF MICROENTERPRISE LOANS

7 AND GRANTS BY INSURED DEPOSITORY IN8 STITUTIONS AS COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT.

9 Section 804 of the Community Reinvestment Act of

10 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2903) is amended by adding at the end

11 the following new subsections:

12 ‘‘(c) MICROENTERPRISE LOANS.—

13 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF LOANS AND GRANTS.—

14 The following amounts shall be treated as an invest15 ment in a regulated financial institution’s commu16 nity for purposes of subsection (a):

17 ‘‘(A) The amount of any loan described in

18 paragraph (2)(A) made by the regulated finan19 cial institution directly to a microenterprise, if

20 the loan is made in accordance with the require21 ments of subsection (c).

22 ‘‘(B) The amount of any grant or donation

23 made by the regulated financial institution to

24 any microenterprise intermediary to meet oper25 ating costs of the intermediary, including the
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1 costs associated with training, technical assist2 ance, and other support services provided by

3 the intermediary to microenterprises.

4 ‘‘(C) The amount of any regulated finan5 cial institution’s investment in a revolving fund

6 established by the institution for loans to micro7 enterprise intermediaries for lending to micro8 enterprises if—

9 ‘‘(i) the amount of the investment in

10 the revolving fund is equal to or greater

11 than the amount which is equal to 0.05

12 percent of the assets of the institution;

13 ‘‘(ii) the regulated financial institu14 tion—

15 ‘‘(I) makes grants or donations

16 described in subparagraph (B) to

17 microenterprise intermediaries the

18 total amount of which equals or ex19 ceeds the amount which is equal to 15

20 percent of the amount required to be

21 invested in the revolving fund under

22 clause (i); or

23 ‘‘(II) provides financial services,

24 including the establishment and main25 tenance of a transaction account, for
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1 a microenterprise (or any individual

2 who controls the microenterprise) who

3 receives a microenterprise loan from a

4 microenterprise intermediary, at pref5 erential or reduced rates which are at

6 least as favorable to the microenter7 prise as the rates offered for such

8 services to the institution’s most pre9 ferred commercial customers; and

10 ‘‘(iii) loans from the revolving fund

11 may be made only to microenterprise

12 intermediaries who agree to use the pro13 ceeds of the loan to make microenterprise

14 loans in accordance with the requirements

15 of subsection (d).

16 ‘‘(2) MICROENTERPRISE LOAN.—For purposes

17 of this subsection and subsection (d), the term

18 ‘microenterprise loan’—

19 ‘‘(A) means a loan—

20 ‘‘(i) to a commercial enterprise with 5

21 or fewer employees, 1 or more of whom

22 own the enterprise;

23 ‘‘(ii) in amounts not less than $100

24 and not more than $10,000;
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1 ‘‘(iii) the interest rate on which is

2 comparable to the interest rate charged on

3 secured commercial loans offered by the

4 regulated financial institution to the insti5 tution’s most preferred commercial cus6 tomers;

7 ‘‘(iv) which—

8 ‘‘(I) is not secured by collateral;

9 or

10 ‘‘(II) is secured by collateral the

11 value of which, as a percentage of the

12 amount of the loan, is substantially

13 less than the percentage generally re14 quired by the institution for commer15 cial loans; and

16 ‘‘(v) the terms of which may permit

17 the deferral of principal or interest pay18 ments otherwise due under such terms;

19 and

20 ‘‘(B) includes a loan to a microenterprise

21 intermediary the proceeds of which will be used

22 by the intermediary for making loans described

23 in subparagraph (A).

24 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA FOR MICROENTERPRISE LOANS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A microenterprise loan

2 meets the requirements of this subsection if the loan

3 is made in accordance with the following criteria:

4 ‘‘(A) In considering any loan to a micro5 enterprise, the lender takes into account—

6 ‘‘(i) the creditworthiness of any per7 son who controls the microenterprise in

8 lieu of the creditworthiness of the enter9 prise;

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a microenterprise

11 which is a startup business, whether the

12 microenterprise is soundly conceived; and

13 ‘‘(iii) the need of the microenterprise

14 for expansion capital.

15 ‘‘(B) The lender accepts as collateral for

16 the loan a security interest in any personal

17 property of any person who controls the micro18 enterprise which consists of consumer or house19 hold goods.

20 ‘‘(C) The lender does not require collateral

21 or a secured interest for more than 50 percent

22 of the face amount of the loan.

23 ‘‘(D) The loans are made in amounts not

24 less than $100 and not more than $10,000 to
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1 persons who would not otherwise qualify for a

2 commercial loan.

3 ‘‘(E) The lender provides technical assist4 ance, training, and counseling in business prac5 tices, such as accounting, marketing, manage6 ment, sales, financial practices, and general

7 business practices, and closely monitors the

8 microenterprise during the period the loan is

9 outstanding, including the enterprise’s loan re10 payment performance.

11 ‘‘(2) LENDER DEFINED.—For purposes of

12 paragraph (1), the term ‘lender’ means—

13 ‘‘(A) in the case of a microenterprise loan

14 by a regulated financial institution to a micro15 enterprise, the regulated financial institution;

16 and

17 ‘‘(B) in the case of a microenterprise loan

18 by a microenterprise intermediary to a micro19 enterprise, the microenterprise intermediary.’’.

20 SEC. 21004. TREATMENT OF MICROENTERPRISE LOANS OF

21 SAVINGS ASSOCIATIONS AS QUALIFIED

22 THRIFT INVESTMENTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10(m)(4)(C)(ii) of the

24 Home Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a(m)(4)(C)(ii))
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1 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub2 clause:

3 ‘‘(VII) The aggregate amount of

4 microenterprise loans held by the sav5 ings association.’’.

6 (b) MICROENTERPRISE LOAN DEFINED.—Section

7 10(m)(4) of the Home Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C.

8 1467a(m)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the follow9 ing new subparagraph:

10 ‘‘(D) MICROENTERPRISE LOAN.—For pur11 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘microenter12 prise loan’—

13 ‘‘(i) means a loan—

14 ‘‘(I) to a commercial enterprise

15 with 5 or fewer employees, 1 or more

16 of whom own the enterprise;

17 ‘‘(II) in amounts not less than

18 $100 and not more than $10,000; and

19 ‘‘(III) the interest rate on which

20 is comparable to the interest rate

21 charged on secured commercial loans

22 offered by the savings association to

23 the association’s most preferred com24 mercial customers;
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1 ‘‘(IV) which is not secured by

2 collateral or is secured by collateral

3 the value of which, as a percentage of

4 the amount of the loan, is substan5 tially less than the percentage gen6 erally required by the institution for

7 commercial loans; and

8 ‘‘(V) the terms of which may per9 mit the deferral of principal or inter10 est payments otherwise due under

11 such terms;

12 ‘‘(ii) includes a loan to a microenter13 prise intermediary the proceeds of which

14 will be used by the intermediary for mak15 ing loans described in clause (i); and

16 ‘‘(iii) does not include—

17 ‘‘(I) any loan to a micro18 enterprise which does not meet the re19 quirements of paragraph (8); or

20 ‘‘(II) any loan to a micro21 enterprise intermediary which does

22 not agree to use the proceeds of the

23 loan to make microenterprise loans in

24 accordance with the requirements of

25 paragraph (8).’’.
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1 (c) CRITERIA FOR MICROENTERPRISE LOANS.—Sec2 tion 10(m) of the Home Owners’ Loan Act (12 U.S.C.

3 1467a(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following

4 new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(8) CRITERIA FOR MICROENTERPRISE

6 LOANS.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A microenterprise

8 loan meets the requirements of this paragraph

9 only if the savings association makes the micro10 enterprise loan, or the microenterprise

11 intermediary which receives a loan from the as12 sociation, agrees to use the proceeds of the loan

13 to make microenterprise loans in accordance

14 with the following criteria:

15 ‘‘(i) In considering any loan to a

16 microenterprise, the lender takes into ac17 count—

18 ‘‘(I) the creditworthiness of any

19 person who controls the microenter20 prise in lieu of the creditworthiness of

21 the enterprise;

22 ‘‘(II) in the case of a microenter23 prise which is a startup business,

24 whether the microenterprise is soundly

25 conceived; and
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1 ‘‘(III) the need of the microenter2 prise for expansion capital.

3 ‘‘(ii) The lender accepts as collateral

4 for the loan a security interest in any per5 sonal property of any person who controls

6 the microenterprise which consists of

7 consumer or household goods.

8 ‘‘(iii) The lender does not require col9 lateral or a secured interest for more than

10 50 percent of the face amount of the loan.

11 ‘‘(iv) The loans are made in amounts

12 not less than $100 and not more than

13 $10,000 to persons who would not other14 wise qualify for a commercial loan.

15 ‘‘(v) The lender provides technical as16 sistance, training, and counseling in busi17 ness practices, such as accounting, market18 ing, management, financial practices, and

19 general business practices and sales, to the

20 microenterprise in connection with the loan

21 and closely monitors the microenterprise,

22 including the enterprise’s loan repayment

23 performance.

24 ‘‘(B) LENDER DEFINED.—For purposes of

25 subparagraph (A), the term ‘lender’ means—
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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a microenterprise

2 loan by a savings association to a micro3 enterprise, the savings association; and

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a microenterprise

5 loan by a microenterprise intermediary to

6 a microenterprise, the microenterprise

7 intermediary.’’.

8 SEC. 21005. USE OF CDBG ASSISTANCE FOR ADMINISTRA9 TIVE COSTS OF ENTITIES ASSISTING MICRO10 ENTERPRISES.

11 Section 105(a)(23) of the Housing and Community

12 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(23)) is

13 amended by adding at the end the following flush material:

14 ‘‘assistance provided to such entities under this

15 paragraph may be used for reasonable administra16 tive and operating costs of such entities related to

17 facilitating economic development through activities

18 under subparagraphs (A) through (C);’’.

19 SEC. 21006. ESTABLISHMENT OF MICROENTERPRISE DIVI20 SION IN EACH FEDERAL BANKING AGENCY.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal banking agency (as

22 defined in section 3(z) of the Federal Deposit Insurance

23 Act) shall establish a division to be known as the ‘‘Micro24 enterprise Technical and Operations Office’’ to promote

25 microenterprises by offering technical assistance, training,
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1 outreach, and other support to groups and individuals en2 gaged in, or desiring to establish, a microenterprise or an

3 institution which offers credit or financial services to

4 microenterprises.

5 (b) DUTIES OF MICROENTERPRISE DIVISION.—The

6 Microenterprise Technical and Operations Office of each

7 Federal banking agency shall—

8 (1) facilitate the creation and financing of

9 microenterprises by—

10 (A) collecting information relating to

11 microenterprises, including the ownership char12 acteristics of microenterprises and the perform13 ance of microenterprises by industry;

14 (B) providing such information without

15 charge to interested persons; and

16 (C) generally serving as a clearinghouse

17 for information relating to microenterprises;

18 and

19 (2) monitor and provide assistance to the

20 microenterprise divisions established pursuant to

21 section 34 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

22 (a) MICROENTERPRISE DEFINED.—As used in this

23 section, the term ‘‘microenterprise’’ means any commer24 cial enterprise with 5 or fewer employees, 1 or more of

25 whom own the enterprise.
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1 SEC. 21007. STUDY.

2 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CREDIT FOR SMALL BUSI3 NESSES WHICH ARE LARGER THAN MICROENTER4 PRISES.—The Financial Institutions Examination Council

5 shall conduct a study before the end of the 2-year period

6 beginning on the date of the enactment of this subtitle,

7 based on the agency’s experience in administering the

8 microenterprise loan provisions of this subtitle, and the

9 amendments made by this subtitle, on the best means to

10 make credit available for small businesses which—

11 (1) do not qualify for microenterprise loans or

12 need credit in larger amounts than is available

13 through microenterprise loans; and

14 (2) need credit in smaller amounts than is gen15 erally available from financial institutions or the

16 Small Business Administration.

17 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORT.—The Finan18 cial Institutions Examination Council shall submit a re19 port to the Congress before the end of the 2-year period

20 referred to in subsection (a) containing the findings and

21 conclusions of the agency in connection with the study

22 conducted pursuant to subsection (a) and such rec23 ommendations for legislative and administrative action as

24 the agency may determine to be appropriate.
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1 Subtitle B—Commission on the Ad2 vancement of Women in the

3 Science and Engineering Work

4 Forces

5 SEC. 22001. FINDINGS.

6 The Congress finds that—

7 (1) despite a consistently high presence of

8 women in the professional and total work forces of

9 the United States, women continue to be underrep10 resented in the science and engineering work forces;

11 (2) women scientists and engineers have higher

12 rates of unemployment and underemployment than

13 their male counterparts, although the number of

14 women receiving degrees in scientific and engineer15 ing disciplines has increased since 1981;

16 (3) artificial barriers exist in the recruitment,

17 retention, and advancement of women in the science

18 and engineering work forces;

19 (4) academia, industry, and government are in20 creasingly aware of the necessity of and the advan21 tages derived from diverse science and engineering

22 work forces;

23 (5) initiatives of the White House Task Force

24 on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in

25 Science and Technology and of the Federal Coordi-
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1 nating Council on Science, Engineering, and Tech2 nology have been instrumental in raising public

3 awareness of—

4 (A) the underrepresentation of women in

5 the science and engineering work forces; and

6 (B) the desirability of eliminating artificial

7 barriers to the recruitment, retention, and ad8 vancement of women in such work forces; and

9 (6) the establishment of a commission to exam10 ine issues raised by these initiatives would help to—

11 (A) focus greater attention on the impor12 tance of eliminating artificial barriers to the re13 cruitment, retention, and advancement of

14 women in the science and engineering work

15 forces and in all employment sectors of the

16 United States;

17 (B) promote work force diversity; and

18 (C) encourage the replication of successful

19 recruitment and retention programs by univer20 sities, corporations, and Federal agencies hav21 ing difficulties in employing women scientists

22 and engineers.

23 SEC. 22002. ESTABLISHMENT.

24 There is established a commission to be known as the

25 ‘‘Commission on the Advancement of Women in the
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1 Science and Engineering Work Forces’’ (hereinafter in

2 this subtitle referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

3 SEC. 22003. DUTY OF COMMISSION.

4 The Commission shall conduct a study to—

5 (1) identify the number of women in the United

6 States in the science and engineering work forces,

7 and the specific types of occupations in such

8 workforces in which women scientists and engineers

9 are underrepresented;

10 (2) examine the preparedness of women to—

11 (A) pursue careers in the science and engi12 neering work forces; and

13 (B) advance to positions of greater respon14 sibility within academia, industry, and govern15 ment;

16 (3) describe the practices and policies of em17 ployers and labor unions relating to the recruitment,

18 retention, and advancement of women scientists and

19 engineers;

20 (4) identify the opportunities for, and artificial

21 barriers to, the recruitment, retention, and advance22 ment of women scientists and engineers in academia,

23 industry, and government;

24 (5) describe the employment situations in which

25 the recruitment, retention, and advancement of
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1 women scientists and engineers are comparable to

2 their male counterparts, and identify those situa3 tions in which such comparability does not exist;

4 (6) compile a synthesis of available research on

5 practices, policies, and programs that have success6 fully led to the recruitment, retention, and advance7 ment of women in the science and engineering work

8 forces, including training programs, rotational as9 signments, developmental programs, reward pro10 grams, employee benefit structures, and family leave

11 policies;

12 (7) examine such other issues and information

13 relating to the advancement of women in the science

14 and engineering work forces as determined by the

15 Commission to be appropriate; and

16 (8) issue recommendations that government (in17 cluding Congress and appropriate Federal agencies),

18 academia, and private industry can follow to assist

19 in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of

20 women in science and engineering.

21 SEC. 22004. MEMBERSHIP.

22 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

23 shall be composed of 18 members as follows:

24 (1) 5 members appointed by the President.
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1 (2) 3 members appointed jointly by the Speaker

2 of the House of Representatives and the majority

3 leader of the Senate.

4 (3) 1 member appointed by the majority leader

5 of the House of Representatives.

6 (4) 1 member appointed by the minority leader

7 of the House of Representatives.

8 (5) 1 member appointed by the majority leader

9 of the Senate.

10 (6) 1 member appointed by the minority leader

11 of the Senate.

12 (7) 2 Members of the House of Representatives,

13 appointed jointly by the majority leader and the mi14 nority leader of the House of Representatives.

15 (8) 2 Senators appointed jointly by the majority

16 leader and the minority leader of the Senate.

17 (9) The Director of the Office of Science and

18 Technology Policy.

19 (b) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—Initial appoint20 ments shall be made under subsection (a) not later than

21 180 days after the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

22 In making each appointment under subsection (a), the ap23 pointing authority shall consider (among other factors)

24 whether the individual—
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1 (1) is a member of an organization representing

2 women and minorities;

3 (2) holds executive management or senior deci4 sion-making positions in any business entity; and

5 (3) possesses academic expertise or other recog6 nized abilities relating to employment and employ7 ment discrimination issues.

(c) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 1 8 ⁄2 of

9 the members may be of the same political party.

10 (d) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a member

11 was appointed to the Commission because the member was

12 an officer or employee of any government and later ceases

13 to be such an officer or employee, that member may con14 tinue as a member of the Commission for not longer than

15 the 60-day period beginning on the date the member

16 ceases to be such an officer or employee.

17 (e) TERMS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be ap19 pointed for the life of the Commission.

20 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission

21 shall be filled in the manner in which the original

22 appointment was made.

23 (f) BASIC PAY.—

24 (1) RATES OF PAY.—Except as provided in

25 paragraph (2), each member of the Commission
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1 shall receive compensation at the daily equivalent of

2 the maximum rate of pay payable under section

3 5376 of title 5, United States Code, for each day the

4 member is engaged in the performance of duties for

5 the Commission, including attendance at meetings

6 and conferences of the Commission, and travel to

7 conduct the duties of the Commission.

8 (2) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION OF FED9 ERAL EMPLOYEES.—Members of the Commission

10 who are full-time officers or employees of the United

11 States or Members of Congress may not receive ad12 ditional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of

13 their service on the Commission.

14 (g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive

15 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,

16 in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5,

17 United States Code.

18 (h) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

19 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction

20 of business.

21 (i) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Office of

22 Science and Technology Policy shall serve as the Chair23 person of the Commission.

24 (j) MEETINGS.—
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1 (1) MEETINGS PRIOR TO COMPLETION OF RE2 PORT.—The Commission shall meet not fewer than

3 5 times in connection with and pending the comple4 tion of the reports described in subsections (a) and

5 (b) of section 22007. The Commission shall hold ad6 ditional meetings for such purpose if the Chair7 person or a majority of the members of the Commis8 sion requests the additional meetings in writing.

9 (2) MEETINGS AFTER COMPLETION OF RE10 PORT.—The Commission shall meet at least once,

11 but not more than twice after the completion of the

12 report described in section 22007(b), in connection

13 with and pending completion of the report required

14 by section 22007(c).

15 (k) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—A member of the Com16 mission, who is not otherwise an officer or employee of

17 the Federal Government, shall not be deemed to be an

18 employee of the Federal Government except for the pur19 poses of—

20 (1) the tort claims provisions of chapter 171 of

21 title 28, United States Code; and

22 (2) subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, United

23 States Code, relating to compensation for work inju24 ries.
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1 SEC. 22005. DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF COMMISSION; EX2 PERTS AND CONSULTANTS.

3 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a Direc4 tor who shall be appointed by the Chairperson. The Direc5 tor shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the maximum

6 annual rate of basic pay payable under section 5376 of

7 title 5, United States Code.

8 (b) STAFF.—Subject to rules prescribed by the Com9 mission, the Chairperson may appoint and fix the pay of

10 additional personnel as the Chairperson considers appro11 priate.

12 (c) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

13 LAWS.—The Director and staff of the Commission may

14 be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5,

15 United States Code, governing appointments in the com16 petitive service, and may be paid without regard to the

17 provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53

18 of that title relating to classification and General Schedule

19 pay rates, except that an individual so appointed may not

20 receive pay in excess of the maximum annual rate of basic

21 pay payable under section 5376 of title 5, United States

22 Code.

23 (d) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

24 may procure temporary and intermittent services under

25 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates

26 for individuals not to exceed the maximum annual rate
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1 of basic pay payable under section 5376 of title 5, United

2 States Code.

3 (e) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request

4 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department

5 or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the

6 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission

7 to assist it in carrying out its duties under this subtitle.

8 SEC. 22006. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

9 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

10 may, for the purpose of carrying out this subtitle, hold

11 hearings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony,

12 and receive evidence as the Commission considers appro13 priate. The Commission may administer oaths or affirma14 tions to witnesses appearing before it.

15 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem16 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

17 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au18 thorized to take by this section.

19 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission

20 may secure directly from any department or agency of the

21 United States information necessary to enable it to carry

22 out this subtitle. Upon request of the Chairperson of the

23 Commission, the head of that department or agency shall

24 furnish that information to the Commission.
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1 (d) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis2 sion may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or

3 devises of services or property, both real and personal, for

4 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com5 mission. Gifts, bequests, or devises of money and proceeds

6 from sales of other property received as gifts, bequests,

7 or devises shall be deposited in the Treasury and shall be

8 available for disbursement upon order of the Commission.

9 (e) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

10 States mails in the same manner and under the same con11 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

12 States.

13 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon the

14 request of the Commission, the Administrator of General

15 Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reimburs16 able basis, the administrative support services necessary

17 for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under

18 this subtitle.

19 (g) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—To the extent provided

20 in advance in appropriations Acts, the Commission may

21 contract with and compensate government and private

22 agencies or persons for the purpose of conducting research

23 or surveys necessary to enable the Commission to carry

24 out its duties under this subtitle.
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1 SEC. 22007. REPORTS.

2 (a) STATUS REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after

3 the date on which the initial appointments under section

4 22004(a) are completed, the Commission shall submit to

5 the President and the Congress a written report describing

6 the current activities and findings of the Commission and

7 the direction of the Commission.

8 (b) RECOMMENDATION REPORT.—Not later than 18

9 months after the date on which the initial appointments

10 under section 22004(a) are completed, the Commission

11 shall submit to the President and the Congress a written

12 report containing—

13 (1) the findings and conclusions of the Commis14 sion resulting from the study conducted under sec15 tion 22003; and

16 (2) recommendations, including specific pro17 posed legislation and administrative action, based on

18 the findings and conclusions referred to in para19 graph (1).

20 (c) FOLLOW-UP REPORT.—After submission of the

21 report required by subsection (b) and before the termi22 nation of the Commission, the Commission shall submit

23 to the President and to the Congress a written report—

24 (1) identifying which of the recommendations

25 included in such report have been implemented; and
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1 (2) containing any additional information the

2 Commission considers to be appropriate.

3 SEC. 22008. CONSTRUCTION; USE OF INFORMATION OB4 TAINED.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this subtitle shall be

6 construed to require any non-Federal entity (such as a

7 business, college, or university, foundation, or research or8 ganization) to provide information to the Commission con9 cerning such entity’s personnel policies, including, but not

10 limited to, salaries and benefits, promotion criteria, and

11 affirmative action plans.

12 (b) USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED.—No informa13 tion obtained from any entity by the Commission may be

14 used in connection with any employment related litigation.

15 SEC. 22009. TERMINATION.

16 The Commission shall terminate 1 year after submit17 ting the report required by section 22007(b).

18 SEC. 22010. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal

20 years 1997, 1998, and 1999 such sums as may be nec21 essary to carry out this subtitle.
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1 Subtitle C—Equal Surety Bond

2 Opportunity

3 SEC. 23001. EQUAL SURETY BOND OPPORTUNITY REQUIRE4 MENTS.

5 (a) ACTIVITIES CONSTITUTING DISCRIMINATION.—It

6 shall be unlawful for any surety to discriminate against

7 any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a surety bond

8 transaction—

9 (1) on the basis of race, color, religion, national

10 origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, dis11 ability, or age (if the applicant has the capacity to

12 contract);

13 (2) because the applicant has in good faith ex14 ercised any right under this subtitle;

15 (3) because the applicant previously obtained a

16 bond through an individual or personal surety; or

17 (4) because the applicant previously obtained a

18 bond through—

19 (A) any bonding assistance program ex20 pressly authorized by law;

21 (B) any bonding assistance program ad22 ministered by a nonprofit organization for its

23 members or an economically disadvantaged

24 class of persons; or
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1 (C) any special purpose bonding program

2 offered by a profit-making organization to meet

3 special needs.

4 (b) ACTIVITIES NOT CONSTITUTING DISCRIMINA5 TION.—It shall not constitute discrimination for purposes

6 of this subtitle for a surety—

7 (1) to make an inquiry of marital status if such

8 inquiry is for the purpose of ascertaining the sure9 ty’s rights and remedies applicable to the granting

10 of a bond and not to discriminate in a determination

11 of bondability;

12 (2) to make an inquiry of the applicant’s age if

13 such inquiry is for the purpose of determining the

14 amount and probable continuance of bondability; or

15 (3) to make an inquiry as to where the appli16 cant has previously obtained a bond, in order to de17 termine bonding history, or other pertinent element

18 of bondability, except that an applicant may not be

19 assigned a negative factor or value because the ap20 plicant previously obtained a bond through—

21 (A) an individual or personal surety;

22 (B) a bonding assistance program ex23 pressly authorized by law;
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1 (C) any bonding program administered by

2 a nonprofit organization for its members or an

3 economically disadvantaged class of persons; or

4 (D) any special purpose bonding program

5 offered by a profit-making organization to meet

6 special needs.

7 (c) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES NOT CONSTITUTING

8 DISCRIMINATION.—It is not a violation of this subtitle for

9 a surety to refuse to issue a bond pursuant to—

10 (1) any bonding assistance program authorized

11 by law for an economically disadvantaged class of

12 persons;

13 (2) any bonding assistance program adminis14 tered by a nonprofit organization for its members or

15 an economically disadvantaged class of persons; or

16 (3) any special purpose bonding program of17 fered by a profit-making organization to meet special

18 needs;

19 if such refusal is required by or made pursuant to such

20 program.

21 (d) REASONS FOR ADVERSE ACTION; PROCEDURE

22 APPLICABLE; DEFINITION.—

23 (1) NOTICE REQUIRED.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

25 subparagraph (B), any surety approved under
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1 section 9304 of title 31, United States Code,

2 shall notify an applicant of the surety’s action

3 on a completed application before the end of the

4 10-day period beginning on the date the appli5 cation is filed with the surety.

6 (B) EXTENSION.—The 10-day period re7 ferred to in subparagraph (A) may be extended

8 an additional 10 days if the surety has not is9 sued a bond to the applicant during the 1-year

10 period ending on the date the application is

11 filed with the surety.

12 (2) STATEMENT OF REASONS.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each applicant against

14 whom adverse action is taken shall be entitled

15 to a statement of reasons for such action from

16 the surety.

17 (B) ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF STATE18 MENT.—A surety satisfies the requirement es19 tablished under subparagraph (A) by—

20 (i) providing a statement of reasons in

21 writing as a matter of course to applicants

22 against whom adverse action is taken; or

23 (ii) giving written notification of ad24 verse action which discloses—
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1 (I) the applicant’s right to a

2 statement of reasons within 30 days

3 after receipt by the surety of a re4 quest made within 60 days after such

5 notification; and

6 (II) the identity of the person or

7 office from which such statement may

8 be obtained.

9 (C) ORAL STATEMENT PERMITTED.—Such

10 statement may be given orally if the written no11 tification advises the applicant of the appli12 cant’s right to have the statement of reasons

13 confirmed in writing on written request.

14 (3) SPECIFICITY OF REASONS.—A statement of

15 reasons meets the requirements of this subtitle only

16 if it contains specific reasons for the adverse action

17 taken.

18 (4) APPLICABILITY IN CASE OF 3D PARTY AP19 PLICATIONS.—In the case of a request to a surety

20 by a third party to issue a bond directly or indirectly

21 to an applicant, the notification and statement of

22 reasons required by this section may be made di23 rectly by such surety, or indirectly through the third

24 party, if the identity of the surety is disclosed to the

25 applicant.
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1 (5) APPLICABILITY IN CASE OF SURETIES

2 WHICH ACCEPT FEW APPLICATIONS.—The require3 ments of paragraph (2), (3), or (4) may be satisfied

4 by oral statements or notifications in the case of any

5 surety who did not act on more than 100 applica6 tions during the calendar year in which the adverse

7 action is taken.

8 (e) ADVERSE ACTION DEFINED.—For purposes of

9 this subtitle, the term ‘‘adverse action’’—

10 (1) means a denial of a bond, a change in the

11 terms of an existing bonding arrangement, or a re12 fusal to issue a bond in the amount or on substan13 tially the terms requested; and

14 (2) does not include any refusal to issue an ad15 ditional bond under an existing bonding arrange16 ment where the applicant is in default, or where

17 such additional bond would exceed a previously es18 tablished bonding limit.

19 SEC. 23002. CIVIL LIABILITY.

20 (a) DAMAGES.—Any surety who fails to comply with

21 section 23001(a) shall be liable to the aggrieved applicant

22 for—

23 (1) any actual damage sustained by such appli24 cant (individually or as a member of a class); and
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1 (2) in the case of any successful action under

2 this section, the costs of the action, together with

3 reasonable attorney’s fees as determined by the

4 court.

5 (b) EQUITABLE RELIEF.—Upon application by an

6 aggrieved applicant, a court of competent jurisdiction may

7 enjoin a surety from violating the requirements of this

8 subtitle or grant such other equitable relief as the court

9 determines to be appropriate to enforce such require10 ments.

11 (c) JURISDICTION.—Any action under this section

12 may be brought in any United States district court, or

13 in any other court of competent jurisdiction, within 1 year

14 after the date of the occurrence of the violation involved.

15 SEC. 23003. ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A company may not be approved

17 as a surety by the Secretary of the Treasury under section

18 9304 of title 31, United States Code, or provide any surety

19 bond pursuant to such section unless such company main20 tains full compliance with the requirements of this sub21 title.

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ENFORCEABILITY

23 OF ACT.—
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1 (1) SIGNED STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH

2 APPLICATION.—Section 9305(a) of title 31, United

3 States Code, is amended—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para5 graph (1);

6 (B) by striking the period at the end of

7 paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

8 (C) by adding at the end the following new

9 paragraph:

10 ‘‘(3) a statement of compliance with the Eco11 nomic Equity Act of 1996 which is signed under

12 penalty of perjury by the president and the secretary

13 of the corporation.’’.

14 (2) COMPLIANCE AS A CONDITION FOR AP15 PROVAL OF APPLICATION.—Section 9305(b) of title

16 31, United States Code, is amended—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para18 graph (2);

19 (B) by striking the period at the end of

20 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

21 (C) by adding at the end the following new

22 paragraph:

23 ‘‘(4) the corporation is in full compliance with

24 the Economic Equity Act of 1996.’’.
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1 (3) SIGNED STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH

2 QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Section 9305(c) of title 31,

3 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and a

4 statement of compliance with the Economic Equity

5 Act of 1996’’ before the period.

6 (4) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY

7 OF THE TREASURY.—Section 9305(d) of title 31,

8 United States Code, is amended—

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or the

10 provisions of the Economic Equity Act of

11 1996’’ before the semicolon;

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

14 (C) by striking the period at the end of

15 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

17 paragraph:

18 ‘‘(4) may, after the end of the 1-year period be19 ginning on the effective date of any revocation under

20 paragraph (1) of the authority of a surety corpora21 tion for noncompliance with the Economic Equity

22 Act of 1996, reauthorize such corporation to provide

23 surety bonds under section 9304.’’.
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1 (5) REVOCATION FOR FAILURE TO PAY CER2 TAIN JUDGMENTS.—Section 9305(e) of title 31,

3 United States Code, is amended—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para5 graph (1);

6 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as

7 paragraph (3); and

8 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the

9 following new paragraph:

10 ‘‘(2) the corporation does not pay a final judg11 ment or order against the corporation for noncompli12 ance with the Economic Equity Act of 1996 or fails

13 to comply with any order under section 23002(c) of

14 such Act; and’’.

15 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

16 Section 9304(a)(3) of title 31, United States Code, is

17 amended by inserting ‘‘and section 23003(a) of the Eco18 nomic Equity Act of 1996’’ before the period.

19 (d) REGULATIONS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas21 ury shall prescribe such regulations as may be nec22 essary to carry out the purposes of this subtitle.

23 (2) INITIAL REGULATIONS.—The initial regula24 tions prescribed pursuant to paragraph (1) shall

25 take effect at the earliest practicable date after the
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1 date of the enactment of this subtitle and not later

2 than the end of the 1-year period beginning on such

3 date of enactment.

4 SEC. 23004. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 Sections 23001(d) and 23003(a) shall take effect on

6 the earlier of—

7 (1) the effective date of the initial regulations

8 prescribed pursuant to section 23003(d); or

9 (2) the end of the 1-year period beginning on

10 the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

11 Subtitle D—Self-Sufficiency

12 Standard

13 SEC. 24001. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

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

15 (1) the principle objective of programs under

16 part A of title II of the Job Training Partnership

17 Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is to move economically

18 disadvantaged adults into permanent, unsubsidized

19 employment that pays a wage that enables such

20 adults to achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency

21 for themselves and their dependents;

22 (2) current measures of success of such pro23 grams do not accurately assess the degree to which

24 participants achieve long-term economic self-suffi25 ciency;
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1 (3) in order to ensure that such programs re2 sult in long-term economic self-sufficiency for par3 ticipants, performance standards must focus both on

4 the wage and benefits a participant receives relative

5 to the participant’s family size and needs, and on

6 the duration and stability of the participant’s em7 ployment; and

8 (4) the wage and benefits needed to achieve

9 long-term economic self-sufficiency will vary by fam10 ily size and local market conditions governing prices

11 of essential goods and services.

12 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subtitle are—

13 (1) to provide for the establishment and use of

14 local economic self-sufficiency standards tables to ac15 curately measure the effectiveness of adult training

16 programs carried out under part A of title II of the

17 Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et

18 seq.); and

19 (2) to provide grants to States to develop dem20 onstration and exemplary programs to increase the

21 number of participants under such programs who

22 are trained and placed in jobs that yield long-term

23 economic self-sufficiency using the local economic

24 self-sufficiency standards tables.
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1 SEC. 24002. DEFINITION OF ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY.

2 Section 4 of the Job Training Partnership Act (29

3 U.S.C. 1503) is amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(41) The term ‘economic self-sufficiency’

6 means the ability of an individual to meet the follow7 ing basic needs for the individual and such individ8 ual’s family:

9 ‘‘(A) Housing.

10 ‘‘(B) Child care.

11 ‘‘(C) Adult dependent care.

12 ‘‘(D) Food.

13 ‘‘(E) Transportation.

14 ‘‘(F) Health care.

15 ‘‘(G) Work-related expenses.’’.

16 SEC. 24003. ESTABLISHMENT OF ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFI17 CIENCY STANDARDS FOR ADULT TRAINING

18 PROGRAMS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 106(b) of such Act (29

20 U.S.C. 1516(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new paragraph:

22 ‘‘(9) ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARDS

23 FOR ADULT PROGRAMS.—

24 ‘‘(A) FORMULA DEVELOPED BY THE SEC25 RETARY.—(i)(I) Not later than 6 months after

26 the date of the enactment of this paragraph,
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1 the Secretary shall develop and publish in the

2 Federal Register a proposed formula which

3 measures the minimum amount of wages and

4 employment benefits that a participant enrolled

5 in a program under part A of title II should re6 ceive after termination from such program to

7 ensure the long-term economic self-sufficiency

8 of such participant.

9 ‘‘(II) The Secretary shall provide for public

10 review and comment of the proposed formula

11 described in subclause (I) within the 60-day pe12 riod beginning on the date such formula is pub13 lished in the Federal Register. Not later than

14 4 months after the end of such 60-day period,

15 the Secretary shall develop and publish in the

16 Federal Register a final formula.

17 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall base the formula

18 described in clause (i) on appropriate factors,

19 which shall include—

20 ‘‘(I) the participant’s family size and

21 composition, including the number and age

22 of dependent adults and children;

23 ‘‘(II) 100 percent of the average hous24 ing costs, which shall be based on the fair

25 market rental in effect for the market area
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1 in which the participant resides, as estab2 lished by the Secretary of Housing and

3 Urban Development pursuant to section

4 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of

5 1937;

6 ‘‘(III) 100 percent of the average

7 child care costs (differentiated by the age

8 of each child), which may be based on the

9 actual cost of such care established under

10 section 402(g)(1)(C)(i)(I) the Social Secu11 rity Act or the applicable local market rate

12 established under clause (ii) of such sec13 tion;

14 ‘‘(IV) 100 percent of the average

15 adult dependent care costs, which may be

16 based on local surveys or the local average

17 of such costs;

18 ‘‘(V) 100 percent of the average

19 health care costs, which shall include costs

20 incurred for full family health care cov21 erage (including premiums, deductibles,

22 and co-payments), and which may be based

23 on local surveys or the local average of

24 such costs;
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1 ‘‘(VI) 100 percent of the average

2 transportation costs, which may be based

3 on local surveys or the local average of

4 such costs;

5 ‘‘(VII) 100 percent of the food costs,

which shall be equal to 1 6 ⁄3 of the official

7 poverty line (as defined by the Office of

8 Management and Budget, and revised an9 nually in accordance with section 673(2) of

10 the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

11 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)); and

12 ‘‘(VIII) 100 percent of the average

13 work-related costs, which shall include the

14 cost of uniforms, tools, and other appro15 priate work-related costs.

16 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary shall also designate,

17 from among the needs identified through the

18 needs assessment conducted under this Act,

19 those needs which shall be used by a service de20 livery area to develop the summary needs table

21 under section 104(b)(14)(B).

22 ‘‘(B) LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY

23 STANDARDS TABLES DEVELOPED BY SERVICE

24 DELIVERY AREAS.—(i) Not later than 12

25 months after the date on which the Secretary
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1 publishes the final formula in the Federal Reg2 ister under subparagraph (A)(i)(II), each serv3 ice delivery area shall, in accordance with such

4 formula, develop and submit to the Governor a

5 local economic self-sufficiency standards table

6 which measures the minimum amount of wages

7 and employment benefits that a participant en8 rolled in a program under part A of title II in

9 such area should receive after termination from

10 such program to ensure the long-term economic

11 self-sufficiency of such participant.

12 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall provide technical

13 assistance to States and service delivery areas

14 for the purpose of assisting such service deliv15 ery areas to develop the local economic self-suf16 ficiency standards tables under clause (i).

17 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL OF

18 TABLE.—(i) Not later than 30 days after the

19 date on which the Governor receives a local eco20 nomic self-sufficiency standards table submitted

21 by a service delivery area under subparagraph

22 (B)(i), the Governor shall review such table and

23 approve or disapprove such table in accordance

24 with this subparagraph.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The Governor shall approve each local

2 economic self-sufficiency standards table only

3 if—

4 ‘‘(I) such table accounts for the full

5 range of variations of family size and com6 position described in subclause (I) of sub7 paragraph (A)(ii);

8 ‘‘(II) such table accounts for 100 per9 cent of each of the costs described in sub10 clauses (II) through (VIII) of subpara11 graph (A)(ii);

12 ‘‘(III) the methodology used to deter13 mine such costs accurately represent such

14 costs; and

15 ‘‘(IV) such table complies with all

16 other provisions of the formula developed

17 by the Secretary under subparagraph (A).

18 ‘‘(iii) If the Governor determines that the

19 table does not meet the requirements of clause

20 (ii) or is otherwise incomplete or unsatisfactory,

21 the Governor shall, before the end of the period

22 referred to in clause (i)—

23 ‘‘(I) notify the service delivery area of

24 the reasons for the failure to approve the

25 table;
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1 ‘‘(II) notify the service delivery area

2 that the table may be resubmitted during

3 the period referred to in subclause (III);

4 and

5 ‘‘(III) permit the service delivery area

6 to resubmit a corrected or amended table

7 during the 30-day period beginning on no8 tification under this clause.

9 ‘‘(iv) The Governor shall review and ap10 prove or disapprove any table resubmitted

11 under clause (iii) beginning before the expira12 tion of the 30-day period beginning upon such

13 resubmission.

14 ‘‘(D) ANNUAL UPDATES.—Each service de15 livery area shall update the local economic self16 sufficiency standards table developed by such

17 area on an annual basis and shall submit to the

18 Governor a description of the updated version

19 of such table.’’.

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (3) of

21 section 106(b) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(b)(3)) is

22 amended by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘In

23 addition to the standards under local economic self-suffi24 ciency standards tables developed pursuant to paragraph

25 (9), the Secretary’’.
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1 SEC. 24004. PROHIBITION OF INCENTIVE GRANTS TO SERV2 ICE DELIVERY AREAS THAT DO NOT HAVE IN

3 EFFECT AN APPROVED LOCAL ECONOMIC

4 SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARDS TABLE.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (7) of section 106(b)

6 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(b)(7)) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘From funds available’’ and in8 serting ‘‘(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), from

9 funds available’’;

10 (2) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) of sub11 paragraph (D) as subclauses (I) and (II), respec12 tively;

13 (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through

14 (E) of such paragraph as clauses (i) through (v), re15 spectively; and

16 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub17 paragraph:

18 ‘‘(B) A Governor shall not award incentive

19 grants for programs under part A of title II to serv20 ice delivery areas that do not have in effect a local

21 economic self-sufficiency standards table approved

22 under paragraph (9)(C).’’.

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

24 subsection (a) shall take effect 2 years after the date of

25 the enactment of this subtitle.
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1 SEC. 24005. INCLUSION OF LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFI2 CIENCY STANDARDS TABLE AND RELATED

3 REPORTS IN JOB TRAINING PLAN.

4 (a) LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY STAND5 ARDS TABLE.—Subparagraph (B) of section 104(b)(5) of

6 such Act (29 U.S.C. 1514(b)(5)(B)) is amended by insert7 ing ‘‘, including the local economic self-sufficiency stand8 ards table developed pursuant to subsection (b)(9) of such

9 section’’ after ‘‘section 106’’.

10 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Subsection (b) of section

11 104 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1514(b)) is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and

13 inserting a semi-colon;

14 (2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at

15 the end of such paragraph and inserting ‘‘; and’’;

16 and

17 (3) by adding at the end the following new

18 paragraph:

19 ‘‘(14) procedures for the preparation and sub20 mission of an annual report to the Governor, which

21 shall include—

22 ‘‘(A) with respect to each participant who

23 has completed training under a program carried

24 out under part A of title II in the service deliv25 ery area, information relating to—
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1 ‘‘(i) the type and amount of services

2 provided to such participant under the pro3 gram;

4 ‘‘(ii) the subsequent employment of

5 the participant, where appropriate, includ6 ing the amount of wages and employment

7 benefits received by the participant under

8 such employment; and

9 ‘‘(iii) the degree of long-term eco10 nomic self-sufficiency which the participant

11 has achieved as a result of the training re12 ceived by the participant under the pro13 gram based upon the local economic self14 sufficiency standards table; and

15 ‘‘(B) a summary needs table which—

16 ‘‘(i) ranks and places participants into

17 at least 4 categories of equal size based

18 upon the needs designated by the Sec19 retary under section 106(b)(9)(A)(iii);

20 ‘‘(ii) includes a description of the level

21 of measurements used to place the partici22 pants into such categories; and

23 ‘‘(iii) includes a description of the de24 gree to which participants in each category

25 achieved long-term economic self-suffi-
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1 ciency after termination from a program

2 under part A of title II.’’.

3 SEC. 24006. INCLUSION OF LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFI4 CIENCY STANDARDS TABLES AND RELATED

5 REPORTS IN GOVERNOR’S COORDINATION

6 AND SPECIAL SERVICES PLAN.

7 Subsection (b) of section 121 of such Act (29 U.S.C.

8 1531(b)) is amended—

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as

10 paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the follow12 ing new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(6) The plan shall include—

14 ‘‘(A) the local economic self-sufficiency

15 standards table developed by each service deliv16 ery areas pursuant to section 106(b)(9);

17 ‘‘(B) a compilation of the reports received

18 by the Governor under section 104(b)(14); and

19 ‘‘(C) a description of goals and objectives

20 to assist participants enrolled in programs

21 under part A of title II achieve long-term eco22 nomic self-sufficiency.’’.
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1 SEC. 24007. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS TO IMPLEMENT

2 LOCAL ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY

3 STANDARDS TABLES.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title IV of such Act (29

5 U.S.C. 1737 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

6 the following new section:

7 ‘‘SEC. 457. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY DEMONSTRATION

8 GRANT PROGRAM.

9 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From funds available

11 under this part for the fiscal years 1997, 1998, and

12 1999, the Secretary shall use $1,500,000 in each

13 such fiscal year to provide grants to States to estab14 lish and carry out demonstration and exemplary pro15 grams to increase the number of participants in pro16 grams under part A of title II who are trained and

17 placed in jobs that yield long-term economic self-suf18 ficiency in accordance with the local economic self19 sufficiency standards tables under section 106(b)(9).

20 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may provide

21 no more than 6 grants in each fiscal year under

22 paragraph (1).

23 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—The Secretary may provide a

24 grant to a State under subsection (a) only if such State

25 submits to the Secretary an application which contains

26 such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall use amounts

3 received from a grant under subsection (a) to award

4 grants to service delivery areas and eligible service

5 providers described in paragraph (3) to develop and

6 test strategies to train, place, and retain participants

7 in jobs that yield long-term economic self-sufficiency

8 in accordance with the local economic self-sufficiency

9 standards tables under section 106(b)(9).

10 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF SERVICES.—In

11 providing grants under paragraph (1), a State shall

12 ensure that each service delivery area or service pro13 vider provides for an appropriate level of services, in14 cluding supportive services, to participants using the

15 relevant local economic self-sufficiency standards ta16 bles developed by the service delivery area.

17 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE SERVICE PROVIDERS.—Eligible

18 service providers described in this paragraph are

19 community-based organizations, educational institu20 tions, or any other service providers in the State

21 that have a demonstrated success in—

22 ‘‘(A) providing occupational skills training

23 to participants for high-wage jobs; and
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1 ‘‘(B) ensuring that participants receive

2 supportive services in order to successfully com3 plete such training.

4 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE AND RELATED COSTS.—In

5 any fiscal year in which a State receives amounts from

6 a grant under subsection (a), the State may retain an

7 amount not to exceed 10 percent of the grant amount to—

8 ‘‘(1) pay the administrative costs of programs

9 established and carried out under subsection (a);

10 ‘‘(2) facilitate the coordination of statewide ap11 proaches to training and placing participants in jobs

12 yielding long-term economic self-sufficiency; and

13 ‘‘(3) provide technical assistance to service de14 livery areas and service providers.

15 ‘‘(e) SELECTION.—In providing grants to States

16 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider—

17 ‘‘(1) the extent to which the State has dem18 onstrated that the coordination of services provided

19 under this Act with services provided by agencies

20 and organizations addressing the basic needs of low21 income individuals, including housing, food, trans22 portation, dependent care, and health care, has re23 sulted in the prompt and efficient delivery of services

24 to participants under this Act;
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1 ‘‘(2) the extent to which the State has dem2 onstrated its capability to ensure the provision of all

3 needed supportive services to participants in any job

4 training program carried out in the State for the du5 ration of such participants’ enrollment;

6 ‘‘(3) the extent of private sector involvement in

7 the development and implementation of training pro8 grams that increase opportunities for participants to

9 achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency under

10 this Act in the State;

11 ‘‘(4) the extent to which the initiatives proposed

12 by a State in its application supplement or build

13 upon existing efforts in the State to train and place

14 individuals in jobs that increase opportunities for

15 participants to achieve long-term economic self-suffi16 ciency;

17 ‘‘(5) whether the proposed amount of the grant

18 to be provided under subsection (a) is sufficient to

19 accomplish measurable goals;

20 ‘‘(6) the extent to which the State is prepared

21 to disseminate information on its demonstration

22 training programs relating to training, placement,

23 and other services; and
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1 ‘‘(7) the extent to which the State is prepared

2 to produce materials that allow for replication of

3 such State’s demonstration training programs.

4 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall provide for

5 an evaluation of the programs established and carried out

6 under subsection (a), including evaluation of the effective7 ness of such programs in—

8 ‘‘(1) assisting participants with varying needs

9 in achieving long-term economic self-sufficiency

10 through training, placement, and other services;

11 ‘‘(2) effectively implementing the use of local

12 economic self-sufficiency standards tables to increase

13 the number of participants achieving long-term eco14 nomic self-sufficiency; and

15 ‘‘(3) developing and replicating approaches to

16 assist participants with varying needs in achieving

17 long-term economic self-sufficiency through training,

18 placement, and other services.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents of such Act is amended by inserting after the item

21 relating to section 456 the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 457. Economic self-sufficiency demonstration grant program.’’.

22 SEC. 24008. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

23 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date

24 on which the Secretary provides the 1st grant to a State

25 under section 457(a)(1) of the Job Training Partnership
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1 Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Labor shall

2 submit to the Congress a report on—

3 (1) the extent to which States, service delivery

4 areas, and other service providers have succeeded in

5 training, placing, and retaining participants enrolled

6 in programs under part A of title II of such Act in

7 jobs yielding long-term economic self-sufficiency; and

8 (2) the effectiveness of the demonstration pro9 grams established under section 457 of such Act in

10 developing and replicating approaches to train,

11 place, and retain participants in such jobs, including

12 a summary of activities performed by grant recipi13 ents under the demonstration programs authorized

14 under such section.

15 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report described in

16 subsection (a) shall include recommendations on—

17 (1) the need to continue, expand, or modify the

18 demonstration programs established under section

19 457 of the Job Training Partnership Act;

20 (2) legislative and administrative changes nec21 essary to increase opportunities for participants to

22 achieve long-term economic self-sufficiency; and

23 (3) legislative and administrative action nec24 essary to institutionalize the use of local economic

25 self-sufficiency standards tables as the principal
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1 measure of performance for programs carried out

2 under part A of title II of the Job Training Partner3 ship Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) such that—

4 (A) the basic measure of performance for

5 such programs shall be the achievement of long6 term economic self-sufficiency resulting from

7 participation in the program;

8 (B) placements are evaluated according to

9 whether the wages and employment benefits

10 meet the participant’s particular long-term eco11 nomic self-sufficiency needs;

12 (C) both wages and the cash value of em13 ployment benefits are used to determine wheth14 er a participant has achieved the self-sufficiency

15 standard for their particular family size and

16 composition;

17 (D) in order to ensure that participants

18 with varying needs are served equitably, the

19 placements shall be equitably distributed among

20 the categories contained in the summary needs

21 table established by the service delivery area in

22 the job training plan prepared under section

23 104(b)(14)(B) of the Job Training Partnership

24 Act; and
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1 (E) incentive grants under section

2 106(b)(7) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1516(b)(7))

3 are provided to service delivery areas based pri4 marily on the extent to which such areas exceed

5 the standards under the local economic self-suf6 ficiency standards table for such areas.

7 Subtitle E—Community

8 Reinvestment

9 SEC. 25001. REPORTING OF ACTUAL PERFORMANCE DATA.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Community Reinvestment

11 Act of 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.) is amended by add12 ing at the end the following new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 809. REPORTING OF ACTUAL PERFORMANCE DATA.

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT REQUIRED.—The appropriate

15 Federal financial supervisory agencies shall jointly develop

16 a format for collecting data from regulated financial insti17 tutions, in connection with examinations under section

18 804, concerning such institutions’ record of meeting the

19 credit needs of their local communities, including low- and

20 moderate-income neighborhoods.

21 ‘‘(b) DATA REQUIRED.—The data required to be col22 lected under subsection (a) shall include the following:

23 ‘‘(1) SMALL BUSINESS LENDING.—

24 ‘‘(A) The aggregate number and dollar vol25 ume of loans originated, with a separate break-
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1 out for originations to minority-owned and

2 women-owned businesses and start-up busi3 nesses.

4 ‘‘(B) The aggregate number and dollar vol5 ume of loans originated under programs admin6 istered by the Small Business Administration,

7 with a separate break-out for minority-owned

8 and women-owned businesses.

9 ‘‘(C) The aggregate number and dollar vol10 ume of small business loans originated by the

11 financial institution, compiled on the basis of

12 the racial and income characteristics in the in13 stitution’s entire community.

14 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.—

15 ‘‘(A) The number and dollar volume of

16 loans to nonprofit child care, mental health,

17 and literacy centers and to nonprofit developers

18 of affordable housing.

19 ‘‘(B) The financial institution’s participa20 tion in any community development project, in21 cluding a description of any partnerships devel22 oped with nonprofit community organizations,

23 that benefit the low- and moderate-income resi24 dents of the institution’s entire community.
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1 ‘‘(3) CONSUMER LOANS.—A statistical analysis

2 of the number and dollar volume of consumer loans

3 compiled on the basis of the racial and income char4 acteristics of neighborhoods in the institution’s en5 tire community.

6 ‘‘(4) BRANCH CLOSURES.—

7 ‘‘(A) A compilation of the number of the

8 institution’s branches and other deposit facili9 ties in neighborhoods of various racial and in10 come characteristics within the institution’s

11 community.

12 ‘‘(B) An analysis of all openings and clos13 ings of branches and other deposit facilities by

14 the institution in the past 10 years in neighbor15 hoods of various racial and income characteris16 tics within the institution’s community.’’.

17 (b) DATA REQUIRED IN PUBLIC SECTION OF RE18 PORT.—Section 807(b)(1)(A) of the Community Reinvest19 ment Act of 1977 (12 U.S.C. 2906(b)(1)(A)) is amend20 ed—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (ii);

22 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

23 (iii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new

25 clause:
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1 ‘‘(iv) contain the data required to be

2 collected with respect to the institution

3 pursuant to section 809.’’.

4 Subtitle F—Telecommunications

5 Economic Opportunity

6 SEC. 26001. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) It is in the public interest for business en9 terprises owned by minorities and women to partici10 pate in procurement contracts of all providers of

11 telecommunications services.

12 (2) The opportunity for full participation in our

13 free enterprise system by business enterprises that

14 are owned by minorities and women is essential if

15 this Nation is to attain social and economic equality

16 for those businesses and improve the functioning of

17 the national economy.

18 (3) It is in this Nation’s interest to expedi19 tiously improve the economically disadvantaged posi20 tion of business enterprises that are owned by mi21 norities and women.

22 (4) The position of these businesses can be im23 proved through the development by the providers of

24 telecommunications services of substantial long25 range and annual goals, which are supported by
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1 training and technical assistance, for the purchase,

2 to the maximum practicable extent, of technology,

3 equipment, supplies, services, material and construc4 tion from minority business enterprises.

5 (5) Procurement policies which include partici6 pation of business enterprises that are owned by mi7 norities and women also benefit the communication

8 industry and its consumers by encouraging the ex9 pansion of the numbers of suppliers for procure10 ment, thereby encouraging competition among sup11 pliers and promoting economic efficiency in the proc12 ess.

13 SEC. 26002. PURPOSE.

14 The purposes of this subtitle are—

15 (1) to encourage and foster greater economic

16 opportunity for business enterprises that are owned

17 by minorities and women;

18 (2) to promote competition among suppliers to

19 providers of telecommunications services and their

20 affiliates to enhance economic efficiency in the pro21 curement of telephone corporation contracts and

22 contracts of their State commission-regulated sub23 sidiaries and affiliates;

24 (3) to clarify and expand a program for the

25 procurement by State and federally-regulated tele-
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1 phone companies of technology, equipment, supplies,

2 services, materials and construction work from busi3 ness enterprises that are owned by minorities and

4 women; and

5 (4) to ensure that a fair proportion of the total

6 purchases, contracts, and subcontracts for supplies,

7 commodities, technology, property, and services of8 fered by the providers of telecommunications services

9 and their affiliates are awarded to minority and

10 women business enterprises.

11 SEC. 26003. ANNUAL PLAN SUBMISSION.

12 (a) ANNUAL PLANS REQUIRED.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall re14 quire each provider of telecommunications services

15 to submit annually a detailed and verifiable plan for

16 increasing its procurement from business enterprises

17 that are owned by minorities or women in all cat18 egories of procurement in which minorities are under

19 represented.

20 (2) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—The annual plans

21 required by paragraph (1) shall include (but not be

22 limited to) short- and long-term progressive goals

23 and timetables, technical assistance, and training

24 and shall, in addition to goals for direct contracting

25 opportunities, include methods for encouraging both
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1 prime contractors and grantees to engage business

2 enterprises that are owned by minorities and women

3 in subcontracts in all categories in which minorities

4 are under represented.

5 (3) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Each provider

6 of telecommunications services shall furnish an an7 nual report to the Commission regarding the imple8 mentation of programs established pursuant to this

9 subtitle in such form as the Commission shall re10 quire, and at such time as the Commission shall an11 nually designate.

12 (4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Commission

13 shall provide an annual report to Congress, begin14 ning in January 1996, on the progress of activities

15 undertaken by each provider of telecommunications

16 services regarding the implementation of activities

17 pursuant to this subtitle to develop business enter18 prises that are owned by minorities or women. The

19 report shall evaluate the accomplishments under this

20 subtitle and shall recommend a program for enhanc21 ing the policy declared in this subtitle, together with

22 such recommendations for legislation as it deems

23 necessary or desirable to further that policy.
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1 (b) REGULATIONS AND CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING

2 ELIGIBILITY OF MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISES FOR

3 PROCUREMENT CONTRACTS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall estab5 lish regulations for implementing programs pursuant

6 to this subtitle that will govern providers of tele7 communications services and their affiliates.

8 (2) VERIFYING CRITERIA.—The Commission

9 shall develop and publish regulations setting forth

10 criteria for verifying and determining the eligibility

11 of business enterprises that are owned by minorities

12 or women for procurement contracts.

13 (3) OUTREACH.—The Commission’s regulations

14 shall require each provider of telecommunications

15 services and its affiliates to develop and to imple16 ment an outreach program to inform and recruit

17 business enterprises that are owned by minorities or

18 women to apply for procurement contracts under

19 this subtitle.

20 (4) ENFORCEMENT.—The Commission shall es21 tablish and promulgate such regulations necessary to

22 enforce the provisions of this subtitle.

23 (c) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The requirements of this

24 section may be waived, in whole or in part, by the Commis25 sion with respect to a particular contract or subcontract
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1 in accordance with guidelines set forth in regulations

2 which the Commission shall prescribe when it determines

3 that the application of such regulations prove to result in

4 undue hardship or unreasonable expense to a provider of

5 telecommunications services.

6 SEC. 26004. SANCTIONS AND REMEDIES.

7 (a) FALSE REPRESENTATION OF BUSINESSES; SANC8 TIONS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person or corporation,

10 through its directors, officers, or agent, which falsely

11 represents the business as a business enterprise that

12 is owned by minorities or women in the procurement

13 or attempt to procure contracts from telephone oper14 ating companies and their affiliates pursuant to this

15 article, shall be punished by a fine of not more than

16 $5,000, or by imprisonment for a period not to ex17 ceed 5 years of its directors, officers, or agents re18 sponsible for the false statements, or by both fine

19 and imprisonment.

20 (2) HOLDING COMPANIES.—Any provider of

21 telecommunications services which falsely represents

22 its annual report to the Commission or its imple23 mentation of its programs pursuant to this section

24 shall be subject to a fine of $100,000 and be subject

25 to a penalty of up to 5 years restriction from partici-
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1 pation in lines of business activities provided for in

2 this subtitle.

3 (b) INDEPENDENT CAUSE OF ACTION, REMEDIES,

4 AND ATTORNEY FEES.—

5 (1) DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.—No other6 wise qualified business enterprise that is owned by

7 minorities or women shall solely, by reason of its ra8 cial, ethnic, or gender composition be excluded from

9 the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be

10 subjected to discrimination in procuring contracts

11 from telephone utilities.

12 (2) CIVIL ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.—Whenever a

13 qualified business enterprise that is owned by mi14 norities or women has reasonable cause to believe

15 that a provider of telecommunications services or its

16 affiliate is engaged in a pattern or practice of resist17 ance to the full compliance of any provision of this

18 subtitle, the business enterprise may bring a civil ac19 tion in the appropriate district court of the United

20 States against the provider of telecommunications

21 services or its affiliate requesting such monetary or

22 injunctive relief, or both, as deemed necessary to en23 sure the full benefits of this subtitle.

24 (3) ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS.—In any ac25 tion or proceeding to enforce or charge of a violation
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1 of a provision of this subtitle, the court, in its discre2 tion, may allow the prevailing party reasonable at3 torneys’ fees and costs.

4 SEC. 26005. DEFINITIONS.

5 For the purpose of this subtitle, the following defini6 tions apply:

7 (1) The term ‘‘business enterprise owned by mi8 norities or women’’ means—

9 (A) a business enterprise that is at least

10 51 percent owned by a person or persons who

11 are minority persons or women; or

12 (B) in the case of any publicly owned busi13 ness, at least 51 percent of the stock of which

14 is owned by one or more persons who are mi15 nority persons or women, and whose manage16 ment and daily business operations are con17 trolled by one or more of those persons.

18 (2) The term ‘‘minority person’’ means persons

19 who are Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Na20 tive Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Amer21 icans.

22 (3) The term ‘‘control’’ means exercising the

23 power to make financial and policy decisions.
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1 (4) The term ‘‘operate’’ means the active in2 volvement in the day-to-day management of the

3 business and not merely being officers or directors.

4 (5) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal

5 Communications Commission.

6 (6) The term ‘‘telecommunications service’’

7 means the offering, on a common carrier basis, of

8 telecommunications facilities, or of telecommuni9 cations by means of such facilities. Such term does

10 not include an information service.

11 Subtitle G—HHS Women Scientist

12 Employment Opportunity

13 SEC. 27001. WOMEN’S SCIENTIFIC EMPLOYMENT.

14 The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281 et

15 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following title:

16 ‘‘TITLE XXVII—WOMEN’S SCIENTIFIC EMPLOY17 MENT WITH DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

18 AND HUMAN SERVICES

19 ‘‘SEC. 2701. WOMEN’S SCIENTIFIC EMPLOYMENT.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each agency specified

22 in paragraph (2), the Secretary, in collaboration

23 with the head of the agency, shall—

24 ‘‘(A) establish policies for the agency on

25 matters relating to the employment by the
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1 agency of women as scientists, and periodically

2 review and as appropriate revise such policies;

3 and

4 ‘‘(B) monitor the extent of compliance with

5 such policies and take appropriate action in

6 cases in which the Secretary determines that

7 the policies have been violated.

8 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIED AGENCIES.—The agencies re9 ferred to in paragraph (1) are the National Insti10 tutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and

11 Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and

12 such other agencies or offices of the Department of

13 Health and Human Services as the Secretary deter14 mines to be appropriate.

15 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN FUNCTIONS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection

17 (a) with respect to a specified agency, the Secretary

18 shall provide for the following:

19 ‘‘(A) Determining the concerns of women

20 scientists employed at the agency.

21 ‘‘(B) Developing a policy defining the

22 standard tenure process for employment at the

23 agency.
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1 ‘‘(C) Determining the reason for departure

2 from the agency by interviewing women and

3 men scientists as they leave.

4 ‘‘(D) Distributing yearly to all employees

5 of the agency of the policy of the agency on

6 flexible family leave.

7 ‘‘(E) Monitoring the number of women, in8 cluding minority women, included on the com9 mittees, panels, and other working groups (and

10 in meetings) of the agency.

11 ‘‘(F) Making efforts to recruit minority

12 women, based on the small numbers of tenured

13 minority women scientists.

14 ‘‘(G) Developing additional goals related to

15 women and minority women scientists at the

16 agency.

17 ‘‘(2) AGENCY-SPECIFIC PROVISIONS.—With re18 spect to the National Institutes of Health, in carry19 ing out subsection (a), the Secretary shall (in addi20 tion to activities under paragraph (1)) provide for

21 the implementation of the recommendations of the

22 group known as the Task Force on the Status of

23 NIH Intramural Women Scientists.

24 ‘‘(c) INCLUSION OF WOMEN ON INTRAMURAL AND

25 EXTRAMURAL CONFERENCES AND OTHER GROUPS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish a policy at each specified agency of requiring in3 clusion of women scientists in greater numbers on or

4 in conferences, workshops, meetings, international

5 congresses, and other groups funded or sponsored by

6 the agency. Such policy shall provide for the inclu7 sion of not less than one woman scientist in each

8 such group, except as provided in paragraph (2).

9 This paragraph applies whether such groups are

10 held for employees of the agency headquarters, for

11 employees of field offices, or both.

12 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION; WRITTEN EXPLANATION.—

13 The policy established in paragraph (1) may provide

14 that no woman scientist will be included in a group

15 for purposes of such paragraph if the Secretary pro16 vides a waiver of the requirement. The Secretary

17 may grant such a waiver only if—

18 ‘‘(A) the individual with the chief respon19 sibility for the group involved submits to the

20 Secretary a written request for the waiver and

21 the request provides an explanation of the rea22 sons underlying the need for the waiver; and

23 ‘‘(B) the Secretary makes a determination

24 that extraordinary circumstances justify provid25 ing the waiver.
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1 ‘‘(d) STUDY ON PAY EQUITY.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each specified agency,

3 the Secretary shall provide for a study to identify

4 any pay differences among men and women sci5 entists employed by the agency, both tenured and

6 untenured. The study shall include recommendations

7 on measures to adjust any disparities or inequities,

8 and shall identify a program to communicate infor9 mation on salary ranges to all employees.

10 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 240 days after

11 the date of the enactment of the Economic Equity

12 Act of 1996, the Secretary shall complete the study

13 required in paragraph (1) and submit to the Com14 mittee on Commerce of the House of Representa15 tives, and to the Committee on Labor and Human

16 Resources of the Senate, a report describing the

17 findings made as a result of the study.

18 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

19 term ‘specified agency’ means an agency specified in sub20 section (a)(2).

21 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

22 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized

23 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for

24 each of the fiscal years 1997 through 1999.’’.
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1 Subtitle H—Women in Enterprise

2 Development

3 SEC. 28001. WOMEN IN ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT.

4 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

5 of 1961 is amended by inserting after section 113 the fol6 lowing:

7 ‘‘SEC. 114. WOMEN IN ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT.

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—In carrying

9 out this part, the Administrator of the Agency for Inter10 national Development shall establish and implement a

11 Women in Enterprise Development Program.

12 ‘‘(b) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.—This program

13 shall provide funding and other support for projects hav14 ing the following 3 interrelated components:

15 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The provision of

16 financial assistance to women—

17 ‘‘(A) to support the creation of small- to

18 medium-size businesses in which women can

19 readily participate;

20 ‘‘(B) to foster investment in businesses

21 substantially owned or managed by women; and

22 ‘‘(C) to enable such women to further their

23 education.

24 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The provi25 sion of assistance to encourage and support efforts
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1 of indigenous educational institutions, and where ap2 propriate other organizations—

3 ‘‘(A) to encourage women to participate in

4 the processes of local and national government,

5 and to stimulate the interest of women in busi6 ness;

7 ‘‘(B) to prepare women for involvement in

8 government and business;

9 ‘‘(C) to provide opportunities for women to

10 gain practical experience in government and

11 business through internships or on-the-job ap12 prenticeships while in school;

13 ‘‘(D) to provide women with remedial as14 sistance whenever necessary; and

15 ‘‘(E) to identify women with leadership po16 tential to serve as role models, and to assist

17 such women in furthering their education and

18 obtaining suitable positions in the public or pri19 vate sector.

20 Assistance under this paragraph shall encourage the

21 development and implementation of guidelines to be

22 used by secondary and postsecondary education in23 stitutions to achieve the objectives described in sub24 paragraphs (A) through (E) through the develop25 ment of appropriate curricula and other means.
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1 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION ASSISTANCE.—The provi2 sion of assistance to support the creation or expan3 sion of local resource centers which offer to women

4 interested in careers in business, government, or re5 lated fields—

6 ‘‘(A) courses in accounting, bookkeeping,

7 and elementary marketing practices, and other

8 courses; and

9 ‘‘(B) workshops, informational materials,

10 career counseling, and assistance in the local

11 community.

12 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR FINANCIAL ASSIST13 ANCE.—The Administrator of the Agency for Inter14 national Development shall develop criteria for identifying

15 the women who are eligible to receive financial assistance

16 under subsection (b)(1).

17 ‘‘(d) INITIAL FUNDING LEVEL.—The Congress urges

18 the Administrator of the Agency for International Devel19 opment, in carrying out this section during fiscal year

20 1997, to use not less than an amount equal to 10 percent

21 of the amount made available under this part for assist22 ance for micro-enterprise development.

23 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The annual congressional

24 presentation materials on economic assistance shall in25 clude a description of the assistance being provided under
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1 this section, including the amount that was provided for

2 such assistance during preceding fiscal year, the amount

3 estimated to be provided during the current fiscal year,

4 and the amount proposed for the coming fiscal year.’’.

5 TITLE III—WORK AND FAMILY

6 Subtitle A—Child Care

7 Consolidation and Investment

8 SEC. 31001. FINDINGS.

9 Congress finds that—

10 (1) fragmentation of the Federal Government’s

11 major child care assistance programs has left gaps

12 for many parents moving from welfare to work;

13 (2) child care problems have prevented 34 per14 cent of poor mothers between the ages 21 and 29

15 from working;

(3) 2 16 ⁄3 of all families receiving assistance under

17 the Aid to Families with Dependent Children pro18 gram have at least one preschool age child and need

19 child care in order to work;

20 (4) there already exists an unmet need for child

21 care assistance—37 States now have waiting lists

22 that can run as high as 35,000 individuals;

23 (5) child care directly affects an individual’s

24 ability to stay in the work force;
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1 (6) welfare reform that places work at its cen2 ter will increase the demand for child care and re3 quire an additional investment of resources;

4 (7) child care consumes $260 per month or

5 about 27 percent of income for average working poor

6 families, leaving them with less income than families

7 eligible for assistance under the Aid to Families with

8 Dependent Children program;

9 (8) quality must be a central feature of the

10 child care policy of the United States;

11 (9) only 1 in 7 day care centers offer good qual12 ity care;

13 (10) 40 percent of day care centers serving in14 fants and toddlers do not meet basic sanitary condi15 tions, have safety problems, and do not encourage

16 learning; and

17 (11) only 9 percent of family and relative day

18 care is considered good quality care.

19 SEC. 31002. PURPOSE.

20 It is the purpose of this subtitle to—

21 (1) eliminate program fragmentation and create

22 a seamless system of high quality child care that al23 lows for continuity of care for children as parents

24 move from welfare to job training to work;
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1 (2) provide for parental choice among high

2 quality child care programs; and

3 (3) increase the availability of high quality af4 fordable child care in order to promote self suffi5 ciency and support working families.

6 SEC. 31003. AMENDMENTS TO CHILD CARE AND DEVELOP7 MENT BLOCK GRANT ACT OF 1990.

8 (a) APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 658B of the Child

9 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42

10 U.S.C. 9858) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘SEC. 658B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

13 this subchapter, $2,790,000,000 for fiscal year 1997,

14 $3,040,000,000 for fiscal year 1998, $3,460,000,000 for

15 fiscal year 1999, $4,030,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and

16 $4,680,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.’’.

17 (b) AWARDING OF GRANTS.—Section 658C of the

18 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42

19 U.S.C. 9858a) is amended by striking ‘‘is authorized to’’

20 and inserting ‘‘shall’’.

21 (c) SUPPLEMENTATION.—Section 658E(c)(2)(J) of

22 the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990

23 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(2)(J)) is amended by inserting ‘‘in

24 fiscal year 1995’’ before the period.
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1 (d) SET-ASIDES FOR QUALITY AND WORKING FAMI2 LIES, AND CHILD CARE GUARANTEE.—Section

3 658E(c)(3) of the Child Care and Development Block

4 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(3))—

5 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘25 per6 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’; and

7 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following:

8 ‘‘(D) ASSISTANCE FOR LOW-INCOME

9 WORKING FAMILIES.—The State shall reserve

10 not less than 50 percent of the amount provided

11 to the State and available for providing services

12 under this subchapter, to carry out child care

13 activities to support low-income working fami14 lies residing in the State.

15 ‘‘(E) CHILD CARE GUARANTEE.—The

16 State plan shall provide assurances that the

17 availability of child care under the grant will be

18 coordinated in an appropriate manner (as de19 termined by the Secretary) with the require20 ments of part A of title IV of the Social Secu21 rity Act. Such coordination shall ensure that

22 the single custodial parent of a dependent child

23 who is less than 11 years of age, or who is a

24 child with a disability (as defined in section

25 602(1)(A) of the Individuals with Disabilities
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1 Act (20 U.S.C. 1401(1)(A)), is not required to

2 undertake an education, job training, job

3 search, or employment requirement unless child

4 care assistance in an appropriate child care pro5 gram is made available.’’.

6 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Section 658E(c) of

7 the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990

8 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)) is amended by adding at the end

9 thereof the following:

10 ‘‘(6) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—With respect

11 to amounts made available to a State in each fiscal

12 year beginning on or after the effective date of this

13 paragraph, that exceed the aggregate amounts re14 ceived by the State for child care services in fiscal

15 year 1995, the State plan shall provide that, with re16 spect to the costs to be incurred by the State in car17 rying out the activities for which a grant under this

18 subchapter is awarded, the State will make available

19 (directly or through in-kind donations from public or

20 private entities) non-Federal contributions in an

21 amount equal to not less than $1 for every $4 of

22 Federal funds provided under the grant.’’.

23 (f) IMPROVING QUALITY.—

24 (1) INCREASE IN REQUIRED FUNDING.—Section

25 658G of the Child Care and Development Block
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1 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e) is amended by

2 striking ‘‘not less than 20 percent’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘50 percent’’.

4 (2) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE INITIA5 TIVE.—Section 658G of the Child Care and Develop6 ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858e)

7 is amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State’’; and

10 (B) by adding at the end thereof the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(b) QUALITY IMPROVEMENT INCENTIVE INITIA13 TIVE.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab15 lish a child care quality improvement incentive ini16 tiative to make funds available to States that dem17 onstrate progress in the implementation of—

18 ‘‘(A) innovative teacher training programs

19 such as the Department of Defense staff devel20 opment and compensation program for child

21 care personnel; or

22 ‘‘(B) enhanced child care quality standards

23 and licensing and monitoring procedures.

24 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—From the amounts made

25 available for each fiscal year under subsection (a),
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1 the Secretary shall reserve not to exceed

2 $50,000,000 in each such fiscal year to carry out

3 this subsection.’’.

4 (g) BEFORE- AND AFTER-SCHOOL SERVICES.—Sec5 tion 658H(a) of the Child Care and Development Block

6 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858f(a)) is amended by

7 striking ‘‘not less than 75 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘50 per8 cent’’.

9 (h) PAYMENTS.—Section 658J(a) of the Child Care

10 and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.

11 9858h) is amended by striking ‘‘Subject to the availability

12 of appropriation, a’’ and inserting ‘‘A’’.

13 (i) ALLOTMENTS.—Section 658O(b) of the Child

14 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42

15 U.S.C. 9858m(b)) is amended by adding at the end there16 of the following:

17 ‘‘(5) ALLOTMENT.—

18 ‘‘(A) BASE ALLOTMENT.—The amount al19 lotted to a State under this section shall include

20 the base amount that the State received under

21 this Act, and under the provisions repealed

22 under section 31004 of the Economic Equity

23 Act of 1996, in fiscal year 1995.

24 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS.—Any

25 amounts appropriated under section 658B for a
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1 fiscal year and remaining after the requirement

2 of subparagraph (A) is complied with, shall be

3 allotted to States pursuant to the formula de4 scribed in paragraph (1).’’.

5 SEC. 31004. PROGRAM REPEALS.

6 (a) AFDC JOBS AND TRANSITIONAL CHILD

7 CARE.—

8 (1) REPEAL.—Paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (5),

9 (6), and (7) of section 402(g) of the Social Security

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 602(g)) are repealed.

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Part A of

12 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601

13 et seq.) is amended—

14 (A) in section 402(a)(19) (42 U.S.C.

15 602(a)(19))—

16 (i) in subparagraph (B)(i)(I), by strik17 ing ‘‘section 402(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘the

18 Child Care Development Block Grant Act

19 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.)’’;

20 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(iii)(II), by

21 striking ‘‘section 402(g)’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘the Child Care Development Block Grant

23 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.)’’;

24 (iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking

25 ‘‘section 402(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘the Child
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1 Care Development Block Grant Act of

2 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.)’’; and

3 (iv) in subparagraph (F)(iv), by strik4 ing ‘‘section 402(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘section

5 402(g)(2) and the Child Care Development

6 Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858

7 et seq.)’’;

8 (B) in section 402(g)(2) (42 U.S.C.

9 602(g)(2)), by striking ‘‘(in addition to guaran10 teeing child care under paragraph (1))’’; and

11 (C) in section 403(l)(1)(A) (42 U.S.C.

12 603(l)(1)(A)), by striking ‘‘(including expendi13 tures for child care under section

14 402(g)(1)(A)(i), but only in the case of a State

15 with respect to which section 1108 applies)’’.

16 (b) AT-RISK CHILD CARE.—Sections 402(i) and

17 403(n) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 602(i),

18 603(n)) are repealed.

19 (c) STATE DEPENDENT CARE GRANTS.—Subchapter

20 E of chapter 8 of subtitle A of title VI of the Omnibus

21 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9871 et

22 seq.) is repealed.

23 (d) CHILD DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE SCHOLARSHIP

24 ASSISTANCE ACT.—The Child Development Associate
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1 Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985 (42 U.S.C. 10901 et

2 seq.) is repealed.

3 (e) SECRETARIAL SUBMISSION OF LEGISLATIVE PRO4 POSAL FOR TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND5 MENTS.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services

6 shall, within 90 days after the date of the enactment of

7 this subtitle, submit to the appropriate committees of the

8 Congress, a legislative proposal providing for such tech9 nical and conforming amendments in the law as are re10 quired by the provisions of subsections (a) and (c).

11 SEC. 31005. EFFECTIVE DATE.

12 This subtitle shall take effect on the first day of the

13 first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment

14 of this subtitle.

15 Subtitle B—Child Care Public

16 Private Partnership

17 SEC. 32001. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUSINESS INCENTIVE

18 GRANT PROGRAM.

19 The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall

20 establish a program to make grants to—

21 (1) businesses and consortia—

22 (A) to pay start-up costs incurred to pro23 vide child care services; or

24 (B) to provide additional child care serv25 ices;
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1 needed by the employees of such businesses; and

2 (2) nonprofit business organizations to provide

3 technical information and assistance to enable busi4 nesses to provide child care services.

5 SEC. 32002. ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE GRANTS.

6 To be eligible to receive a grant under section 32001,

7 a business, nonprofit business organization, or consortium

8 shall submit to the Secretary an application in accordance

9 with section 32003.

10 SEC. 32003. APPLICATION.

11 The application required by section 32002 shall be

12 submitted by a business, nonprofit business organization,

13 or consortium at such time, in such form, and containing

14 such information as the Secretary may require by rule,

15 except that such application shall contain—

16 (1) an assurance that the applicant shall ex17 pend, for the purpose for which such grant is made,

18 an amount not less than 200 percent of the amount

19 of such grant;

20 (2) an assurance that such applicant will ex21 pend such grant for the use specified in paragraph

22 (1) or (2) of section 32001, as the case may be;

23 (3) an assurance that such applicant will em24 ploy strategies to ensure that child care services pro25 vided by such applicant, or provided with the tech-
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1 nical information and assistance made available by

2 such applicant, are provided at affordable rates, and

3 on an equitable basis, to low- and moderate-income

4 employees;

5 (4) an assurance that such applicant—

6 (A) in the case of a business or consor7 tium, will comply with all State and local licens8 ing requirements applicable to such business or

9 consortium concerning the provision of child

10 care services; or

11 (B) in the case of a nonprofit business or12 ganization, will employ procedures to ensure

13 that technical information and assistance pro14 vided under this subtitle by such business orga15 nization will be provided only to businesses that

16 provide child care services in compliance with

17 all State and local licensing requirements appli18 cable to child care providers in such State; and

19 (5) in the case of a business or consortium, an

20 assurance that if the employees of such applicant do

21 not require all the child care services for which such

22 grant and the funds required by paragraph (1) are

23 to be expended by such applicant, the excess of such

24 child care services shall be made available to families

25 in the community in which such applicant is located.
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1 SEC. 32004. SELECTION OF GRANTEES.

2 For purposes of selecting applicants to receive grants

3 under this subtitle, the Secretary shall give priority to

4 businesses that have fewer than 100 full-time employees.

5 To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall—

6 (1) make grants equitably under this subtitle to

7 applicants located in all geographical regions of the

8 United States; and

9 (2) give priority to applicants for grants under

10 section 32001(1).

11 SEC. 32005. DEFINITIONS.

12 As used in the Act:

13 (1) BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘business’’ means a

14 person engaged in commerce whose primary activity

15 is not providing child care services.

16 (2) CHILD CARE SERVICES.—The term ‘‘child

17 care services’’ means care for a child that is—

18 (A) provided on the site at which a parent

19 of such child is employed or at a site nearby in

20 the community; and

21 (B) subsidized at least in part by the busi22 ness that employs such parent.

23 (3) CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘consortium’’

24 means 2 or more businesses acting jointly. A consor25 tium may also include a nonprofit private organiza26 tion.
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1 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

3 SEC. 32006. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

5 this subtitle $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994,

6 1995, 1996, and 1997.

7 Subtitle C—Dependent Care Tax

8 Credit Refundability

9 SEC. 33001. DEPENDENT CARE TAX CREDIT.

10 (a) DEPENDENT CARE SERVICES.—Subpart C of

11 part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Reve12 nue Code of 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is

13 amended by redesignating section 35 as section 36 and

14 by inserting after section 34 the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 35. DEPENDENT CARE SERVICES.

16 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual

18 who maintains a household which includes as a

19 member 1 or more qualifying individuals, there shall

20 be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by

21 this subtitle for the taxable year an amount equal to

22 the applicable percentage of the sum of—

23 ‘‘(A) the employment-related expenses paid

24 by such individual during the taxable year, plus
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1 ‘‘(B) the respite care expenses paid by

2 such individual during the taxable year.

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE DEFINED.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para5 graph (1), the term ‘applicable percentage’

6 means 50 percent reduced (but not below 20

7 percent) by 1 percentage point for each full

8 $1,000 amount by which the taxpayer’s ad9 justed gross income for the taxable year exceeds

10 $15,000.

11 ‘‘(B) COST-OF-LIVING ADJUSTMENT.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a

13 taxable year beginning in a calendar year

14 after 1997, subparagraph (A) shall be ap15 plied by increasing the $15,000 amount

16 contained therein by the cost-of-living ad17 justment (as defined in section 1(f)(3)) for

18 such calendar year determined by sub19 stituting ‘1996’ for ‘1992’ in subparagraph

20 (B) of section 1(f)(3).

21 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—If any increase de22 termined under clause (i) is not a multiple

23 of $10, such increase shall be rounded to

24 the nearest multiple of $10 (or if such in25 crease is a multiple of $15, such increase
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1 shall be increased to the next highest mul2 tiple of $10).

3 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT-RELATED EXPENSES.—For pur4 poses of this section—

5 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBLE EX6 PENSES.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employ8 ment-related expenses’ means amounts paid for

9 the following expenses, but only if such ex10 penses are incurred to enable the taxpayer to be

11 gainfully employed for any period for which

12 there are 1 or more qualifying individuals with

13 respect to the taxpayer:

14 ‘‘(i) expenses for household services,

15 and

16 ‘‘(ii) expenses for the care of a quali17 fying individual.

18 Such term shall not include any amount paid

19 for services outside the taxpayer’s household at

20 a camp where the qualifying individual stays

21 overnight and shall not include any respite care

22 expense taken into account under subsection

23 (a).

24 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Employment-related

25 expenses described in subparagraph (A) which
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1 are incurred for services outside the taxpayer’s

2 household shall be taken into account only if in3 curred for the care of—

4 ‘‘(i) a qualifying individual described

5 in subsection (d)(1), or

6 ‘‘(ii) a qualifying individual (not de7 scribed in subsection (d)(1)) who regularly

8 spends at least 8 hours each day in the

9 taxpayer’s household.

10 ‘‘(C) DEPENDENT CARE CENTERS.—Em11 ployment-related expenses described in subpara12 graph (A) which are incurred for services pro13 vided outside the taxpayer’s household by a de14 pendent care center (as defined in subpara15 graph (D)) shall be taken into account only if—

16 ‘‘(i) such center complies with all ap17 plicable laws and regulations of a State or

18 unit of local government, and

19 ‘‘(ii) the requirements of subpara20 graph (B) are met.

21 ‘‘(D) DEPENDENT CARE CENTER DE22 FINED.—For purposes of this paragraph, the

23 term ‘dependent care center’ means any facility

24 which—
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1 ‘‘(i) provides care for more than 6 in2 dividuals (other than individuals who re3 side at the facility), and

4 ‘‘(ii) receives a fee, payment, or grant

5 for providing services for any of the indi6 viduals (regardless of whether such facility

7 is operated for profit).

8 ‘‘(2) DOLLAR LIMIT ON AMOUNT CRED9 ITABLE.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the

11 employment-related expenses incurred during

12 any taxable year which may be taken into ac13 count under subsection (a) shall not exceed—

14 ‘‘(i) $2,400 if there is 1 qualifying in15 dividual with respect to the taxpayer for

16 such taxable year, or

17 ‘‘(ii) $4,800 if there are 2 or more

18 qualifying individuals with respect to the

19 taxpayer for such taxable year.

20 The amount determined under clause (i) or (ii)

21 (whichever is applicable) shall be reduced by the

22 aggregate amount excludable from gross income

23 under section 129 for the taxable year.

24 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION IN LIMIT FOR AMOUNT

25 OF RESPITE CARE EXPENSES.—The limitation
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1 of subparagraph (A) shall be reduced by the

2 amount of the respite care expenses taken into

3 account by the taxpayer under subsection (a)

4 for the taxable year.

5 ‘‘(3) EARNED INCOME LIMITATION.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise

7 provided in this paragraph, the amount of the

8 employment-related expenses incurred during

9 any taxable year which may be taken into ac10 count under subsection (a) shall not exceed—

11 ‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who

12 is not married at the close of such year,

13 such individual’s earned income for such

14 year, or

15 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who

16 is married at the close of such year, the

17 lesser of such individual’s earned income or

18 the earned income of his spouse for such

19 year.

20 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SPOUSE WHO IS

21 A STUDENT OR INCAPABLE OF CARING FOR

22 HIMSELF.—In the case of a spouse who is a

23 student or a qualified individual described in

24 subsection (d)(3), for purposes of subparagraph

25 (A), such spouse shall be deemed for each
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1 month during which such spouse is a full-time

2 student at an educational institution, or is such

3 a qualifying individual, to be gainfully employed

4 and to have earned income of not less than—

5 ‘‘(i) $200 if paragraph (2)(A)(i) ap6 plies for the taxable year, or

7 ‘‘(ii) $400 if paragraph (2)(A)(ii) ap8 plies for the taxable year.

9 In the case of any husband and wife, this sub10 paragraph shall apply with respect to only one

11 spouse for any one month.

12 ‘‘(c) RESPITE CARE EXPENSES.—For purposes of

13 this section—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘respite care ex15 penses’ means expenses paid (whether or not to en16 able the taxpayer to be gainfully employed) for—

17 ‘‘(A) the care of a qualifying individual—

18 ‘‘(i) who has attained the age of 13,

19 or

20 ‘‘(ii) who is under the age of 13 but

21 has a physical or mental impairment which

22 results in the individual being incapable of

23 caring for himself,
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1 during any period when such individual regu2 larly spends at least 8 hours each day in the

3 taxpayer’s household, or

4 ‘‘(B) care (for not more than 14 days dur5 ing the calendar year) of a qualifying individual

6 described in subparagraph (A) during any pe7 riod during which the individual does not regu8 larly spend at least 8 hours each day in the tax9 payer’s household.

10 ‘‘(2) DOLLAR LIMIT.—The amount of the res11 pite care expenses incurred during any taxable year

12 which may be taken into account under subsection

13 (a) shall not exceed—

14 ‘‘(A) $1,200 if such expenses are incurred

15 with respect to only 1 qualifying individual for

16 the taxable year, or

17 ‘‘(B) $2,400 if such expenses are incurred

18 for 2 or more qualifying individuals for such

19 taxable year.

20 ‘‘(d) QUALIFYING INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this

21 section, the term ‘qualifying individual’ means—

22 ‘‘(1) a dependent of the taxpayer who is under

23 the age of 13 and with respect to whom the taxpayer

24 is entitled to a deduction under section 151(c),
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1 ‘‘(2) a dependent of the taxpayer who is phys2 ically or mentally incapable of caring for himself, or

3 ‘‘(3) the spouse of the taxpayer, if he is phys4 ically or mentally incapable of caring for himself.

5 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this sec6 tion—

7 ‘‘(1) MAINTAINING HOUSEHOLD.—An individ8 ual shall be treated as maintaining a household for

9 any period only if over half the cost of maintaining

10 the household for such period is furnished by such

11 individual (or, if such individual is married during

12 such period, is furnished by such individual and his

13 spouse).

14 ‘‘(2) MARRIED COUPLES MUST FILE JOINT RE15 TURN.—If the taxpayer is married at the close of

16 the taxable year, the credit shall be allowed under

17 subsection (a) only if the taxpayer and his spouse

18 file a joint return for the taxable year.

19 ‘‘(3) MARITAL STATUS.—An individual legally

20 separated from his spouse under a decree of divorce

21 or of separate maintenance shall not be considered

22 as married.

23 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN MARRIED INDIVIDUALS LIVING

24 APART.—If—
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1 ‘‘(A) an individual who is married and who

2 files a separate return—

3 ‘‘(i) maintains as his home a house4 hold which constitutes for more than one5 half of the taxable year the principal place

6 of abode of a qualifying individual, and

7 ‘‘(ii) furnishes over half the cost of

8 maintaining such household during the

9 taxable year, and

10 ‘‘(B) during the last 6 months of such tax11 able year such individual’s spouse is not a mem12 ber of such household,

13 such individual shall not be considered as married.

14 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL DEPENDENCY TEST IN CASE OF

15 DIVORCED PARENTS, ETC.—If—

16 ‘‘(A) paragraph (2) or (4) of section

17 152(e) applies to any child with respect to any

18 calendar year, and

19 ‘‘(B) such child is under the age of 13 or

20 is physically or mentally incapable of caring for

21 himself,

22 in the case of any taxable year beginning in such

23 calendar year, such child shall be treated as a quali24 fying individual with respect to the custodial parent

25 (within the meaning of section 152(e)(1)), and shall
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1 not be treated as a qualifying individual with respect

2 to the noncustodial parent.

3 ‘‘(6) PAYMENTS TO RELATED INDIVIDUALS.—

4 No credit shall be allowed under subsection (a) for

5 any amount paid by the taxpayer to an individual—

6 ‘‘(A) with respect to whom, for the taxable

7 year, a deduction under section 151(c) (relating

8 to deduction for personal exemptions for de9 pendents) is allowable either to the taxpayer or

10 his spouse, or

11 ‘‘(B) who is a child of the taxpayer (within

12 the meaning of section 151(c)(3)) who has not

13 attained the age of 19 at the close of the tax14 able year.

15 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘taxable

16 year’ means the taxable year of the taxpayer in

17 which the service is performed.

18 ‘‘(7) STUDENT.—The term ‘student’ means an

19 individual who during each of 5 calendar months

20 during the taxable year is a full-time student at an

21 educational organization.

22 ‘‘(8) EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION.—The term

23 ‘educational organization’ means an educational or24 ganization described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii).
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1 ‘‘(9) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION REQUIRED

2 WITH RESPECT TO SERVICE PROVIDER.—No credit

3 shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any amount

4 paid to any person unless—

5 ‘‘(A) the name, address, and taxpayer

6 identification number of such person are in7 cluded on the return claiming the credit, or

8 ‘‘(B) if such person is an organization de9 scribed in section 501(c)(3) and exempt from

10 tax under section 501(a), the name and address

11 of such person are included on the return

12 claiming the credit.

13 In the case of a failure to provide the information

14 required under the preceding sentence, the preceding

15 sentence shall not apply if it is shown that the tax16 payer exercised due diligence in attempting to pro17 vide the information so required.

18 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe

19 such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the pur20 poses of this section.’’

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

22 (1) Section 21 of such Code is hereby repealed.

23 (2) Paragraph (2) of section 129(b) of such

24 Code is amended by striking ‘‘section 21(d)(2)’’ and

25 inserting ‘‘section 35(b)(3)(B)’’.
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1 (3) Subsection (e) of section 213 of such Code

2 is amended by striking ‘‘section 21’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘section 35’’.

4 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—

5 (1) The table of sections for subpart C of part

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

7 amended by striking the item relating to section 35

8 and inserting the following:

‘‘Sec. 35. Dependent care services.

‘‘Sec. 36. Overpayments of tax.’’

9 (2) The table of sections for subpart A of such

10 part IV is amended by striking the item relating to

11 section 21.

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

13 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

14 December 31, 1996.

15 Subtitle D—IRA Deductions for

16 Homemakers

17 SEC. 34001. HOMEMAKERS ELIGIBLE FOR FULL IRA DEDUC18 TION.

19 (a) SPOUSAL IRA COMPUTED ON BASIS OF COM20 PENSATION OF BOTH SPOUSES.—Subsection (c) of section

21 219 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to

22 special rules for certain married individuals) is amended

23 to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN MARRIED INDI2 VIDUALS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual

4 to whom this paragraph applies for the taxable year,

5 the limitation of paragraph (1) of subsection (b)

6 shall be equal to the lesser of—

7 ‘‘(A) $2,000, or

8 ‘‘(B) the sum of—

9 ‘‘(i) the compensation includible in

10 such individual’s gross income for the tax11 able year, plus

12 ‘‘(ii) the compensation includible in

13 the gross income of such individual’s

14 spouse for the taxable year reduced by the

15 amount allowable as a deduction under

16 subsection (a) to such spouse for such tax17 able year.

18 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS TO WHOM PARAGRAPH (1)

19 APPLIES.—Paragraph (1) shall apply to any individ20 ual if—

21 ‘‘(A) such individual files a joint return for

22 the taxable year, and

23 ‘‘(B) the amount of compensation (if any)

24 includible in such individual’s gross income for

25 the taxable year is less than the compensation
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1 includible in the gross income of such individ2 ual’s spouse for the taxable year.’’

3 (b) IRA ALLOWED FOR SPOUSES WHO ARE NOT AC4 TIVE PLAN PARTICIPANTS.—Section 219(g)(1) of the In5 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘or

6 the individual’s spouse’’.

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

8 (1) Paragraph (2) of section 219(f) of the In9 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to other defi10 nitions and special rules) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

12 (b)’’.

13 (2) Section 408(d)(5) of such Code is amended

14 by striking ‘‘$2,250’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’.

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

16 this subtitle shall apply to taxable years beginning after

17 December 31, 1996.

18 Subtitle E—Federal Parental Leave

19 for Education Activities

20 SEC. 35001. COVERAGE OF EMPLOYEES.

21 Paragraphs (2)(B)(ii) and (4)(A)(i) of section 101 of

22 the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C.

23 2611 (2)(B)(ii) and (4)(A)(i)) are amended by striking

24 ‘‘50’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘25’’.
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1 SEC. 35002. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LEAVE.

2 (a) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 102(a) of the

3 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C.

4 2612(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(3) ENTITLEMENT TO PARENTAL INVOLVE6 MENT LEAVE.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section

8 103(f), an eligible employee shall be entitled to

9 a total of 4 hours of leave during any 30-day

10 period, and a total of 24 hours of leave during

11 any 12-month period, in addition to leave avail12 able under paragraph (1), to participate in or

13 attend an activity that—

14 ‘‘(i) is sponsored by a school or com15 munity organization; and

16 ‘‘(ii) relates to a program of the

17 school or organization that is attended by

18 a son or daughter of the employee, includ19 ing a foster child of the employee.

20 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this para21 graph:

22 ‘‘(i) COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.—

23 The term ‘community organization’ means

24 a private nonprofit organization that is

25 representative of a community or a signifi26 cant segment of a community and provides
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1 activities for individuals described in sub2 paragraph (A) or (B) of section 101(12),

3 such as a scouting or sports organization.

4 ‘‘(ii) SCHOOL.—The term ‘school’

5 means an elementary school or secondary

6 school (as such terms are defined in sec7 tion 14101 of the Elementary and Second8 ary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

9 8801)), a Head Start program assisted

10 under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831

11 et seq.), and a child care facility licensed

12 under State law.’’.

13 (b) SCHEDULE.—Section 102(b)(1) of such Act (29

14 U.S.C. 2612(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after the sec15 ond sentence the following: ‘‘Leave under subsection

16 (a)(3) may be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave

17 schedule.’’.

18 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section

19 102(d)(2)(A) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 2612(d)(2)(A)) is

20 amended by inserting before the period the following:

21 ‘‘, or for leave provided under subsection (a)(3) for any

22 part of the 24-hour period of such leave under such sub23 section’’.

24 (d) NOTICE.—Section 102(e)(1) of such Act (29

25 U.S.C. 2612(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the
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1 following: ‘‘In any case in which an employee requests

2 leave under subsection (a)(3), the employee shall provide

3 the employer with not less than 7 days’ notice, before the

4 date the leave is to begin, of the employee’s intention to

5 take leave under such subsection.’’.

6 (e) CERTIFICATION.—Section 103 of such Act (29

7 U.S.C. 2613) is amended by adding at the end the follow8 ing:

9 ‘‘(f) CERTIFICATION FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

10 LEAVE.—An employer may require that a request for

11 leave under section 102(a)(3) be supported by a certifi12 cation issued at such time and in such manner as the Sec13 retary may by regulation prescribe.’’.

14 SEC. 35003. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT LEAVE FOR CIVIL

15 SERVANTS.

16 (a) LEAVE REQUIREMENT.—Section 6382(a) of title

17 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

18 the following:

19 ‘‘(3)(A) Subject to section 6383(f), an employee shall

20 be entitled to a total of 4 hours of leave during any 30-

21 day period, and a total of 24 hours of leave during any

22 12-month period, in addition to leave available under para23 graph (1), to participate in or attend an activity that—

24 ‘‘(i) is sponsored by a school or community or25 ganization; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) relates to a program of the school or orga2 nization that is attended by a son or daughter of the

3 employee, including a foster child of the employee.

4 ‘‘(B) As used in this paragraph:

5 ‘‘(i) The term ‘community organization’ means

6 a private nonprofit organization that is representa7 tive of a community or a significant segment of a

8 community and provides activities for individuals de9 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section

10 6381(6), such as a scouting or sports organization.

11 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘school’ means an elementary

12 school or secondary school (as such terms are de13 fined in section 14101 of the Elementary and Sec14 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801)), a

15 Head Start program assisted under the Head Start

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), and a child care facil17 ity licensed under State law.’’.

18 (b) SCHEDULE.—Section 6382(b)(1) of such title is

19 amended by inserting after the second sentence the follow20 ing: ‘‘Leave under subsection (a)(3) may be taken inter21 mittently or on a reduced leave schedule.’’.

22 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF PAID LEAVE.—Section

23 6382(d) of such title is amended by inserting before

24 ‘‘, except’’ the following: ‘‘, or for leave provided under

25 subsection (a)(3) any of the employee’s accrued or accu-
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1 mulated annual leave under subchapter I for any part of

2 the 24-hour period of such leave under such subsection’’.

3 (d) NOTICE.—Section 6382(e)(1) of such title is

4 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In any case

5 in which an employee requests leave under subsection

6 (a)(3), the employee shall provide the employing agency

7 with not less than 7 days’ notice, before the date the leave

8 is to begin, of the employee’s intention to take leave under

9 such subsection.’’.

10 (e) CERTIFICATION.—Section 6383 of such title is

11 amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(f) An employing agency may require that a request

13 for leave under section 6382(a)(3) be supported by a cer14 tification issued at such time and in such manner as the

15 Office of Personnel Management may by regulation pre16 scribe.’’.

17 Subtitle F—Tax Incentives for

18 Family-Friendly Workplaces

19 SEC. 36001. SMALL BUSINESS FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

20 CREDIT.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub22 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

23 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by

24 adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 45C. SMALL BUSINESS FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

2 CREDIT.

3 ‘‘(a) AMOUNT OF CREDIT.—For purposes of section

4 38, in the case of an eligible small business employer, the

5 amount of the small business family and medical leave

6 credit determined under this section for any taxable year

7 shall be an amount equal to 50 percent of the qualified

8 family and medical leave costs paid or incurred by the tax9 payer during such taxable year.

10 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON CREDIT.—The credit allowed by

11 subsection (a) with respect to each employee for qualified

12 family and medical leave costs paid or incurred by the tax13 payer during the taxable year with respect to such em14 ployee shall not exceed $2,000.

15 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

16 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE SMALL BUSINESS EMPLOYER.—

17 The term ‘eligible small business employer’ means

18 any employer who complies with title I of the Family

19 and Medical Leave Act of 1993 but who is not re20 quired to comply with such title by reason of em21 ploying fewer than 50 employees during the periods

22 described in section 101(4)(A) of such Act.

23 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

24 COSTS.—The term ‘qualified family and medical

25 leave costs’ means expenses incurred in connection
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1 with complying with title I of the Family and Medi2 cal Leave Act of 1993.

3 ‘‘(d) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction

4 shall be allowed under this chapter for that portion of the

5 qualified family and medical leave costs otherwise allow6 able as a deduction for the taxable year which is equal

7 to the amount of the credit determined for such taxable

8 year under this section.’’

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of

10 section 38 of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’

11 at the end of paragraph (10), by striking the period at

12 the end of paragraph (11) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by

13 adding at the end the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(12) in the case of an eligible small business

15 employer (as defined in section 45C(c)), the small

16 business family and medical leave credit determined

17 under section 45C.’’

18 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

19 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1

20 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the follow21 ing new item:

‘‘Sec. 45C. Small business family and medical leave credit.’’

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

23 this section shall apply to expenses paid or incurred after

24 the date which is 6 months after the date of the enactment

25 of this subtitle.
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1 SEC. 36002. CREDIT FOR WAGES PAID TO EMPLOYEE WHO

2 IS ALLOWED TO SHIFT HOURS OF EMPLOY3 MENT OR TO WORK AT HOME IN ORDER TO

4 REDUCE CHILD CARE NEEDS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub6 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

7 1986 (relating to business related credits), as amended by

8 section 36001, is amended by adding at the end the follow9 ing new section:

10 ‘‘SEC. 45D. WAGES PAID TO EMPLOYEE WHO IS ALLOWED

11 TO SHIFT HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT OR WORK

12 AT HOME IN ORDER TO REDUCE CHILD CARE

13 NEEDS.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the

15 amount of the child care-related wage credit determined

16 under this section for any taxable year shall be an amount

equal to 1 17 ⁄3 of the aggregate wages paid or incurred during

18 such year which are attributable to services performed by

19 an employee of the taxpayer during the 1-year period be20 ginning on the date the employee first becomes a qualified

21 employee of the taxpayer.

22 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE.—For purposes of this

23 section, the term ‘qualified employee’ means any full-time

24 employee if—

25 ‘‘(1) such employee is permitted by the em26 ployer, solely in order to reduce the amount of de-
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1 pendent care services provided (to a dependent of

2 the employee) outside the employee’s household, to

3 perform services for the employer—

4 ‘‘(A) at the employee’s home, or

5 ‘‘(B) during a period which is not within

6 the normal business hours of the employer, and

7 ‘‘(2) as a result of the services performed for

8 the employer as described in subparagraphs (A) and

9 (B) of paragraph (1), there is at least a 20 percent

10 reduction in the amount of time dependent care

11 services are provided to a dependent of the employee

12 outside the employee’s household.

13 ‘‘(c) OTHER DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.—

14 For purposes of this section—

15 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYEE MUST BE QUALIFIED EM16 PLOYEE FOR ENTIRE YEAR.—No credit shall be de17 termined under subsection (a) with respect to any

18 employee unless such employee is a qualified em19 ployee throughout the 1-year period described in

20 subsection (a).

21 ‘‘(2) ONLY $6,000 OF WAGES PER YEAR TAKEN

22 INTO ACCOUNT.—The amount of the wages which

23 may be taken into account with respect to any em24 ployee shall not exceed $6,000 per year.
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1 ‘‘(3) WAGES.—The term ‘wages’ has the mean2 ing given such term by section 51(c) (determined

3 without regard to paragraph (4) thereof).

4 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar

5 to the rules of section 52 and subsections (f), (g),

6 (h), (i), and (k) of section 51 shall apply.’’

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of

8 section 38 of such Code (relating to current year business

9 credit), as amended by section 36001(b), is amended by

10 striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (11), by striking

11 the period at the end of paragraph (12) and inserting ‘‘,

12 plus’’, and by adding at the end the following new para13 graph:

14 ‘‘(13) the child care-related wage credit deter15 mined under section 45D(a).’’

16 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

17 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1

18 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the follow19 ing new item:

‘‘Sec. 45D. Wages paid to employee who is allowed to shift hours

of employment or work at home in order to reduce

child care needs.’’

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

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

22 this section shall apply to wages paid or incurred

23 after the date which is 6 months after the date of

24 the enactment of this subtitle.
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1 (2) EMPLOYER PRACTICES BEFORE EFFECTIVE

2 DATE.—For purposes of section 45D(b)(2) of the

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this

4 section, no reduction before the 1st taxable year to

5 which such section applies shall be taken into ac6 count.

7 Subtitle G—Parental Equity Leave

8 SEC. 37001. LEAVE FOR ADOPTED AND FOSTER CHILDREN.

9 If an employer provides to an employee who is a par10 ent leave, in addition to the leave required by the Family

11 and Medical Leave Act of 1993, for the birth of a child,

12 such employer shall provide the same leave to an employee

13 who is a parent for an adopted child or a foster child.

14 For purposes of enforcement such additional leave shall

15 be considered leave required to be provided under section

16 102 of such Act.

17 TITLE IV—ECONOMIC SELF18 SUFFICIENCY

19 Subtitle A—Child Support

20 Responsibility

21 SEC. 41001. REFERENCE TO SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.

22 Except as otherwise specifically provided, wherever in

23 this subtitle an amendment is expressed in terms of an

24 amendment to or repeal of a section or other provision,
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1 the reference shall be considered to be made to that sec2 tion or other provision of the Social Security Act.

3 CHAPTER 1—ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER

4 MATTERS CONCERNING TITLE IV–D

5 PROGRAM CLIENTS

6 SEC. 41101. STATE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE PATERNITY

7 ESTABLISHMENT AND CHILD SUPPORT EN8 FORCEMENT SERVICES.

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

10 (42 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

11 following new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(12) USE OF CENTRAL CASE REGISTRY AND

13 CENTRALIZED COLLECTIONS UNIT.—Procedures

14 under which—

15 ‘‘(A) every child support order established

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

17 1998, is recorded in the central case registry

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

19 and

20 ‘‘(B) child support payments are collected

21 through the centralized collections unit estab22 lished in accordance with section 454B—

23 ‘‘(i) on and after October 1, 1998,

24 under each order subject to wage withhold25 ing under section 466(b); and
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1 ‘‘(ii) on and after October 1, 1999,

2 under each other order required to be re3 corded in such central case registry under

4 this paragraph or section 454A(e), except

5 as provided in subparagraph (C); and

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

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

8 opt out of the procedure for payment of support

9 through the centralized collections unit (but not

10 the procedure for inclusion in the central case

11 registry) by filing with the State agency a writ12 ten agreement, signed by both parties, to an al13 ternative payment procedure; and

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

15 becomes void whenever either party advises the

16 State agency of an intent to vacate the agree17 ment.’’.

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

19 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

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

21 following:

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

23 ‘‘(A) to provide appropriate services under

24 this part to—
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1 ‘‘(i) each child with respect to whom

2 an assignment is effective under section

3 402(a)(26), 471(a)(17), or 1912 (except in

4 cases where the State agency determines,

5 in accordance with paragraph (25), that it

6 is against the best interests of the child to

7 do so); and

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

9 (i)—

10 ‘‘(I) with respect to whom an in11 dividual applies for such services; and

12 ‘‘(II) (on and after October 1,

13 1998) each child with respect to

14 whom a support order is recorded in

15 the central State case registry estab16 lished under section 454A, regardless

17 of whether application is made for

18 services under this part; and

19 ‘‘(B) to enforce the support obligation es20 tablished with respect to the custodial parent of

21 a child described in subparagraph (A) unless

22 the parties to the order which establishes the

23 support obligation have opted, in accordance

24 with section 466(a)(12)(C), for an alternative

25 payment procedure.’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (6)—

2 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in3 serting the following:

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

5 made available to nonresidents on the same

6 terms as to residents;’’;

7 (B) in subparagraph (B)—

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘on individuals not re9 ceiving assistance under part A’’ after

10 ‘‘such services shall be imposed’’; and

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘but no fees or costs

12 shall be imposed on any absent or custo13 dial parent or other individual for inclusion

14 in the central State registry maintained

15 pursuant to section 454A(e)’’; and

16 (C) in each of subparagraphs (B), (C), and

17 (D)—

18 (i) by indenting such subparagraph

19 and aligning its left margin with the left

20 margin of subparagraph (A); and

21 (ii) by striking the final comma and

22 inserting a semicolon.

23 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) Section 452(g)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C.

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

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

4 (2) Section 454(23) (42 U.S.C. 654(23)) is

5 amended, effective October 1, 1998, by striking ‘‘in6 formation as to any application fees for such services

7 and’’.

8 (3) Section 466(a)(3)(B) (42 U.S.C.

9 666(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘in the case of

10 overdue support which a State has agreed to collect

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

12 case’’.

13 (4) Section 466(e) (42 U.S.C. 666(e)) is

14 amended by striking ‘‘or (6)’’.

15 SEC. 41102. DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.

16 (a) DISTRIBUTIONS THROUGH STATE CHILD SUP17 PORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO FORMER ASSISTANCE

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

19 amended—

20 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘except as otherwise spe22 cifically provided in section 464 or 466(a)(3),’’

23 after ‘‘is effective,’’; and

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

25 follows through the semicolon; and
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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) in the matter preceding paragraph (2),

10 to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(a) IN THE CASE OF A FAMILY RECEIVING

12 AFDC.—Amounts collected under this part during any

13 month as support of a child who is receiving assistance

14 under part A (or a parent or caretaker relative of such

15 a child) shall (except in the case of a State exercising the

16 option under subsection (b)) be distributed as follows:

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

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

19 shall be taken from each of—

20 ‘‘(A) amounts received in a month which

21 represent payments for that month; and

22 ‘‘(B) amounts received in a month which

23 represent payments for a prior month which

24 were made by the absent parent in the month

25 when due;
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1 and shall be paid to the family without affecting its

2 eligibility for assistance or decreasing any amount

3 otherwise payable as assistance to such family dur4 ing such month;’’;

5 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or (B)’’

6 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘; then (B)

7 from any remainder, amounts equal to arrear8 ages of such support obligations assigned, pur9 suant to part A, to any other State or States

10 shall be paid to such other State or States and

11 used to pay any such arrearages (with appro12 priate reimbursement of the Federal Govern13 ment to the extent of its participation in the fi14 nancing); and then (C) any remainder shall be

15 paid to the family.’’.

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (a), as redesig17 nated, the following new subsection:

18 ‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE DISTRIBUTION IN CASE OF FAM19 ILY RECEIVING AFDC.—In the case of a State electing

20 the option under this subsection, amounts collected as de21 scribed in subsection (a) shall be distributed as follows:

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

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

24 shall be taken from each of—
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1 ‘‘(A) amounts received in a month which

2 represent payments for that month; and

3 ‘‘(B) amounts received in a month which

4 represent payments for a prior month which

5 were made by the absent parent in the month

6 when due;

7 and shall be paid to the family without affecting its

8 eligibility for assistance or decreasing any amount

9 otherwise payable as assistance to such family dur10 ing such month;

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

12 equal to the balance of support owed for the current

13 month shall be paid to the family;

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

15 to arrearages of such support obligations assigned,

16 pursuant to part A, to the State making the collec17 tion shall be retained and used by such State to pay

18 any such arrearages (with appropriate reimburse19 ment of the Federal Government to the extent of its

20 participation in the financing);

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

22 equal to arrearages of such support obligations as23 signed, pursuant to part A, to any other State or

24 States shall be paid to such other State or States

25 and used to pay any such arrearages (with appro-
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1 priate reimbursement of the Federal Government to

2 the extent of its participation in the financing); and

3 ‘‘(5) fifth, any remainder shall be paid to the

4 family.’’.

5 (c) DISTRIBUTION TO A FAMILY NOT RECEIVING

6 AFDC.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 457(c) (42 U.S.C.

8 657(c)) is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(c) IN CASE OF FAMILY NOT RECEIVING AFDC.—

10 Amounts collected by a State agency under this part dur11 ing any month as support of a child who is not receiving

12 assistance under part A (or of a parent or caretaker rel13 ative of such a child) shall (subject to the remaining provi14 sions of this section) be distributed as follows:

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

16 support owed for such month shall be paid to the

17 family;

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

19 equal to arrearages of such support obligations for

20 months during which such child did not receive as21 sistance under part A shall be paid to the family;

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

23 to arrearages of such support obligations assigned to

24 the State making the collection pursuant to part A

25 shall be retained and used by such State to pay any
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1 such arrearages (with appropriate reimbursement of

2 the Federal Government to the extent of its partici3 pation in the financing);

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

5 equal to arrearages of such support obligations as6 signed to any other State pursuant to part A shall

7 be paid to such other State or States, and used to

8 pay such arrearages, in the order in which such ar9 rearages accrued (with appropriate reimbursement

10 of the Federal Government to the extent of its par11 ticipation in the financing).’’.

12 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

13 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1,

14 1999.

15 (d) DISTRIBUTION TO A CHILD RECEIVING ASSIST16 ANCE UNDER TITLE IV–E.—Section 457(d) (42 U.S.C.

17 657(d)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph

18 (1), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding provisions

19 of this section, amounts’’ and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘(d) IN CASE OF A CHILD RECEIVING ASSISTANCE

21 UNDER TITLE IV–E.—Amounts’’.

22 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and

23 Human Services shall promulgate regulations—

24 (1) under part D of title IV of the Social Secu25 rity Act, establishing a uniform nationwide standard
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1 for allocation of child support collections from an ob2 ligor owing support to more than one family; and

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

4 standards applicable to States electing the alter5 native formula under section 457(b) of such Act for

6 distribution of collections on behalf of families re7 ceiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children,

8 designed to minimize irregular monthly payments to

9 such families.

10 (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C.

11 654) is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(11)’’ and

13 inserting ‘‘(11)(A)’’; and

14 (2) by redesignating paragraph (12) as sub15 paragraph (B) of paragraph (11).

16 (g) MANDATORY CHILD SUPPORT PASS-THROUGH.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a)(8)(A)(vi) (42

18 U.S.C. 602(a)(8)(A)(vi)) is amended—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘$50’’ each place such

20 term appears and inserting ‘‘$50, or, if greater,

21 $50 adjusted by the CPI (as prescribed in sec22 tion 406(i));’’; and

23 (B) by striking the semicolon at the end

24 and inserting ‘‘or, in lieu of each dollar amount

25 specified in this clause, such greater amount as
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1 the State may choose (and provide for in its

2 State plan);’’.

3 (2) CPI ADJUSTMENT.—Section 406 (42

4 U.S.C. 606) is amended by adding at the end the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(i) For purposes of this part, an amount is ‘adjusted

7 by the CPI’ for any month in a calendar year by multiply8 ing the amount involved by the ratio of—

9 ‘‘(1) the Consumer Price Index (as prepared by

10 the Department of Labor) for the third quarter of

11 the preceding calendar year, to

12 ‘‘(2) such Consumer Price Index for the third

13 quarter of calendar year 1996,

14 and rounding the product, if not a multiple of $10, to the

15 nearer multiple of $10.’’.

16 SEC. 41103. DUE PROCESS RIGHTS.

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

18 amended by section 41102(f) of this subtitle, is amended

19 by inserting after paragraph (11) the following new para20 graph:

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

22 ‘‘(A) individuals who are applying for or

23 receiving services under this part, or are parties

24 to cases in which services are being provided

25 under this part—
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1 ‘‘(i) receive notice of all proceedings in

2 which support obligations might be estab3 lished or modified; and

4 ‘‘(ii) receive a copy of any order estab5 lishing or modifying a child support obliga6 tion, or (in the case of a petition for modi7 fication) a notice of determination that

8 there should be no change in the amount

9 of the child support award, within 14 days

10 after issuance of such order or determina11 tion;

12 ‘‘(B) individuals applying for or receiving

13 services under this part have access to a fair

14 hearing that meets standards established by the

15 Secretary and ensures prompt consideration

16 and resolution of complaints (but the resort to

17 such procedure shall not stay the enforcement

18 of any support order); and

19 ‘‘(C)(i) individuals adversely affected by

20 the establishment or modification of (or, in the

21 case of a petition for modification, the deter22 mination that there should be no change in) a

23 child support order shall be afforded not less

24 than 30 days after the receipt of the order or
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1 determination to initiate proceedings to chal2 lenge such order or determination; and

3 ‘‘(ii) the State may not provide to any non4 custodial parent of a child representation relat5 ing to the establishment or modification of an

6 order for the payment of child support with re7 spect to that child, unless the State makes pro8 vision for such representation outside the State

9 agency;’’.

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

11 subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.

12 SEC. 41104. PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.

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

14 U.S.C. 454) is amended—

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

16 (23);

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of para18 graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (3) by adding after paragraph (24) the follow20 ing:

21 ‘‘(25) will have in effect safeguards applicable

22 to all sensitive and confidential information handled

23 by the State agency designed to protect the privacy

24 rights of the parties, including—
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1 ‘‘(A) safeguards against unauthorized use

2 or disclosure of information relating to proceed3 ings or actions to establish paternity, or to es4 tablish or enforce support;

5 ‘‘(B) prohibitions on the release of infor6 mation on the whereabouts of one party to an7 other party against whom a protective order

8 with respect to the former party has been en9 tered; and

10 ‘‘(C) prohibitions on the release of infor11 mation on the whereabouts of one party to an12 other party if the State has reason to believe

13 that the release of the information may result

14 in physical or emotional harm to the former

15 party.’’.

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

17 subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.

18 CHAPTER 2—PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

19 AND FUNDING

20 SEC. 41201. FEDERAL MATCHING PAYMENTS.

21 (a) INCREASED BASE MATCHING RATE.—Section

22 455(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(2)) is amended to read as

23 follows:

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

25 purposes of paragraph (1)(A) is—
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1 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 1997, 69 percent,

2 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 1998, 72 percent, and

3 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 1999 and succeeding

4 fiscal years, 75 percent.’’.

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

6 U.S.C. 655) is amended—

7 (1) in subsection (a)(1), in the matter preced8 ing subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘From’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (c), from’’; and

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow11 ing new subsection:

12 ‘‘(c) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Notwithstanding

13 the provisions of subsection (a), total expenditures for the

14 State program under this part for fiscal year 1997 and

15 each succeeding fiscal year, reduced by the percentage

16 specified for such fiscal year under subsection (a)(2) (A),

17 (B), or (C)(i), shall not be less than such total expendi18 tures for fiscal year 1996, reduced by 66 percent.’’.

19 SEC. 41202. PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES AND PEN20 ALTIES.

21 (a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO FEDERAL MATCH22 ING RATE.—Section 458 (42 U.S.C. 658) is amended to

23 read as follows:

24 ‘‘INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO MATCHING RATE

25 ‘‘SEC. 458. (a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENT.—(1) IN

26 GENERAL.—In order to encourage and reward State child
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1 support enforcement programs which perform in an effec2 tive manner, the Federal matching rate for payments to

3 a State under section 455(a)(1)(A), for each fiscal year

4 beginning on or after October 1, 1998, shall be increased

5 by a factor reflecting the sum of the applicable incentive

6 adjustments (if any) determined in accordance with regu7 lations under this section with respect to Statewide pater8 nity establishment and to overall performance in child sup9 port enforcement.

10 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—(A) IN GENERAL.—The Sec11 retary shall specify in regulations—

12 ‘‘(i) the levels of accomplishment, and rates of

13 improvement as alternatives to such levels, which

14 States must attain to qualify for incentive adjust15 ments under this section; and

16 ‘‘(ii) the amounts of incentive adjustment that

17 shall be awarded to States achieving specified ac18 complishment or improvement levels, which amounts

19 shall be graduated, ranging up to—

20 ‘‘(I) 5 percentage points, in connection

21 with Statewide paternity establishment; and

22 ‘‘(II) 10 percentage points, in connection

23 with overall performance in child support en24 forcement.
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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In setting performance stand2 ards pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) and adjustment

3 amounts pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary

4 shall ensure that the aggregate number of percentage

5 point increases as incentive adjustments to all States do

6 not exceed such aggregate increases as assumed by the

7 Secretary in estimates of the cost of this section as of

8 June 1995, unless the aggregate performance of all States

9 exceeds the projected aggregate performance of all States

10 in such cost estimates.

11 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF INCENTIVE ADJUST12 MENT.—The Secretary shall determine the amount (if

13 any) of incentive adjustment due each State on the basis

14 of the data submitted by the State pursuant to section

15 454(15)(B) concerning the levels of accomplishment (and

16 rates of improvement) with respect to performance indica17 tors specified by the Secretary pursuant to this section.

18 ‘‘(4) FISCAL YEAR SUBJECT TO INCENTIVE ADJUST19 MENT.—The total percentage point increase determined

20 pursuant to this section with respect to a State program

21 in a fiscal year shall apply as an adjustment to the appli22 cable percent under section 455(a)(2) for payments to

23 such State for the succeeding fiscal year.

24 ‘‘(5) RECYCLING OF INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENT.—A

25 State shall expend in the State program under this part
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1 all funds paid to the State by the Federal Government

2 as a result of an incentive adjustment under this section.

3 ‘‘(b) MEANING OF TERMS.—For purposes of this sec4 tion—

5 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Statewide paternity establish6 ment percentage’ means, with respect to a fiscal

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

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

9 children in the State under one year of age for

10 whom paternity is established or acknowledged

11 during the fiscal year, to

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

13 of wedlock in the State during such fiscal year;

14 and

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘overall performance in child sup16 port enforcement’ means a measure or measures of

17 the effectiveness of the State agency in a fiscal year

18 which takes into account factors including—

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

20 child support order in which such an order was

21 established;

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

23 support is being paid;

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

25 child support due; and
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1 ‘‘(D) the cost-effectiveness of the State

2 program, as determined in accordance with

3 standards established by the Secretary in regu4 lations.’’.

5 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF PAYMENTS UNDER PART D OF

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

7 amended by section 41201(a) of this subtitle, is amend8 ed—

9 (1) by striking the period at the end of sub10 paragraph (C)(ii) and inserting a comma; and

11 (2) by adding after and below subparagraph

12 (C), flush with the left margin of the subsection, the

13 following:

14 ‘‘increased by the incentive adjustment factor (if any) de15 termined by the Secretary pursuant to section 458.’’.

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

17 (42 U.S.C. 654(22)) is amended—

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

19 place it appears and inserting ‘‘incentive adjust20 ments’’; and

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

22 made to the State for such period’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘any increases in Federal payments to the State re24 sulting from such incentive adjustments’’.
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1 (d) CALCULATION OF IV–D PATERNITY ESTABLISH2 MENT PERCENTAGE.—(1) Section 452(g)(1) (42 U.S.C.

3 652(g)(1)) is amended in the matter preceding subpara4 graph (A) by inserting ‘‘its overall performance in child

5 support enforcement is satisfactory (as defined in section

6 458(b) and regulations of the Secretary), and’’ after

7 ‘‘1994,’’.

8 (2) Section 452(g)(2) (42 U.S.C. 652(g)(2)) is

9 amended—

10 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preced11 ing clause (i)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘paternity establishment

13 percentage’’ and inserting ‘‘IV–D paternity es14 tablishment percentage’’; and

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘(or all States, as the case

16 may be)’’;

17 (B) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘during

18 the fiscal year’’;

19 (C) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), by striking ‘‘as

20 of the end of the fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘in the

21 fiscal year or, at the option of the State, as of the

22 end of such year’’;

23 (D) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), by striking ‘‘or

24 (E) as of the end of the fiscal year’’ and inserting
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1 ‘‘in the fiscal year or, at the option of the State, as

2 of the end of such year’’;

3 (E) in subparagraph (A)(iii)—

4 (i) by striking ‘‘during the fiscal year’’;

5 and

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

7 (F) in the matter following subparagraph (A)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘who were born out of wed9 lock during the immediately preceding fiscal

10 year’’ and inserting ‘‘born out of wedlock’’;

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘such preceding fiscal

12 year’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘the

13 preceding fiscal year’’; and

14 (iii) by striking ‘‘or (E)’’ the second place

15 it appears.

16 (3) Section 452(g)(3) (42 U.S.C. 652(g)(3)) is

17 amended—

18 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and redesig19 nating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs

20 (A) and (B), respectively;

21 (B) in subparagraph (A), as redesignated, by

22 striking ‘‘the percentage of children born out-of-wed23 lock in the State’’ and inserting ‘‘the percentage of

24 children in the State who are born out of wedlock

25 or for whom support has not been established’’; and
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1 (C) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated—

2 (i) by inserting ‘‘and overall performance

3 in child support enforcement’’ after ‘‘paternity

4 establishment percentages’’; and

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and securing support’’

6 before the period.

7 (e) REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS UNDER PART D OF

8 TITLE IV.—

9 (1) NEW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 455 (42

10 U.S.C. 655) is amended by inserting after sub11 section (b) the following:

12 ‘‘(c)(1) If the Secretary finds, with respect to a State

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

14 after October 1, 1997—

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

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

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

18 D paternity establishment percentage (as defined in

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

20 overall performance in child support enforcement (as

21 defined in section 458(b)(2)), or to meet other per22 formance measures that may be established by the

23 Secretary, or

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

25 State data conducted pursuant to section
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1 452(a)(4)(C), that the State data submitted pursu2 ant to section 454(15)(B) is incomplete or unreli3 able; and

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

5 year—

6 ‘‘(i) the State failed to take sufficient cor7 rective action to achieve the appropriate per8 formance levels as described in subparagraph

9 (A)(i) of this paragraph, or

10 ‘‘(ii) the data submitted by the State pur11 suant to section 454(15)(B) is incomplete or

12 unreliable,

13 the amounts otherwise payable to the State under this

14 part for quarters following the end of such succeeding fis15 cal year, prior to quarters following the end of the first

16 quarter throughout which the State program is in compli17 ance with such performance requirement, shall be reduced

18 by the percentage specified in paragraph (2).

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

20 shall be—

21 ‘‘(A) not less than 6 nor more than 8 percent,

22 or

23 ‘‘(B) not less than 8 nor more than 12 percent,

24 if the finding is the second consecutive finding made

25 pursuant to paragraph (1), or
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1 ‘‘(C) not less than 12 nor more than 15 per2 cent, if the finding is the third or a subsequent con3 secutive such finding.

4 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, section

5 402(a)(27), and section 452(a)(4), a State which is deter6 mined as a result of an audit to have submitted incomplete

7 or unreliable data pursuant to section 454(15)(B), shall

8 be determined to have submitted adequate data if the Sec9 retary determines that the extent of the incompleteness

10 or unreliability of the data is of a technical nature which

11 does not adversely affect the determination of the level of

12 the State’s performance.’’.

13 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (A) Section 403 (42 U.S.C. 603) is amend15 ed by striking subsection (h).

16 (B) Section 452(a)(4) (42 U.S.C.

17 652(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘403(h)’’

18 each place such term appears and inserting

19 ‘‘455(c)’’.

20 (C) Subsections (d)(3)(A), (g)(1), and

21 (g)(3)(A) of section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) are

22 each amended by striking ‘‘403(h)’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘455(c)’’.

24 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
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1 (1) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS.—(A) The

2 amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c)

3 shall become effective October 1, 1997, except to the

4 extent provided in subparagraph (B).

5 (B) Section 458 of the Social Security Act, as

6 in effect prior to the enactment of this section, shall

7 be effective for purposes of incentive payments to

8 States for fiscal years prior to fiscal year 1999.

9 (2) PENALTY REDUCTIONS.—(A) The amend10 ments made by subsection (d) shall become effective

11 with respect to calendar quarters beginning on and

12 after the date of enactment of this subtitle.

13 (B) The amendments made by subsection (e)

14 shall become effective with respect to calendar quar15 ters beginning on and after the date one year after

16 the date of enactment of this subtitle.

17 SEC. 41203. FEDERAL AND STATE REVIEWS AND AUDITS.

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

19 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

20 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘(14)’’ and

21 inserting ‘‘(14)(A)’’;

22 (2) by redesignating paragraph (15) as sub23 paragraph (B) of paragraph (14); and

24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol25 lowing new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(15) provide for—

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

3 reports to the Secretary on the State program

4 under this part, which shall include such infor5 mation as may be necessary to measure State

6 compliance with Federal requirements for expe7 dited procedures and timely case processing,

8 using such standards and procedures as are re9 quired by the Secretary, under which the State

10 agency will determine the extent to which such

11 program is in conformity with applicable re12 quirements with respect to the operation of

13 State programs under this part (including the

14 status of complaints filed under the procedure

15 required under paragraph (12)(B)); and

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

17 State automated data processing system and

18 transmitting to the Secretary data and calcula19 tions concerning the levels of accomplishment

20 (and rates of improvement) with respect to ap21 plicable performance indicators (including IV–D

22 paternity establishment percentages and overall

23 performance in child support enforcement) to

24 the extent necessary for purposes of sections

25 452(g) and 458.’’.
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1 (b) FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 452(a)(4) (42

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

3 ‘‘(4)(A) review data and calculations transmit4 ted by State agencies pursuant to section

5 454(15)(B) on State program accomplishments with

6 respect to performance indicators for purposes of

7 section 452(g) and 458, and determine the amount

8 (if any) of penalty reductions pursuant to section

9 455(c) to be applied to the State;

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

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

12 conformity with Federal requirements; evaluate any

13 elements of a State program in which significant de14 ficiencies are indicated by such report on the status

15 of complaints under the State procedure under sec16 tion 454(12)(B); and, as appropriate, provide to the

17 State agency comments, recommendations for addi18 tional or alternative corrective actions, and technical

19 assistance; and

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

21 government auditing standards of the United States

22 Comptroller General—

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

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

25 meet requirements of this part, or of regula-
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1 tions implementing such requirements, concern2 ing performance standards and reliability of

3 program data) to assess the completeness, reli4 ability, and security of the data, and the accu5 racy of the reporting systems, used for the cal6 culations of performance indicators specified in

7 subsection (g) and section 458;

8 ‘‘(ii) of the adequacy of financial manage9 ment of the State program, including assess10 ments of—

11 ‘‘(I) whether Federal and other funds

12 made available to carry out the State pro13 gram under this part are being appro14 priately expended, and are properly and

15 fully accounted for; and

16 ‘‘(II) whether collections and disburse17 ments of support payments and program

18 income are carried out correctly and are

19 properly and fully accounted for; and

20 ‘‘(iii) for such other purposes as the Sec21 retary may find necessary;’’.

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

23 this section shall be effective with respect to calendar

24 quarters beginning on or after the date one year after en25 actment of this section.
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1 SEC. 41204. REQUIRED REPORTING PROCEDURES.

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 452(a)(5) (42 U.S.C.

3 652(a)(5)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and establish proce4 dures to be followed by States for collecting and reporting

5 information required to be provided under this part, and

6 establish uniform definitions (including those necessary to

7 enable the measurement of State compliance with the re8 quirements of this part relating to expedited processes and

9 timely case processing) to be applied in following such pro10 cedures’’ before the semicolon.

11 (b) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 454 (42

12 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 41104(a) of this sub13 title, is amended—

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

15 (24);

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of para17 graph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

18 (3) by adding after paragraph (25) the follow19 ing:

20 ‘‘(26) provide that the State shall use the defi21 nitions established under section 452(a)(5) in col22 lecting and reporting information as required under

23 this part.’’.
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1 SEC. 41205. AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING REQUIRE2 MENTS.

3 (a) REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Section 454(16)

4 (42 U.S.C. 654(16)) is amended—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘, at the option of the State,’’;

6 (B) by inserting ‘‘and operation by the State

7 agency’’ after ‘‘for the establishment’’;

8 (C) by inserting ‘‘meeting the requirements of

9 section 454A’’ after ‘‘information retrieval system’’;

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

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

12 (E) by striking ‘‘(i)’’; and

13 (F) by striking ‘‘(including’’ and all that follows

14 and inserting a semicolon.

15 (2) Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amend16 ed by inserting after section 454 the following new section:

17 ‘‘AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING

18 ‘‘SEC. 454A. (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to meet the

19 requirements of this section, for purposes of the require20 ment of section 454(16), a State agency shall have in op21 eration a single statewide automated data processing and

22 information retrieval system which has the capability to

23 perform the tasks specified in this section, and performs

24 such tasks with the frequency and in the manner specified

25 in this part or in regulations or guidelines of the Sec26 retary.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The automated sys2 tem required under this section shall perform such func3 tions as the Secretary may specify relating to management

4 of the program under this part, including—

5 ‘‘(1) controlling and accounting for use of Fed6 eral, State, and local funds to carry out such pro7 gram; and

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

9 Federal reporting requirements on a timely basis.

10 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICA11 TORS.—In order to enable the Secretary to determine the

12 incentive and penalty adjustments required by sections

13 452(g) and 458, the State agency shall—

14 ‘‘(1) use the automated system—

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

16 State performance with respect to paternity es17 tablishment and child support enforcement in

18 the State; and

19 ‘‘(B) to calculate the IV–D paternity es20 tablishment percentage and overall performance

21 in child support enforcement for the State for

22 each fiscal year; and

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

24 the completeness, and reliability of, and ready access

25 to, the data described in paragraph (1)(A), and the
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1 accuracy of the calculations described in paragraph

2 (1)(B).

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

4 State agency shall have in effect safeguards on the integ5 rity, accuracy, and completeness of, access to, and use of

6 data in the automated system required under this section,

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

8 safeguards as the Secretary specifies in regulations):

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

10 policies concerning access to data by State agency

11 personnel, and sharing of data with other persons,

12 which—

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

14 to the extent necessary to carry out program re15 sponsibilities;

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

17 for particular program purposes, and the per18 sonnel permitted access to such data; and

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

20 for a limited program purpose is not used or re21 disclosed for another, impermissible purpose.

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

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

24 strict adherence to the policies specified under para25 graph (1).
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1 ‘‘(3) MONITORING OF ACCESS.—Routine mon2 itoring of access to and use of the automated sys3 tem, through methods such as audit trails and feed4 back mechanisms, to guard against and promptly

5 identify unauthorized access or use.

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

7 agency shall have in effect procedures to ensure that

8 all personnel (including State and local agency staff

9 and contractors) who may have access to or be re10 quired to use sensitive or confidential program data

11 are fully informed of applicable requirements and

12 penalties, and are adequately trained in security pro13 cedures.

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

15 in effect administrative penalties (up to and includ16 ing dismissal from employment) for unauthorized ac17 cess to, or disclosure or use of, confidential data.’’.

18 (3) REGULATIONS.—Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) is

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(j) The Secretary shall prescribe final regulations

21 for implementation of the requirements of section 454A

22 not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of

23 this subsection.’’.

24 (4) IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE.—Section

25 454(24) (42 U.S.C. 654(24)), as amended by sections
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1 41104(a)(2) and 41204(b)(1) of this subtitle, is amended

2 to read as follows:

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

4 an automated data processing and information re5 trieval system—

6 ‘‘(A) by October 1, 1995, meeting all re7 quirements of this part which were enacted on

8 or before the date of enactment of the Family

9 Support Act of 1988; and

10 ‘‘(B) by October 1, 1999, meeting all re11 quirements of this part enacted on or before the

12 date of enactment of the Economic Equity Act

13 of 1996 (but this provision shall not be con14 strued to alter earlier deadlines specified for

15 elements of such system), except that such

16 deadline shall be extended by 1 day for each

17 day (if any) by which the Secretary fails to

18 meet the deadline imposed by section 452(j);’’.

19 (b) SPECIAL FEDERAL MATCHING RATE FOR DE20 VELOPMENT COSTS OF AUTOMATED SYSTEMS.—Section

21 455(a) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)—

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

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

25 (B) by striking ‘‘so much of’’; and
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘which the Secretary’’ and

2 all that follows and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and

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

4 paragraph:

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

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

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

8 the Secretary finds are for a system meeting the require9 ments specified in section 454(16), or meeting such re10 quirements without regard to clause (D) thereof.

11 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall pay to each State, for

12 each quarter in fiscal years 1997 through 2001, the per13 centage specified in clause (ii) of so much of State expend14 itures described in subparagraph (1)(B) as the Secretary

15 finds are for a system meeting the requirements specified

16 in section 454(16) and 454A, subject to clause (iii).

17 ‘‘(ii) The percentage specified in this clause, for pur18 poses of clause (i), is the higher of—

19 ‘‘(I) 80 percent, or

20 ‘‘(II) the percentage otherwise applicable to

21 Federal payments to the State under subparagraph

22 (A) (as adjusted pursuant to section 458).’’.

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

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

25 Law 100–485) is repealed.
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1 (d) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—For additional provi2 sions of section 454A, as added by subsection (a) of this

3 section, see the amendments made by sections 121,

4 122(c), and 133(d) of this subtitle.

5 SEC. 41206. DIRECTOR OF CSE PROGRAM; STAFFING STUDY.

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

7 U.S.C. 652(a)) is amended in the matter preceding para8 graph (1) by striking ‘‘directly’’.

9 (b) STAFFING STUDIES.—

10 (1) SCOPE.—The Secretary of Health and

11 Human Services shall, directly or by contract, con12 duct studies of the staffing of each State child sup13 port enforcement program under part D of title IV

14 of the Social Security Act. Such studies shall include

15 a review of the staffing needs created by require16 ments for automated data processing, maintenance

17 of a central case registry and centralized collections

18 of child support, and of changes in these needs re19 sulting from changes in such requirements. Such

20 studies shall examine and report on effective staffing

21 practices used by the States and on recommended

22 staffing procedures.

23 (2) FREQUENCY OF STUDIES.—The Secretary

24 shall complete the first staffing study required under

25 paragraph (1) by October 1, 1997, and may conduct
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1 additional studies subsequently at appropriate inter2 vals.

3 (3) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The Sec4 retary shall submit a report to the Congress stating

5 the findings and conclusions of each study conducted

6 under this subsection.

7 SEC. 41207. FUNDING FOR SECRETARIAL ASSISTANCE TO

8 STATE PROGRAMS.

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

10 41205(a)(3) of this subtitle, is amended by adding at the

11 end the following new subsection:

12 ‘‘(k) FUNDING FOR FEDERAL ACTIVITIES ASSISTING

13 STATE PROGRAMS.—(1) There shall be available to the

14 Secretary, from amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1996

15 and each succeeding fiscal year for payments to States

16 under this part, the amount specified in paragraph (2) for

17 the costs to the Secretary for—

18 ‘‘(A) information dissemination and technical

19 assistance to States, training of State and Federal

20 staff, staffing studies, and related activities needed

21 to improve programs (including technical assistance

22 concerning State automated systems);

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

24 projects of regional or national significance relating
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1 to the operation of State programs under this part;

2 and

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

4 Service under section 453, to the extent such costs

5 are not recovered through user fees.

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

7 fiscal year is the amount equal to a percentage of the re8 duction in Federal payments to States under part A on

9 account of child support (including arrearages) collected

10 in the preceding fiscal year on behalf of children receiving

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

12 determined on the basis of the most recent reliable data

13 available to the Secretary as of the end of the third cal14 endar quarter following the end of such preceding fiscal

15 year), equal to—

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

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

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

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

20 SEC. 41208. REPORTS AND DATA COLLECTION BY THE SEC21 RETARY.

22 (a) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—(1) Section

23 452(a)(10)(A) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(A)) is amended—

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

25 part, including—’’; and
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1 (B) by adding at the end the following indented

2 clauses:

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

4 payments collected as a result of services

5 furnished during such fiscal year to indi6 viduals receiving services under this part;

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

8 Federal Government of furnishing such

9 services to those individuals; and

10 ‘‘(iii) the number of cases involving

11 families—

12 ‘‘(I) who became ineligible for aid

13 under part A during a month in such

14 fiscal year; and

15 ‘‘(II) with respect to whom a

16 child support payment was received in

17 the same month;’’.

18 (2) Section 452(a)(10)(C) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(C))

19 is amended—

20 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i)—

21 (i) by striking ‘‘with the data required

22 under each clause being separately stated for

23 cases’’ and inserting ‘‘separately stated for (1)

24 cases’’;
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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘cases where the child was

2 formerly receiving’’ and inserting ‘‘or formerly

3 received’’;

4 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or 1912’’ after

5 ‘‘471(a)(17)’’; and

6 (iv) by inserting ‘‘(2)’’ before ‘‘all other’’;

7 (B) in each of clauses (i) and (ii), by striking

8 ‘‘, and the total amount of such obligations’’;

9 (C) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘described in’’

10 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘in which support

11 was collected during the fiscal year;’’;

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

13 (E) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vii),

14 and inserting after clause (iii) the following new

15 clauses:

16 ‘‘(iv) the total amount of support col17 lected during such fiscal year and distrib18 uted as current support;

19 ‘‘(v) the total amount of support col20 lected during such fiscal year and distrib21 uted as arrearages;

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

23 and unpaid for all fiscal years; and’’.
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1 (3) Section 452(a)(10)(G) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(G))

2 is amended by striking ‘‘on the use of Federal courts

3 and’’.

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

5 amended by striking all that follows subparagraph (I).

6 (b) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—Section

7 469 (42 U.S.C. 669) is amended—

8 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in9 serting the following:

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

11 fiscal year basis, up-to-date statistics, by State, with re12 spect to services to establish paternity and services to es13 tablish child support obligations, the data specified in sub14 section (b), separately stated, in the case of each such

15 service, with respect to—

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

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

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

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

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

21 State agency administering the plan under this part

22 in which such service is needed; and

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

24 service has been provided.’’; and
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1 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘(a)(2)’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘(b)(2)’’.

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

4 this section shall be effective with respect to fiscal year

5 1996 and succeeding fiscal years.

6 CHAPTER 3—LOCATE AND CASE

7 TRACKING

8 SEC. 41301. CENTRAL STATE AND CASE REGISTRY.

9 Section 454A, as added by section 41205(a)(2) of

10 this subtitle, is amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(e) CENTRAL CASE REGISTRY.—(1) IN GEN13 ERAL.—The automated system required under this section

14 shall perform the functions, in accordance with the provi15 sions of this subsection, of a single central registry con16 taining records with respect to each case in which services

17 are being provided by the State agency (including, on and

18 after October 1, 1998, each order specified in section

19 466(a)(12)), using such standardized data elements (such

20 as names, social security numbers or other uniform identi21 fication numbers, dates of birth, and case identification

22 numbers), and containing such other information (such as

23 information on case status) as the Secretary may require.

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

25 central registry shall include a record of—
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1 ‘‘(A) the amount of monthly (or other periodic)

2 support owed under the support order, and other

3 amounts due or overdue (including arrears, interest

4 or late payment penalties, and fees);

5 ‘‘(B) the date on which or circumstances under

6 which the support obligation will terminate under

7 such order;

8 ‘‘(C) all child support and related amounts col9 lected (including such amounts as fees, late payment

10 penalties, and interest on arrearages);

11 ‘‘(D) the distribution of such amounts collected;

12 and

13 ‘‘(E) the birth date of the child for whom the

14 child support order is entered.

15 ‘‘(3) UPDATING AND MONITORING.—The State agen16 cy shall promptly establish and maintain, and regularly

17 monitor, case records in the registry required by this sub18 section, on the basis of—

19 ‘‘(A) information on administrative actions and

20 administrative and judicial proceedings and orders

21 relating to paternity and support;

22 ‘‘(B) information obtained from matches with

23 Federal, State, or local data sources;

24 ‘‘(C) information on support collections and dis25 tributions; and
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1 ‘‘(D) any other relevant information.

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

3 INFORMATION.—The automated system required under

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

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

6 standardized format or formats, as may be required by

7 the Secretary, and to share and match data with, and re8 ceive data from, other data bases and data matching serv9 ices, in order to obtain (or provide) information necessary

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

11 or Federal agencies) to carry out responsibilities under

12 this part. Data matching activities of the State agency

13 shall include at least the following:

14 ‘‘(1) DATA BANK OF CHILD SUPPORT OR15 DERS.—Furnish to the Data Bank of Child Support

16 Orders established under section 453(h) (and update

17 as necessary, with information including notice of

18 expiration of orders) minimal information (to be

19 specified by the Secretary) on each child support

20 case in the central case registry.

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

22 Exchange data with the Federal Parent Locator

23 Service for the purposes specified in section 453.

24 ‘‘(3) AFDC AND MEDICAID AGENCIES.—Ex25 change data with State agencies (of the State and
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1 of other States) administering the programs under

2 part A and title XIX, as necessary for the perform3 ance of State agency responsibilities under this part

4 and under such programs.

5 ‘‘(4) INTRA- AND INTERSTATE DATA

6 MATCHES.—Exchange data with other agencies of

7 the State, agencies of other States, and interstate

8 information networks, as necessary and appropriate

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

10 purposes of this part.’’.

11 SEC. 41302. CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISBURSE12 MENT OF SUPPORT PAYMENTS.

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

14 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 41104(a) and

15 41204(b) of this subtitle, is amended—

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

17 (25);

18 (2) by striking the period at the end of para19 graph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (3) by adding after paragraph (26) the follow21 ing new paragraph:

22 ‘‘(27) provide that the State agency, on and

23 after October 1, 1998—

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

25 unit for the collection and disbursement of child
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1 support under orders being enforced under this

2 part, in accordance with section 454B; and

3 ‘‘(B) will have sufficient State staff (con4 sisting of State employees), and (at State op5 tion) contractors reporting directly to the State

6 agency to monitor and enforce support collec7 tions through such centralized unit, including

8 carrying out the automated data processing re9 sponsibilities specified in section 454A(g) and

10 to impose, as appropriate in particular cases,

11 the administrative enforcement remedies speci12 fied in section 466(c)(1).’’.

13 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTRALIZED COLLECTION

14 UNIT.—Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amend15 ed by adding after section 454A the following new section:

16 ‘‘CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT OF

17 SUPPORT PAYMENTS

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

19 requirement of section 454(27), the State agency must op20 erate a single centralized, automated unit for the collection

21 and disbursement of support payments, coordinated with

22 the automated data system required under section 454A,

23 in accordance with the provisions of this section, which

24 shall be—

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

26 by two or more State agencies under a regional co-
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1 operative agreement), or by a single contractor re2 sponsible directly to the State agency; and

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

4 (including interstate collection and disbursement) of

5 payments under support orders in all cases being en6 forced by the State pursuant to section 454(4).

7 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—The centralized col8 lections unit shall use automated procedures, electronic

9 processes, and computer-driven technology to the maxi10 mum extent feasible, efficient, and economical, for the col11 lection and disbursement of support payments, including

12 procedures—

13 ‘‘(1) for receipt of payments from parents, em14 ployers, and other States, and for disbursements to

15 custodial parents and other obligees, the State agen16 cy, and the State agencies of other States;

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

18 ‘‘(3) to ensure prompt disbursement of the cus19 todial parent’s share of any payment; and

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

21 timely information on the current status of support

22 payments.’’.

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

24 added by section 41205(a)(2) of this subtitle and as
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1 amended by section 41301 of this subtitle, is amended by

2 adding at the end the following new subsection:

3 ‘‘(g) CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION

4 OF SUPPORT PAYMENTS.—The automated system re5 quired under this section shall be used, to the maximum

6 extent feasible, to assist and facilitate collections and dis7 bursement of support payments through the centralized

8 collections unit operated pursuant to section 454B,

9 through the performance of functions including at a mini10 mum—

11 ‘‘(1) generation of orders and notices to em12 ployers (and other debtors) for the withholding of

13 wages (and other income)—

14 ‘‘(A) within two working days after receipt

15 (from the directory of New Hires established

16 under section 453(i) or any other source) of no17 tice of and the income source subject to such

18 withholding; and

19 ‘‘(B) using uniform formats directed by

20 the Secretary;

21 ‘‘(2) ongoing monitoring to promptly identify

22 failures to make timely payment; and

23 ‘‘(3) automatic use of enforcement mechanisms

24 (including mechanisms authorized pursuant to sec25 tion 466(c)) where payments are not timely made.’’.
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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

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

3 SEC. 41303. AMENDMENTS CONCERNING INCOME WITH4 HOLDING.

5 (a) MANDATORY INCOME WITHHOLDING.—(1) Sec6 tion 466(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(1)) is amended to read

7 as follows:

8 ‘‘(1) INCOME WITHHOLDING.—(A) UNDER OR9 DERS ENFORCED UNDER THE STATE PLAN.—Proce10 dures described in subsection (b) for the withholding

11 from income of amounts payable as support in cases

12 subject to enforcement under the State plan.

13 ‘‘(B) UNDER CERTAIN ORDERS PREDATING

14 CHANGE IN REQUIREMENT.—Procedures under

15 which all child support orders issued (or modified)

16 before October 1, 1996, and which are not otherwise

17 subject to withholding under subsection (b), shall be18 come subject to withholding from wages as provided

19 in subsection (b) if arrearages occur, without the

20 need for a judicial or administrative hearing.’’.

21 (2) Section 466(a)(8) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(8)) is re22 pealed.

23 (3) Section 466(b) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)) is amended—
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1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

2 striking ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub3 section (a)(1)(A)’’;

4 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking all that fol5 lows ‘‘administered by’’ and inserting ‘‘the State

6 through the centralized collections unit established

7 pursuant to section 454B, in accordance with the re8 quirements of such section 454B.’’;

9 (C) in paragraph (6)(A)(i)—

10 (i) by inserting ‘‘, in accordance with time11 tables established by the Secretary,’’ after

12 ‘‘must be required’’; and

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘to the appropriate agency’’

14 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘to the State

15 centralized collections unit within 5 working

16 days after the date such amount would (but for

17 this subsection) have been paid or credited to

18 the employee, for distribution in accordance

19 with this part.’’;

20 (D) in paragraph (6)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘be in

21 a standard format prescribed by the Secretary, and’’

22 after ‘‘shall’’; and

23 (E) in paragraph (6)(D)—

24 (i) by striking ‘‘employer who discharges’’

25 and inserting ‘‘employer who—(A) discharges’’;
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1 (ii) by relocating subparagraph (A), as des2 ignated, as an indented subparagraph after and

3 below the introductory matter;

4 (iii) by striking the period at the end; and

5 (iv) by adding after and below subpara6 graph (A) the following new subparagraph:

7 ‘‘(B) fails to withhold support from wages,

8 or to pay such amounts to the State centralized

9 collections unit in accordance with this sub10 section.’’.

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

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

13 (c) DEFINITION OF TERMS.—The Secretary shall

14 promulgate regulations providing definitions, for purposes

15 of part D of title IV of the Social Security Act, for the

16 term ‘‘income’’ and for such other terms relating to in17 come withholding under section 466(b) of such Act as the

18 Secretary may find it necessary or advisable to define.

19 SEC. 41304. LOCATOR INFORMATION FROM INTERSTATE

20 NETWORKS.

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

22 section 41303(a)(2) of this subtitle, is amended by insert23 ing after paragraph (7) the following new paragraph:

24 ‘‘(8) LOCATOR INFORMATION FROM INTER25 STATE NETWORKS.—Procedures ensuring that the
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1 State will neither provide funding for, nor use for

2 any purpose (including any purpose unrelated to the

3 purposes of this part), any automated interstate net4 work or system used to locate individuals—

5 ‘‘(A) for purposes relating to the use of

6 motor vehicles; or

7 ‘‘(B) providing information for law en8 forcement purposes (where child support en9 forcement agencies are otherwise allowed access

10 by State and Federal law),

11 unless all Federal and State agencies administering

12 programs under this part (including the entities es13 tablished under section 453) have access to informa14 tion in such system or network to the same extent

15 as any other user of such system or network.’’.

16 SEC. 41305. EXPANDED FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERV17 ICE.

18 (a) EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO LOCATE INDIVID19 UALS AND ASSETS.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is

20 amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a), by striking all that follows

22 ‘‘subsection (c))’’ and inserting the following:

23 ‘‘, for the purpose of establishing parentage, establishing,

24 setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child sup25 port obligations—
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1 ‘‘(1) information on, or facilitating the discov2 ery of, the location of any individual—

3 ‘‘(A) who is under an obligation to pay

4 child support;

5 ‘‘(B) against whom such an obligation is

6 sought; or

7 ‘‘(C) to whom such an obligation is owed,

8 including such individual’s social security num9 ber (or numbers), most recent residential ad10 dress, and the name, address, and employer

11 identification number of such individual’s em12 ployer; and

13 ‘‘(2) information on the individual’s wages (or

14 other income) from, and benefits of, employment (in15 cluding rights to or enrollment in group health care

16 coverage); and

17 ‘‘(3) information on the type, status, location,

18 and amount of any assets of, or debts owed by or

19 to, any such individual.’’; and

20 (2) in subsection (b)—

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

22 by striking ‘‘social security’’ and all that follows

23 through ‘‘absent parent’’ and inserting ‘‘infor24 mation specified in subsection (a)’’; and
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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before

2 the period ‘‘, or from any consumer reporting

3 agency (as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair

4 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f))’’;

5 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting before the

6 period ‘‘, or by consumer reporting agencies’’.

7 (b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR DATA FROM FEDERAL

8 AGENCIES.—Section 453(e)(2) (42 U.S.C. 653(e)(2)) is

9 amended in the fourth sentence by inserting before the

10 period ‘‘in an amount which the Secretary determines to

11 be reasonable payment for the data exchange (which

12 amount shall not include payment for the costs of obtain13 ing, compiling, or maintaining the data)’’.

14 (c) ACCESS TO CONSUMER REPORTS UNDER FAIR

15 CREDIT REPORTING ACT.—(1) Section 608 of the Fair

16 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681f) is amended—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘, limited to’’ and inserting ‘‘to

18 a governmental agency (including the entire

19 consumer report, in the case of a Federal, State, or

20 local agency administering a program under part D

21 of title IV of the Social Security Act, and limited

22 to’’; and

23 (B) by striking ‘‘employment, to a govern24 mental agency’’ and inserting ‘‘employment, in the

25 case of any other governmental agency)’’.
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1 (2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPORTS BY STATE

2 AGENCIES AND CREDIT BUREAUS.—Section 453 (42

3 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at the end the following

4 new subsection:

5 ‘‘(g) The Secretary is authorized to reimburse costs

6 to State agencies and consumer credit reporting agencies

7 the costs incurred by such entities in furnishing informa8 tion requested by the Secretary pursuant to this section

9 in an amount which the Secretary determines to be rea10 sonable payment for the data exchange (which amount

11 shall not include payment for the costs of obtaining, com12 piling, or maintaining the data).’’.

13 (d) DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURN INFORMATION.—

14 (1) Section 6103(1)(6)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue

15 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘, but only if’’ and

16 all that follows and inserting a period.

17 (2) Section 6103(1)(8)(A) of the Internal Revenue

18 Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘Federal,’’ before

19 ‘‘State or local’’.

20 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—

21 (1) Sections 452(a)(9), 453(a), 453(b), 463(a),

22 and 463(e) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(9), 653(a), 653(b),

23 663(a), and 663(e)) are each amended by inserting

24 ‘‘Federal’’ before ‘‘Parent’’ each place it appears.
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1 (2) Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended in

2 the heading by adding ‘‘FEDERAL’’ before ‘‘PAR3 ENT’’.

4 (f) NEW COMPONENTS.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C.

5 653), as amended by subsection (c)(2) of this section, is

6 amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(h) DATA BANK OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1,

9 1998, in order to assist States in administering their

10 State plans under this part and parts A, F, and G,

11 and for the other purposes specified in this section,

12 the Secretary shall establish and maintain in the

13 Federal Parent Locator Service an automated reg14 istry to be known as the Data Bank of Child Sup15 port Orders, which shall contain abstracts of child

16 support orders and other information described in

17 paragraph (2) on each case in each State central

18 case registry maintained pursuant to section

19 454A(e), as furnished (and regularly updated), pur20 suant to section 454A(f), by State agencies admin21 istering programs under this part.

22 ‘‘(2) CASE INFORMATION.—The information re23 ferred to in paragraph (1), as specified by the Sec24 retary, shall include sufficient information (including

25 names, social security numbers or other uniform
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1 identification numbers, and State case identification

2 numbers) to identify the individuals who owe or are

3 owed support (or with respect to or on behalf of

4 whom support obligations are sought to be estab5 lished), and the State or States which have estab6 lished or modified, or are enforcing or seeking to es7 tablish, such an order.

8 ‘‘(i) DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1,

10 1998, in order to assist States in administering their

11 State plans under this part and parts A, F, and G,

12 and for the other purposes specified in this section,

13 the Secretary shall establish and maintain in the

14 Federal Parent Locator Service an automated direc15 tory to be known as the directory of New Hires, con16 taining—

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.—
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1 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—Subject

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

5 than 10 days after the date (on or after Octo6 ber 1, 1998) on which the employer hires a new

7 employee (as defined in subparagraph (C)), a

8 report containing the name, date of birth, and

9 social security number of such employee, and

10 the employer identification number of the em11 ployer.

12 ‘‘(B) REPORTING METHOD AND FOR13 MAT.—The Secretary shall provide for trans14 mission of the reports required under subpara15 graph (A) using formats and methods which

16 minimize the burden on employers, which shall

17 include—

18 ‘‘(i) automated or electronic trans19 mission of such reports;

20 ‘‘(ii) transmission by regular mail;

21 and

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

23 form required for purposes of compliance

24 with section 3402 of the Internal Revenue

25 Code of 1986.
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1 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYEE DEFINED.—For purposes

2 of this paragraph, the term ‘employee’ means

3 any individual subject to the requirement of

4 section 3402(f)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code

5 of 1986.

6 ‘‘(D) PAPERWORK REDUCTION REQUIRE7 MENT.—As required by the information re8 sources management policies published by the

9 Director of the Office of Management and

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

11 44, United States Code, the Secretary, in order

12 to minimize the cost and reporting burden on

13 employers, shall not require reporting pursuant

14 to this paragraph if an alternative reporting

15 mechanism can be developed that either relies

16 on existing Federal or State reporting or en17 ables the Secretary to collect the needed infor18 mation in a more cost-effective and equally ex19 peditious manner, taking into account the re20 porting costs on employers.

21 ‘‘(E) CIVIL MONEY PENALTY ON NON22 COMPLYING EMPLOYERS.—(i) Any employer

23 that fails to make a timely report in accordance

24 with this paragraph with respect to an individ25 ual shall be subject to a civil money penalty, for
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1 each calendar year in which the failure occurs,

2 of the lesser of $500 or 1 percent of the wages

3 or other compensation paid by such employer to

4 such individual during such calendar year.

5 ‘‘(ii) Subject to clause (iii), the provisions

6 of section 1128A (other than subsections (a)

7 and (b) thereof) shall apply to a civil money

8 penalty under clause (i) in the same manner as

9 they apply to a civil money penalty or proceed10 ing under section 1128A(a).

11 ‘‘(iii) Any employer with respect to whom

12 a penalty under this subparagraph is upheld

13 after an administrative hearing shall be liable to

14 pay all costs of the Secretary with respect to

15 such hearing.

16 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT SECURITY INFORMATION.—

17 ‘‘(A) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each

18 State agency administering a State unemploy19 ment compensation law approved by the Sec20 retary of Labor under the Federal Unemploy21 ment Tax Act shall furnish to the Secretary of

22 Health and Human Services extracts of the re23 ports to the Secretary of Labor concerning the

24 wages and unemployment compensation paid to
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1 individuals required under section 303(a)(6), in

2 accordance with subparagraph (B).

3 ‘‘(B) MANNER OF COMPLIANCE.—The ex4 tracts required under subparagraph (A) shall be

5 furnished to the Secretary of Health and

6 Human Services on a quarterly basis, with re7 spect to calendar quarters beginning on and

8 after October 1, 1996, by such dates, in such

9 format, and containing such information as re10 quired by that Secretary in regulations.

11 ‘‘(j) DATA MATCHES AND OTHER DISCLOSURES.—

12 ‘‘(1) VERIFICATION BY SOCIAL SECURITY AD13 MINISTRATION.—(A) The Secretary shall transmit

14 data on individuals and employers maintained under

15 this section to the Social Security Administration to

16 the extent necessary for verification in accordance

17 with subparagraph (B).

18 ‘‘(B) The Social Security Administration shall

19 verify the accuracy of, correct or supply to the ex20 tent necessary and feasible, and report to the Sec21 retary, the following information in data supplied by

22 the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph (A):

23 ‘‘(i) the name, social security number, and

24 birth date of each individual; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the employer identification number of

2 each employer.

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

4 the purpose of locating individuals for purposes of

5 paternity establishment and establishment and en6 forcement of child support, the Secretary shall—

7 ‘‘(A) match data in the directory of New

8 Hires against the child support order abstracts

9 in the Data Bank of Child Support Orders not

10 less often than every 2 working days; and

11 ‘‘(B) report information obtained from

12 such a match to concerned State agencies oper13 ating programs under this part not later than

14 2 working days after such match.

15 ‘‘(3) DATA MATCHES AND DISCLOSURES OF

16 DATA IN ALL REGISTRIES FOR TITLE IV PROGRAM

17 PURPOSES.—The Secretary shall—

18 ‘‘(A) perform matches of data in each com19 ponent of the Federal Parent Locator Service

20 maintained under this section against data in

21 each other such component (other than the

22 matches required pursuant to paragraph (1)),

23 and report information resulting from such

24 matches to State agencies operating programs

25 under this part and parts A, F, and G; and
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1 ‘‘(B) disclose data in such registries to

2 such State agencies,

3 to the extent, and with the frequency, that the Sec4 retary determines to be effective in assisting such

5 States to carry out their responsibilities under such

6 programs.

7 ‘‘(k) FEES.—

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

9 shall reimburse the Commissioner of Social Security,

10 at a rate negotiated between the Secretary and the

11 Commissioner, the costs incurred by the Commis12 sioner in performing the verification services speci13 fied in subsection (j).

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

15 Secretary shall reimburse costs incurred by State

16 employment security agencies in furnishing data as

17 required by subsection (j)(3), at rates which the Sec18 retary determines to be reasonable (which rates shall

19 not include payment for the costs of obtaining, com20 piling, or maintaining such data).

21 ‘‘(3) FOR INFORMATION FURNISHED TO STATE

22 AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.—State and Federal agen23 cies receiving data or information from the Secretary

24 pursuant to this section shall reimburse the costs in25 curred by the Secretary in furnishing such data or
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1 information, at rates which the Secretary determines

2 to be reasonable (which rates shall include payment

3 for the costs of obtaining, verifying, maintaining,

4 and matching such data or information).

5 ‘‘(l) RESTRICTION ON DISCLOSURE AND USE.—Data

6 in the Federal Parent Locator Service, and information

7 resulting from matches using such data, shall not be used

8 or disclosed except as specifically provided in this section.

9 ‘‘(m) RETENTION OF DATA.—Data in the Federal

10 Parent Locator Service, and data resulting from matches

11 performed pursuant to this section, shall be retained for

12 such period (determined by the Secretary) as appropriate

13 for the data uses specified in this section.

14 ‘‘(n) INFORMATION INTEGRITY AND SECURITY.—The

15 Secretary shall establish and implement safeguards with

16 respect to the entities established under this section de17 signed to—

18 ‘‘(1) ensure the accuracy and completeness of

19 information in the Federal Parent Locator Service;

20 and

21 ‘‘(2) restrict access to confidential information

22 in the Federal Parent Locator Service to authorized

23 persons, and restrict use of such information to au24 thorized purposes.
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1 ‘‘(o) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not

2 be liable to either a State or an individual for inaccurate

3 information provided to a component of the Federal Par4 ent Locator Service section and disclosed by the Secretary

5 in accordance with this section.’’.

6 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) TO PART D OF TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SE8 CURITY ACT.—Section 454(8)(B) (42 U.S.C.

9 654(8)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(B) the Federal Parent Locator Service

11 established under section 453;’’.

12 (2) TO FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACT.—

13 Section 3304(16) of the Internal Revenue Code of

14 1986 is amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health, Edu16 cation, and Welfare’’ each place such term ap17 pears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Health and

18 Human Services’’;

19 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking

20 ‘‘such information’’ and all that follows and in21 serting ‘‘information furnished under subpara22 graph (A) or (B) is used only for the purposes

23 authorized under such subparagraph;’’;

24 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub25 paragraph (A);
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1 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as

2 subparagraph (C); and

3 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (A)

4 the following new subparagraph:

5 ‘‘(B) wage and unemployment compensa6 tion information contained in the records of

7 such agency shall be furnished to the Secretary

8 of Health and Human Services (in accordance

9 with regulations promulgated by such Sec10 retary) as necessary for the purposes of the di11 rectory of New Hires established under section

12 453(i) of the Social Security Act, and’’.

13 (3) TO STATE GRANT PROGRAM UNDER TITLE

14 III OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 303(a)

15 (42 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para17 graph (8);

18 (B) by striking the period at the end of

19 paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (C) by adding after paragraph (9) the fol21 lowing new paragraph:

22 ‘‘(10) The making of quarterly electronic re23 ports, at such dates, in such format, and containing

24 such information, as required by the Secretary of

25 Health and Human Services under section 453(i)(3),
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1 and compliance with such provisions as such Sec2 retary may find necessary to ensure the correctness

3 and verification of such reports.’’.

4 SEC. 41306. USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.

5 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENT.—Section 466(a) (42

6 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by section 41101(a) of this

7 subtitle, is amended by adding at the end the following

8 new paragraph:

9 ‘‘(13) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS RE10 QUIRED.—Procedures requiring the recording of so11 cial security numbers—

12 ‘‘(A) of both parties on marriage licenses

13 and divorce decrees; and

14 ‘‘(B) of both parents, on birth records and

15 child support and paternity orders.’’.

16 (b) CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL POLICY.—Section

17 205(c)(2)(C)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended

18 by striking the third sentence and inserting ‘‘This clause

19 shall not be considered to authorize disclosure of such

20 numbers except as provided in the preceding sentence.’’.
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1 CHAPTER 4—STREAMLINING AND

2 UNIFORMITY OF PROCEDURES

3 SEC. 41401. ADOPTION OF UNIFORM STATE LAWS.

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

5 sections 41101(a) and 41306(a) of this subtitle, is amend6 ed by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(14) INTERSTATE ENFORCEMENT.—(A) ADOP8 TION OF UIFSA.—Procedures under which the State

9 adopts in its entirety (with the modifications and ad10 ditions specified in this paragraph) not later than

11 January 1, 1997, and uses on and after such date,

12 the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, as ap13 proved by the National Conference of Commissioners

14 on Uniform State Laws in August, 1992.

15 ‘‘(B) EXPANDED APPLICATION OF UIFSA.—The

16 State law adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A)

17 shall be applied to any case—

18 ‘‘(i) involving an order established or modi19 fied in one State and for which a subsequent

20 modification is sought in another State; or

21 ‘‘(ii) in which interstate activity is required

22 to enforce an order.

23 ‘‘(C) JURISDICTION TO MODIFY ORDERS.—The

24 State law adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of

25 this paragraph shall contain the following provision
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1 in lieu of section 611(a)(1) of the Uniform Inter2 state Family Support Act described in such subpara3 graph (A):

4 ‘‘ ‘(1) the following requirements are met:

5 ‘‘ ‘(i) the child, the individual obligee, and

6 the obligor—

7 ‘‘ ‘(I) do not reside in the issuing

8 State; and

9 ‘‘ ‘(II) either reside in this State or

10 are subject to the jurisdiction of this State

11 pursuant to section 201; and

12 ‘‘ ‘(ii) (in any case where another State is

13 exercising or seeks to exercise jurisdiction to

14 modify the order) the conditions of section 204

15 are met to the same extent as required for pro16 ceedings to establish orders; or’.

17 ‘‘(D) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—The State law

18 adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall recog19 nize as valid, for purposes of any proceeding subject

20 to such State law, service of process upon persons

21 in the State (and proof of such service) by any

22 means acceptable in another State which is the initi23 ating or responding State in such proceeding.

24 ‘‘(E) COOPERATION BY EMPLOYERS.—The

25 State law adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A)
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1 shall provide for the use of procedures (including

2 sanctions for noncompliance) under which all entities

3 in the State (including for-profit, nonprofit, and gov4 ernmental employers) are required to provide

5 promptly, in response to a request by the State

6 agency of that or any other State administering a

7 program under this part, information on the employ8 ment, compensation, and benefits of any individual

9 employed by such entity as an employee or contrac10 tor.’’.

11 SEC. 41402. IMPROVEMENTS TO FULL FAITH AND CREDIT

12 FOR CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

13 Section 1738B of title 28, United States Code, is

14 amended—

15 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘subsection

16 (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (e), (f), and (i)’’;

17 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting after the 2nd

18 undesignated paragraph the following:

19 ‘‘ ‘child’s home State’ means the State in which

20 a child lived with a parent or a person acting as par21 ent for at least six consecutive months immediately

22 preceding the time of filing of a petition or com23 parable pleading for support and, if a child is less

24 than six months old, the State in which the child

25 lived from birth with any of them. A period of tem-
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1 porary absence of any of them is counted as part of

2 the six-month period.’’;

3 (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘by a court

4 of a State’’ before ‘‘is made’’;

5 (4) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘and sub6 sections (e), (f), and (g)’’ after ‘‘located’’;

7 (5) in subsection (d)—

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘individual’’ before ‘‘con9 testant’’; and

10 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and in11 serting ‘‘subsections (e) and (f)’’;

12 (6) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘make a modi13 fication of a child support order with respect to a

14 child that is made’’ and inserting ‘‘modify a child

15 support order issued’’;

16 (7) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘pursuant

17 to subsection (i)’’ before the semicolon;

18 (8) in subsection (e)(2)—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘individual’’ before ‘‘con20 testant’’ each place such term appears; and

21 (B) by striking ‘‘to that court’s making the

22 modification and assuming’’ and inserting ‘‘with

23 the State of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction

24 for a court of another State to modify the order

25 and assume’’;
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1 (9) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as

2 subsections (g) and (h), respectively;

3 (10) by inserting after subsection (e) the follow4 ing:

5 ‘‘(f) RECOGNITION OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—

6 If one or more child support orders have been issued in

7 this or another State with regard to an obligor and a child,

8 a court shall apply the following rules in determining

9 which order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclu10 sive jurisdiction and enforcement:

11 ‘‘(1) If only one court has issued a child sup12 port order, the order of that court must be recog13 nized.

14 ‘‘(2) If two or more courts have issued child

15 support orders for the same obligor and child, and

16 only one of the courts would have continuing, exclu17 sive jurisdiction under this section, the order of that

18 court must be recognized.

19 ‘‘(3) If two or more courts have issued child

20 support orders for the same obligor and child, and

21 only one of the courts would have continuing, exclu22 sive jurisdiction under this section, an order issued

23 by a court in the current home State of the child

24 must be recognized, but if an order has not been is-
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1 sued in the current home State of the child, the

2 order most recently issued must be recognized.

3 ‘‘(4) If two or more courts have issued child

4 support orders for the same obligor and child, and

5 none of the courts would have continuing, exclusive

6 jurisdiction under this section, a court may issue a

7 child support order, which must be recognized.

8 ‘‘(5) The court that has issued an order recog9 nized under this subsection is the court having con10 tinuing, exclusive jurisdiction.’’;

11 (11) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated)—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘PRIOR’’ and inserting

13 ‘‘MODIFIED’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and in15 serting ‘‘subsections (e) and (f)’’;

16 (12) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated)—

17 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘includ18 ing the duration of current payments and other

19 obligations of support’’ before the comma; and

20 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘arrears

21 under’’ after ‘‘enforce’’; and

22 (13) by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(i) REGISTRATION FOR MODIFICATION.—If there is

24 no individual contestant or child residing in the issuing

25 State, the party or support enforcement agency seeking
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1 to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child support order

2 issued in another State shall register that order in a State

3 with jurisdiction over the nonmovant for the purpose of

4 modification.’’.

5 SEC. 41403. STATE LAWS PROVIDING EXPEDITED PROCE6 DURES.

7 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 466 (42

8 U.S.C. 666) is amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a)(2), in the first sentence, to

10 read as follows: ‘‘Expedited administrative and judi11 cial procedures (including the procedures specified in

12 subsection (c)) for establishing paternity and for es13 tablishing, modifying, and enforcing support obliga14 tions.’’; and

15 (2) by adding after subsection (b) the following

16 new subsection:

17 ‘‘(c) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—The procedures

18 specified in this subsection are the following:

19 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION BY STATE AGEN20 CY.—Procedures which give the State agency the au21 thority (and recognize and enforce the authority of

22 State agencies of other States), without the necessity

23 of obtaining an order from any other judicial or ad24 ministrative tribunal (but subject to due process

25 safeguards, including (as appropriate) requirements
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1 for notice, opportunity to contest the action, and op2 portunity for an appeal on the record to an inde3 pendent administrative or judicial tribunal), to take

4 the following actions relating to establishment or en5 forcement of orders:

6 ‘‘(A) GENETIC TESTING.—To order genetic

7 testing for the purpose of paternity establish8 ment as provided in section 466(a)(5).

9 ‘‘(B) DEFAULT ORDERS.—To enter a de10 fault order, upon a showing of service of proc11 ess and any additional showing required by

12 State law—

13 ‘‘(i) establishing paternity, in the case

14 of any putative father who refuses to sub15 mit to genetic testing; and

16 ‘‘(ii) establishing or modifying a sup17 port obligation, in the case of a parent (or

18 other obligor or obligee) who fails to re19 spond to notice to appear at a proceeding

20 for such purpose.

21 ‘‘(C) SUBPOENAS.—To subpoena any fi22 nancial or other information needed to estab23 lish, modify, or enforce an order, and to sanc24 tion failure to respond to any such subpoena.
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1 ‘‘(D) ACCESS TO PERSONAL AND FINAN2 CIAL INFORMATION.—To obtain access, subject

3 to safeguards on privacy and information secu4 rity, to the following records (including auto5 mated access, in the case of records maintained

6 in automated data bases):

7 ‘‘(i) records of other State and local

8 government agencies, including—

9 ‘‘(I) vital statistics (including

10 records of marriage, birth, and di11 vorce);

12 ‘‘(II) State and local tax and rev13 enue records (including information

14 on residence address, employer, in15 come and assets);

16 ‘‘(III) records concerning real

17 and titled personal property;

18 ‘‘(IV) records of occupational and

19 professional licenses, and records con20 cerning the ownership and control of

21 corporations, partnerships, and other

22 business entities;

23 ‘‘(V) employment security

24 records;
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1 ‘‘(VI) records of agencies admin2 istering public assistance programs;

3 ‘‘(VII) records of the motor vehi4 cle department; and

5 ‘‘(VIII) corrections records; and

6 ‘‘(ii) certain records held by private

7 entities, including—

8 ‘‘(I) customer records of public

9 utilities and cable television compa10 nies; and

11 ‘‘(II) information (including in12 formation on assets and liabilities) on

13 individuals who owe or are owed sup14 port (or against or with respect to

15 whom a support obligation is sought)

16 held by financial institutions (subject

17 to limitations on liability of such enti18 ties arising from affording such ac19 cess).

20 ‘‘(E) INCOME WITHHOLDING.—To order

21 income withholding in accordance with sub22 section (a)(1) and (b) of section 466.

23 ‘‘(F) CHANGE IN PAYEE.—(In cases where

24 support is subject to an assignment under sec25 tion 402(a)(26), 471(a)(17), or 1912, or to a
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1 requirement to pay through the centralized col2 lections unit under section 454B) upon provid3 ing notice to obligor and obligee, to direct the

4 obligor or other payor to change the payee to

5 the appropriate government entity.

6 ‘‘(G) SECURE ASSETS TO SATISFY ARREAR7 AGES.—For the purpose of securing overdue

8 support—

9 ‘‘(i) to intercept and seize any peri10 odic or lump-sum payment to the obligor

11 by or through a State or local government

12 agency, including—

13 ‘‘(I) unemployment compensa14 tion, workers’ compensation, and

15 other benefits;

16 ‘‘(II) judgments and settlements

17 in cases under the jurisdiction of the

18 State or local government; and

19 ‘‘(III) lottery winnings;

20 ‘‘(ii) to attach and seize assets of the

21 obligor held by financial institutions;

22 ‘‘(iii) to attach public and private re23 tirement funds in appropriate cases, as de24 termined by the Secretary; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) to impose liens in accordance

2 with paragraph (a)(4) and, in appropriate

3 cases, to force sale of property and dis4 tribution of proceeds.

5 ‘‘(H) INCREASE MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—

6 For the purpose of securing overdue support, to

7 increase the amount of monthly support pay8 ments to include amounts for arrearages (sub9 ject to such conditions or restrictions as the

10 State may provide).

11 ‘‘(I) SUSPENSION OF DRIVERS’ LI12 CENSES.—To suspend drivers’ licenses of indi13 viduals owing past-due support, in accordance

14 with subsection (a)(16).

15 ‘‘(2) SUBSTANTIVE AND PROCEDURAL RULES.—

16 The expedited procedures required under subsection

17 (a)(2) shall include the following rules and author18 ity, applicable with respect to all proceedings to es19 tablish paternity or to establish, modify, or enforce

20 support orders:

21 ‘‘(A) LOCATOR INFORMATION; PRESUMP22 TIONS CONCERNING NOTICE.—Procedures

23 under which—

24 ‘‘(i) the parties to any paternity or

25 child support proceedings are required
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1 (subject to privacy safeguards) to file with

2 the tribunal before entry of an order, and

3 to update as appropriate, information on

4 location and identity (including Social Se5 curity number, residential and mailing ad6 dresses, telephone number, driver’s license

7 number, and name, address, and telephone

8 number of employer); and

9 ‘‘(ii) in any subsequent child support

10 enforcement action between the same par11 ties, the tribunal shall be authorized, upon

12 sufficient showing that diligent effort has

13 been made to ascertain such party’s cur14 rent location, to deem due process require15 ments for notice and service of process to

16 be met, with respect to such party, by de17 livery to the most recent residential or em18 ployer address so filed pursuant to clause

19 (i).

20 ‘‘(B) STATEWIDE JURISDICTION.—Proce21 dures under which—

22 ‘‘(i) the State agency and any admin23 istrative or judicial tribunal with authority

24 to hear child support and paternity cases

25 exerts statewide jurisdiction over the par-
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1 ties, and orders issued in such cases have

2 statewide effect; and

3 ‘‘(ii) (in the case of a State in which

4 orders in such cases are issued by local ju5 risdictions) a case may be transferred be6 tween jurisdictions in the State without

7 need for any additional filing by the peti8 tioner, or service of process upon the re9 spondent, to retain jurisdiction over the

10 parties.’’.

11 (c) EXCEPTIONS FROM STATE LAW REQUIRE12 MENTS.—Section 466(d) (42 U.S.C. 666(d)) is amend13 ed—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘(d) If’’ and inserting the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTIONS FROM REQUIREMENTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

18 if’’; and

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

20 paragraph:

21 ‘‘(2) NONEXEMPT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec22 retary shall not grant an exemption from the re23 quirements of—

24 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(5) (concerning proce25 dures for paternity establishment);
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1 ‘‘(B) subsection (a)(10) (concerning modi2 fication of orders);

3 ‘‘(C) subsection (a)(12) (concerning re4 cording of orders in the central State case reg5 istry);

6 ‘‘(D) subsection (a)(13) (concerning re7 cording of Social Security numbers);

8 ‘‘(E) subsection (a)(14) (concerning inter9 state enforcement); or

10 ‘‘(F) subsection (c) (concerning expedited

11 procedures), other than paragraph (1)(A) there12 of (concerning establishment or modification of

13 support amount).’’.

14 (d) AUTOMATION OF STATE AGENCY FUNCTIONS.—

15 Section 454A, as added by section 41205(a)(2) of this

16 subtitle and as amended by sections 41301 and 41302(c)

17 of this subtitle, is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new subsection:

19 ‘‘(h) EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—

20 The automated system required under this section shall

21 be used, to the maximum extent feasible, to implement any

22 expedited administrative procedures required under sec23 tion 466(c).’’.
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1 CHAPTER 5—PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT

2 SEC. 41501. STATE LAWS CONCERNING PATERNITY ESTAB3 LISHMENT.

4 (a) STATE LAWS REQUIRED.—Section 466(a)(5) (42

5 U.S.C. 666(a)(5)) is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘(5)’’ and inserting the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘(5) PROCEDURES CONCERNING PATERNITY ES9 TABLISHMENT.—’’;

10 (2) in subparagraph (A)—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(A)(i)’’ and inserting the

12 following:

13 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT PROCESS AVAIL14 ABLE FROM BIRTH UNTIL AGE EIGHTEEN.—

15 (i)’’; and

16 (B) by indenting clauses (i) and (ii) so

17 that the left margin of such clauses is 2 ems to

18 the right of the left margin of paragraph (4);

19 (3) in subparagraph (B)—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and inserting the

21 following:

22 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES CONCERNING GENETIC

23 TESTING.—(i)’’;

24 (B) in clause (i), as redesignated, by in25 serting before the period ‘‘, where such request
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1 is supported by a sworn statement (I) by such

2 party alleging paternity setting forth facts es3 tablishing a reasonable possibility of the req4 uisite sexual contact of the parties, or (II) by

5 such party denying paternity setting forth facts

6 establishing a reasonable possibility of the non7 existence of sexual contact of the parties;’’;

8 (C) by inserting after and below clause (i)

9 (as redesignated) the following new clause:

10 ‘‘(ii) Procedures which require the State

11 agency, in any case in which such agency orders

12 genetic testing—

13 ‘‘(I) to pay costs of such tests, subject

14 to recoupment (where the State so elects)

15 from the putative father if paternity is es16 tablished; and

17 ‘‘(II) to obtain additional testing in

18 any case where an original test result is

19 disputed, upon request and advance pay20 ment by the disputing party.’’;

21 (4) by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D) and

22 inserting the following:

23 ‘‘(C) PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—(i)

24 Procedures for a simple civil process for volun25 tarily acknowledging paternity under which the
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1 State must provide that, before a mother and a

2 putative father can sign an acknowledgment of

3 paternity, the putative father and the mother

4 must be given notice, orally, in writing, and in

5 a language that each can understand, of the al6 ternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the

7 rights (including, if 1 parent is a minor, any

8 rights afforded due to minority status) and re9 sponsibilities that arise from, signing the ac10 knowledgment.

11 ‘‘(ii) Such procedures must include a hos12 pital-based program for the voluntary acknowl13 edgment of paternity focusing on the period im14 mediately before or after the birth of a child.

15 ‘‘(iii) Such procedures must require the

16 State agency responsible for maintaining birth

17 records to offer voluntary paternity establish18 ment services.

19 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall prescribe regula20 tions governing voluntary paternity establish21 ment services offered by hospitals and birth

22 record agencies. The Secretary shall prescribe

23 regulations specifying the types of other entities

24 that may offer voluntary paternity establish25 ment services, and governing the provision of
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1 such services, which shall include a requirement

2 that such an entity must use the same notice

3 provisions used by, the same materials used by,

4 provide the personnel providing such services

5 with the same training provided by, and evalu6 ate the provision of such services in the same

7 manner as, voluntary paternity establishment

8 programs of hospitals and birth record agen9 cies.

10 ‘‘(v) Such procedures must require the

11 State and those required to establish paternity

12 to use only the affidavit developed under section

13 452(a)(7) for the voluntary acknowledgment of

14 paternity, and to give full faith and credit to

15 such an affidavit signed in any other State.

16 ‘‘(D) STATUS OF SIGNED PATERNITY AC17 KNOWLEDGMENT.—(i) Procedures under which

18 a signed acknowledgment of paternity is consid19 ered a legal finding of paternity, subject to the

20 right of any signatory to rescind the acknowl21 edgment within 60 days.

22 ‘‘(ii)(I) Procedures under which, after the

23 60-day period referred to in clause (i), a signed

24 acknowledgment of paternity may be challenged

25 in court only on the basis of fraud, duress, or
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1 material mistake of fact, with the burden of

2 proof upon the challenger, and under which the

3 legal responsibilities (including child support

4 obligations) of any signatory arising from the

5 acknowledgment may not be suspended during

6 the challenge, except for good cause shown.

7 ‘‘(II) Procedures under which, after the

8 60-day period referred to in clause (i), a minor

9 who signs an acknowledgment of paternity

10 other than in the presence of a parent or court11 appointed guardian ad litem may rescind the

12 acknowledgment in a judicial or administrative

13 proceeding, until the earlier of—

14 ‘‘(aa) attaining the age of majority; or

15 ‘‘(bb) the date of the first judicial or

16 administrative proceeding brought (after

17 the signing) to establish a child support

18 obligation, visitation rights, or custody

19 rights with respect to the child whose pa20 ternity is the subject of the acknowledg21 ment, and at which the minor is rep22 resented by a parent, guardian ad litem, or

23 attorney.’’;

24 (5) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting

25 the following:
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1 ‘‘(E) BAR ON ACKNOWLEDGMENT RATIFI2 CATION PROCEEDINGS.—Procedures under

3 which no judicial or administrative proceedings

4 are required or permitted to ratify an unchal5 lenged acknowledgment of paternity.’’;

6 (6) by striking subparagraph (F) and inserting

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(F) ADMISSIBILITY OF GENETIC TESTING

9 RESULTS.—Procedures—

10 ‘‘(i) requiring that the State admit

11 into evidence, for purposes of establishing

12 paternity, results of any genetic test that

13 is—

14 ‘‘(I) of a type generally acknowl15 edged, by accreditation bodies des16 ignated by the Secretary, as reliable

17 evidence of paternity; and

18 ‘‘(II) performed by a laboratory

19 approved by such an accreditation

20 body;

21 ‘‘(ii) that any objection to genetic

22 testing results must be made in writing not

23 later than a specified number of days be24 fore any hearing at which such results may

25 be introduced into evidence (or, at State
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1 option, not later than a specified number

2 of days after receipt of such results); and

3 ‘‘(iii) that, if no objection is made, the

4 test results are admissible as evidence of

5 paternity without the need for foundation

6 testimony or other proof of authenticity or

7 accuracy.’’; and

8 (7) by adding after subparagraph (H) the

9 following new subparagraphs:

10 ‘‘(I) NO RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL.—Proce11 dures providing that the parties to an action to

12 establish paternity are not entitled to jury trial.

13 ‘‘(J) TEMPORARY SUPPORT ORDER BASED

14 ON PROBABLE PATERNITY IN CONTESTED

15 CASES.—Procedures which require that a tem16 porary order be issued, upon motion by a party,

17 requiring the provision of child support pending

18 an administrative or judicial determination of

19 parentage, where there is clear and convincing

20 evidence of paternity (on the basis of genetic

21 tests or other evidence).

22 ‘‘(K) PROOF OF CERTAIN SUPPORT AND

23 PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT COSTS.—Proce24 dures under which bills for pregnancy, child25 birth, and genetic testing are admissible as evi-
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1 dence without requiring third-party foundation

2 testimony, and shall constitute prima facie evi3 dence of amounts incurred for such services and

4 testing on behalf of the child.

5 ‘‘(L) WAIVER OF STATE DEBTS FOR CO6 OPERATION.—At the option of the State, proce7 dures under which the tribunal establishing pa8 ternity and support has discretion to waive

9 rights to all or part of amounts owed to the

10 State (but not to the mother) for costs related

11 to pregnancy, childbirth, and genetic testing

12 and for public assistance paid to the family

13 where the father cooperates or acknowledges

14 paternity before or after genetic testing.

15 ‘‘(M) STANDING OF PUTATIVE FATHERS.—

16 Procedures ensuring that the putative father

17 has a reasonable opportunity to initiate a pater18 nity action.’’.

19 (b) NATIONAL PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT AFFI20 DAVIT.—Section 452(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(7)) is

21 amended by inserting ‘‘, and develop an affidavit to be

22 used for the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity which

23 shall include the social security account number of each

24 parent’’ before the semicolon.
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1 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 468 (42

2 U.S.C. 668) is amended by striking ‘‘a simple civil process

3 for voluntarily acknowledging paternity and’’.

4 SEC. 41502. OUTREACH FOR VOLUNTARY PATERNITY ES5 TABLISHMENT.

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

7 (42 U.S.C. 654(23)) is amended by adding at the end the

8 following new subparagraph:

9 ‘‘(C) publicize the availability and encour10 age the use of procedures for voluntary estab11 lishment of paternity and child support through

12 a variety of means, which—

13 ‘‘(i) include distribution of written

14 materials at health care facilities (includ15 ing hospitals and clinics), and other loca16 tions such as schools;

17 ‘‘(ii) may include pre-natal programs

18 to educate expectant couples on individual

19 and joint rights and responsibilities with

20 respect to paternity (and may require all

21 expectant recipients of assistance under

22 part A to participate in such pre-natal pro23 grams, as an element of cooperation with

24 efforts to establish paternity and child sup25 port);
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1 ‘‘(iii) include, with respect to each

2 child discharged from a hospital after birth

3 for whom paternity or child support has

4 not been established, reasonable follow-up

5 efforts (including at least one contact of

6 each parent whose whereabouts are known,

7 except where there is reason to believe

8 such follow-up efforts would put mother or

9 child at risk), providing—

10 ‘‘(I) in the case of a child for

11 whom paternity has not been estab12 lished, information on the benefits of

13 and procedures for establishing pater14 nity; and

15 ‘‘(II) in the case of a child for

16 whom paternity has been established

17 but child support has not been estab18 lished, information on the benefits of

19 and procedures for establishing a

20 child support order, and an applica21 tion for child support services;’’.

22 (b) ENHANCED FEDERAL MATCHING.—Section

23 455(a)(1)(C) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)(C)) is amended—

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘laboratory costs’’,

25 and
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1 (2) by inserting before the semicolon ‘‘, and (ii)

2 costs of outreach programs designed to encourage

3 voluntary acknowledgment of paternity’’.

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—(1) The amendments made

5 by subsection (a) shall become effective October 1, 1997.

6 (2) The amendments made by subsection (b) shall be

7 effective with respect to calendar quarters beginning on

8 and after October 1, 1996.

9 CHAPTER 6—ESTABLISHMENT AND

10 MODIFICATION OF SUPPORT ORDERS

11 SEC. 41601. NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES COM12 MISSION.

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

14 commission to be known as the ‘‘National Child Support

15 Guidelines Commission’’ (in this section referred to as the

16 ‘‘Commission’’).

17 (b) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Commission shall de18 velop a national child support guideline for consideration

19 by the Congress that is based on a study of various guide20 line models, the benefits and deficiencies of such models,

21 and any needed improvements.

22 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

23 (1) NUMBER; APPOINTMENT.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

25 be composed of 12 individuals appointed jointly
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1 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services

2 and the Congress, not later than January 15,

3 1997, 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.
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1 (2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member shall be

2 appointed for a term of 2 years. A vacancy in the

3 Commission shall be filled in the manner in which

4 the original appointment was made.

5 (d) 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.

15 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the ap16 pointment of members, the Commission shall submit to

17 the President, the Committee on Ways and Means of the

18 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Finance

19 of the Senate, a recommended national child support

20 guideline and a final assessment of issues relating to such

21 a proposed national child support guideline.

22 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

23 6 months after the submission of the report described in

24 subsection (e).
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1 SEC. 41602. SIMPLIFIED PROCESS FOR REVIEW AND AD2 JUSTMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 466(a)(10) (42 U.S.C.

4 666(a)(10)) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(10) PROCEDURES FOR MODIFICATION OF

6 SUPPORT ORDERS.—

7 ‘‘(A)(i) Procedures under which—

8 ‘‘(I) every 3 years, at the request of

9 either parent subject to a child support

10 order, the State shall review and, as appro11 priate, adjust the order in accordance with

12 the guidelines established under section

13 467(a) if the amount of the child support

14 award under the order differs from the

15 amount that would be awarded in accord16 ance with such guidelines, without a re17 quirement for any other change in cir18 cumstances; and

19 ‘‘(II) upon request at any time of ei20 ther parent subject to a child support

21 order, the State shall review and, as appro22 priate, adjust the order in accordance with

23 the guidelines established under section

24 467(a) based on a substantial change in

25 the circumstances of either such parent.
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1 ‘‘(ii) Such procedures shall require both

2 parents subject to a child support order to be

3 notified of their rights and responsibilities pro4 vided for under clause (i) at the time the order

5 is issued and in the annual information ex6 change form provided under subparagraph (B).

7 ‘‘(B) Procedures under which each child

8 support order issued or modified in the State

9 after the effective date of this subparagraph

10 shall require the parents subject to the order to

11 provide each other with a complete statement of

12 their respective financial condition annually on

13 a form which shall be established by the Sec14 retary and provided by the State. The Secretary

15 shall establish regulations for the enforcement

16 of such exchange of information.’’.

17 CHAPTER 7—ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT

18 ORDERS

19 SEC. 41701. FEDERAL INCOME TAX REFUND OFFSET.

20 (a) CHANGED ORDER OF REFUND DISTRIBUTION

21 UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—Section 6402(c) of

22 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The amount’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount’’;
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘paid to the State. A reduction’’

2 and inserting ‘‘paid to the State.

3 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES FOR OFFSET.—A reduction’’;

4 (3) by striking ‘‘has been assigned’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘has not been assigned’’; and

6 (4) by striking ‘‘and shall be applied’’ and all

7 that follows and inserting ‘‘and shall thereafter be

8 applied to satisfy any past-due support that has

9 been so assigned.’’.

10 (b) ELIMINATION OF DISPARITIES IN TREATMENT

11 OF ASSIGNED AND NON-ASSIGNED ARREARAGES.—(1)

12 Section 464(a) (42 U.S.C. 664(a)) is amended—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) OFF14 SET AUTHORIZED.—’’;

15 (B) in paragraph (1)—

16 (i) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘which

17 has been assigned to such State pursuant to

18 section 402(a)(26) or section 471(a)(17)’’; and

19 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘in

20 accordance with section 457 (b)(4) or (d)(3)’’

21 and inserting ‘‘as provided in paragraph (2)’’;

22 (C) in paragraph (2), to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(2) The State agency shall distribute amounts

24 paid by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to

25 paragraph (1)—
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1 ‘‘(A) in accordance with section 457 (a)(4)

2 or (d)(3), in the case of past-due support as3 signed to a State pursuant to section

4 402(a)(26) or section 471(a)(17); and

5 ‘‘(B) to or on behalf of the child to whom

6 the support was owed, in the case of past-due

7 support not so assigned.’’;

8 (D) in paragraph (3)—

9 (i) by striking ‘‘or (2)’’ each place it ap10 pears; and

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking

12 ‘‘under paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘on ac13 count of past-due support described in para14 graph (2)(B)’’.

15 (2) Section 464(b) (42 U.S.C. 664(b)) is

16 amended—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘(b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b)

18 REGULATIONS.—’’; and

19 (B) by striking paragraph (2).

20 (3) Section 464(c) (42 U.S.C. 664(c)) is

21 amended—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided

23 in paragraph (2), as’’ and inserting ‘‘(c) DEFI24 NITION.—As’’; and

25 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).
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1 (c) TREATMENT OF LUMP-SUM TAX REFUND

2 UNDER AFDC.—

3 (1) EXEMPTION FROM LUMP-SUM RULE.—Sec4 tion 402(a)(17) (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(17)) is amended

5 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘but this para6 graph shall not apply to income received by a family

7 that is attributable to a child support obligation

8 owed with respect to a member of the family and

9 that is paid to the family from amounts withheld

10 from a Federal income tax refund otherwise payable

11 to the person owing such obligation, to the extent

12 that such income is placed in a qualified asset ac13 count (as defined in section 406(j)) the total

14 amounts in which, after such placement, does not

15 exceed $10,000;’’.

16 (2) QUALIFIED ASSET ACCOUNT DEFINED.—

17 Section 406 (42 U.S.C. 606), as amended by section

18 41102(g)(2) of this subtitle, is amended by adding

19 at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(j)(1) The term ‘qualified asset account’ means a

21 mechanism approved by the State (such as individual re22 tirement accounts, escrow accounts, or savings bonds) that

23 allows savings of a family receiving aid to families with

24 dependent children to be used for qualified distributions.
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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘qualified distribution’ means a dis2 tribution from a qualified asset account for expenses di3 rectly related to 1 or more of the following purposes:

4 ‘‘(A) The attendance of a member of the family

5 at any education or training program.

6 ‘‘(B) The improvement of the employability (in7 cluding self-employment) of a member of the family

8 (such as through the purchase of an automobile).

9 ‘‘(C) The purchase of a home for the family.

10 ‘‘(D) A change of the family residence.’’.

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

12 this section shall become effective October 1, 1999.

13 SEC. 41702. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE COLLECTION OF

14 ARREARS.

15 (a) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—

16 Section 6305(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is

17 amended—

18 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘except as

19 provided in paragraph (5)’’ after ‘‘collected’’;

20 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

21 (3);

22 (3) by striking the period at the end of para23 graph (4) and inserting a comma;

24 (4) by adding after paragraph (4) the following

25 new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(5) no additional fee may be assessed for ad2 justments to an amount previously certified pursu3 ant to such section 452(b) with respect to the same

4 obligor.’’; and

5 (5) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health, Edu6 cation, and Welfare’’ each place it appears and in7 serting ‘‘Secretary of Health and Human Services’’.

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

9 this section shall become effective October 1, 1997.

10 SEC. 41703. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT SUPPORT FROM FED11 ERAL EMPLOYEES.

12 (a) CONSOLIDATION AND STREAMLINING OF AU13 THORITIES.—

14 (1) Section 459 (42 U.S.C. 659) is amended in

15 the caption by inserting ‘‘INCOME WITHHOLDING,’’

16 before ‘‘GARNISHMENT’’.

17 (2) Section 459(a) (42 U.S.C. 659(a)) is

18 amended—

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

20 CONSENT TO SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.—

21 (B) by striking ‘‘section 207’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘section 207 of this Act and 38 U.S.C.

23 5301’’; and

24 (C) by striking all that follows ‘‘a private

25 person,’’ and inserting ‘‘to withholding in ac-
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1 cordance with State law pursuant to subsections

2 (a)(1) and (b) of section 466 and regulations of

3 the Secretary thereunder, and to any other legal

4 process brought, by a State agency administer5 ing a program under this part or by an individ6 ual obligee, to enforce the legal obligation of

7 such individual to provide child support or ali8 mony.’’.

9 (3) Section 459(b) (42 U.S.C. 659(b)) is

10 amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(b) CONSENT TO REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO

12 PRIVATE PERSON.— Except as otherwise provided herein,

13 each entity specified in subsection (a) shall be subject,

14 with respect to notice to withhold income pursuant to sub15 section (a)(1) or (b) of section 466, or to any other order

16 or process to enforce support obligations against an indi17 vidual (if such order or process contains or is accompanied

18 by sufficient data to permit prompt identification of the

19 individual and the moneys involved), to the same require20 ments as would apply if such entity were a private per21 son.’’.

22 (4) Section 459(c) (42 U.S.C. 659(c)) is redes23 ignated and relocated as paragraph (2) of subsection

24 (f), and is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘responding to interrog2 atories pursuant to requirements imposed by

3 section 461(b)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘taking ac4 tions necessary to comply with the requirements

5 of subsection (A) with regard to any individ6 ual’’; and

7 (B) by striking ‘‘any of his duties’’ and all

8 that follows and inserting ‘‘such duties.’’.

9 (5) Section 461 (42 U.S.C. 661) is amended by

10 striking subsection (b), and section 459 (42 U.S.C.

11 659) is amended by inserting after subsection (b)

12 (as added by paragraph (3) of this subsection) the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF AGENT; RESPONSE TO NOTICE

15 OR PROCESS.—(1) The head of each agency subject to the

16 requirements of this section shall—

17 ‘‘(A) designate an agent or agents to receive or18 ders and accept service of process; and

19 ‘‘(B) publish (i) in the appendix of such regula20 tions, (ii) in each subsequent republication of such

21 regulations, and (iii) annually in the Federal Reg22 ister, the designation of such agent or agents, identi23 fied by title of position, mailing address, and tele24 phone number.’’.
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1 (6) Section 459 (42 U.S.C. 659) is amended by

2 striking subsection (d) and by inserting after sub3 section (c)(1) (as added by paragraph (5) of this

4 subsection) the following:

5 ‘‘(2) Whenever an agent designated pursuant to para6 graph (1) receives notice pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or

7 (b) of section 466, or is effectively served with any order,

8 process, or interrogatories, with respect to an individual’s

9 child support or alimony payment obligations, such agent

10 shall—

11 ‘‘(A) as soon as possible (but not later than fif12 teen days) thereafter, send written notice of such no13 tice or service (together with a copy thereof) to such

14 individual at his duty station or last-known home

15 address;

16 ‘‘(B) within 30 days (or such longer period as

17 may be prescribed by applicable State law) after re18 ceipt of a notice pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or (b)

19 of section 466, comply with all applicable provisions

20 of such section 466; and

21 ‘‘(C) within 30 days (or such longer period as

22 may be prescribed by applicable State law) after ef23 fective service of any other such order, process, or

24 interrogatories, respond thereto.’’.
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1 (7) Section 461 (42 U.S.C. 661) is amended by

2 striking subsection (c), and section 459 (42 U.S.C.

3 659) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) (as

4 added by paragraph (5) and amended by paragraph

5 (6) of this subsection) the following:

6 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY OF CLAIMS.—In the event that a gov7 ernmental entity receives notice or is served with process,

8 as provided in this section, concerning amounts owed by

9 an individual to more than one person—

10 ‘‘(1) support collection under section 466(b)

11 must be given priority over any other process, as

12 provided in section 466(b)(7);

13 ‘‘(2) allocation of moneys due or payable to an

14 individual among claimants under section 466(b)

15 shall be governed by the provisions of such section

16 466(b) and regulations thereunder; and

17 ‘‘(3) such moneys as remain after compliance

18 with subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be available to

19 satisfy any other such processes on a first-come,

20 first-served basis, with any such process being satis21 fied out of such moneys as remain after the satisfac22 tion of all such processes which have been previously

23 served.’’.
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1 (8) Section 459(e) (42 U.S.C. 659(e)) is

2 amended by striking ‘‘(e)’’ and inserting the follow3 ing:

4 ‘‘(e) NO REQUIREMENT TO VARY PAY CYCLES.—’’.

5 (9) Section 459(f) (42 U.S.C. 659(f)) is amend6 ed by striking ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting the following:

7 ‘‘(f) RELIEF FROM LIABILITY.—(1)’’.

8 (10) Section 461(a) (42 U.S.C. 661(a)) is re9 designated and relocated as section 459(g), and is

10 amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(g)’’ and inserting the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘section 459’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘this section’’.

16 (11) Section 462 (42 U.S.C. 662) is amended

17 by striking subsection (f), and section 459 (42

18 U.S.C. 659) is amended by inserting the following

19 after subsection (g) (as added by paragraph (10) of

20 this subsection):

21 ‘‘(h) MONEYS SUBJECT TO PROCESS.—(1) Subject to

22 subsection (i), moneys paid or payable to an individual

23 which are considered to be based upon remuneration for

24 employment, for purposes of this section—

25 ‘‘(A) consist of—
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1 ‘‘(i) compensation paid or payable for per2 sonal services of such individual, whether such

3 compensation is denominated as wages, salary,

4 commission, bonus, pay, allowances, or other5 wise (including severance pay, sick pay, and in6 centive pay);

7 ‘‘(ii) periodic benefits (including a periodic

8 benefit as defined in section 228(h)(3)) or other

9 payments—

10 ‘‘(I) under the insurance system es11 tablished by title II;

12 ‘‘(II) under any other system or fund

13 established by the United States which

14 provides for the payment of pensions, re15 tirement or retired pay, annuities, depend16 ents’ or survivors’ benefits, or similar

17 amounts payable on account of personal

18 services performed by the individual or any

19 other individual;

20 ‘‘(III) as compensation for death

21 under any Federal program;

22 ‘‘(IV) under any Federal program es23 tablished to provide ‘black lung’ benefits;

24 or
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1 ‘‘(V) by the Secretary of Veterans Af2 fairs as pension, or as compensation for a

3 service-connected disability or death (ex4 cept any compensation paid by such Sec5 retary to a former member of the Armed

6 Forces who is in receipt of retired or re7 tainer pay if such former member has

8 waived a portion of his retired pay in order

9 to receive such compensation); and

10 ‘‘(iii) worker’s compensation benefits paid

11 under Federal or State law; but

12 ‘‘(B) do not include any payment—

13 ‘‘(i) by way of reimbursement or otherwise,

14 to defray expenses incurred by such individual

15 in carrying out duties associated with his em16 ployment; or

17 ‘‘(ii) as allowances for members of the uni18 formed services payable pursuant to chapter 7

19 of title 37, United States Code, as prescribed

20 by the Secretaries concerned (defined by section

21 101(5) of such title) as necessary for the effi22 cient performance of duty.’’.

23 (12) Section 462(g) (42 U.S.C. 662(g)) is re24 designated and relocated as section 459(i) (42

25 U.S.C. 659(i)).
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1 (13)(A) Section 462 (42 U.S.C. 662) is amend2 ed—

3 (i) in subsection (e)(1), by redesignating

4 subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as clauses (i),

5 (ii), and (iii); and

6 (ii) in subsection (e), by redesignating

7 paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A)

8 and (B).

9 (B) Section 459 (42 U.S.C. 659) is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

12 ’’.

13 (C) Subsections (a) through (e) of section 462

14 (42 U.S.C. 662), as amended by subparagraph (A)

15 of this paragraph, are relocated and redesignated as

16 paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively of section

17 459(j) (as added by subparagraph (B) of this para18 graph, (42 U.S.C. 659(j)), and the left margin of

19 each of such paragraphs (1) through (4) is indented

20 2 ems to the right of the left margin of subsection

21 (i) (as added by paragraph (12) of this subsection).

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

23 (1) TO PART D OF TITLE IV.—Sections 461 and

24 462 (42 U.S.C. 661), as amended by subsection (a)

25 of this section, are repealed.
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1 (2) TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—Sec2 tion 5520a of title 5, United States Code, is amend3 ed, in subsections (h)(2) and (i), by striking ‘‘sec4 tions 459, 461, and 462 of the Social Security Act

5 (42 U.S.C. 659, 661, and 662)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec6 tion 459 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

7 659)’’.

8 (c) MILITARY RETIRED AND RETAINER PAY.—(1)

9 DEFINITION OF COURT.—Section 1408(a)(1) of title 10,

10 United States Code, is amended—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara12 graph (B);

13 (B) by striking the period at the end of sub14 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

15 (C) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol16 lowing new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(D) any administrative or judicial tribu18 nal of a State competent to enter orders for

19 support or maintenance (including a State

20 agency administering a State program under

21 part D of title IV of the Social Security Act).’’;

22 (2) DEFINITION OF COURT ORDER.—Section

23 1408(a)(2) of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘or a

24 court order for the payment of child support not included
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1 in or accompanied by such a decree or settlement,’’ before

2 ‘‘which—’’.

3 (3) PUBLIC PAYEE.—Section 1408(d) of such title is

4 amended—

5 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘to spouse’’ and

6 inserting ‘‘to (or for benefit of)’’; and

7 (B) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by

8 inserting ‘‘(or for the benefit of such spouse or

9 former spouse to a State central collections unit or

10 other public payee designated by a State, in accord11 ance with part D of title IV of the Social Security

12 Act, as directed by court order, or as otherwise di13 rected in accordance with such part D)’’ before ‘‘in

14 an amount sufficient’’.

15 (4) RELATIONSHIP TO PART D OF TITLE IV.—Sec16 tion 1408 of such title is amended by adding at the end

17 the following new subsection:

18 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—In any case

19 involving a child support order against a member who has

20 never been married to the other parent of the child, the

21 provisions of this section shall not apply, and the case

22 shall be subject to the provisions of section 459 of the

23 Social Security Act.’’.
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1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall become effective 6 months after the date

3 of the enactment of this subtitle.

4 SEC. 41704. ENFORCEMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGA5 TIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

6 (a) AVAILABILITY OF LOCATOR INFORMATION.—

7 (1) MAINTENANCE OF ADDRESS INFORMA8 TION.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish a

9 centralized personnel locator service that includes

10 the address of each member of the Armed Forces

11 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Upon re12 quest of the Secretary of Transportation, addresses

13 for members of the Coast Guard shall be included in

14 the centralized personnel locator service.

15 (2) TYPE OF ADDRESS.—

16 (A) RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.—Except as

17 provided in subparagraph (B), the address for

18 a member of the Armed Forces shown in the lo19 cator service shall be the residential address of

20 that member.

21 (B) DUTY ADDRESS.—The address for a

22 member of the Armed Forces shown in the loca23 tor service shall be the duty address of that

24 member in the case of a member—
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1 (i) who is permanently assigned over2 seas, to a vessel, or to a routinely

3 deployable unit; or

4 (ii) with respect to whom the Sec5 retary concerned makes a determination

6 that the member’s residential address

7 should not be disclosed due to national se8 curity or safety concerns.

9 (3) UPDATING OF LOCATOR INFORMATION.—

10 Within 30 days after a member listed in the locator

11 service establishes a new residential address (or a

12 new duty address, in the case of a member covered

13 by paragraph (2)(B)), the Secretary concerned shall

14 update the locator service to indicate the new ad15 dress of the member.

16 (4) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The Sec17 retary of Defense shall make information regarding

18 the address of a member of the Armed Forces listed

19 in the locator service available, on request, to the

20 Federal Parent Locator Service.

21 (b) FACILITATING GRANTING OF LEAVE FOR AT22 TENDANCE AT HEARINGS.—

23 (1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of each

24 military department, and the Secretary of Transpor25 tation with respect to the Coast Guard when it is
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1 not operating as a service in the Navy, shall pre2 scribe regulations to facilitate the granting of leave

3 to a member of the Armed Forces under the juris4 diction of that Secretary in a case in which—

5 (A) the leave is needed for the member to

6 attend a hearing described in paragraph (2);

7 (B) the member is not serving in or with

8 a unit deployed in a contingency operation (as

9 defined in section 101 of title 10, United States

10 Code); and

11 (C) the exigencies of military service (as

12 determined by the Secretary concerned) do not

13 otherwise require that such leave not be grant14 ed.

15 (2) COVERED HEARINGS.—Paragraph (1) ap16 plies to a hearing that is conducted by a court or

17 pursuant to an administrative process established

18 under State law, in connection with a civil action—

19 (A) to determine whether a member of the

20 Armed Forces is a natural parent of a child; or

21 (B) to determine an obligation of a mem22 ber of the Armed Forces to provide child sup23 port.

24 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub25 section:
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1 (A) The term ‘‘court’’ has the meaning

2 given that term in section 1408(a) of title 10,

3 United States Code.

4 (B) The term ‘‘child support’’ has the

5 meaning given such term in section 462 of the

6 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 662).

7 (c) PAYMENT OF MILITARY RETIRED PAY IN COM8 PLIANCE WITH CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—

9 (1) DATE OF CERTIFICATION OF COURT

10 ORDER.—Section 1408 of title 10, United States

11 Code, is amended—

12 (A) by redesignating subsection (i) as sub13 section (j); and

14 (B) by inserting after subsection (h) the

15 following new subsection (i):

16 ‘‘(i) CERTIFICATION DATE.—It is not necessary that

17 the date of a certification of the authenticity or complete18 ness of a copy of a court order or an order of an adminis19 trative process established under State law for child sup20 port received by the Secretary concerned for the purposes

21 of this section be recent in relation to the date of receipt

22 by the Secretary.’’.

23 (2) PAYMENTS CONSISTENT WITH ASSIGN24 MENTS OF RIGHTS TO STATES.—Section 1408(d)(1)

25 of such title is amended by inserting after the first
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1 sentence the following: ‘‘In the case of a spouse or

2 former spouse who, pursuant to section 402(a)(26)

3 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 602(26)), as4 signs to a State the rights of the spouse or former

5 spouse to receive support, the Secretary concerned

6 may make the child support payments referred to in

7 the preceding sentence to that State in amounts con8 sistent with that assignment of rights.’’.

9 (3) ARREARAGES OWED BY MEMBERS OF THE

10 UNIFORMED SERVICES.—Section 1408(d) of such

11 title is amended by adding at the end the following

12 new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(6) In the case of a court order or an order of an

14 administrative process established under State law for

15 which effective service is made on the Secretary concerned

16 on or after the date of the enactment of this paragraph

17 and which provides for payments from the disposable re18 tired pay of a member to satisy the amount of child sup19 port set forth in the order, the authority provided in para20 graph (1) to make payments from the disposable retired

21 pay of a member to satisy the amount of child support

22 set forth in a court order or an order of an administrative

23 process established under State law shall apply to payment

24 of any amount of child support arrearages set forth in that
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1 order as well as to amounts of child support that currently

2 become due.’’.

3 SEC. 41705. MOTOR VEHICLE LIENS.

4 Section 466(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(4)) is amend5 ed—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘(4) Procedures’’ and inserting

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(4) LIENS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Procedures’’; and

10 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub11 paragraph:

12 ‘‘(B) MOTOR VEHICLE LIENS.—Procedures

13 for placing liens for arrears of child support on

14 motor vehicle titles of individuals owing such

15 arrears equal to or exceeding two months of

16 support, under which—

17 ‘‘(i) any person owed such arrears

18 may place such a lien;

19 ‘‘(ii) the State agency administering

20 the program under this part shall system21 atically place such liens;

22 ‘‘(iii) expedited methods are provided

23 for—

24 ‘‘(I) ascertaining the amount of

25 arrears;
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1 ‘‘(II) affording the person owing

2 the arrears or other titleholder to con3 test the amount of arrears or to ob4 tain a release upon fulfilling the sup5 port obligation;

6 ‘‘(iv) such a lien has precedence over

7 all other encumbrances on a vehicle title

8 other than a purchase money security in9 terest; and

10 ‘‘(v) the individual or State agency

11 owed the arrears may execute on, seize,

12 and sell the property in accordance with

13 State law.’’.

14 SEC. 41706. VOIDING OF FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS.

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

16 sections 41101(a), 41306(a), and 41401 of this subtitle,

17 is amended by adding at the end the following new para18 graph:

19 ‘‘(15) FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS.—Procedures

20 under which—

21 ‘‘(A) the State has in effect—

22 ‘‘(i) the Uniform Fraudulent Convey23 ance Act of 1981,

24 ‘‘(ii) the Uniform Fraudulent Trans25 fer Act of 1984, or
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1 ‘‘(iii) another law, specifying indicia of

2 fraud which create a prima facie case that

3 a debtor transferred income or property to

4 avoid payment to a child support creditor,

5 which the Secretary finds affords com6 parable rights to child support creditors;

7 and

8 ‘‘(B) in any case in which the State knows

9 of a transfer by a child support debtor with re10 spect to which such a prima facie case is estab11 lished, the State must—

12 ‘‘(i) seek to void such transfer; or

13 ‘‘(ii) obtain a settlement in the best

14 interests of the child support creditor.’’.

15 SEC. 41707. STATE LAW AUTHORIZING SUSPENSION OF LI16 CENSES.

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

18 sections 41101(a), 41306(a), 41401, and 41706 of this

19 subtitle, is amended by adding at the end the following

20 new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(16) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD OR SUSPEND

22 LICENSES.—Procedures under which the State has

23 (and uses in appropriate cases) authority (subject to

24 appropriate due process safeguards) to withhold or

25 suspend, or to restrict the use of driver’s licenses,
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1 professional and occupational licenses, and rec2 reational licenses of individuals owing overdue child

3 support or failing, after receiving appropriate notice,

4 to comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to

5 paternity or child support proceedings.’’.

6 SEC. 41708. REPORTING ARREARAGES TO CREDIT BU7 REAUS.

8 Section 466(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(7)) is amended

9 to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(7) REPORTING ARREARAGES TO CREDIT BU11 REAUS.—(A) Procedures (subject to safeguards pur12 suant to subparagraph (B)) requiring the State to

13 report periodically to consumer reporting agencies

14 (as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Re15 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) the name of any

16 absent parent who is delinquent by 90 days or more

17 in the payment of support, and the amount of over18 due support owed by such parent.

19 ‘‘(B) Procedures ensuring that, in carrying out

20 subparagraph (A), information with respect to an

21 absent parent is reported—

22 ‘‘(i) only after such parent has been af23 forded all due process required under State law,

24 including notice and a reasonable opportunity
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1 to contest the accuracy of such information;

2 and

3 ‘‘(ii) only to an entity that has furnished

4 evidence satisfactory to the State that the en5 tity is a consumer reporting agency.’’.

6 SEC. 41709. EXTENDED STATUTE OF LIMITATION FOR COL7 LECTION OF ARREARAGES.

8 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 466(a)(9) (42 U.S.C.

9 666(a)(9)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘(9) Procedures’’ and inserting

11 the following:

12 ‘‘(9) LEGAL TREATMENT OF ARREARS.—

13 ‘‘(A) FINALITY.—Procedures’’;

14 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

15 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively,

16 and by indenting each of such clauses 2 additional

17 ems to the right; and

18 (3) by adding after and below subparagraph

19 (A), as redesignated, the following new subpara20 graph:

21 ‘‘(B) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Proce22 dures under which the statute of limitations on

23 any arrearages of child support extends at least

24 until the child owed such support is 30 years of

25 age.’’.
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1 (b) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENT.—The amend2 ment made by this section shall not be read to require

3 any State law to revive any payment obligation which had

4 lapsed prior to the effective date of such State law.

5 SEC. 41710. CHARGES FOR ARREARAGES.

6 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENT.—Section 466(a) (42

7 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by sections 41101(a),

8 41306(a), 41401, 41706, and 41707 of this subtitle, is

9 amended by adding at the end the following new para10 graph:

11 ‘‘(17) CHARGES FOR ARREARAGES.—Proce12 dures providing for the calculation and collection of

13 interest or penalties for arrearages of child support,

14 and for distribution of such interest or penalties col15 lected for the benefit of the child (except where the

16 right to support has been assigned to the State).’’.

17 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and

18 Human Services shall establish by regulation a rule to re19 solve choice of law conflicts arising in the implementation

20 of the amendment made by subsection (a).

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 454(21)

22 (42 U.S.C. 654(21)) is repealed.

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

24 this section shall be effective with respect to arrearages

25 accruing on or after October 1, 1998.
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1 SEC. 41711. DENIAL OF PASSPORTS FOR NONPAYMENT OF

2 CHILD SUPPORT.

3 (a) HHS CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.—

4 (1) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Section

5 452 (42 U.S.C. 652), as amended by sections

6 41205(a)(3) and 41207 of this subtitle, is amended

7 by adding at the end the following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(l) CERTIFICATIONS FOR PURPOSES OF PASSPORT

9 RESTRICTIONS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Where the Secretary re11 ceives a certification by a State agency in accord12 ance with the requirements of section 454(28) that

13 an individual owes arrearages of child support in an

14 amount exceeding $5,000 or in an amount exceeding

15 24 months’ worth of child support, the Secretary

16 shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of

17 State for action (with respect to denial, revocation,

18 or limitation of passports) pursuant to section

19 41711(b) of the Economic Equity Act of 1996.

20 ‘‘(2) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall

21 not be liable to an individual for any action with re22 spect to a certification by a State agency under this

23 section.’’.

24 (2) STATE CSE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY.—Sec25 tion 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections
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1 41104(a), 41204(b), and 41302(a) of this subtitle, is

2 amended—

3 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para4 graph (26);

5 (B) by striking the period at the end of

6 paragraph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

7 (C) by adding after paragraph (27) the fol8 lowing new paragraph:

9 ‘‘(28) provide that the State agency will have in

10 effect a procedure (which may be combined with the

11 procedure for tax refund offset under section 464)

12 for certifying to the Secretary, for purposes of the

13 procedure under section 452(l) (concerning denial of

14 passports) determinations that individuals owe ar15 rearages of child support in an amount exceeding

16 $5,000 or in an amount exceeding 24 months’ worth

17 of child support, under which procedure—

18 ‘‘(A) each individual concerned is afforded

19 notice of such determination and the con20 sequences thereof, and an opportunity to con21 test the determination; and

22 ‘‘(B) the certification by the State agency

23 is furnished to the Secretary in such format,

24 and accompanied by such supporting docu25 mentation, as the Secretary may require.’’.
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1 (b) STATE DEPARTMENT PROCEDURE FOR DENIAL

2 OF PASSPORTS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State,

4 upon certification by the Secretary of Health and

5 Human Services, in accordance with section 452(l)

6 of the Social Security Act, that an individual owes

7 arrearages of child support in excess of $5,000, shall

8 refuse to issue a passport to such individual, and

9 may revoke, restrict, or limit a passport issued pre10 viously to such individual.

11 (2) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary of

12 State shall not be liable to an individual for any ac13 tion with respect to a certification by a State agency

14 under this section.

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend16 ments made by this section shall become effective October

17 1, 1996.

18 SEC. 41712. INTERNATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCE19 MENT.

20 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS THAT THE UNITED

21 STATES SHOULD RATIFY THE UNITED NATIONS CON22 VENTION OF 1956.—It is the sense of the Congress that

23 the United States should ratify the United Nations Con24 vention of 1956.
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1 (b) TREATMENT OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD SUP2 PORT CASES AS INTERSTATE CASES.—Section 454 (42

3 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 41104(a), 41204(b),

4 41302(a), and 41711(a)(2) of this subtitle, is amended—

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

6 (27);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (28) the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(29) provide that the State must treat inter12 national child support cases in the same manner as

13 the State treats interstate child support cases.’’.

14 CHAPTER 8—MEDICAL SUPPORT

15 SEC. 41801. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO ERISA DEFINI16 TION OF MEDICAL CHILD SUPPORT ORDER.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609(a)(2)(B) of the Em18 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

19 U.S.C. 1169(a)(2)(B)) is amended—

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

21 jurisdiction’’;

22 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

23 (ii) and inserting a comma; and

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

25 following:
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1 ‘‘if such judgment, decree, or order (I) is issued

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

3 issued by an administrative adjudicator and has

4 the force and effect of law under applicable

5 State law.’’.

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

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

8 this section shall take effect on the date of the en9 actment of this subtitle.

10 (2) PLAN AMENDMENTS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL

11 JANUARY 1, 1996.—Any amendment to a plan re12 quired to be made by an amendment made by this

13 section shall not be required to be made before the

14 first plan year beginning on or after January 1,

15 1996, if—

16 (A) during the period after the date before

17 the date of the enactment of this subtitle and

18 before such first plan year, the plan is operated

19 in accordance with the requirements of the

20 amendments made by this section, and

21 (B) such plan amendment applies retro22 actively to the period after the date before the

23 date of the enactment of this subtitle and be24 fore such first plan year.
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1 A plan shall not be treated as failing to be operated

2 in accordance with the provisions of the plan merely

3 because it operates in accordance with this para4 graph.

5 CHAPTER 9—EFFECT OF ENACTMENT

6 SEC. 41901. EFFECTIVE DATES.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifically

8 provided (but subject to subsections (b) and (c))—

9 (1) provisions of this title requiring enactment

10 or amendment of State laws under section 466 of

11 the Social Security Act, or revision of State plans

12 under section 454 of such Act, shall be effective with

13 respect to periods beginning on and after October 1,

14 1996; and

15 (2) all other provisions of this title shall become

16 effective upon enactment.

17 (b) GRACE PERIOD FOR STATE LAW CHANGES.—The

18 provisions of this title shall become effective with respect

19 to a State on the later of—

20 (1) the date specified in this title, or

21 (2) the effective date of laws enacted by the leg22 islature of such State implementing such provisions,

23 but in no event later than the first day of the first cal24 endar quarter beginning after the close of the first regular

25 session of the State legislature that begins after the date
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1 of enactment of this subtitle. For purposes of the previous

2 sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legisla3 tive session, each year of such session shall be deemed to

4 be a separate regular session of the State legislature.

5 (c) GRACE PERIOD FOR STATE CONSTITUTIONAL

6 AMENDMENT.—A State shall not be found out of compli7 ance with any requirement enacted by this title if it is

8 unable to comply without amending the State constitution

9 until the earlier of—

10 (1) the date one year after the effective date of

11 the necessary State constitutional amendment, or

12 (2) the date five years after enactment of this

13 title.

14 SEC. 41902. SEVERABILITY.

15 If any provision of this title 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 title which can be given effect without regard to the invalid

19 provision or application, and to this end the provisions of

20 this title shall be severable.

21 Subtitle B—Interstate Child

22 Support

23 SEC. 42001. REFERENCE.

24 Except as otherwise specifically provided, wherever in

25 this subtitle an amendment is expressed in terms of an
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1 amendment to or repeal of a section or other provision,

2 the reference shall be considered to be made to that sec3 tion or other provision of the Social Security Act.

4 SEC. 42002. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PURPOSES.

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

6 (1) there is a large and growing number of

7 child support and parentage cases annually involving

8 disputes between parents or presumed parents who

9 reside in different States;

10 (2) the laws by which the courts of the various

11 States determine their authority to establish, en12 force, or modify a child support order, or to deter13 mine parentage are not uniform;

14 (3) those laws, along with the limits imposed by

15 a Federal system, on the authority of each State to

16 take certain actions outside its own boundaries, con17 tribute to—

18 (A) the pressing problem of parties moving

19 to avoid jurisdiction;

20 (B) inequities based solely on choice of

21 domicile;

22 (C) disregard of court orders resulting in

23 massive arrearages nationwide;

24 (D) excessive relitigation of cases;
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1 (E) the establishment of conflicting orders

2 by the courts of various States; and

3 (F) interjurisdiction travel and commu4 nication that is so expensive and time consum5 ing as to disrupt parties’ occupations and com6 mercial activities; and

7 (4) among the results of these conditions are—

8 (A) the failure of the courts of such juris9 dictions to give full faith and credit to the judi10 cial proceedings of the other States;

11 (B) the deprivation of rights of liberty and

12 property without due process of law;

13 (C) burdens on commerce among the

14 States; and

15 (D) harm to the welfare of children and

16 their parents and other custodians.

17 (b) DECLARATION.—Based on the findings stated in

18 subsection (a), it is necessary to establish national stand19 ards under which the courts of each State will determine

20 their jurisdiction to establish, enforce, or modify a child

21 support order, or to determine parentage and the effect

22 to be given by each State to such determinations by the

23 courts of other States.

24 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subtitle are

25 to—
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1 (1) expand the forums available to establish,

2 enforce, or modify a child support order, or to deter3 mine parentage so that such actions may be heard

4 in the State that has the strongest interest in the

5 child’s financial security;

6 (2) promote and expand the exchange of infor7 mation and other forms of mutual assistance be8 tween States that are concerned with the same child;

9 (3) facilitate the enforcement of support decrees

10 among the States;

11 (4) discourage continuing interstate controver12 sies over child support in the interest of greater fi13 nancial stability and secure family relationships for

14 the child; and

15 (5) avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict

16 between courts in matters relating to the establish17 ment, enforcement, and modification of child support

18 orders, and to the determination of parentage, which

19 have resulted in the movement of parties among

20 States and a low percentage of interstate cases with

21 support orders, thereby adversely affecting children’s

22 well-being.

23 (d) STATE.—For purposes of this section, the term

24 ‘‘State’’ means the several States, the District of Colum25 bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories and
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1 possessions of the United States, and Indian country (as

2 defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code).

3 CHAPTER 1—LOCATE AND CASE

4 TRACKING

5 SEC. 42101. EXPANSION OF FUNCTIONS OF FEDERAL PAR6 ENT LOCATOR SERVICE.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is

8 amended—

9 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘enforcing

10 support obligations against such parent’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘establishing parentage, establishing, modifying,

12 and enforcing child support obligations, and enforc13 ing child visitation rights and responsibilities, and

14 which shall use safeguards to prevent the disclosure

15 of information in cases that would jeopardize the

16 safety of the custodial parent or any child of the

17 custodial parent’’;

18 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting after the 2nd

19 sentence the following: ‘‘Information with respect to

20 an absent parent shall not be disclosed to any person

21 if the disclosure would jeopardize the safety of the

22 custodial parent or any child of the custodial parent.

23 Information with respect to an absent parent shall

24 not be disclosed to any person (other than the custo-
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1 dial parent) unless the custodial parent has been no2 tified in advance of the disclosure.’’; and

3 (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘and such

4 reasonable fees’’ after ‘‘such documents’’.

5 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

6 the Congress that—

7 (1) the denial of visitation rights under a child

8 support order should be treated as irrelevant in any

9 action brought to enforce the support provisions of

10 the order; and

11 (2) the failure to pay child support pursuant to

12 a child support order should be treated as irrelevant

13 in any action brought to enforce visitation rights

14 under the order.

15 SEC. 42102. EXPANSION OF DATA BASES ACCESSED BY PAR16 ENT LOCATOR SYSTEMS.

17 (a) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR FEDERAL PAR18 ENT LOCATOR SERVICE.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is

19 amended—

20 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘the most re21 cent address and place of employment’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘the most recent residential address, employer

23 name and address, and amounts and nature of in24 come and assets’’;
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1 (2) in subsection (c)(3), by striking ‘‘the resi2 dent parent’’ and inserting ‘‘either parent’’; and

3 (3) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Treasury shall enter into

6 an agreement with the Secretary to provide prompt access

7 by the Secretary (in accordance with this subsection and

8 section 6103(l)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)

9 to the quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns

10 filed by individuals with the Internal Revenue Service.’’.

11 (b) STATE INFORMATION.—Section 466(a) (42

12 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph

13 (10) the following:

14 ‘‘(11) Procedures under which the State child

15 support enforcement agency shall have automated

16 on-line or batch access (or, if necessary, nonauto17 mated access) to information regarding residential

18 addresses, employers and employer addresses, in19 come and assets, and medical insurance benefits

20 with respect to absent parents that is available

21 through any data base maintained by—

22 ‘‘(A) any agency of the State or any politi23 cal subdivision thereof, that contains informa24 tion on residential addresses, or on employers
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1 and employer addresses, as the State deems ap2 propriate;

3 ‘‘(B) any publicly regulated utility com4 pany located in the State;

5 ‘‘(C) any credit reporting agency located in

6 the State; and

7 ‘‘(D) any trade or labor union located in

8 the State.

9 ‘‘(12) Procedures under which the State child

10 support enforcement agency shall—

11 ‘‘(A) maintain a child support order reg12 istry which shall include each child support

13 order (or an abstract thereof) issued or modi14 fied in the State on or after the effective date

15 of this paragraph; and

16 ‘‘(B) transmit electronically to the Office

17 of Child Support Enforcement an abstract of

18 each such order, containing such information

19 and in such form as the Secretary may pre20 scribe pursuant to section 452(a)(11).’’.

21 (c) FEDERAL REGISTRY OF ABSTRACTS OF CHILD

22 SUPPORT ORDERS.—Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C 652(a)),

23 as amended by section 42211(a) of this subtitle, is amend24 ed—
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1 (1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ after

2 the semicolon;

3 (2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at

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

5 and

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

7 ‘‘(12) maintain a registry of all child support

8 order abstracts received from States pursuant to

9 section 466(a)(12)(B).’’.

10 (d) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

11 the Congress that the Secretary of Health and Human

12 Services should investigate, pursuant to section 453(e) of

13 the Social Security Act, accessing Federal data banks that

14 are not linked to the Parent Locator Service which are

15 more than marginally useful in locating absent parents.

16 SEC. 42103. EXPANSION OF ACCESS TO NATIONAL NET17 WORK FOR LOCATION OF PARENTS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall expand the Parent Locator

21 Service to establish a national network based on the com22 prehensive statewide child support enforcement systems

23 developed by the States, to—

24 ‘‘(1) allow each State to—
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1 ‘‘(A) locate any absent parent who owes

2 child support, for whom a child support obliga3 tion is being established, or for whom an order

4 for visitation is being enforced, by—

5 ‘‘(i) accessing the records of other

6 State agencies and sources of locate infor7 mation directly from one computer system

8 to another; and

9 ‘‘(ii) accessing Federal sources of lo10 cate information in the same fashion;

11 ‘‘(B) access the files of other States to de12 termine whether there are other child support

13 orders and obtain the details of those orders;

14 ‘‘(C) provide for both on-line and batch

15 processing of locate requests, with on-line ac16 cess restricted to cases in which the information

17 is needed immediately (for such reasons as

18 court appearances) and batch processing used

19 to ‘troll’ data bases to locate individuals or up20 date information periodically; and

21 ‘‘(D) direct locate requests to individual

22 States or Federal agencies, broadcast requests

23 to selected States, or broadcast cases to all

24 States when there is no indication of the source

25 of needed information;
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1 ‘‘(2) provide for a maximum of 48-hour turn2 around time for information to be broadcast and re3 turned to a requesting State;

4 ‘‘(3) provide ready access to courts of the infor5 mation on the network by location of a computer

6 terminal in each court; and

7 ‘‘(4) access the registry of child support orders

8 for public and private cases maintained at the State

9 level by the State agencies as described in section

10 466(a)(12).’’.

11 (b) EXPANDED STATE INTERACTION WITH NA12 TIONAL NETWORK.—Section 454(16) (42 U.S.C.

13 654(16)) is amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘(E)’’;

15 and

16 (2) by striking ‘‘enforcement;’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘enforcement, and (F) to provide access to the na18 tional network developed pursuant to section

19 453(g);’’.

20 (c) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

21 Congress that the national network established under sec22 tion 453(g) of the Social Security Act should be used to

23 access State records only through the agency that admin24 isters the State plan approved under part D of title IV

25 of such Act.
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1 SEC. 42104. PRIVATE ACCESS TO LOCATE AND ENFORCE2 MENT SERVICES.

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

4 section 42102(b) of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

5 after paragraph (12) the following:

6 ‘‘(13)(A) Procedures under which private attor7 neys and pro se obligees must be given access to

8 State locate resources and through enforcement

9 techniques of the State child support enforcement

10 agency, for the purpose of establishing, modifying,

11 and enforcing child support, visitation, and parent12 age orders, in accordance with safeguards estab13 lished—

14 ‘‘(i) to provide the custodial parent ad15 vance notice of any release of information with

16 respect to a noncustodial parent; and

17 ‘‘(ii) to prevent release of information with

18 respect to a noncustodial parent if the release

19 may jeopardize the safety of the noncustodial

20 parent, the custodial parent, or any child of ei21 ther parent; and

22 ‘‘(B) The procedures described in subparagraph

23 (A) must require the State—

24 ‘‘(i) to develop and publish guidelines im25 plementing the safeguards described in sub26 paragraph (A); and
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1 ‘‘(ii) if the State provides for reasonable

2 fees for the access referred to in subparagraph

3 (A), to establish such fees in accordance with

4 guidelines developed and published by the State

5 that set schedules for such fees.’’.

6 SEC. 42105. NATIONAL REPORTING OF NEW HIRES AND

7 CHILD SUPPORT INFORMATION.

8 (a) FEDERAL IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEM.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas10 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor,

11 shall establish a system of reporting of new employ12 ees by requiring employers to provide a copy of every

13 new employee’s W–4 form to the employment secu14 rity agency of the State in which the employment is

15 located.

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

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

18 completed by a new employee to enable the employee

19 to indicate on the form—

20 (A) whether the employee owes child sup21 port, and if so—

22 (i) to whom the support is payable

23 and the amount of the support payable;

24 and
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1 (ii) whether the support is to be paid

2 through wage withholding; and

3 (B) whether health care insurance is avail4 able to the new employee, and, if so, whether

5 the new employee has obtained such insurance

6 for the dependent children of the new employee.

7 (3) EMPLOYER WITHHOLDING OBLIGATION.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Inter9 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to employ10 ment taxes) is amended by inserting after chap11 ter 24 the following new chapter:

12 ‘‘CHAPTER 24A—COLLECTION OF CHILD

13 SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS AT SOURCE

14 ON WAGES

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

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

16 SOURCE.

17 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF WITHHOLDING.—Every em18 ployer making payment of wages shall deduct and with19 hold upon such wages a specified child support obligation

20 amount.

21 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIED CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION

22 AMOUNT.—For purposes of this chapter, the specified

23 child support obligation amount with respect to any em24 ployee shall be determined based on—
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1 ‘‘(1) information provided by the employee, or,

2 if an agency of the State in which the employer is

3 located notifies the employer that such information

4 is inaccurate, information provided by the agency;

5 and

6 ‘‘(2) information contained in any wage with7 holding order received by the employer from any

8 State.

9 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT.—The employer shall

10 be liable for the payment of the specified child support

11 obligation amount to the individual entitled to such pay12 ment.

13 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this chapter

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

15 specified child support obligation amount shall be treated

16 as if it were a tax withheld under chapter 24 and rules

17 similar to the rules of such chapter shall apply.’’

18 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of

19 chapters of subtitle C of the Internal Revenue

20 Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the

21 item relating to chapter 24 the following new

22 item:

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

23 (4) WITHHELD CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS

24 REPORTED ON W–2 FORMS.—Subsection (a) of sec25 tion 6051 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re-
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1 lating to receipts for employees) is amended by

2 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (8), by strik3 ing the period at the end of paragraph (9) and in4 serting ‘‘, and’’, and by inserting after paragraph

5 (9) the following new paragraph:

6 ‘‘(10) the total amount of specified child sup7 port obligations withheld under section 3411.’’

8 (b) STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEM.—Section

9 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by section 42104

10 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting after paragraph

11 (13) the following:

12 ‘‘(14) Procedures under which the State shall—

13 ‘‘(A) use the Parent Locator Service estab14 lished under section 453 to access information

15 in the national registry of child support orders

16 maintained pursuant to section 452(a)(12) with

17 respect to new employee, compare such infor18 mation with the information reported on W–4

19 forms of new employees, and identify child sup20 port obligations not reported on such forms;

21 ‘‘(B) if child support information from the

22 W–4 form of a new employee agrees with infor23 mation with respect to the new employee in the

24 national registry of child support orders main25 tained pursuant to section 452(a)(12), notify
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1 the individual owed the support (or the individ2 ual’s designee) of such information;

3 ‘‘(C) notify an employer of any new em4 ployee who has not reported on the W–4 form

5 a child support obligation of the new employee,

6 using the wage withholding order developed

7 under section 452(a)(14);

8 ‘‘(D) impose monetary penalties on—

9 ‘‘(i) any individual who owes child

10 support and fails to report the obligation

11 to provide the support on a Federal income

12 tax W–4 form at time of employment;

13 ‘‘(ii) any employer who fails to for14 ward a W–4 form for a new employee to

15 the State employment security agency

16 within 10 calendar days of the date of the

17 first payroll from which the new employee

18 is paid; and

19 ‘‘(iii) any employer who fails to with20 hold from the pay of any new employee

21 who reports a child support obligation on

22 a W–4 form an amount equal to the sup23 port owed, or fails to pay to the individual

24 owed the obligation the amount so with25 held, within 10 calendar days of the date
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1 of the payroll, using electronic funds trans2 fer, if possible, unless otherwise notified by

3 a State agency;

4 ‘‘(E) provide the services described in this

5 paragraph to any individual owed child support

6 who applies for assistance under the State plan;

7 and

8 ‘‘(F) on request of another State, broad9 cast over the Parent Locator Service to such

10 other State child support information from W–

11 4 forms that have been sent to the State em12 ployment security agency.’’.

13 SEC. 42106. ACCESS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS SYS14 TEMS.

15 (a) ACCESS BY CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

16 AGENCIES.—The head of the National Criminal Informa17 tion Center, the head of the National Law Enforcement

18 Telecommunications Network, and the head of any other

19 national or regional system for tracking individuals shall

20 each—

21 (1) allow Federal, State, and local child support

22 enforcement agencies access to the information of

23 the system for purposes of establishing paternity or

24 a child support obligation of an individual tracked
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1 by the system, using appropriate safeguards to pre2 vent improper release of such information; and

3 (2) if an access code is required to gain such

4 access, provide the access code to each child support

5 enforcement agency that applies for the code.

6 (b) LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDING.—A non-Federal

7 system for tracking individuals that fails to comply with

8 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not be eligi9 ble to receive Federal funding for the system.

10 SEC. 42107. BROADCASTING OF WARRANTS ON STATE NET11 WORKS.

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

13 section 42105 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

14 after paragraph (14) the following:

15 ‘‘(15) Procedures under which the State—

16 ‘‘(A) shall broadcast on any State or local

17 crime information system each failure-to-appear

18 warrant, capias, and bench warrant issued by a

19 State court in any proceeding related to child

20 support; and

21 ‘‘(B) shall, in a criminal case, remit to any

22 individual to whom the defendant owes child

23 support any security posted by or on behalf of

24 the defendant and forfeited, to the extent of

25 any arrearage in the payment of the support.’’.
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1 SEC. 42108. CASE MONITORING.

2 Section 454(16)(E) (42 U.S.C. 654(16)(E)) is

3 amended by inserting ‘‘, not less frequently that once

4 every 3 years’’ before the semicolon.

5 SEC. 42109. ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RECORDS.

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

7 section 42107 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

8 after paragraph (15) the following:

9 ‘‘(16) Procedures under which the State may

10 obtain access to financial records maintained with

11 respect to any person by any financial institution

12 doing business in the State, for the purpose of estab13 lishing or enforcing a child support obligation of the

14 person.’’.

15 CHAPTER 2—ESTABLISHMENT

16 SEC. 42201. SERVICE OF PROCESS ON FEDERAL EMPLOY17 EES AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERV18 ICES IN CONNECTION WITH PROCEEDINGS

19 RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT AND PARENT20 AGE OBLIGATIONS.

21 Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–670) is amended

22 by inserting after section 460 the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 460A. SERVICE OF PROCESS ON FEDERAL EMPLOY2 EES AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERV3 ICES IN CONNECTION WITH PROCEEDINGS

4 RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT AND PARENT5 AGE OBLIGATIONS.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Government

7 agency shall, in accordance with applicable regulations

8 under subsection (b), designate an agent for receipt of

9 service of process, for any Federal employee or member

10 of the Armed Forces serving in or under such agency, in

11 connection with an action, brought in a court of competent

12 jurisdiction within any State, territory, or possession of

13 the United States, for obtaining a child support order or

14 for establishing parentage.

15 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Regulations governing the im16 plementation of this section with respect to the executive,

17 legislative, or judicial branch of the Government shall be

18 promulgated by the authority or authorities responsible

19 for promulgating regulations under section 461 with re20 spect to the branch of Government involved.

21 ‘‘(c) INTERPRETIVE RULE.—This section shall not be

22 construed to prevent any otherwise eligible individual from

23 requesting or being granted a stay or continuance in any

24 judicial proceeding, including a judicial proceeding under

25 the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940 (50

26 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.).
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1 ‘‘(d) GOVERNMENT AGENCY DEFINED.—For pur2 poses of this section, the term ‘Government agency’ means

3 each agency of the Federal Government, including—

4 ‘‘(1) an Executive agency (as defined by section

5 105 of title 5, United States Code);

6 ‘‘(2) the Department of Defense, to the extent

7 that any Federal employee serving in or under that

8 agency or any member of the Armed Services is in9 volved;

10 ‘‘(3) the United States Postal Service and the

11 Postal Rate Commission;

12 ‘‘(4) the government of the District of Colum13 bia;

14 ‘‘(5) an agency within the legislative or judicial

15 branch of the Government; and

16 ‘‘(6) an advisory committee to which the Fed17 eral Advisory Committee Act applies.’’.

18 SEC. 42202. PRESUMED ADDRESS OF OBLIGOR AND OBLI19 GEE.

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

21 section 42107 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

22 after paragraph (16) the following:

23 ‘‘(17) Procedures under which the State shall—

24 ‘‘(A) require the court or administrative

25 agency with authority to issue the final order in
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1 a child support or parentage case to require

2 each party subject to the order to file with the

3 court or administrative agency, on or before the

4 date the order is issued—

5 ‘‘(i) the party’s residential address or

6 addresses;

7 ‘‘(ii) the party’s mailing address or

8 addresses;

9 ‘‘(iii) the party’s home telephone num10 ber or numbers;

11 ‘‘(iv) the party’s driver’s license num12 ber;

13 ‘‘(v) the party’s social security ac14 count number;

15 ‘‘(vi) the name of each employer of

16 the party;

17 ‘‘(vii) the addresses of each place of

18 employment of the party; and

19 ‘‘(viii) the party’s work telephone

20 number or numbers;

21 ‘‘(B) require the court or administrative

22 agency in any action related to child support to

23 presume, for the purpose of providing sufficient

24 notice (other than the initial notice in an action

25 to establish parentage or a child support order),
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1 that the noncustodial parent resides at the last

2 residential address given by the noncustodial

3 parent to the court or agency, or a more recent

4 address provided in good faith by the parent

5 owed the support obligation; and

6 ‘‘(C) ensure that information concerning

7 the location of a custodial parent or a child of

8 the custodial parent is not released to a non9 custodial parent if a court order has been is10 sued against the noncustodial parent for the

11 physical protection of the custodial parent or

12 the child.’’.

13 SEC. 42203. NOTICE TO CUSTODIAL PARENTS.

14 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

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

16 (23);

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of para18 graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (3) by inserting after paragraph (24) the fol20 lowing:

21 ‘‘(25) provide that the agency administering the

22 plan—

23 ‘‘(A) shall make reasonable attempts to

24 provide timely notice to any individual owed
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1 child support of any proceeding to establish,

2 modify, or enforce the support obligation;

3 ‘‘(B) shall not delay any such proceeding

4 solely due to the failure of the custodial parent

5 to appear; and

6 ‘‘(C) shall, within 14 days after the date

7 an order that establishes, modifies, or enforces

8 a child support obligation is issued, provide the

9 custodial parent of the child with a copy of the

10 order.’’.

11 SEC. 42204. UNIFORM STATE RULES IN PARENTAGE AND

12 CHILD SUPPORT CASES.

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

14 section 42202 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

15 after paragraph (17) the following:

16 ‘‘(18) Procedures under which, in the State—

17 ‘‘(A) a party may, in a single cause of ac18 tion, seek judicial determination of the parent19 age of a child and judicial establishment of a

20 child support order with respect to the child;

21 ‘‘(B) the venue for determination of par22 entage of a child shall be in the county of resi23 dence of the child;

24 ‘‘(C) a court or agency that issues a par25 entage or child support order shall have con-
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1 tinuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the order

2 until the court or agency transfers such juris3 diction to the appropriate court or agency in

4 the county of residence of the child, or the par5 ties consent to be bound by another court or

6 agency in the State that has subject matter ju7 risdiction;

8 ‘‘(D) proceedings to enforce or modify of a

9 child support order may be transferred to the

10 city, county, or district in which the child re11 sides without any requirement that the order be

12 filed or the defendant be served again;

13 ‘‘(E) a court or agency that hears a par14 entage or child support case shall have state15 wide jurisdiction over the parties to the case,

16 and the parentage and child support orders is17 sued by the court or agency shall have state18 wide effect for enforcement purposes; and

19 ‘‘(F) denial of visitation rights may not be

20 used as a defense in an action to enforce an ob21 ligation to provide child support and the failure

22 to provide child support may not be used as a

23 defense in an action to enforce visitation

24 rights.’’.
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1 SEC. 42205. FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT AMENDMENT.

2 Section 604 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act

3 (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended by adding at the end the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(4) To a State agency administering a State plan

6 under section 454 of the Social Security Act, for use to

7 establish or modify a child support award.’’.

8 SEC. 42206. NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES COM9 MISSION.

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

11 commission to be known as the ‘‘National Child Support

12 Guidelines Commission’’ (in this section referred to as the

13 ‘‘Commission’’).

14 (b) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Commission shall con15 vene a conference to study the desirability of a national

16 child support guideline, and if such guideline is advisable,

17 the Commission shall develop for congressional consider18 ation a national child support guideline that is based on

19 the conference’s study of various guideline models, the de20 ficiencies of such models, and any needed improvements,

21 taking into consideration differences in the cost of living

22 in different areas of the United States. In developing such

23 guideline, the Commission shall consider indexing the

24 guideline to the cost of living, specifying minimum (rather

25 than maximum) amounts, or using other methodologies to

26 reflect such differences.
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1 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

2 (1) NUMBER; APPOINTMENT.—

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

4 be composed of 9 individuals appointed jointly

5 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services

6 and the Congress, not later than March 15,

7 1997.

8 (B) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—

9 Members of the Commission shall be appointed

10 from among those who are able to provide ex11 pertise and experience in the evaluation and de12 velopment of child support guidelines.

13 (2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member shall be

14 appointed for a term of 2 years. A vacancy in the

15 Commission shall be filled in the manner in which

16 the original appointment was made.

17 (d) COMMISSION POWERS, COMPENSATION, ACCESS

18 TO INFORMATION, AND SUPERVISION.—The first sentence

19 of subparagraph (C), the first and third sentences of sub20 paragraph (D), subparagraph (F) (except with respect to

21 the conduct of medical studies), clauses (ii) and (iii) of

22 subparagraph (G), and subparagraph (H) of section

23 1886(e)(6) of the Social Security Act shall apply to the

24 Commission in the same manner in which such provisions
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1 apply to the Prospective Payment Assessment Commis2 sion.

3 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the ap4 pointment of members, the Commission shall submit to

5 the President, the Committee on Ways and Means of the

6 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Finance

7 of the Senate, a report on the results of the study de8 scribed in subsection (b) and the final assessment by the

9 Commission of issues relating to a national child support

10 guideline.

11 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

12 upon the submission of the report described in subsection

13 (e).

14 SEC. 42207. GUIDELINE PRINCIPLES.

15 Section 467 (42 U.S.C. 667) is amended by adding

16 at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(d) The guidelines established pursuant to sub18 section (a) shall be based on, and applied in accordance

19 with, the following principles:

20 ‘‘(1) A change in the child support amount re21 sulting from the application of the guidelines since

22 the entry of the last support order is sufficient rea23 son for modification of a child support obligation

24 without the necessity of showing any other change in

25 circumstance. The State may set a minimum time-
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1 frame between reviews of modifications based on the

2 guidelines, absent other changes in circumstances.

3 ‘‘(2) Not later than January 1, 1997, each

4 State shall establish automatic child support order

5 review procedures based on the automated calcula6 tion of the amount of support to which a child is en7 titled, to ensure that the amount is sufficient to

8 meet the needs of the child, and takes into account

9 any changes in the income of the parents of the

10 child.

11 ‘‘(3) The State shall advise any custodial parent

12 who is not receiving aid under a State plan approved

13 under part A of the review of a child support award

14 made with respect to a child of the custodial parent,

15 of any proposed modification in the amount of the

16 award based on the review, and of the right of the

17 custodial parent to decline to seek the modification.

18 ‘‘(e) The guidelines established pursuant to sub19 section (a) may consider the treatment of the following:

20 ‘‘(1) Work-related or job-training-related child

21 care expenses of either parent for the care of chil22 dren of either parent.

23 ‘‘(2) Health insurance and related uninsured

24 health care expenses, and school expenses incurred
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1 on behalf of the child for whom the child support

2 order is sought.

3 ‘‘(3) Multiple family child raising obligations

4 other than those for the child for whom the child

5 support order is sought.

6 ‘‘(f) Each State must publish the guidelines estab7 lished pursuant to subsection (a).’’.

8 SEC. 42208. DURATION OF SUPPORT.

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

10 666(a)), as amended by section 42204 of this subtitle, is

11 amended by inserting after paragraph (18) the following:

12 ‘‘(19) Procedures under which the State—

13 ‘‘(A) imposes on 1 or both parents of a

14 child an obligation to continue to provide sup15 port for the child until not earlier than the later

16 of the date the child attains 18 years of age or

17 the date the child is graduated from or is no

18 longer enrolled in secondary school or its equiv19 alent, unless the child is married or is otherwise

20 emancipated by a court of competent jurisdic21 tion;

22 ‘‘(B) provides that courts with jurisdiction

23 over child support cases may, in accordance

24 with criteria established by the State, order—
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1 ‘‘(i) child support, payable to an adult

2 child, at least up to the age of 22 years for

3 a child enrolled in an accredited post4 secondary or vocational school or college

5 who is a student in good standing; and

6 ‘‘(ii) either or both parents to pay for

7 postsecondary school support based on

8 each parent’s financial ability to pay;

9 ‘‘(C) provides for child support to continue

10 beyond the child’s minority if the child is dis11 abled, unable to be self-supportive, and the dis12 ability arose during the child’s minority; and

13 ‘‘(D) provides that courts should consider

14 the effect of child support received on means15 tested governmental benefits and whether to

16 credit governmental benefits against a support

17 award amount.’’.

18 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

19 the Congress that, if children receive child support while

20 obtaining postsecondary education, they will attain higher

21 levels of education affording them a greater chance to

22 break the welfare cycle.
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1 SEC. 42209. EVIDENCE.

2 (a) NATIONAL SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM.—Section

3 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by sections

4 42210(a) and 42102(c) of this subtitle, is amended—

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

6 (11);

7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (12) and inserting a semicolon; and

9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(13) develop and distribute a national sub12 poena duces tecum, which shall be designed to be

13 used by any State or local child support agency or

14 child support litigant to reach income information on

15 the prior 12 months of income or on accumulated in16 come to date of any recipient of income;

17 ‘‘(14) establish a simplified certification process

18 and admissibility procedure for out-of-State docu19 ments in child support or parentage cases.’’.

20 (b) STATE LAWS.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C.

21 666(a)), as amended by section 42208 of this subtitle, is

22 amended by inserting after paragraph (19) the following:

23 ‘‘(20) Procedures under which—

24 ‘‘(A) in a child support case in the State—

25 ‘‘(i) the subpoena duces tecum devel26 oped pursuant to section 452(a)(13) shall
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1 be used, if necessary, to reach income in2 formation on the prior 12 months of in3 come or on accumulated income to date of

4 any individual;

5 ‘‘(ii) an entity that is a source of in6 come for the individual may comply with

7 such a subpoena by timely mailing the in8 formation described in the subpoena to an

9 address supplied in the subpoena;

10 ‘‘(iii) the State shall permit such a

11 subpoena to be enforced against such an

12 entity in the State, with the entity bearing

13 the burden of justifying any failure to com14 ply with the subpoena; and

15 ‘‘(iv) information supplied by an en16 tity in response to such a subpoena shall

17 be admissible to prove the truth of the in18 formation;

19 ‘‘(B) a certified copy of an out-of-State

20 order, decree, or judgment related to child sup21 port or parentage shall be admitted once of22 fered in the courts of the State if the order, de23 cree, or judgment is regular on its face;

24 ‘‘(C) electronically transmitted information

25 and documents faxed to a court or administra-
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1 tive agency that contain information related to

2 the amount of a child support obligation and

3 the terms of the order imposing the obligation

4 may be offered as evidence of the amount and

5 the terms, and electronically transmitted

6 records of payment of a child support agency

7 that are regular on their face shall be admissi8 ble as evidence in a child support or parentage

9 proceeding to prove the truth of the matter as10 serted in the records;

11 ‘‘(D) out-of-State depositions, interrog12 atories, admissions of fact, and other discovery

13 documents may be offered and shall be admit14 ted in a child support or parentage proceeding

15 to prove the truth of the matters asserted in

16 the documents if regular on their face and if

17 such documents comply with the appropriate

18 discovery rule or law of the State where the dis19 covery was conducted; and

20 ‘‘(E) written, videotaped, or audiotaped

21 evidence related to a child support or parentage

22 proceeding may be offered and shall be admit23 ted to prove the truth of the matter asserted

24 therein.’’.
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1 SEC. 42210. TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE IN INTERSTATE

2 CASES.

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

4 section 42209(b) of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

5 after paragraph (20) the following:

6 ‘‘(21) Procedures under which the parties to an

7 interstate parentage or child support administrative

8 or judicial proceeding may appear and participate by

9 telephonic means in lieu of appearing personally.’’.

10 SEC. 42211. UNIFORM TERMS IN ORDERS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C.

12 652(a)) is amended—

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

14 the semicolon;

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

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

17 and

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

19 ‘‘(11) not later than 12 months after the date

20 of the enactment of this paragraph, develop, in con21 junction with State executive and judicial organiza22 tions, a uniform abstract of a child support order,

23 for use by all State courts to record, with respect to

24 each child support order in the child support order

25 registry established under section 466(a)(12)—
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1 ‘‘(A) the date support payments are to

2 begin under the order;

3 ‘‘(B) the circumstances upon which sup4 port payments are to end under the order;

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

6 pursuant to the order expressed as a sum cer7 tain to be paid on a monthly basis, arrearages

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

9 and any payback schedule for the arrearages;

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

11 a lump sum (nonallocated) or per child;

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

13 event causing a change in the support award

14 and the amount of any change;

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

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

17 the order;

18 ‘‘(H) the social security account numbers

19 of the parents;

20 ‘‘(I) the name, date of birth, and social se21 curity account number (if any) of each child

22 covered by the order;

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

24 and address) of the court that issued the order;
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1 ‘‘(K) any information on health care sup2 port required by the order; and

3 ‘‘(L) the party to contact if additional in4 formation is obtained.’’.

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

6 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact7 ment of this subtitle.

8 SEC. 42212. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON MARRIAGE LI9 CENSES, DIVORCE DECREES, PARENTAGE DE10 CREES, AND BIRTH CERTIFICATES.

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

12 section 42210 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

13 after paragraph (21) the following:

14 ‘‘(22) Procedures under which the social secu15 rity account number (if any) of—

16 ‘‘(A) each individual applying for a mar17 riage license is to be listed by the individual’s

18 name on the license;

19 ‘‘(B) each party granted a divorce decree is

20 to be listed by the party’s name on the decree,

21 if any party to the decree is pregnant or a par22 ent; and

23 ‘‘(C) each individual determined to be a

24 parent of a child in an action to establish par-
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1 entage is to be listed by the individual’s name

2 on the decree containing the determination; and

3 ‘‘(D) each parent of a child is to be listed

4 by the parent’s name on the child’s birth certifi5 cate.’’.

6 SEC. 42213. ADMINISTRATIVE SUBPOENA POWER.

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

8 section 42212 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

9 after paragraph (22) the following:

10 ‘‘(23) Procedures under which the State child

11 support enforcement agency may issue a subpoena

12 which—

13 ‘‘(A) requires the individual served to

14 produce and deliver documents to, or to appear

15 at, a court or administrative agency on a cer16 tain date; and

17 ‘‘(B) penalizes an individual for failing to

18 comply with the subpoena.’’.

19 SEC. 42214. LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

20 (a) USE OF FUNDS FOR CHILD SUPPORT CASES.—

21 The Legal Services Corporation shall ensure that at least

22 10 percent of the funds it provides to each recipient in

23 a fiscal year be used to assist eligible clients to obtain child

24 support to which they may be entitled.

25 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
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1 (1) the term ‘‘child support’’ means a payment

2 of money or provision of a benefit for the support

3 of a child, and includes periodic and lump-sum pay4 ments for current and past due economic support,

5 payments of premiums for health insurance for chil6 dren, payments for or provision of child care, and

7 payments for educational expenses; and

8 (2) the terms ‘‘eligible client’’ and ‘‘recipient’’

9 have the meanings given those terms in section 1002

10 of the Legal Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C.

11 2996a).

12 SEC. 42215. INDIAN CHILD SUPPORT.

13 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

14 Congress that—

15 (1) children residing on Indian reservations be

16 accorded the same right of support that is currently

17 afforded off-reservation children; and

18 (2) State and tribal governments should, to the

19 greatest extent possible, ensure that jurisdictional is20 sues do not prevent any Indian child, on- or off-res21 ervation, from receiving support to which the child

22 is entitled.

23 (b) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF SUPPORT OR24 DERS.—The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C.
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1 1901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow2 ing:

3 ‘‘TITLE IV—INDIAN CHILD

4 SUPPORT

5 ‘‘SEC. 401. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.

6 ‘‘(a) Every Indian tribe shall give full faith and credit

7 to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the

8 United States, every State, and every territory or posses9 sion of the United States applicable to Indian child sup10 port proceedings to the same extent that the Indian tribe

11 gives full faith and credit to public acts, records, and judi12 cial proceedings of any other entity pursuant to section

13 101(d) of this Act.

14 ‘‘(b) The United States, every State, every territory

15 or possession of the United States, and every Indian tribe

16 shall give full faith and credit to the public acts, records,

17 and judicial proceedings of any Indian tribe applicable to

18 Indian child support proceedings to the same extent that

19 such entities give full faith and credit to public acts,

20 records, and judicial proceedings of any other entity.’’.

21 SEC. 42216. SUPPORT ORDERS OUTREACH AND DEM22 ONSTRATIONS.

23 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

24 Congress that States should work with community-based

25 organizations with ties to underserved populations to de-
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1 velop better methods to reach and work with such popu2 lations to encourage the filing of more support orders.

3 (b) STATES REQUIRED TO CONDUCT SURVEYS OF

4 UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title IV (42

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

7 the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 470. STATE SURVEYS OF UNDERSERVED POPU9 LATIONS.

10 ‘‘Each State, as a condition for having a State plan

11 approved under this part, must conduct surveys to identify

12 populations underserved by child support services, and de13 velop outreach programs to serve such populations in

14 places such as child care centers, parenting classes, pre15 natal classes, and unemployment offices.’’.

16 (2) FEDERAL FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION.—Sec17 tion 455(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)) is amended—

18 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end;

20 (B) in subparagraph (C) by adding ‘‘and’’

21 at the end; and

22 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C)

23 the following:

24 ‘‘(D) equal to 90 percent of so much of the

25 sums expended during such quarter as are attrib-
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1 utable to operating programs described in section

2 470,’’.

3 (c) MATERIALS TO ASSIST PERSONS WITH LOW LIT4 ERACY LEVELS.—The Secretary of Health and Human

5 Services shall fund demonstration projects and technical

6 assistance grants to States to develop applications and in7 formational materials directed to individuals with low lit8 eracy levels or difficulties reading English.

9 (d) REVIEW OF WRITTEN MATERIALS.—The Sec10 retary of Health and Human Services shall review all writ11 ten materials provided to persons served by the Office of

12 Child Support Enforcement to ensure that any require13 ment contained in the materials is presented clearly and

14 in a manner that is easily understandable by such persons.

15 (e) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TO IMPROVE CO16 ORDINATION BETWEEN CERTAIN STATE PUBLIC ASSIST17 ANCE AGENCIES.—The Secretary of Health and Human

18 Services shall make grants to States to conduct dem19 onstration projects to test various methods for improving

20 the coordination of services and case processing between

21 the State agency referred to in section 402(a)(3) of the

22 Social Security Act and the State agency referred to in

23 section 454(3) of such Act.

24 (f) REFERRAL OF CUSTODIAL PARENTS TO COMMU25 NITY RESOURCES TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—
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1 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

2 42203 of this subtitle, is amended—

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

4 (24);

5 (2) by striking the period at the end of para6 graph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

7 (3) by inserting after paragraph (25) the fol8 lowing:

9 ‘‘(26) provide that the agency administering the

10 plan—

11 ‘‘(A) may represent custodial parents in

12 custody cases; and

13 ‘‘(B) must refer to appropriate community

14 resources custodial parents against whom or

15 whose children violence has been threatened as

16 a result of cooperation with a State agency in

17 establishing or enforcing a child support order,

18 in accordance with procedures developed by the

19 State to reduce the risk of violence, such as ex20 empting the custodial parent from any require21 ment of face-to-face meetings with persons

22 other than from the agency.’’.

23 CHAPTER 3—PARENTAGE

24 SEC. 42301. PARENTAGE.

25 (a) STATE PLAN.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C.

2 654), as amended by section 42216(f) of this sub3 title, is amended—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para5 graph (25);

6 (B) by striking the period at the end of

7 paragraph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

8 (C) by inserting after paragraph (26) the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(27) in order to encourage voluntary paternity

11 acknowledgement, provide for—

12 ‘‘(A) the development and distribution of

13 material at schools, hospitals (not later than 2

14 years after the effective date of this paragraph),

15 agencies administering the programs under part

16 A of this title and title XIX, prenatal health

17 care providers, WIC programs, health depart18 ments, clinics, and other appropriate locations

19 that describe the benefits and responsibilities of

20 paternity establishment and the process by

21 which paternity services may be obtained; and

22 ‘‘(B) the use of consent procedures.’’.

23 (2) ENHANCED FEDERAL MATCH.—Section

24 455(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)) is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub2 paragraph (B);

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub4 paragraph (C); and

5 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C)

6 the following:

7 ‘‘(D) equal to 90 percent (rather than the

8 percentage specified in subparagraph (A)) of so

9 much of the sums expended during such quar10 ter as are attributable to costs incurred in car11 rying out section 454(27) and the 2nd sentence

12 of section 466(a)(5)(C);’’.

13 (b) STATE LAW.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)),

14 as amended by section 42213 of this subtitle, is amended

15 by inserting after paragraph (23) the following:

16 ‘‘(24) Procedures under which—

17 ‘‘(A) in a parentage case, an individual

18 who signs the signature line provided for a fa19 ther on a State birth certificate is rebuttably

20 presumed to be a parent of the child, and a

21 birth certificate so signed is admissible as evi22 dence of such parentage;

23 ‘‘(B) a simple, civil consent procedure is

24 available for individuals who agree to acknowl25 edge parentage of a child;
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1 ‘‘(C) an acknowledgment of parentage of a

2 child—

3 ‘‘(i) may be incorporated in a wit4 nessed, written statement which includes a

5 statement that the individual—

6 ‘‘(I) understands the con7 sequences of paternity acknowledg8 ment;

9 ‘‘(II) is signing the statement

10 voluntarily; and

11 ‘‘(III) does not object to a court

12 entering an order for parentage of the

13 child based on the acknowledgment,

14 without notice before the order is is15 sued and without the requirement of

16 pleadings, service, summons, testi17 mony, or a hearing;

18 ‘‘(ii) is registered as part of the proc19 ess of registering the birth certificate of

20 the child; and

21 ‘‘(iii) is admissible in court as evi22 dence of the individual’s parentage of the

23 child;

24 ‘‘(D) collection of information for purposes

25 of establishing a child support obligation may
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1 be done during the parentage acknowledgment

2 process, to the maximum extent consistent with

3 the State constitution;

4 ‘‘(E) a civil procedure (and not a criminal

5 procedure) is used in parentage determination

6 cases;

7 ‘‘(F) parentage is determined by a prepon8 derance of the evidence;

9 ‘‘(G) a party may bring a parentage case

10 without joinder of the named child, and State

11 law regarding privity of the parties shall govern

12 the res judicata effect of nonjoinder;

13 ‘‘(H) the results of a parentage test are

14 rebuttably presumed to be accurate in a parent15 age case, if the test results are admitted as evi16 dence of the matter tested and are

17 uncontroverted, and the test has an accuracy

18 rate of at least 98 percent;

19 ‘‘(I) a determination of parentage may be

20 made against a noncooperative party who re21 fuses to submit to a court order to submit to

22 parentage testing;

23 ‘‘(J) an objection to parentage testing or

24 to the results of a parentage test must be made

25 in writing at least 21 days before trial, and if
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1 no such objection is made, the test results are

2 admissible as evidence of the matter tested,

3 without any requirement for the attendance of

4 a representative of the hospital, clinic, or par5 entage laboratory that conducted the test;

6 ‘‘(K) prenatal and post-natal parentage7 testing bills are admissible as evidence of par8 entage, without any requirement of third-party

9 foundation testimony, and any such bill is

10 prima facie evidence of the expenses incurred

11 on behalf of the child for the procedures in12 cluded in the bill;

13 ‘‘(L) a default order is entered in a parent14 age case on a proper showing of evidence of

15 parentage and of service of process on the de16 fendant, without regard to the personal pres17 ence of the plaintiff;

18 ‘‘(M) a temporary child support order is

19 entered against an individual if—

20 ‘‘(i) the individual is presumed to be

21 the parent of the child by reason of the re22 sults of a parentage test;

23 ‘‘(ii) the individual has signed a state24 ment acknowledging parentage of the child;

25 or
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1 ‘‘(iii) there is other clear and convinc2 ing evidence that the individual is a parent

3 of the child;

4 ‘‘(N) an individual determined by law to be

5 the parent of a child is precluded from claiming

6 nonparentage of the child as a defense in a

7 child support case;

8 ‘‘(O) a single action may be brought to de9 termine the parentage of a child and to estab10 lish a child support obligation with respect to

11 the child; and

12 ‘‘(P)(i) an action to determine the parent13 age of a child may be brought only in the coun14 ty in which the child resides; and

15 ‘‘(ii) if the child who is the subject of a

16 parentage determination action moves to an17 other county, the action is to be transferred to

18 the other county, on request of the custodial

19 parent of the child.’’.

20 (c) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

21 Congress that, in a proceeding to establish paternity, once

22 paternity is alleged, the burden of proof should shift to

23 the alleged father.
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1 CHAPTER 4—ENFORCEMENT

2 SEC. 42401. DIRECT WAGE WITHHOLDING.

3 (a) STATE LAW.—Section 466(b) (42 U.S.C. 666(b))

4 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(11) Upon the issuance or modification by a

6 State court or administrative agency of an order im7 posing a child support obligation on an individual,

8 the State shall transmit to any employer of the indi9 vidual a wage withholding order developed under

10 section 452(a)(14) directing the employer to with11 hold amounts from the wages of the individual pur12 suant to the order, subject to the Uniform Interstate

13 Family Support Act adopted by the National Con14 ference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in

15 August 1992.’’.

16 (b) UNIFORM WITHHOLDING ORDER.—Section

17 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by sections

18 42211(a), 42102(c), and 42209(a) of this subtitle, is

19 amended—

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

21 (12);

22 (2) by striking the period at the end of para23 graph (13) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (13) the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(14) develop a uniform order to be used in all

2 cases in which income is to be withheld for the pay3 ment of child support, which shall contain the name

4 of the individual whose income is to be withheld, the

5 number of children covered by the order, and the in6 dividual or State to whom the withheld income is to

7 be paid, and be generic to allow for the service of

8 the order on all sources of income.’’.

9 SEC. 42402. PRIORITIES IN APPLICATION OF WITHHELD

10 WAGES.

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

12 section 42401(a) of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

13 after paragraph (11) the following:

14 ‘‘(12) Procedures under which the amounts

15 withheld pursuant to a child support or wage with16 holding order are to be applied in the following

17 order:

18 ‘‘(A) To payments of support due during

19 the month of withholding.

20 ‘‘(B) To payments of premiums for health

21 care insurance coverage for dependent children.

22 ‘‘(C) To payments of support due before

23 the month of withholding, and of unreimbursed

24 health care expenses.’’.
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1 SEC. 42403. ADDITIONAL BENEFITS SUBJECT TO GARNISH2 MENT.

3 (a) FEDERAL DEATH BENEFITS, BLACK LUNG BEN4 EFITS, AND VETERANS BENEFITS.—Section 462(f)(2) (42

5 U.S.C. 662(f)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘(not including’’

6 and all that follows through ‘‘compensation)’’.

7 (b) WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.—Section 462(f) (42

8 U.S.C. 662(f)) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

10 (1);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(3) workers’ compensation benefits.’’.

15 SEC. 42404. CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION ACT AMEND16 MENTS.

17 (a) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAWS.—Section 307 of

18 the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1677) is

19 amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘This’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN

21 GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), this’’;

22 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

23 (1);

24 (3) by striking the period at the end of para25 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and

26 (4) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(3) providing a cause of action, either by the

2 State or a private individual, to enforce a Federal or

3 State law related to garnishment for the purpose of

4 securing child support.

5 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply

6 to the laws of any State that prohibit or restrict garnish7 ments for the purpose of securing support for any per8 son.’’.

9 (b) OTHER FORMS OF INCOME.—Title III of such

10 Act (15 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.) is amended by adding at

11 the end the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 308. OTHER FORMS OF INCOME.

13 ‘‘This title does not apply to forms of income that

14 are not earnings within the definition contained in section

15 302(a).’’.

16 (c) PRIORITY OF DEBTS.—Title III of such Act (15

17 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.), as amended by subsection (b) of this

18 section, is further amended by adding after section 308

19 the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 309. PRIORITY OF DEBTS.

21 ‘‘If an individual’s disposable earnings are not suffi22 cient to pay—

23 ‘‘(1) a garnishment intended to satisfy a Fed24 eral debt; and
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1 ‘‘(2) a garnishment intended to satisfy a debt

2 related to the support of any child,

3 the Federal debt shall be satisfied through garnishment

4 only after the debt related to child support has first been

5 satisfied.’’.

6 (d) ADDITIONAL INDEBTEDNESS IN ANTI-DIS7 CHARGE SECTION.—Section 304 of such Act (16 U.S.C.

8 1674) is amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(c) The prohibition contained in subsection (a) shall

10 apply to any employee whose earnings are subject to gar11 nishment for more than one indebtedness, if the additional

12 indebtedness arises from an order for the support of a

13 child.’’.

14 SEC. 42405. PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF ELECTION OF

15 REMEDIES DOCTRINE TO PREVENT COLLEC16 TION OF CHILD SUPPORT.

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

18 section 42301(b) of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

19 after paragraph (24) the following:

20 ‘‘(25) Procedures which prohibit any State

21 court from applying the doctrine of election of rem22 edies to prevent a custodial parent from collecting or

23 seeking to collect child support from a noncustodial

24 parent.’’.
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1 SEC. 42406. HOLD ON OCCUPATIONAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND

2 BUSINESS LICENSES.

3 (a) STATE HOLD BASED ON WARRANT OR SUPPORT

4 DELINQUENCY.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as

5 amended by section 42405 of this subtitle, is amended by

6 inserting after paragraph (25) the following:

7 ‘‘(26) Procedures under which the State occu8 pational licensing and regulating departments and

9 agencies may not issue or renew any occupational,

10 professional, or business license of—

11 ‘‘(A) a noncustodial parent who is the sub12 ject of an outstanding failure to appear war13 rant, capias, or bench warrant related to a child

14 support proceeding that appears on the State’s

15 crime information system, until removed from

16 the system; and

17 ‘‘(B) an individual who is delinquent in the

18 payment of child support, until the obligee or a

19 State prosecutor responsible for child support

20 enforcement consents to, or a court that is re21 sponsible for the order’s enforcement orders,

22 the release of the hold on the license, or an ex23 pedited inquiry and review is completed while

24 the individual is granted a 60-day temporary li25 cense.’’.
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1 (b) FEDERAL HOLD BASED ON SUPPORT DELIN2 QUENCY.—A Federal agency may not issue or renew any

3 occupational, professional, or business license of an indi4 vidual who is delinquent in the payment of child support,

5 until the obligee, the obligee’s attorney or a State prosecu6 tor responsible for child support enforcement consents to,

7 or a court that is responsible for the order’s enforcement

8 orders, the release of the hold on the license, or an expe9 dited inquiry and review is completed while the individual

10 is granted a 60-day temporary license.

11 SEC. 42407. DRIVER’S LICENSES AND VEHICLE REGISTRA12 TIONS DENIED TO PERSONS FAILING TO AP13 PEAR IN CHILD SUPPORT CASES.

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

15 section 42406(a) of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

16 after paragraph (26) the following:

17 ‘‘(27) Procedures under which the State motor

18 vehicle department—

19 ‘‘(A) may not issue or renew the driver’s li20 cense or any vehicle registration (other than

21 temporary) of any noncustodial parent who is

22 the subject of an outstanding failure to appear

23 warrant, capias, or bench warrant related to a

24 child support proceeding that appears on the
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1 State’s crime information system, until removed

2 from the system;

3 ‘‘(B) upon receiving notice that an individ4 ual to whom a State driver’s license or vehicle

5 registration has been issued is the subject of a

6 warrant related to a child support proceeding,

7 shall issue a show cause order to the individual

8 requesting the individual to demonstrate why

9 the individual’s driver’s license or vehicle reg10 istration should not be suspended until the war11 rant is removed by the State responsible for is12 suing the warrant; and

13 ‘‘(C) in any case in which a show cause

14 order has been issued as described in subpara15 graph (B), may grant a temporary license or

16 vehicle registration to the individual pending

17 the show cause hearing or the removal of the

18 warrant, whichever occurs first.’’.

19 SEC. 42408. LIENS ON CERTIFICATES OF VEHICLE TITLE.

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

21 section 42407 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

22 after paragraph (27) the following:

23 ‘‘(28) Procedures under which the State shall

24 systematically place liens on vehicle titles for child

25 support arrearages determined under a court order
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1 or an order of an administrative process established

2 under State law, using a method for updating the

3 value of the lien on a regular basis or allowing for

4 an expedited inquiry to and response from a govern5 mental payee for proof of the amount of arrears,

6 with an expedited method for the titleholder or the

7 individual owing the arrearage to contest the arrear8 age or to request a release upon fulfilling the sup9 port obligation, and under which such a lien has

10 precedence over all other encumbrances on a vehicle

11 title other than a purchase money security interest,

12 and that the individual owed the arrearage may exe13 cute on, seize, and sell the property in accordance

14 with State law.’’.

15 SEC. 42409. ATTACHMENT OF BANK ACCOUNTS.

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

17 section 42408 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

18 after paragraph (28) the following:

19 ‘‘(29) Procedures under which—

20 ‘‘(A) amounts on deposit in a bank account

21 may be seized to satisfy child support arrear22 ages determined under a court order or an

23 order of an administrative process established

24 under State law, solely through an administra25 tive process, pending notice to and an expedited
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1 opportunity to be heard from the account hold2 er or holders; and

3 ‘‘(B) if the account holder or holders fail

4 to successfully challenge the seizure (as deter5 mined under State law), the bank may be re6 quired to pay from the account to the entity

7 with the right to collect the arrearage the lesser

8 of—

9 ‘‘(i) the amount of the arrearage; or

10 ‘‘(ii) the amount on deposit in the ac11 count.’’.

12 SEC. 42410. SEIZURE OF LOTTERY WINNINGS, SETTLE13 MENTS, PAYOUTS, AWARDS, AND BEQUESTS,

14 AND SALE OF FORFEITED PROPERTY, TO PAY

15 CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES.

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

17 section 42409 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

18 after paragraph (29) the following:

19 ‘‘(30) Procedures, in addition to other income

20 withholding procedures, under which a lien is im21 posed against property with the following effect:

22 ‘‘(A) The distributor of the winnings from

23 a State lottery or State-sanctioned or tribal24 sanctioned gambling house or casino shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) suspend payment of the winnings

2 from the person otherwise entitled to the

3 payment until an inquiry is made to and a

4 response is received from the State child

5 support enforcement agency as to whether

6 the person owes a child support arrearage;

7 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 ‘‘(B) The person required to make a pay14 ment under a policy of insurance or a settle15 ment of a claim made with respect to the policy

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(i) suspend the payment until an in18 quiry is made to and a response received

19 from the agency as to whether the person

20 otherwise entitled to the payment owes a

21 child support arrearage; and

22 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage,

23 withhold from the payment the lesser of

24 the amount of the payment or the amount
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1 of the arrearage, and pay the amount with2 held to the agency for distribution.

3 ‘‘(C) The payor of any amount pursuant to

4 an award, judgment, or settlement in any ac5 tion brought in Federal or State court shall—

6 ‘‘(i) suspend the payment of the

7 amount until an inquiry is made to and a

8 response is received from the agency as to

9 whether the person otherwise entitled to

10 the payment owes a child support arrear11 age; and

12 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage,

13 withhold from the payment the lesser of

14 the amount of the payment or the amount

15 of the arrearage, and pay the amount with16 held to the agency for distribution.

17 ‘‘(D) If the State seizes property forfeited

18 to the State by an individual by reason of a

19 criminal conviction, the State shall—

20 ‘‘(i) hold the property until an inquiry

21 is made to and a response is received from

22 the agency as to whether the individual

23 owes a child support arrearage; and

24 ‘‘(ii) if there is such an arrearage, sell

25 the property and, after satisfying the
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1 claims of all other private or public claim2 ants to the property and deducting from

3 the proceeds of the sale the attendant costs

4 (such as for towing, storage, and the sale),

5 pay the lesser of the remaining proceeds or

6 the amount of the arrearage directly to the

7 agency for distribution.

8 ‘‘(E) Any person required to make a pay9 ment in respect of a decedent 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 SEC. 42411. FRAUDULENT TRANSFER PURSUIT.

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

22 section 42410 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

23 after paragraph (30) the following:

24 ‘‘(31) Procedures requiring that, in any case re25 lated to child support, any transfer of property by
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1 an individual who owes a child support arrearage

2 shall be presumed to be made with the intent to

3 avoid payment of the arrearage, and may be rebut4 ted by evidence to the contrary.’’.

5 SEC. 42412. FULL IRS COLLECTION.

6 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

7 Congress that the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue

8 Service should instruct the field offices and agents of the

9 Internal Revenue Service to give a high priority to re10 quests for the use of full collection in delinquent child sup11 port cases, and to set uniform standards for full collection

12 to ensure its expeditious and effective implementation.

13 (b) SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary of the

14 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and

15 Human Services, shall by regulation simplify the full col16 lection process under section 6305 of the Internal Revenue

17 Code of 1986 and reduce the amount of child support ar18 rearage needed before an individual may apply for collec19 tion under such section.

20 SEC. 42413. TAX REFUND OFFSET PROGRAM EXPANDED TO

21 COVER NON-AFDC POST-MINOR CHILDREN.

22 Section 464(c) (42 U.S.C. 664(c)) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) Except as provided in para24 graph (2), as’’ and inserting ‘‘As’’;
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1 (2) by inserting ‘‘(whether or not a minor)’’

2 after ‘‘a child’’ each place such term appears; and

3 (3) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).

4 SEC. 42414. ATTACHMENT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE RE5 TIREMENT FUNDS.

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

7 section 42411 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

8 after paragraph (31) the following:

9 ‘‘(32) Procedures under which an individual

10 owed a child support arrearage (determined under a

11 court order or an order of an administrative process

12 established under State law) may, notwithstanding

13 section 401(a)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of

14 1986, attach any interest in any public or private re15 tirement plan of the individual who owes the sup16 port, without the requirement of a separate court

17 order, and with notice and an expedited hearing pro18 vided if requested by the individual who owes the

19 support.’’.

20 SEC. 42415. STATUTES OF LIMITATION.

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

22 666(a)), as amended by section 42414 of this subtitle, is

23 amended by inserting after paragraph (32) the following:
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1 ‘‘(33) Procedures which permit the enforcement

2 of any child support order until the child attains at

3 least 30 years of age.’’.

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

5 this section shall apply to orders entered before, on, and

6 after the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

7 SEC. 42416. INTEREST.

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

9 section 42415(a) of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

10 after paragraph (33) the following:

11 ‘‘(34) Procedures under which the State child

12 support enforcement agency must assess and collect

13 interest on all child support judgments, at the rate

14 determined for interest on money judgments, in ad15 dition to any late payment fee imposed by the State

16 under section 454(21).’’.

17 SEC. 42417. ARMED FORCES COOPERATION IN ENFORCE18 MENT OF SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS OF MEM19 BERS AND FORMER MEMBERS OF THE

20 ARMED FORCES.

21 (a) ENFORCEMENT OF SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS.—(1)

22 Chapter 40 of title 10, United States Code, is amended

23 by adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 709. Leave for attendance at child support or relat2 ed hearings; availability of personnel lo3 cator service information

4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘authorized person’ has the

6 meaning given that term in section 453(c) of the So7 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(c)).

8 ‘‘(2) The term ‘child support’ has the meaning

9 given such term in section 462(b) of the Social Secu10 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 662).

11 ‘‘(3) The term ‘court’ has the meaning given

12 that term in section 1408(a)(1) of this title.

13 ‘‘(b) FACILITATING THE GRANTING OF LEAVE FOR

14 ATTENDANCE AT HEARINGS.—

15 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Secretary

16 concerned shall prescribe regulations to facilitate the

17 granting of a leave of absence to a member of the

18 armed forces under the jurisdiction of that Secretary

19 when necessary for the member to attend a hearing

20 of a court that is conducted in connection with a

21 civil action—

22 ‘‘(A) to determine whether the member is

23 a natural parent of a child; or

24 ‘‘(B) to determine an obligation of the

25 member to provide child support.
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1 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The regulations

2 prescribed under paragraph (1) may authorize a

3 waiver of the applicability of the regulations to a

4 member of the armed forces when—

5 ‘‘(A) the member is serving in an area of

6 combat operations; or

7 ‘‘(B) such a waiver is otherwise necessary

8 in the national security interest of the United

9 States.

10 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF CURRENT LOCATOR INFORMA11 TION.—

12 ‘‘(1) MAINTENANCE OF ADDRESS INFORMA13 TION.—Each worldwide personnel locator service of

14 the armed forces and each personnel locator service

15 of the armed forces maintained for a military instal16 lation shall include the residential address of each

17 member of the armed forces listed in such service.

18 Within 30 days after a change of duty station or

19 residential address of a member listed in a locator

20 service, the Secretary concerned shall update the lo21 cator service to indicate the new residential address

22 of the member.

23 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The

24 Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to

25 make information regarding the residential address
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1 of a member of the armed forces available, on re2 quest, to any authorized person for the purposes of

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

4 U.S.C. 651 et seq.).’’.

5 (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such

6 chapter is amended by adding at the end the following

7 new item:

‘‘709. Leave for attendance at child support or related hearings; availability of

personnel locator service information.’’.

8 (b) PAYMENT OF MILITARY RETIRED PAY IN COM9 PLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS.—

10 (1) DATE OF CERTIFICATION OF COURT

11 ORDER.—Section 1408 of title 10, United States

12 Code, is amended—

13 (A) by redesignating subsection (i) as sub14 section (j); and

15 (B) by inserting after subsection (h) the

16 following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(i) CERTIFICATION DATE.—It is not necessary that

18 the date of a certification of the authenticity or complete19 ness of a copy of a court order for child support received

20 by the Secretary concerned for the purposes of this section

21 be recent in relation to the date of receipt.’’.

22 (2) PAYMENTS CONSISTENT WITH ASSIGN23 MENTS OF RIGHTS TO STATES.—Subsection (d)(1)

24 of such section is amended by inserting after the
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1 first sentence the following: ‘‘In the case of a spouse

2 or former spouse who, pursuant to section

3 402(a)(26) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

4 602(26)), assigns to a State the rights of the spouse

5 or former spouse to receive support, the Secretary

6 concerned may make the child support payments re7 ferred to in the preceding sentence to that State in

8 amounts consistent with the assignment of rights.’’.

9 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subsection

10 (c)(2) of such section is amended—

11 (A) by inserting after the first sentence the

12 following: ‘‘The second sentence of subsection

13 (d)(1) shall not be construed to create any such

14 right, title, or interest.’’;

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’; and

16 (C) by designating the last sentence as

17 subparagraph (B) and conforming the margins

18 accordingly.

19 (c) ARREARAGES OWED BY MEMBERS OF THE UNI20 FORMED SERVICES.—Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–

21 669) is amended by inserting after section 465 the follow22 ing:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 465A. PAYMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES

2 OWED BY MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED

3 SERVICES.

4 ‘‘Any authority, requirement, or procedure provided

5 in this part or section 1408 of title 10, United States

6 Code, that applies to the payment of child support owed

7 by a member of the uniformed services (as defined in sec8 tion 101 of title 37, United States Code) shall apply to

9 the payment of child support arrearages as well as to

10 amounts of child support that are currently due.’’.

11 SEC. 42418. STATES REQUIRED TO ENACT THE UNIFORM

12 INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 466 (42 U.S.C. 666) is

14 amended by adding at the end the following:

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

16 State must have in effect laws which—

17 ‘‘(1) adopt verbatim the officially approved ver18 sion of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act

19 adopted by the National Conference of Commis20 sioners on Uniform State Laws in August 1992; and

21 ‘‘(2) require the courts of the State to recognize

22 according to its terms an order issued by a court of

23 any other State adjudicating parentage of an indi24 vidual over whom the court of such other State has

25 exercised personal jurisdiction.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 subsection (a) shall apply to payments under part D of

3 title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters

4 ending 2 or more years after the date of the enactment

5 of this subtitle.

6 SEC. 42419. IRS RECONCILIATION PROCESS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General and the

8 Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly conduct a study

9 of the feasibility of a procedure under which—

10 (1) past-due child support is collected from the

11 taxpayer owing such support by increasing the tax12 payer’s tax liability for a taxable year by the past13 due child support for such taxable year, and

14 (2) the Internal Revenue Service remits the col15 lected past-due child support to the individual or

16 governmental agency entitled to receive it.

17 (b) FORM.—As part of the study, the Secretary of

18 the Treasury shall develop an appropriate form which

19 could be filed with a taxpayer’s income tax return and

20 which shows—

21 (1) the child support required to be paid by the

22 taxpayer during the taxable year,

23 (2) the unpaid amount of such support as of

24 the time of filing the taxpayer’s income tax return

25 for such taxable year, and
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1 (3) the name and address of the individual or

2 governmental agency entitled to receive any payment

3 of such unpaid amount.

4 (c) REPORT.—The report of such study shall be sub5 mitted to Congress not later than 1 year after the date

6 of the enactment of this subtitle.

7 SEC. 42420. DENIAL OF PASSPORTS TO NONCUSTODIAL

8 PARENTS SUBJECT TO STATE ARREST WAR9 RANTS IN CASES OF NONPAYMENT OF CHILD

10 SUPPORT.

11 The Secretary of State is authorized to refuse a pass12 port or revoke, restrict, or limit a passport in any case

13 in which the Secretary of State determines or is informed

14 by competent authority that the applicant or passport

15 holder is a noncustodial parent who is the subject of an

16 outstanding State warrant of arrest for nonpayment of

17 child support, where the amount in controversy is not less

18 than $10,000.

19 SEC. 42421. DENIAL OF FEDERAL BENEFITS, LOANS, GUAR20 ANTEES, AND EMPLOYMENT TO CERTAIN

21 PERSONS WITH LARGE CHILD SUPPORT AR22 REARAGES.

23 (a) BENEFITS, LOANS, AND GUARANTEES.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of law, each agency or

25 instrumentality of the Federal Government may not,
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1 under any program that the agency or instrumentality su2 pervises or administers, provide a benefit to, make a loan

3 to, or provide any guarantee for the benefit of, any per4 son—

5 (1) whose child support arrearages, determined

6 under a court order or an order of an administrative

7 process established under State law, exceed $1,000;

8 and

9 (2) who is not in compliance with a plan or an

10 agreement to repay the arrearages.

11 (b) EMPLOYMENT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

13 provision of law, an individual shall be considered in14 eligible to accept employment in a position in the

15 Federal Government if—

16 (A) such individual has child support ar17 rearages, determined under a court order or an

18 order of an administrative process established

19 under State law, exceeding $1,000; and

20 (B) such individual is not in compliance

21 with a plan or agreement to repay the arrear22 ages.

23 (2) REGULATIONS.—Regulations to carry out

24 paragraph (1) shall—
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1 (A) with respect to positions in the execu2 tive branch, be prescribed by the President (or

3 his designee);

4 (B) with respect to positions in the legisla5 tive branch, be prescribed jointly by the Presi6 dent pro tempore of the Senate and the Speak7 er of the House of Representatives (or their

8 designees); and

9 (C) with respect to positions in the judicial

10 branch, be prescribed by the Chief Justice of

11 the United States (or his designee).

12 (3) CHILD SUPPORT DEFINED.—For purposes

13 of this subsection, the term ‘‘child support’’ has the

14 meaning given such term in section 462(b) of the

15 Social Security Act.

16 SEC. 42422. STATES REQUIRED TO ORDER COURTS TO

17 ALLOW ASSIGNMENT OF LIFE INSURANCE

18 BENEFITS TO SATISFY CHILD SUPPORT AR19 REARAGES.

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

21 section 42416 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

22 after paragraph (34) the following:

23 ‘‘(35) Procedures allowing State courts to—

24 ‘‘(A) order the issuer of a life insurance

25 policy to change the beneficiary provisions of
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1 the policy to effect an assignment of the bene2 fits payable to a beneficiary under the policy, in

3 whole or in part, to a child to satisfy a child

4 support arrearage, determined under a court

5 order or an order of an administrative process

6 established under State law, owed by the bene7 ficiary with respect to the child; and

8 ‘‘(B) prohibit the sale, assignment, or

9 pledge as collateral of the policy, in whole or in

10 part, by the beneficiary of the policy.’’.

11 SEC. 42423. INTERESTS IN JOINTLY HELD PROPERTY SUB12 JECT TO ASSIGNMENT TO SATISFY CHILD

13 SUPPORT ARREARAGES.

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

15 section 42422 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

16 after paragraph (35) the following:

17 ‘‘(36) Procedures allowing State courts to order

18 the assignment of an interest in jointly held property

19 to an individual owed a child support arrearage (de20 termined under a court order or an order of an ad21 ministrative process established under State law) by

22 a holder of an interest in the property, to the extent

23 of the arrearage.’’.
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1 SEC. 42424. INTERNATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCE2 MENT.

3 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS THAT THE UNITED

4 STATES SHOULD RATIFY THE UNITED NATIONS CON5 VENTION OF 1956.—It is the sense of the Congress that

6 the United States should ratify the United Nations Con7 vention of 1956.

8 (b) TREATMENT OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD SUP9 PORT CASES AS INTERSTATE CASES.—Section 454 (42

10 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 42301(a)(1) of this

11 subtitle, is amended—

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

13 (26);

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

16 (3) by inserting after paragraph (27) the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(28) provide that the State must treat inter19 national child support cases in the same manner as

20 the State treats interstate child support cases.’’.
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1 CHAPTER 5—COLLECTION AND

2 DISTRIBUTION

3 SEC. 42501. PRIORITIES IN DISTRIBUTION OF COLLECTED

4 CHILD SUPPORT.

5 (a) STATE DISTRIBUTION PLAN.—Section 457 (42

6 U.S.C. 657) is amended by adding at the end the follow7 ing:

8 ‘‘(e) The amounts that a State collects as child sup9 port (including interest) pursuant to a plan approved

10 under this part, other than amounts so collected through

11 a tax refund offset, shall (subject to subsection (d)) be

12 paid—

13 ‘‘(1) first to the individual owed the support or

14 (if the individual assigned to the State the payment

15 of the support) to the State, to the extent necessary

16 to satisfy the current month’s support obligation;

17 ‘‘(2) then to the individual owed the support, to

18 the extent necessary to satisfy any arrearage that

19 accrued after assistance with respect to the child

20 under this title ended;

21 ‘‘(3) then, at the option of the State—

22 ‘‘(A) to the individual owed the support, to

23 the extent necessary to satisfy any arrearage

24 that accrued before assistance was provided

25 with respect to the child under this title; or
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1 ‘‘(B) to the State, to the extent necessary

2 to reimburse the State for assistance provided

3 with respect to the child under this title (with4 out interest); and

5 ‘‘(4) then to other States, to the extent nec6 essary to reimburse such other States for assistance

7 provided with respect to the child under this title

8 (without interest), in the order in which such assist9 ance was provided.’’.

10 (b) STUDY AND PILOT PROJECTS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of

12 the United States shall conduct studies and pilot

13 projects of systems under which States would be re14 quired to pay the child support collected pursuant to

15 a State plan approved under part D of title IV of

16 the Social Security Act to the individuals to whom

17 the support is owed before making any payment to

18 reimburse any State for assistance provided with re19 spect to the child under part A of such title.

20 (2) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 3

21 years after the date of the enactment of this sub22 title, the Comptroller General shall submit to the

23 Committee on Ways and Means of the House of

24 Representatives and the Committee on Finance of

25 the Senate a report on each study and pilot project
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1 conducted pursuant to paragraph (1), including a

2 cost-benefit analysis and an analysis of the costs

3 that would be avoided under the program of aid to

4 families with dependent children under part A of

5 title IV of the Social Security Act, the program of

6 medical assistance under title XIX of such Act, and

7 the food stamp program under the Food Stamp Act

8 of 1977, if the various systems studied were imple9 mented.

10 (3) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense

11 of the Congress that, if the report submitted pursu12 ant to paragraph (2) demonstrates that there would

13 be a net benefit to society if a system described in

14 paragraph (1) were implemented, then Federal law

15 should provide that States implement the system.

16 (c) REVISION OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX REFUND

17 OFFSET.—Section 6402 of the Internal Revenue Code of

18 1986 (relating to authority to make credits or refunds)

19 is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘after any

21 other reductions allowed by law (but before’’ and in22 serting ‘‘before any other reductions allowed by law

23 (and before’’; and

24 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘with respect

25 to past-due support collected pursuant to an assign-
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1 ment under section 402(a)(26) of the Social Security

2 Act’’.

3 (d) $50 DISREGARDED FOR ALL MEANS-TESTED

4 PROGRAMS.—Section 457(b)(1) (42 U.S.C. 657(b)(1)) is

5 amended by inserting ‘‘under this part or under any other

6 Federal program which determines eligibility for or the

7 amount of assistance based on the income or assets of the

8 applicant for or recipient of the assistance’’ after ‘‘during

9 such month’’.

10 (e) FILL-THE-GAP POLICIES ALLOWED.—Section

11 402(a)(28) (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(28)) is amended by striking

12 the open parenthesis and all that follows through the close

13 parenthesis.

14 SEC. 42502. STATE CLAIMS AGAINST NONCUSTODIAL PAR15 ENT LIMITED TO ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO

16 THE CHILD.

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

18 section 42423 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

19 after paragraph (36) the following:

20 ‘‘(37)(A) Procedures under which any claims

21 the State may have against a noncustodial parent

22 for a child’s portion of the assistance provided under

23 a State plan approved under part A shall not exceed

24 the amount specified as child support under a court

25 or administrative order.
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1 ‘‘(B) As used in subparagraph (A), the term

2 ‘child’s portion’ means the assistance that would

3 have been provided with respect to the child if the

4 needs of the caretaker relative of the child had not

5 been taken into account in making the determination

6 with respect to the child’s family under section

7 402(a)(7).’’.

8 SEC. 42503. FEES FOR NON-AFDC CLIENTS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 454(6) (42 U.S.C.

10 654(6)) is amended—

11 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or recov12 ered’’ and all that follows through ‘‘program)’’;

13 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘on the

14 parent who owes the child or spousal support obliga15 tion involved’’ after ‘‘imposed’’;

16 (3) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘individ17 ual who’’ and inserting ‘‘the noncustodial parent if

18 the child whose parentage is to be determined

19 through the tests’’; and

20 (4) in subparagraph (E), by striking all that

21 follows ‘‘may be collected’’ and inserting ‘‘from the

22 parent who owes the child or spousal support obliga23 tion involved, but only after all current and past-due

24 support and interest charges have been collected’’.
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1 (b) PUBLICATION OF FEE SCHEDULES.—Section

2 454(10) (42 U.S.C. 654(10)) is amended by inserting ‘‘,

3 and shall publish guidelines and schedules of fees which

4 may be imposed under paragraph (6), and which shall be

5 reasonable’’ before the semicolon.

6 SEC. 42504. COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT POINTS FOR

7 CHILD SUPPORT.

8 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

9 42424(b) of this subtitle, is amended—

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

11 (27);

12 (2) by striking the period at the end of para13 graph (28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

14 (3) by inserting after paragraph (28) the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(29) provide for only 1 location, or several

17 local or regional locations for the collection of, ac18 counting for, and disbursement of child support in

19 cases enforced under the State plan under this

20 part.’’.
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1 SEC. 42505. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS THAT STATES

2 SHOULD ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO USE THE

3 STATE CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY TO COLLECT

4 AND PROCESS CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS.

5 It is the sense of the Congress that States should en6 courage all parents to use the State child support agency

7 to process and distribute child support payments in order

8 to establish an official record of such payments.

9 CHAPTER 6—FEDERAL ROLE

10 SEC. 42601. PLACEMENT AND ROLE OF THE OFFICE OF

11 CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.

12 Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by

13 section 42401(b) of this subtitle, is amended—

14 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

15 striking ‘‘, under the direction’’ and all that follows

16 through ‘‘and who’’ and inserting ‘‘which shall be

17 known as the Office of Child Support Enforcement,

18 shall be under the direction of an Assistant Sec19 retary appointed by the President with the advice

20 and consent of the Senate, and shall have its own

21 legal counsel. The Assistant Secretary shall report

22 directly to the Secretary and’’;

23 (2) in paragraph (10)—

24 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting

25 ‘‘using a methodology that reflects cost-avoid-
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1 ance as well as cost-recovery’’ after ‘‘the States

2 and the Federal Government’’;

3 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (H)

4 and (I) as subparagraphs (I) and (J), respec5 tively; and

6 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (G)

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(H) the budgetary allocation of the $50

9 pass through equally between part A and this

10 part;’’;

11 (3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

12 (13);

13 (4) by striking the period at the end of para14 graph (14) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

15 (5) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol16 lowing:

17 ‘‘(15) initiate and actively pursue with other

18 Federal agencies, such as the Department of De19 fense, coordinated efforts on Federal legislation.’’.

20 SEC. 42602. TRAINING.

21 (a) FEDERAL TRAINING ASSISTANCE.—Section

22 452(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(7)) is amended by inserting

23 ‘‘and training’’ after ‘‘technical assistance’’.
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1 (b) STATE TRAINING PROGRAM.—Section 454 (42

2 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 42504 of this subtitle,

3 is amended—

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

5 (28);

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of para7 graph (29) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (29) the fol9 lowing:

10 ‘‘(30) provide that the State will develop and

11 implement a training program under which training

12 is to be provided not less frequently than annually

13 to all personnel performing functions under the

14 State plan.’’.

15 (c) REPORT.—Section 452(a)(10) (42 U.S.C.

16 652(a)(10)), as amended by section 42601(2) of this sub17 title, is amended by redesignating subparagraphs (I) and

18 (J) as subparagraphs (J) and (K), respectively, and by

19 inserting after subparagraph (H) the following:

20 ‘‘(I) the training activities at the Federal

21 and State levels, the training audit, and the

22 amounts expended on training;’’.

23 SEC. 42603. STAFFING.

24 (a) STUDIES.—The Secretary of Health and Human

25 Services shall conduct and, not later than 1 year after the
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1 date of the enactment of this subtitle, complete staffing

2 studies for each State child support enforcement program,

3 including each agency and court involved in the child sup4 port process.

5 (b) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 90 days

6 after the end of the 1-year period described in subsection

7 (a), the Secretary shall report to the Committee on Ways

8 and Means of the House of Representatives and the Com9 mittee on Finance of the Senate, and to each State, the

10 results of the studies required by subsection (a).

11 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Health and

12 Human Services shall reduce by 2 percent the amount oth13 erwise payable to a State pursuant to section 455(a)(1)(A)

14 of the Social Security Act for any calendar quarter ending

15 2 or more years after the State receives a report transmit16 ted pursuant to subsection (b), if the Secretary determines

17 that, during the quarter, the State has not implemented

18 the staffing levels recommended in the report.

19 SEC. 42604. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TO TEST ALTER20 NATIVE APPROACHES TO INCENTIVE FUND21 ING FOR STATE CHILD SUPPORT PROGRAMS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

23 Human Services shall authorize 3 States to carry out dem24 onstration projects under which—
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1 (1) the State is to implement the State plan ap2 proved under part D of title IV of the Social Secu3 rity Act so as to promote quality control and provide

4 incentives for enforcement of health care support;

5 (2) in lieu of applying subsections (b) and (c)

6 of section 458 of such Act to the States, the incen7 tive payment to a State for a fiscal year shall be—

8 (A) not less than 65 percent of the total

9 amount expended to carry out the plan during

10 the fiscal year if the performance of the State

11 in implementing the plan meets such minimum

12 performance standards as the Secretary shall

13 prescribe by regulation; and

14 (B) not more than 90 percent of such total

15 amount if the performance significantly exceeds

16 the standards; and

17 (3) a payment to a State under this subsection

18 is deemed a payment to the State under such section

19 458.

20 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of Health and Human

21 Services and the Comptroller General of the United States

22 shall evaluate each demonstration project carried out

23 under subsection (a) and report to the Committee on Ways

24 and Means of the House of Representatives and the Com-
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1 mittee on Finance of the Senate the results and their rec2 ommendations.

3 (c) HEALTH CARE SUPPORT INCLUDED IN INCEN4 TIVE PAYMENT FORMULA.—Section 458 (42 U.S.C. 658)

5 is amended by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(f) For purposes of this section, the term ‘support’

7 includes premiums paid for health insurance coverage pur8 suant to a support order.’’.

9 (d) MINIMUM STATE FUNDING OF CHILD SUPPORT

10 ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Health and Human Serv11 ices shall reduce by 2 percent the amount otherwise pay12 able to a State pursuant to section 455(a)(1)(A) of the

13 Social Security Act for any of the 5 fiscal years that begin

14 after the date of the enactment of this subtitle (in this

15 subsection referred to as ‘‘investment years’’), if the Sec16 retary determines that, during the investment year, the

17 State has not expended on the program under the State

18 plan approved under part D of title IV of such an amount

19 equal to the sum of—

20 (1) the amount the State expends on the pro21 gram during the fiscal year in which this subtitle be22 comes law (in this subsection referred to as the

23 ‘‘base year’’); plus
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1 (2)(A) in the case of the 1st investment year,

2 60 percent of the amount paid to the State under

3 section 458 of such Act for the base year;

4 (B) in the case of the 2nd investment year, 70

5 percent of the amount so paid to the State;

6 (C) in the case of the 3rd investment year, 80

7 percent of the amount so paid to the State;

8 (D) in the case of the 4th investment year, 90

9 percent of the amount so paid to the State; and

10 (E) in the case of the 5th investment year, 100

11 percent of the amount so paid to the State.

12 (e) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

13 Congress that States should not use amounts paid to the

14 States pursuant to part D of title IV of the Social Security

15 Act, which are reinvested in child support activities, to

16 supplant State funding of such activities.

17 SEC. 42605. CHILD SUPPORT DEFINITION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) is

19 amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(j) For purposes of this part, the term ‘child sup21 port’ shall have the meaning given such term in section

22 462(b).’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 462(b)

24 (42 U.S.C. 662(b)) is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘and lump sum’’ after ‘‘peri2 odic’’, and

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘child care,’’ after ‘‘clothing,’’.

4 SEC. 42606. AUDITS.

5 (a) STUDY.—

6 (1) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of

7 Health and Human Services shall enter into a con8 tract for a study of the audit process of the Office

9 of Child Support Enforcement to develop criteria

10 and methodology for auditing the activities of State

11 child support enforcement agencies pursuant to part

12 D of title IV of the Social Security Act.

13 (2) DESIGN OF STUDY.—The study shall be de14 signed to—

15 (A) identify ways to improve the auditing

16 process, including by—

17 (i) reducing the resources required to

18 perform the audit;

19 (ii) simplifying procedures for States

20 to follow in obtaining samples;

21 (iii) studying the feasibility of sam22 pling cases for needed action rather than

23 requiring sampling plans for each audit

24 criterion; and
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1 (iv) a more timely audit period of re2 view; and

3 (B) develop a penalty process which—

4 (i) focuses on improving the delivery

5 of child support services and not harming

6 families;

7 (ii) uses a penalty not tied to any re8 duction of funds payable to States under

9 part A of title IV of the Social Security

10 Act; and

11 (iii) should include the escrowing of

12 funds withheld as penalties for use by

13 States to improve their child support pro14 grams in a manner approved by the Sec15 retary of Health and Human Services.

16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after comple17 tion of the study required by subsection (a), the Secretary

18 of Health and Human Services shall submit to the Com19 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Representa20 tives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report

21 on the results of the study.

22 (c) LIMITATION ON CASES INCLUDED IN AUDITS.—

23 Section 452(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(4)) is amended—

24 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(4)’’;

25 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and
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1 (3) by adding after and below the end the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding subparagraph (A), each

4 audit under subparagraph (A) shall be limited to

5 cases open on the date the audit begins and cases

6 closed within 180 days before such date, unless the

7 Secretary has determined, in accordance with regula8 tions, that there is a need for a longitudinal review

9 of case handling that includes cases that have been

10 closed for more than 180 days;’’.

11 SEC. 42607. CHILD SUPPORT ASSURANCE DEMONSTRATION

12 PROJECTS.

13 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

14 Congress that children should have a consistent source of

15 income to meet their education and medical needs.

16 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

17 the Congress that the provision of public assistance to a

18 custodial parent for the support of a child with respect

19 to whom a noncustodial parent owes child support does

20 not absolve the noncustodial parent of the obligation to

21 provide such support.

22 (c) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

23 Congress that the States must continue to vigorously pur24 sue efforts to establish parentage, and establish and en25 force child support obligations.
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1 (d) CHILD SUPPORT ASSURANCE DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECTS.—

3 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection

4 is to test the feasibility and utility of ensuring that

5 custodial parents owed child support have a consist6 ent source of income for the support of their chil7 dren, by authorizing States to conduct projects dem8 onstrating various methods for doing so.

9 (2) CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of

11 Health and Human Services (in this section re12 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall consider ap13 plications to conduct demonstration projects

14 under this subsection received only from eligible

15 States.

16 (B) ELIGIBLE STATE DEFINED.—For pur17 poses of subparagraph (A), a State is an eligi18 ble State if—

19 (i) the child support collection ratio

20 for the State for the most recent fiscal

21 year for which such information is avail22 able exceeds the child support collection

23 ratio for the United States for the fiscal

24 year; or
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1 (ii) AFDC support collection ratio for

2 the State for the most recent fiscal year

3 for which such information is available ex4 ceeds the AFDC support collection ratio

5 for the United States for the fiscal year.

6 (C) CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTION

7 RATIO.—As used in subparagraph (B), the term

8 ‘‘child support collection ratio’’ means, with re9 spect to a fiscal year—

10 (i) for a State—

11 (I) the total amount expended by

12 the State during the fiscal year for

13 the operation of the plan approved

14 under section 454 of the Social Secu15 rity Act; divided by

16 (II) the total amount of support

17 collected by the State during the fiscal

18 year in all cases under part D of title

19 IV of such Act; and

20 (ii) for the United States—

21 (I) the total amount expended by

22 the States during the fiscal year for

23 the operation of the plans approved

24 under such section; divided by
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1 (II) the total amount of support

2 collected by the States during the fis3 cal year in all cases under such part.

4 (D) AFDC SUPPORT COLLECTION

5 RATIO.—As used in subparagraph (B), the term

6 ‘‘AFDC support collection ratio’’ means, with

7 respect to a fiscal year—

8 (i) for a State—

9 (I) the total amount expended by

10 the State during the fiscal year for

11 the operation of the plan approved

12 under section 454 of the Social Secu13 rity Act; divided by

14 (II) the total amount of support

15 collected by the State under the plan

16 during the fiscal year in cases in

17 which the support obligation involved

18 is assigned to the State pursuant to

19 section 402(a)(26) or section

20 471(a)(17) of such Act; and

21 (ii) for the United States—

22 (I) the total amount expended by

23 the States during the fiscal year for

24 the operation of the plans approved

25 under such section 454; divided by
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1 (II) the total amount of support

2 collected by the States under the

3 plans during the fiscal year in cases in

4 which the support obligation involved

5 is assigned to a State pursuant to sec6 tion 402(a)(26) or section 471(a)(17)

7 of such Act.

8 (3) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each appli9 cation of a State to conduct a demonstration project

10 under this subsection must describe a demonstration

11 project that meets the following requirements:

12 (A) PROJECT BENEFICIARIES.—A child

13 support assurance benefit is payable under the

14 project to the caretaker of a child if—

15 (i) the child is an eligible child; and

16 (ii) the caretaker has applied for serv17 ices under the State plan approved under

18 part D of title IV of the Social Security

19 Act.

20 (B) ELIGIBLE CHILDREN.—A child is an

21 eligible child if—

22 (i) the child resides in the State;

23 (ii) the child has a living noncustodial

24 parent;
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1 (iii) a good faith effort has been made

2 to seek or enforce an order for such parent

3 to provide support for the child, or there is

4 good cause for not seeking or enforcing

5 such an order; and

6 (iv) any rights to support owed the

7 child have been assigned to the State, to

8 the extent of the child support assurance

9 benefits received with respect to the child

10 under the project.

11 (C) AMOUNT OF CHILD SUPPORT ASSUR12 ANCE BENEFIT.—The amount of the child sup13 port assurance benefit payable under the

14 project to the caretaker of 1 or more eligible

15 children is the amount by which—

16 (i) the child support assurance thresh17 old; exceeds

18 (ii) the dollar value of the child sup19 port (if any) received during the month by

20 the caretaker from the noncustodial parent

21 for the support of any eligible child.

22 (D) CHILD SUPPORT ASSURANCE THRESH23 OLD.—The child support assurance threshold is

1 24 ⁄12 of—
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1 (i) $2,000 for the 1st eligible child;

2 plus

3 (ii) $1,000 for the 2nd eligible child

4 (if any); plus

5 (iii) $500 for each subsequent eligible

6 child (if any).

7 (4) METHODS TO BE TESTED.—In approving

8 applications to conduct demonstration projects under

9 this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that the

10 applications approved under this subsection describe

11 projects which, in the aggregate, are designed to test

12 the following:

13 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE VERSUS OTHER

14 PROCESSING.—The feasibility of implementing

15 a statewide child support assurance benefit in a

16 State which processes child support and parent17 age cases administratively, as opposed to the

18 feasibility of implementing such a benefit in a

19 State which processes such cases only judicially

20 or quasi-judicially.

21 (B) ALLOWANCE OF GOOD CAUSE EXCEP22 TIONS.—The effects of prohibiting the provision

23 of a child support assurance benefit with re24 spect to a child unless an order for the support

25 of the child has been established and the care-
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1 taker of the child has made a good faith effort

2 to enforce the order, as opposed to allowing

3 good cause exceptions to the prohibition.

4 (C) TIMING OF BENEFITS.—The effects of

5 providing child support assurance benefits im6 mediately upon the establishment of a child

7 support order, as opposed to providing such

8 benefits only after a period (determined by the

9 Secretary) of nonreceipt of child support. The

10 Secretary may select 1 or more such periods to

11 be tested in different demonstration projects.

12 (D) RELATIONSHIP OF BENEFITS TO

13 OTHER INCOME AND BENEFITS.—The effects of

14 reducing the amount payable with respect to a

15 child under the State plan approved under part

16 A of title IV of the Social Security Act by a

17 portion (determined by the Secretary) of the

18 child support assurance benefit provided by the

19 State with respect to the child, as opposed to

20 reducing the child support assurance benefit

21 provided by the State with respect to the child

22 by a portion (determined by the Secretary) of

23 the earned income of the family of the child.

24 The Secretary may select 1 or more such por-
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1 tions of benefits or of earned income to be test2 ed in different demonstration projects.

3 (5) PRIORITY TO BE GIVEN TO PROJECTS THAT

4 INCLUDE WORK INCENTIVES.—In approving applica5 tions to conduct demonstration projects under this

6 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority among

7 otherwise equivalent applications to applications that

8 describe projects that include work incentives for

9 participants.

10 (6) APPROVAL OF CERTAIN APPLICATIONS.—

11 The Secretary shall approve not more than 5 appli12 cations to conduct demonstration projects under this

13 subsection which appear likely to contribute signifi14 cantly to the achievement of the purpose of this sub15 section.

16 (7) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Each State whose

17 application to conduct a demonstration project under

18 this subsection has been approved by the Secretary

19 shall conduct the project in accordance with such

20 regulations as the Secretary may prescribe.

21 (8) FUNDING.—From the sums appropriated to

22 carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall pay to

23 each State whose application to conduct a dem24 onstration project under this subsection has been ap-
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1 proved by the Secretary, for each month, an amount

2 equal to—

3 (A) 90 percent of the aggregate amount of

4 the child support assurance benefits paid by the

5 State during the month if, during the month,

6 the project has met such performance goals as

7 the Secretary has established for the project; or

8 (B) 80 percent of such aggregate amount,

9 otherwise.

10 (9) MODIFIED PRIORITY OF DISTRIBUTION OF

11 CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTED FOR CHILDREN WITH

12 RESPECT TO WHOM CHILD SUPPORT ASSURANCE

13 BENEFIT IS PAID.—In lieu of paragraph (1) of sec14 tion 457(e) of the Social Security Act, child support

15 collected from a noncustodial parent of a child with

16 respect to whom a child support assurance benefit is

17 paid under a demonstration project conducted under

18 this subsection shall (subject to section 457(d) of

19 such Act) be paid—

20 (A) first to the State, to the extent nec21 essary to reimburse the State for the portion of

22 the benefit not paid from funds provided under

23 paragraph (8) of this subsection; and

24 (B) then to the Federal Government, to

25 the extent necessary to reimburse the Federal
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1 Government for the portion of the benefit paid

2 from funds provided under paragraph (8) of

3 this subsection.

4 (10) DURATION OF PROJECTS.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State whose ap6 plication to conduct a demonstration project

7 under this subsection has been approved by the

8 Secretary shall conduct the project for not less

9 than 3 years and not more than 5 years.

10 (B) AUTHORITY TO TERMINATE

11 PROJECTS.—The Secretary may terminate a

12 demonstration project conducted under this

13 subsection if the Secretary determines that the

14 project is not being conducted consistent with

15 or satisfactorily under this subsection.

16 (11) EVALUATIONS.—Each State which con17 ducts a demonstration project under this subsection

18 shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an interim

19 and a final evaluation of the project with respect to

20 the impact of the project on—

21 (A) the economic and noneconomic well22 being of the participants in the project and of

23 the work force generally; and

24 (B) participation in and expenditures

25 under the program of the State under the State
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1 plan approved under part A of title IV of the

2 Social Security Act.

3 (12) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 1

4 year after the completion of all demonstration

5 projects conducted under this subsection, the Sec6 retary shall submit to the Committee on Ways and

7 Means of the House of Representatives and the

8 Committee on Finance of the Senate a report that

9 contains a consolidated evaluation of the projects.

10 SEC. 42608. CHILDREN’S TRUST FUND.

11 (a) DESIGNATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 61

13 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to

14 returns and records) is amended by adding at the

15 end thereof the following new part:

16 ‘‘PART IX—CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHILDREN’S

17 TRUST FUND

‘‘Sec. 6097. Amounts for Children’s Trust Fund.

18 ‘‘SEC. 6097. AMOUNTS FOR CHILDREN’S TRUST FUND.

19 ‘‘Each taxpayer may include with such taxpayer’s re20 turn of tax imposed by chapter 1 for any taxable year a

21 contribution by the taxpayer to the Children’s Trust

22 Fund.’’.

23 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of

24 parts for subchapter A of chapter 61 of the Internal
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1 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the

2 end thereof the following new item:

‘‘Part IX—Contributions for Children’s Trust Fund.’’.

3 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

4 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin5 ning after December 31, 1994.

6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILDREN’S TRUST

7 FUND.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98

9 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to

10 the trust fund code) is amended by adding at the

11 end thereof the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 9512. CHILDREN’S TRUST FUND.

13 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab14 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund

15 to be known as the ‘Children’s Trust Fund’, consisting

16 of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to

17 the Trust Fund as provided in this section or section

18 9602(b).

19 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER TO CHILDREN’S TRUST FUND OF

20 AMOUNTS DESIGNATED.—There is hereby appropriated to

21 the Children’s Trust Fund amounts equivalent to the

22 amounts contributed to such Trust Fund under section

23 6097.

24 ‘‘(c) EXPENDITURES FROM TRUST FUND.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Children’s

2 Trust Fund shall be available for making expendi3 tures for programs regarding child support and the

4 specific mandates described in part D of title IV of

5 the Social Security Act, especially such mandates es6 tablished by the amendments made by the Economic

7 Equity Act of 1996.

8 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Amounts in

9 the Children’s Trust Fund shall be available to pay

10 the administrative expenses of the Department of

11 the Treasury directly allocable to—

12 ‘‘(A) modifying the individual income tax

13 return forms to carry out section 6097,

14 ‘‘(B) carrying out this chapter with respect

15 to such Trust Fund, and

16 ‘‘(C) processing amounts received under

17 section 6097 and transferring such amounts to

18 such Trust Fund.’’.

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions for subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal

21 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the

22 end thereof the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 9512. Children’s Trust Fund.’’.
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1 SEC. 42609. STUDY OF REASONS FOR NONPAYMENT OF

2 CHILD SUPPORT; REPORT.

3 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United

4 States shall—

5 (1) conduct a study of the causes of delin6 quency in the payment of child support, including

7 the nonpayment of child support by noncustodial

8 parents and failure of custodial parents to cooperate

9 in the collection of child support; and

10 (2) if a sufficient number of studies of this

11 matter are available, review the studies.

12 (b) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 1 year after

13 the date of the enactment of this subtitle, the Comptroller

14 General shall submit to the Committee on Ways and

15 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee

16 on Finance of the Senate, and to the Office of Child Sup17 port Enforcement, a report that contains the results of

18 the study required by subsection (a), and a consolidated

19 summary of the studies described in subsection (a)(2).

20 SEC. 42610. STUDY OF EFFECTIVENESS OF ADMINISTRA21 TIVE PROCESSES; REPORT.

22 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United

23 States shall conduct a study of the effectiveness of the

24 processing of child support and parentage cases in States

25 that use administrative processes as compared with States

26 that use judicial or quasi-judicial processes.
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1 (b) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Within 1 year after

2 the date of the enactment of this subtitle, the Comptroller

3 General shall submit to the Committee on Ways and

4 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee

5 on Finance of the Senate a report that contains the results

6 of the study required by subsection (a).

7 SEC. 42611. PUBLICATION OF BEST CHILD SUPPORT PRAC8 TICES.

9 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

10 Congress that the Office of Child Support Enforcement

11 should develop a mechanism to publicize the best practices

12 of States in the area of child support.

13 (b) COMPENDIUM OF STATE CHILD SUPPORT STAT14 UTES.—The Office of Child Support Enforcement shall

15 produce and update the compendium entitled ‘‘A Guide

16 To State Child Support And Paternity Laws’’, published

17 by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

18 SEC. 42612. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT CHILD SUP19 PORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Child Support En21 forcement shall establish an advisory committee on child

22 support matters composed of Federal and State legisla23 tors, State child support officials, and representatives of

24 custodial and noncustodial parents.
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1 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The advisory committee estab2 lished pursuant to subsection (a) shall—

3 (1) provide oversight of the implementation of

4 Federal laws and regulations affecting child support,

5 and the operation of Federal, State, and local child

6 support programs; and

7 (2) provide a forum through which child sup8 port problems experienced by parents, State agen9 cies, the courts, and the private bar may be identi10 fied, and from which recommendations on how to

11 solve such problems may be reported to the Sec12 retary of Health and Human Services and to the

13 Congress.

14 (c) PERMANENCY.—Section 14 of the Federal Advi15 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to

16 the advisory committee established pursuant to subsection

17 (a) of this section.

18 CHAPTER 7—STATE ROLE

19 SEC. 42701. ADVOCATION OF CHILDREN’S ECONOMIC SECU20 RITY.

21 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

22 42602(b) of this subtitle, is amended—

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

24 (29);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (30) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (30) the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(31) provide that the agency administering the

6 plan shall advocate to promote the greatest economic

7 security possible for children, consistent with the

8 ability of any individual who owes child support with

9 respect to the child to provide the support.’’.

10 SEC. 42702. DUTIES OF STATE CHILD SUPPORT AGENCIES.

11 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

12 42701 of this subtitle, is amended—

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

14 (30);

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (31) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (31) the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(32) provide that the agency administering the

20 plan shall provide to each custodial parent—

21 ‘‘(A) a written description of the services

22 available under the plan, and a statement de23 scribing the priorities applied in distributing

24 collected child support and the rules governing
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1 confidentiality of information in child support

2 matters;

3 ‘‘(B) a statement that at least 30 days be4 fore the agency consents to the dismissal of a

5 child support case with prejudice or a reduction

6 of arrearages, the agency must provide notice to

7 the custodial parent at the last known address

8 of the custodial parent;

9 ‘‘(C) written quarterly reports on the sta10 tus of any case involving the custodial parent;

11 ‘‘(D) a statement that the State is re12 quired to provide services under the plan to any

13 custodial parent who is eligible for aid under

14 the State plan approved under part A; and

15 ‘‘(E) a statement that any custodial parent

16 who applies for services under the plan is eligi17 ble for such services, and that any application

18 fee for such services is deferred pending deter19 mination of the eligibility of the custodial par20 ent for aid under the State plan approved under

21 part A.’’.

22 SEC. 42703. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING QUAL23 ITY OF AND ACCESSIBILITY TO CHILD SUP24 PORT SERVICES.

25 It is the sense of the Congress that—
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1 (1) States should work closely with parents to

2 improve the quality of child support services; and

3 (2) State and local child support enforcement

4 agencies should have—

5 (A) offices in easily accessible locations

6 near public transportation;

7 (B) office hours that allow parents to meet

8 with attorneys and caseworkers without having

9 to take time off from work; and

10 (C) office environments conducive to pri11 vate discussion of legal and personal matters,

12 such as in individual interview rooms and child

13 care facilities.

14 SEC. 42704. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS FOR CHANGE OF

15 PAYEE IN IV–D CASES.

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

17 section 42502 of this subtitle, is amended by inserting

18 after paragraph (37) the following:

19 ‘‘(38) Procedures under which only administra20 tive procedures are required to change the payee

21 under a child support order in a case under this

22 part, if a statement by an official of the State child

23 support enforcement agency is included in the court

24 or administrative file documenting the change.’’.
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1 SEC. 42705. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS SUPPORTING USE OF

2 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES IN CHILD

3 SUPPORT CASES.

4 It is the sense of the Congress that each State should

5 establish administrative procedures to process child sup6 port cases.

7 SEC. 42706. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS SUPPORTING ESTAB8 LISHMENT OF STATE CHILD SUPPORT COUN9 CILS.

10 It is the sense of the Congress that each State should

11 establish a child support council, composed of members

12 from all over the State, to—

13 (1) review State laws on child support and pa14 ternity;

15 (2) recommend improvements in child support

16 and paternity programs and in such laws; and

17 (3) serve as a public forum for custodial and

18 noncustodial parents on matters related to child sup19 port and paternity.

20 CHAPTER 8—JOBS FOR UNEMPLOYED

21 NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS

22 SEC. 42801. PARENTS FAIR SHARE DEMONSTRATION

23 PROJECTS.

24 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

25 Congress that any program established by the Federal

26 Government to provide jobs for noncustodial parents
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1 should be administered so as not to adversely affect any

2 Federal program for custodial parents, either directly or

3 through competition for available funds.

4 (b) EVALUATION OF PROJECTS; REPORT TO THE

5 CONGRESS; CONDITIONAL AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT AD6 DITIONAL AND MORE EXTENSIVE PROJECTS.—Upon re7 ceiving the evaluations required to be provided pursuant

8 to section 482(d)(3) of the Social Security Act, the Sec9 retary of Health and Human Services shall transmit the

10 evaluations to the Secretary of Labor who shall—

11 (1) study the evaluations;

12 (2) within 12 months after receipt of the eval13 uations, submit to the Committee on Ways and

14 Means of the House of Representatives and the

15 Committee on Finance of the Senate a consolidated

16 report on the activities evaluated; and

17 (3)(A) if the evaluations are sufficient to permit

18 the Secretary to make recommendations with respect

19 to the activities evaluated, include such rec20 ommendations in the report required by paragraph

21 (2) of this subsection; or

22 (B) if the evaluations are inconclusive, author23 ize States to provide services, under programs estab24 lished under section 402(a)(19) and part F of title

25 IV of such Act, on a voluntary or mandatory basis,
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1 to noncustodial parents who are unemployed and un2 able to meet their child support obligations, of great3 er scope and for a greater duration than the services

4 provided under section 482(d)(3) of such Act, in ac5 cordance with regulations prescribed by the Sec6 retary of Labor.

7 CHAPTER 9—EFFECTIVE DATE

8 SEC. 42901. EFFECTIVE DATE.

9 Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, this

10 subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall

11 take effect on January 1, 1997.

12 Subtitle C—Child Support

13 Enforcement Improvements

14 SEC. 43001. NONLIABILITY FOR DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS

15 PROVIDING FINANCIAL RECORDS TO STATE

16 CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

17 IN CHILD SUPPORT CASES.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi19 sion of Federal or State law, a depository institution shall

20 not be liable under any Federal or State law to any person

21 for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a

22 State child support enforcement agency attempting to es23 tablish, modify, or enforce a child support obligation of

24 such individual.
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1 (b) PROHIBITION OF DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL

2 RECORD OBTAINED BY STATE CHILD SUPPORT EN3 FORCEMENT AGENCY.—A State child support enforcement

4 agency which obtains a financial record of an individual

5 from a depository institution pursuant to subsection (a)

6 may disclose such financial record only for the purpose

7 of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying,

8 or enforcing a child support obligation of such individual.

9 (c) CIVIL DAMAGES FOR UNAUTHORIZED DISCLO10 SURE.—

11 (1) DISCLOSURE BY STATE OFFICER OR EM12 PLOYEE.—If any officer or employee of a State

13 knowingly, or by reason of negligence, discloses a fi14 nancial record of an individual in violation of sub15 section (b), such individual may bring a civil action

16 for damages against such State in a district court of

17 the United States.

18 (2) NO LIABILITY FOR GOOD FAITH BUT ERRO19 NEOUS INTERPRETATION.—No liability shall arise

20 under this subsection with respect to any disclosure

21 which results from a good faith, but erroneous, in22 terpretation of subsection (b).

23 (3) DAMAGES.—In any action brought under

24 paragraph (1), upon a finding of liability on the part
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1 of the defendant, the defendant shall be liable to the

2 plaintiff in an amount equal to the sum of—

3 (A) the greater of—

4 (i) $1,000 for each act of unauthor5 ized disclosure of a financial record with

6 respect to which such defendant is found

7 liable; or

8 (ii) the sum of—

9 (I) the actual damages sustained

10 by the plaintiff as a result of such un11 authorized disclosure; plus

12 (II) in the case of a willful disclo13 sure or a disclosure which is the re14 sult of gross negligence, punitive dam15 ages; plus

16 (B) the costs of the action.

17 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

18 (1) The term ‘‘depository institution’’ means—

19 (A) a depository institution, as defined by

20 section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance

21 Act;

22 (B) an institution-affiliated party, as de23 fined by section 3(u) of such Act; and

24 (C) any Federal credit union or State cred25 it union, as defined by section 101 of the Fed-
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1 eral Credit Union Act, including an institution2 affiliated party of such a credit union, as de3 fined by section 206(r) of such Act.

4 (2) The term ‘‘financial record’’ has the mean5 ing given such term by section 1101(2) of the Right

6 to Financial Privacy Act of 1978.

7 (3) The term ‘‘State child support enforcement

8 agency’’ means a State agency which administers a

9 State program for establishing and enforcing child

10 support obligations.

11 SEC. 43002. ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONSUMER REPORTS

12 BY STATE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT

13 AGENCIES IN CHILD SUPPORT CASES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604 of the Fair Credit

15 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended by adding

16 at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(4) To a State child support enforcement agency

18 that is seeking to establish, modify, or enforce a child sup19 port obligation against the consumer, if—

20 ‘‘(A) the paternity of the consumer for the child

21 to which the obligation relates has been established

22 or acknowledged by the consumer in accordance with

23 State laws under which the obligation arises (if re24 quired by those laws); and
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1 ‘‘(B) the State child support enforcement agen2 cy—

3 ‘‘(i) before obtaining the consumer report,

4 provides written notice to the consumer that the

5 State agency intends to obtain a consumer re6 port on the consumer; and

7 ‘‘(ii) certifies to the consumer reporting

8 agency that—

9 ‘‘(I) the requirement in subparagraph

10 (A) has been fulfilled (if applicable); and

11 ‘‘(II) the notice required by clause (i)

12 has been provided.’’.

13 (b) STATE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY

14 DEFINED.—Section 603 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a)

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

17 ‘‘(k) The term ‘State child support enforcement agen18 cy’ means a State agency which administers a State pro19 gram for establishing and enforcing child support obliga20 tions.’’.

21 SEC. 43003. HEALTH CARE SUPPORT.

22 (a) INCLUSION IN CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 466(a) of the Social

24 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by in25 serting after paragraph (11) the following:
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1 ‘‘(12) Not later than the beginning of the 9th

2 calendar month that begins after the date the Sec3 retary prescribes final regulations as provided for in

4 section 467(d)(2):

5 ‘‘(A) Procedures which require any child

6 support order, issued or modified by a court or

7 administrative agency of the State on or after

8 the effective date of guidelines established by

9 the State under section 467(d), to provide for

10 coverage of the health care costs of the child in

11 accordance with such guidelines.

12 ‘‘(B) Procedures which require the expe13 dited consideration and disposition of any alle14 gation of noncompliance with an obligation to

15 cover the health care costs of a child imposed

16 under a child support order issued or modified

17 in the State.’’.

18 (2) STATE GUIDELINES.—Section 467 of such

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 667) is amended by adding at the

20 end the following:

21 ‘‘(d)(1) Not later than the beginning of the 9th cal22 endar month that begins after the date the Secretary pre23 scribes final regulations in accordance with paragraph (2),

24 each State, as a condition for having its State plan ap25 proved under this part, must establish guidelines for the
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1 coverage of the health care costs of children pursuant to

2 child support orders issued or modified in the State, which

3 guidelines shall create a streamlined process that meets

4 the minimum standards established by the Secretary in

5 such regulations.

6 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall promulgate regulations

7 which set forth minimum standards that any set of guide8 lines established pursuant to paragraph (1) must meet in

9 providing for the coverage of the health care costs of chil10 dren pursuant to child support orders issued or modified

11 in the State, including—

12 ‘‘(i) the contents of such an order with respect

13 to the coverage of such costs;

14 ‘‘(ii) the distribution of responsibility for such

15 costs;

16 ‘‘(iii) to the extent that such costs are to be

17 covered through health insurance—

18 ‘‘(I) the provision of such insurance;

19 ‘‘(II) the payment of insurance claims; and

20 ‘‘(III) the rights of the noncustodial parent

21 and the custodial parent to insurance informa22 tion;

23 ‘‘(iv) the circumstances under which a provider

24 of health insurance may or may not deny coverage

25 to a child who is the subject of such an order;
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1 ‘‘(v) penalties to be imposed on providers of

2 health insurance who fail to comply with the guide3 lines; and

4 ‘‘(vi) how changes in the circumstances of the

5 noncustodial parent and the custodial parent are to

6 be taken into account with respect to the coverage

7 of such costs.

8 ‘‘(B) In developing such standards, the Secretary

9 shall ensure that, in establishing guidelines pursuant to

10 paragraph (1), the State considers the following matters

11 in the following order of importance:

12 ‘‘(i) The best interests of the child.

13 ‘‘(ii) The financial and other circumstances of

14 the parents of the child.

15 ‘‘(iii) Cost-effectiveness.

16 ‘‘(3) The preceding subsections of this section shall

17 apply in like manner to the guidelines established pursu18 ant to this subsection.’’.

19 (3) REGULATIONS.—

20 (A) PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—Within 9

21 months after the date of the enactment of this

22 subtitle, the Secretary of Health and Human

23 Services shall issue proposed regulations to im24 plement the amendments made by this sub25 section.
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1 (B) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Within 14

2 months after the date of the enactment of this

3 subtitle, the Secretary of Health and Human

4 Services shall issue final regulations to imple5 ment the amendments made by this subsection.

6 (b) INCLUSION IN INCENTIVE PAYMENTS PROGRAM

7 OF DEPENDENT HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDED DUE TO

8 SUCCESSFUL ENFORCEMENT.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 458(b) of the Social

10 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 658(b)) is amended by add11 ing at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(5)(A) For purposes of this section, the successful

13 enforcement by the State of a provision of a support order

14 requiring an absent parent to obtain health insurance for

15 1 or more children shall be considered the collection of

16 support from the absent parent, without regard to the

17 means by which such support is provided.

18 ‘‘(B) The amount of support collected in any case in

19 which the State successfully enforces a provision of a sup20 port order requiring an absent parent to obtain health in21 surance for 1 or more children shall be the savings to the

22 State from the provision of such health insurance to such

23 children, as determined in accordance with a health insur24 ance savings methodology adopted by the State in accord25 ance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.’’.
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1 (2) REGULATIONS.—Within 6 months after the

2 date of the enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary

3 of Health and Human Services shall prescribe such

4 regulations as may be necessary to implement the

5 amendment made by paragraph (1).

6 (3) STUDY; REPORT.—

7 (A) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and

8 Human Services shall conduct a study to deter9 mine the incentives that should be provided to

10 encourage States to enforce obligations of non11 custodial parents to pay (and obtain medical in12 surance coverage with respect to) the reason13 able and necessary health and dental expenses

14 of the children to whom the noncustodial par15 ents owe such obligations.

16 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months

17 after the date of the enactment of this subtitle,

18 the Secretary of Health and Human Services

19 shall submit to the Committee on Ways and

20 Means of the House of Representatives and the

21 Committee on Finance of the Senate the results

22 of the study required by subparagraph (A).
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1 SEC. 43004. ANNUAL REPORTS ON STATE COMPLIANCE

2 WITH TIME LIMITS WITHIN WHICH STATE

3 MUST PROVIDE CERTAIN CHILD SUPPORT AS4 SISTANCE.

5 Section 452(a)(10) of the Social Security Act (42

6 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)) is amended—

7 (1) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘and’’;

8 (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking the period

9 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

10 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘(J) compliance, by State, with the stand13 ards established pursuant to subsections (h)

14 and (i).’’.

15 SEC. 43005. WAGES WITHHELD BY EMPLOYERS TO PAY

16 CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS REQUIRED TO

17 BE PAID TO STATE WITHIN 10 DAYS; LATE

18 PAYMENT PENALTY IMPOSED ON EMPLOY19 ERS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 466(b)(6)(A) of the Social

21 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 666(b)(6)(A)) is amended—

22 (1) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘within 10 days

23 after the payment of such wages’’ before ‘‘to the ap24 propriate agency’’; and

25 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(iii) The State must require any employer who

2 fails to make any payment required in accordance

3 with clause (i) within the 10-day period described

4 therein to pay the State a $1,000 penalty. The State

5 must expend all penalties collected in accordance

6 with this clause for the operation of the State plan

7 approved under section 454, not later than the end

8 of the calendar quarter following the calendar quar9 ter in which collected.’’.

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2) of this subsection, the amendments made

13 by subsection (a) of this section shall take effect on

14 the date of the enactment of this subtitle and apply

15 to wages paid on or after such date and payments

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

17 for calendar quarters beginning on or after such

18 date.

19 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

20 REQUIRED.—In the case of a State plan approved

21 under section 454 of the Social Security Act which

22 the Secretary of Health and Human Services deter23 mines requires State legislation (other than legisla24 tion appropriating funds) in order for the plan to

25 meet the additional requirements imposed by the
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1 amendments made by subsection (a) of this section,

2 the State plan shall not be regarded as failing to

3 comply with the requirements of such section 454

4 solely on the basis of the failure of the plan to meet

5 such additional requirements before the 1st day of

6 the 1st calendar quarter beginning after the close of

7 the 1st regular session of the State legislature that

8 begins after the date of the enactment of this sub9 title. For purposes of the previous sentence, in the

10 case of a State that has a 2-year legislative session,

11 each year of such session shall be deemed to be a

12 separate regular session of the State legislature.

13 SEC. 43006. NATIONAL PARENT LOCATOR NETWORK.

14 Section 453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

15 653) is amended by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall expand the Parent Locator

17 Service to establish a national network based on the com18 prehensive statewide child support enforcement systems

19 developed by the States, to—

20 ‘‘(1) allow each State to—

21 ‘‘(A) locate any absent parent who owes

22 child support, for whom a child support obliga23 tion is being established, or for whom an order

24 for visitation is being enforced, by—
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1 ‘‘(i) accessing the records of other

2 State agencies and sources of locate infor3 mation directly from one computer system

4 to another; and

5 ‘‘(ii) accessing Federal sources of lo6 cate information in the same fashion;

7 ‘‘(B) access the files of other States to de8 termine whether there are other child support

9 orders involving the same absent parent, and

10 obtain the details of any such order;

11 ‘‘(C) provide for both on-line and batch

12 processing of locate requests, with on-line ac13 cess restricted to cases in which the information

14 is needed immediately (for such reasons as

15 court appearances) and batch processing used

16 to ‘troll’ data bases to locate individuals or up17 date information periodically; and

18 ‘‘(D) direct locate requests to individual

19 States or Federal agencies, broadcast requests

20 to selected States, or broadcast cases to all

21 States when there is no indication of the source

22 of needed information;

23 ‘‘(2) provide for a maximum of 48-hour turn24 around time for information to be broadcast and re25 turned to a requesting State; and
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1 ‘‘(3) provide ready access to courts of the infor2 mation on the network by location of a computer

3 terminal in each court.’’.

4 Subtitle D—Single Parent

5 Protection

6 SEC. 44001. TREATMENT OF UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

9 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes10 ignating section 35 as section 36 and by inserting after

11 section 34 the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 35. UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT.

13 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli14 gible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against

15 the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an

16 amount equal to the unpaid child support of such individ17 ual for such year.

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

19 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible

20 individual’ means any individual—

21 ‘‘(A) who is entitled to receive child sup22 port payments during the taxable year, and

23 ‘‘(B) who, as of the close of such taxable

24 year, has not received all of the child support
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1 payments to which such individual is entitled

2 for such year.

3 ‘‘(2) UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT.—The term ‘un4 paid child support’ means, with respect to an indi5 vidual for any taxable year, the excess of—

6 ‘‘(A) the aggregate child support payments

7 such individual is entitled to receive during

8 such year, over

9 ‘‘(B) the child support payments such indi10 vidual received during such year.

11 ‘‘(3) CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘child sup13 port payment’ means, with respect to any tax14 able year—

15 ‘‘(i) any periodic payment of a fixed

16 amount, or

17 ‘‘(ii) any payment of a medical or

18 educational expense, insurance premium,

19 or other similar item,

20 which is required to be paid to the taxpayer

21 during such taxable year by an individual under

22 a support instrument for the support of any

23 child of such individual.

24 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION WITH AFDC.—The

25 term ‘child support payment’ shall not include
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1 any payment the right to which has been as2 signed to a State under section 402(a)(26) of

3 the Social Security Act.

4 ‘‘(c) TAXPAYER REQUIRED TO IDENTIFY INDIVID5 UAL REQUIRED TO PAY SUPPORT.—No credit shall be al6 lowed under this section for a taxable year unless the tax7 payer includes on the return for such year the name and

8 TIN on each individual required to make support pay9 ments to the taxpayer during such taxable year.

10 ‘‘(d) INCREASE IN TAX OF INDIVIDUAL FAILING TO

11 MAKE REQUIRED SUPPORT PAYMENTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If credit is allowed under

13 this section for any taxable year with respect to un14 paid support payments, the tax imposed by this

15 chapter of the individual failing to make such pay16 ment (for such individual’s taxable year which be17 gins in the calendar year in which the taxable year

18 of the taxpayer begins) shall be increased by the

19 amount of such credit.

20 ‘‘(2) NO CREDITS AGAINST TAX, ETC.—Any in21 crease in tax under this subsection shall not be

22 treated as a tax imposed by this chapter for pur23 poses of determining—

24 ‘‘(A) the amount of any other credit under

25 this part, or
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1 ‘‘(B) the minimum tax under section 55.’’

2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

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

4 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting be5 fore the period ‘‘or from section 35 of such Code’’.

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

7 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is amended by

8 striking the item relating to section 35 and inserting

9 the following new items:

‘‘Sec. 35. Unpaid child support.

‘‘Sec. 36. Overpayments of tax.’’

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

11 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

12 December 31, 1996.

13 Subtitle E—Women’s Pension

14 Equity

15 SEC. 45001. MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM AND QUALI16 FIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER.

17 (a) MODEL SPOUSAL CONSENT FORM.—

18 (1) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE

19 CODE.—Section 417(a) of the Internal Revenue

20 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the

21 following new paragraph:

22 ‘‘(7) CONSENT FORM.—The Secretary shall de23 velop a form not later than January 1, 1997, for the
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1 spousal consent required under paragraph (2)

2 which—

3 ‘‘(A) is written in a manner calculated to

4 be understood by the average person, and

5 ‘‘(B) discloses in plain form whether—

6 ‘‘(i) the waiver is irrevocable, and

7 ‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a

8 qualified domestic relations order.’’.

9 (2) AMENDMENT TO ERISA.—Section 205(c) of

10 the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

11 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1055(c)) is amended by adding at

12 the end the following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(8) The Secretary of the Treasury shall de14 velop a form not later than January 1, 1997, for the

15 spousal consent required under paragraph (2)

16 which—

17 ‘‘(A) is written in a manner calculated to

18 be understood by the average person, and

19 ‘‘(B) discloses in plain form whether—

20 ‘‘(i) the waiver is irrevocable, and

21 ‘‘(ii) the waiver may be revoked by a

22 qualified domestic relations order.’’.

23 (b) MODEL QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS

24 ORDER.—
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1 (1) AMENDMENT TO ERISA.—Section 206(d)(3)

2 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of

3 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(3)) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following new subparagraph:

5 ‘‘(O) The Secretary shall develop a form not later

6 than January 1, 1997, for a qualified domestic relations

7 order—

8 ‘‘(i) which meets all the requirements of sub9 paragraph (B)(i), and

10 ‘‘(ii) the provisions of which focus attention on

11 the need to consider the treatment of any lump sum

12 payment, qualified joint and survivor annuity, or

13 qualified preretirement survivor annuity.’’.

14 (2) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE

15 CODE.—Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue

16 Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the

17 following new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(13) The Secretary of Labor shall develop a

19 form not later than January 1, 1997, for a qualified

20 domestic relations order which—

21 ‘‘(A) which meets all the requirements of

22 paragraph (1)(A), and

23 ‘‘(B) the provisions of which focus atten24 tion on the need to consider the treatment of

25 any lump sum payment, qualified joint and sur-
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1 vivor annuity, or qualified preretirement survi2 vor annuity.’’.

3 (c) PUBLICITY.—The Secretary of the Treasury and

4 the Secretary of Labor shall include publicity for the

5 model forms required by the amendments made by this

6 section in the pension outreach efforts undertaken by each

7 Secretary.

8 SEC. 45002. EXTENSION OF TIER II RAILROAD RETIREMENT

9 BENEFITS TO SURVIVING FORMER SPOUSES

10 PURSUANT TO DIVORCE AGREEMENTS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5 of the Railroad Retire12 ment Act of 1974 (45 U.S.C. 231d) is amended by adding

13 at the end the following new subsection:

14 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

15 payment of any portion of an annuity computed under sec16 tion 3(b) to a surviving former spouse in accordance with

17 a court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separation

18 or the terms of any court-approved property settlement

19 incident to any such court decree shall not be terminated

20 upon the death of the individual who performed the service

21 with respect to which such annuity is so computed unless

22 such termination is otherwise required by the terms of

23 such court decree.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

3 of this subtitle.

4 SEC. 45003. SURVIVOR ANNUITIES FOR WIDOWS, WIDOW5 ERS, AND FORMER SPOUSES OF FEDERAL

6 EMPLOYEES WHO DIE BEFORE ATTAINING

7 AGE FOR DEFERRED ANNUITY UNDER CIVIL

8 SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.

9 (a) BENEFITS FOR WIDOW OR WIDOWER.—Section

10 8341(f) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

11 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘a former employee sepa13 rated from the service with title to deferred an14 nuity from the Fund dies before having estab15 lished a valid claim for annuity and is survived

16 by a spouse, or if’’ before ‘‘a Member’’; and

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘of such former employee

18 or Member’’ after ‘‘the surviving spouse’’;

19 (2) in paragraph (1)—

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’

21 before ‘‘Member commencing’’; and

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’

23 before ‘‘Member dies’’; and

24 (3) in the undesignated sentence following para25 graph (2)—
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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘former employee or’’ before

3 ‘‘Member’’; and

4 (B) in subparagraph (B) by inserting

5 ‘‘former employee or’’ before ‘‘Member’’.

6 (b) BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSE.—Section

7 8341(h) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1) by adding after the first

9 sentence ‘‘Subject to paragraphs (2) through (5) of

10 this subsection, a former spouse of a former em11 ployee who dies after having separated from the

12 service with title to a deferred annuity under section

13 8338(a) but before having established a valid claim

14 for annuity is entitled to a survivor annuity under

15 this subsection, if and to the extent expressly pro16 vided for in an election under section 8339(j)(3) of

17 this title, or in the terms of any decree of divorce

18 or annulment or any court order or court-approved

19 property settlement agreement incident to such de20 cree.’’; and

21 (2) in paragraph (2)—

22 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii) by striking ‘‘or

23 annuitant,’’ and inserting ‘‘annuitant, or former

24 employee’’; and
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1 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iii) by inserting

2 ‘‘former employee or’’ before ‘‘Member’’.

3 (c) PROTECTION OF SURVIVOR BENEFIT RIGHTS.—

4 Section 8339(j)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is

5 amended by inserting at the end the following:

6 ‘‘The Office shall provide by regulation for the appli7 cation of this subsection to the widow, widower, or surviv8 ing former spouse of a former employee who dies after

9 having separated from the service with title to a deferred

10 annuity under section 8338(a) but before having estab11 lished a valid claim for annuity.’’.

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

13 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

14 of this subtitle and shall apply only in the case of a former

15 employee who dies on or after such date.

16 SEC. 45004. COURT ORDERS RELATING TO FEDERAL RE17 TIREMENT BENEFITS FOR FORMER SPOUSES

18 OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.

19 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 8345(j) of title 5,

21 United States Code, is amended—

22 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as

23 paragraph (4); and

24 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the

25 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(3) Payment to a person under a court decree, court

2 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

3 under paragraph (1) shall include payment to a former

4 spouse of the employee, Member, or annuitant.’’.

5 (2) LUMP-SUM BENEFITS.—Section 8342 of

6 title 5, United States Code, is amended—

7 (A) in subsection (c) by striking ‘‘Lump8 sum benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to sub9 section (j), lump-sum benefits’’; and

10 (B) in subsection (j)(1) by striking ‘‘the

11 lump-sum credit under subsection (a) of this

12 section’’ and inserting ‘‘any lump-sum credit or

13 lump-sum benefit under this section’’.

14 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

15 Section 8467 of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

16 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub17 section (d); and

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow19 ing new subsection:

20 ‘‘(c) Payment to a person under a court decree, court

21 order, property settlement, or similar process referred to

22 under subsection (a) shall include payment to a former

23 spouse of the employee, Member, or annuitant.’’.
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment

3 of this subtitle.

4 SEC. 45005. PREVENTION OF CIRCUMVENTION OF COURT

5 ORDER BY WAIVER OF RETIRED PAY TO EN6 HANCE CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT ANNU7 ITY.

8 (a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY

9 SYSTEM.—(1) Subsection (c) of section 8332 of title 5,

10 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(4) If an employee or Member waives retired pay

13 that is subject to a court order for which there has been

14 effective service on the Secretary concerned for purposes

15 of section 1408 of title 10, the military service on which

16 the retired pay is based may be credited as service for

17 purposes of this subchapter only if, in accordance with

18 regulations prescribed by the Director of the Office of Per19 sonnel Management, the employee or Member authorizes

20 the Director to deduct and withhold from the annuity pay21 able to the employee or Member under this subchapter,

22 and to pay to the former spouse covered by the court

23 order, the same amount that would have been deducted

24 and withheld from the employee’s or Member’s retired pay

25 and paid to that former spouse under such section 1408.’’.
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1 (2) Paragraph (1) of such subsection is amended by

2 striking out ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2)’’ and

3 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (4)’’.

4 (b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

5 (1) Subsection (c) of section 8411 of title 5, United States

6 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(5) If an employee or Member waives retired pay

8 that is subject to a court order for which there has been

9 effective service on the Secretary concerned for purposes

10 of section 1408 of title 10, the military service on which

11 the retired pay is based may be credited as service for

12 purposes of this chapter only if, in accordance with regula13 tions prescribed by the Director of the Office of Personnel

14 Management, the employee or Member authorizes the Di15 rector to deduct and withhold from the annuity payable

16 to the employee or Member under this subchapter, and

17 to pay to the former spouse covered by the court order,

18 the same amount that would have been deducted and with19 held from the employee’s or Member’s retired pay and

20 paid to that former spouse under such section 1408.’’.

21 (2) Paragraph (1) of such subsection is amended by

22 striking out ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3)’’

23 and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3),

24 and (5)’’.
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 subsection (a) shall take effect on January 1, 1997.

3 Subtitle F—Pension Reform

4 SEC. 46001. PENSION INTEGRATION RULES.

5 (a) APPLICABILITY OF NEW INTEGRATION RULES

6 EXTENDED TO ALL EXISTING ACCRUED BENEFITS.—

7 Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1) of section 1111 of the

8 Tax Reform Act of 1986 (relating to effective date of ap9 plication of nondiscrimination rules to integrated plans)

10 (100 Stat. 2440), effective for plan years beginning after

11 the date of the enactment of this subtitle, the amendments

12 made by subsection (a) of such section 1111 shall also

13 apply to benefits attributable to plan years beginning on

14 or before December 31, 1988.

15 (b) INTEGRATION DISALLOWED FOR SIMPLIFIED

16 EMPLOYEE PENSIONS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (D) of section

18 408(k)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re19 lating to permitted disparity under rules limiting

20 discrimination under simplified employee pensions)

21 is repealed.

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph

23 (C) of such section 408(k)(3) is amended by striking

24 ‘‘and except as provided in subparagraph (D),’’.
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1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

2 by this subsection shall apply with respect to taxable

3 years beginning on or after January 1, 1996.

4 (c) EVENTUAL REPEAL OF INTEGRATION RULES.—

5 Effective for plan years beginning on or after January 1,

6 2003—

7 (1) subparagraphs (C) and (D) of section

8 401(a)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re9 lating to pension integration exceptions under non10 discrimination requirements for qualification) are re11 pealed, and subparagraph (E) of such section

12 401(a)(5) is redesignated as subparagraph (C); and

13 (2) subsection (l) of section 401 of such Code

14 (relating to nondiscriminatory coordination of de15 fined contribution plans with OASDI) is repealed.

16 SEC. 46002. APPLICATION OF MINIMUM COVERAGE RE17 QUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO SEPARATE

18 LINES OF BUSINESS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b) of section 410 of

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to minimum

21 coverage requirements) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘A trust’’ and

23 inserting ‘‘In any case in which the employer with

24 respect to a plan is treated, under section 414(r), as

25 operating separate lines of business for a plan year,
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1 a trust’’, and by inserting ‘‘for such plan year’’ after

2 ‘‘requirements’’; and

3 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through

4 (6) as paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively and

5 by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE WHERE EMPLOYER OPER8 ATES SINGLE LINE OF BUSINESS.—In any case in

9 which the employer with respect to a plan is not

10 treated, under section 414(r), as operating separate

11 lines of business for a plan year, a trust shall not

12 constitute a qualified trust under section 401(a) un13 less such trust is designated by the employer as part

14 of a plan which benefits all employees of the

15 employer.’’.

16 (b) LIMITATION ON LINE OF BUSINESS EXCEP17 TION.—Paragraph (6) of section 410(b) of such Code (as

18 redesignated by subsection (a)(2) of this section) is

19 amended by inserting ‘‘other than paragraph (1)(A)’’ after

20 ‘‘this subsection’’.

21 SEC. 46003. ELIMINATION OF SPECIAL VESTING RULE FOR

22 MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS.

23 (a) INTERNAL REVENUE CODE AMENDMENT.—Para24 graph (2) of section 411(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
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1 of 1986 (relating to minimum vesting standards) is

2 amended—

3 (1) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)’’

4 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B)’’; and

5 (2) by striking subparagraph (C).

6 (b) ERISA AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (2) of section

7 203(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security

8 Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1053(a)(2)) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)’’

10 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B)’’; and

11 (2) by striking subparagraph (C).

12 SEC. 46004. DIVISION OF PENSION BENEFITS UPON DI13 VORCE.

14 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

15 CODE OF 1986.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section

17 401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating

18 to requirements for qualification) is amended—

19 (A) by inserting after paragraph (31) the

20 following new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(32) DIVISION OF PENSION BENEFITS UPON

22 DIVORCE.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a di24 vorce of a participant in a pension plan from a

25 spouse who is, immediately before the divorce,
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1 a beneficiary under the plan, a trust forming

2 a part of such plan shall not constitute a quali3 fied trust under this section unless the plan

4 provides that at least 50 percent of the marital

5 share of the accrued benefit of the participant

6 under the plan ceases to be an accrued benefit

7 of such participant and becomes an accrued

8 benefit of such divorced spouse, determined and

9 payable upon the earlier of the retirement of

10 the participant, the participant’s death, or the

11 termination of the plan, except to the extent

12 that a qualified domestic relations order in con13 nection with such divorce provides otherwise.

14 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A)

15 shall not be construed—

16 ‘‘(i) to require a plan to provide any

17 type or form of benefit, or any option, not

18 otherwise provided under the plan,

19 ‘‘(ii) to require the plan to provide in20 creased benefits (determined on the basis

21 of actuarial value),

22 ‘‘(iii) to require the payment of bene23 fits to the divorced spouse which are re24 quired to be paid to another individual in

25 accordance with this paragraph or pursu-
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1 ant to a domestic relations order previously

2 determined to be a qualified domestic rela3 tions order, or

4 ‘‘(iv) to require payment of benefits to

5 the divorced spouse in the form of a quali6 fied joint and survivor annuity to the di7 vorced spouse and his or her subsequent

8 spouse.

9 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

10 paragraph—

11 ‘‘(i) DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER;

12 QUALIFIED DOMESTIC RELATIONS

13 ORDER.—The terms ‘domestic relations

14 order’ and ‘qualified domestic relations

15 order’ shall have the meanings provided in

16 section 414(p).

17 ‘‘(ii) MARITAL SHARE.—The term

18 ‘marital share’ means, in connection with

19 an accrued benefit under a pension plan,

20 the product derived by multiplying—

21 ‘‘(I) the actuarial present value

22 of the accrued benefit, by

23 ‘‘(II) a fraction, the numerator of

24 which is the period of time, during the

25 marriage between the spouse and the
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1 participant in the plan, which con2 stitutes creditable service by the par3 ticipant under the plan, and the de4 nominator of which is the total period

5 of time which constitutes creditable

6 service by the participant under the

7 plan.

8 ‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED JOINT AND SURVI9 VOR ANNUITY.—The term ‘qualified joint

10 and survivor annuity’ has the meaning pro11 vided in section 417(b).

12 ‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—In prescribing regu13 lations under this paragraph, the Secretary

14 shall consult with the Secretary of Labor.’’; and

15 (B) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘and

16 (20)’’ and inserting ‘‘(20), and (32)’’.

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (A) Subparagraph (B) of section

19 401(a)(13) of such Code (relating to special

20 rules for domestic relations orders) is amended

21 by inserting ‘‘or if such creation, assignment, or

22 recognition pursuant to such order is necessary

23 for compliance with the requirements of para24 graph (32)’’ before the period.
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1 (B) Subsection (p) of section 414 of such

2 Code (defining qualified domestic relations or3 ders) is amended—

4 (i) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting

5 ‘‘or to a divorced spouse of the participant

6 in connection with a previously occurring

7 divorce as required under section

8 401(a)(32)’’ before the period; and

9 (ii) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking

10 ‘‘if there had been no order’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘in accordance with section 401(a)(32) as

12 if there had been no qualified domestic re13 lations order’’.

14 (b) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

15 INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 206 of Employee

17 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

18 1056) is amended by adding at the end the following

19 new subsection:

20 ‘‘(e)(1) In the case of a divorce of a participant in

21 a pension plan from a spouse who is, immediately before

22 the divorce, a beneficiary under the plan, the plan shall

23 provide that at least 50 percent of the marital share of

24 the accrued benefit of the participant under the plan

25 ceases to be an accrued benefit of such participant and
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1 becomes an accrued benefit of such divorced spouse, deter2 mined and payable upon the earlier of the retirement of

3 the participant, the participant’s death, or the termination

4 of the plan, except to the extent that a qualified domestic

5 relations order in connection with such divorce provides

6 otherwise.

7 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not be construed—

8 ‘‘(A) to require a plan to provide any type or

9 form of benefit, or any option, not otherwise pro10 vided under the plan,

11 ‘‘(B) to require the plan to provide increased

12 benefits (determined on the basis of actuarial value),

13 ‘‘(C) to require the payment of benefits to the

14 divorced spouse which are required to be paid to an15 other individual in accordance with this subsection

16 or pursuant to a domestic relation order previously

17 determined to be a qualified domestic relations

18 order, or

19 ‘‘(D) to require payment of benefits to the di20 vorced spouse in the form of a joint and survivor an21 nuity to the divorced spouse and his or her subse22 quent spouse.

23 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection—
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1 ‘‘(A) The terms ‘domestic relations order’ and

2 ‘qualified domestic relations order’ shall have the

3 meanings provided in subsection (d)(3)(B).

4 ‘‘(B) The term ‘marital share’ means, in con5 nection with an accrued benefit under a pension

6 plan, the product derived by multiplying—

7 ‘‘(i) the actuarial present value of the ac8 crued benefit, by

9 ‘‘(ii) a fraction—

10 ‘‘(I) the numerator of which is the pe11 riod of time, during the marriage between

12 the spouse and the participant in the plan,

13 which constitutes creditable service by the

14 participant under the plan, and

15 ‘‘(II) the denominator of which is the

16 total period of time which constitutes cred17 itable service by the participant under the

18 plan.

19 ‘‘(C) The term ‘qualified joint and survivor an20 nuity’ shall have the meaning provided in section

21 205(d).

22 ‘‘(4) In prescribing regulations under this subsection,

23 the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the

24 Treasury.’’.
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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

2 206(d) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)) is amend3 ed—

4 (A) in the first sentence of paragraph

5 (3)(A), by inserting ‘‘or if such creation, assign6 ment, or recognition pursuant to such order is

7 necessary for compliance with the requirements

8 of subsection (e)’’ before the period;

9 (B) in paragraph (3)(D)(iii), by inserting

10 ‘‘or to a divorced spouse of the participant in

11 connection with a previously occurring divorce

12 as required under subsection (e)’’ before the pe13 riod; and

14 (C) in paragraph (3)(H)(iii), by striking

15 ‘‘if there had been no order’’ and inserting ‘‘in

16 accordance with subsection (e) as if there had

17 been no qualified domestic relations order’’.

18 SEC. 46005. EFFECTIVE DATES.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

20 (b), the amendments made by this subtitle, other than sec21 tion 46001, shall apply with respect to plan years begin22 ning on or after January 1, 1996, and the amendments

23 made by section 46004 shall apply only with respect to

24 divorces becoming final in such plan years.
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1 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR COLLECTIVELY BARGAINED

2 PLANS.—In the case of a plan maintained pursuant to 1

3 or more collective bargaining agreements between em4 ployee representatives and 1 or more employers ratified

5 on or before the date of the enactment of this subtitle,

6 subsection (a) shall be applied to benefits pursuant to, and

7 individuals covered by, any such agreement by substituting

8 for ‘‘January 1, 1996’’ the date of the commencement of

9 the first plan year beginning on or after the earlier of—

10 (1) the later of—

11 (A) January 1, 1996, or

12 (B) the date on which the last of such col13 lective bargaining agreements terminates (de14 termined without regard to any extension there15 of after the date of the enactment of this sub16 title), or

17 (2) January 1, 1999.

18 (c) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—If any amendment made

19 by this subtitle requires an amendment to any plan, such

20 plan amendment shall not be required to be made before

21 the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 1996,

22 if—

23 (1) during the period after such amendment

24 made by this subtitle takes effect and before such

25 first plan year, the plan is operated in accordance
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1 with the requirements of such amendment made by

2 this subtitle, and

3 (2) such plan amendment applies retroactively

4 to the period after such amendment made by this

5 subtitle takes effect and such first plan year.

6 A plan shall not be treated as failing to provide definitely

7 determinable benefits or contributions, or to be operated

8 in accordance with the provisions of the plan, merely be9 cause it operates in accordance with this subsection.

10 SEC. 46006. CLARIFICATION OF CONTINUED AVAILABILITY

11 OF REMEDIES RELATING TO MATTERS

12 TREATED IN DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDERS

13 ENTERED BEFORE 1985.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which—

15 (1) under a prior domestic relations order en16 tered before January 1, 1985, in an action for di17 vorce—

18 (A) the right of a spouse under a pension

19 plan to an accrued benefit under such plan was

20 not divided between spouses,

21 (B) any right of a spouse with respect to

22 such an accrued benefit was waived without the

23 informed consent of such spouse, or

24 (C) the right of a spouse as a participant

25 under a pension plan to an accrued benefit
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1 under such plan was divided so that the other

2 spouse received less than such other spouse’s

3 pro rata share of the accrued benefit under the

4 plan, or

5 (2) a court of competent jurisdiction determines

6 that any further action is appropriate with respect

7 to any matter to which a prior domestic relations

8 order entered before such date applies,

9 nothing in the provisions of section 104, 204, or 303 of

10 the Retirement Equity Act of 1984 (Public Law 98–397)

11 or the amendments made thereby shall be construed to

12 require or permit the treatment, for purposes of such pro13 visions, of a domestic relations order, which is entered on

14 or after the date of the enactment of this subtitle and

15 which supercedes, amends the terms of, or otherwise af16 fects such prior domestic relations order, as other than

17 a qualified domestic relations order solely because such

18 prior domestic relations order was entered before January

19 1, 1985.

20 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Terms used in this section

22 which are defined in section 3 of the Employee Re23 tirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

24 1002) shall have the meanings provided such terms

25 by such section.
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1 (2) PRO RATA SHARE.—The term ‘‘pro rata

2 share’’ of a spouse means, in connection with an ac3 crued benefit under a pension plan, 50 percent of

4 the product derived by multiplying—

5 (A) the actuarial present value of the ac6 crued benefit, by

7 (B) a fraction—

8 (i) the numerator of which is the pe9 riod of time, during the marriage between

10 the spouse and the participant in the plan,

11 which constitutes creditable service by the

12 participant under the plan, and

13 (ii) the denominator of which is the

14 total period of time which constitutes cred15 itable service by the participant under the

16 plan.

17 (3) PLAN.—All pension plans in which a person

18 has been a participant shall be treated as one plan

19 with respect to such person.

20 SEC. 46007. ENTITLEMENT OF DIVORCED SPOUSES TO

21 RAILROAD RETIREMENT ANNUITIES INDE22 PENDENT OF ACTUAL ENTITLEMENT OF EM23 PLOYEE.

24 Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45

25 U.S.C. 231a) is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (c)(4)(i), by striking ‘‘(A) is

2 entitled to an annuity under subsection (a)(1) and

3 (B)’’; and

4 (2) in subsection (e)(5), by striking ‘‘or di5 vorced wife’’ the second place it appears.

6 Subtitle G—Social Security

7 Caregiver

8 SEC. 47001. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF YEARS DIS9 REGARDED.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 215(b)(2) of the Social

11 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 415(b)(2)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking the period at the end of clause

13 (ii) of subparagraph (A) and inserting a comma;

14 (2) by striking ‘‘Clause (ii), once’’ after and

15 below clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) and inserting

16 the following:

17 ‘‘and reduced further to the extent provided in subpara18 graph (B). Clause (ii), once’’;

19 (3) by striking ‘‘If an individual’’ in the matter

20 following clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) and all that

21 follows through the end of subparagraph (A);

22 (4) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub23 paragraph (F); and

24 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol25 lowing new subparagraphs:
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1 ‘‘(B) Subject to subparagraph (C), in any case in

2 which—

3 ‘‘(i) in any calendar year which is included in

4 an individual’s computation base years—

5 ‘‘(I) such individual is living with a child

6 (of such individual or his or her spouse) under

7 the age of 12, or

8 ‘‘(II) such individual is living with a child

9 (of such individual or his or her spouse), a par10 ent (of such individual or his or her spouse), or

11 such individual’s spouse while such child, par12 ent, or spouse is a chronically dependent indi13 vidual,

14 ‘‘(ii) such calendar year is not disregarded pur15 suant to subparagraphs (A) and (E) (in determining

16 such individual’s benefit computation years) by rea17 son of the reduction in the number of such individ18 ual’s elapsed years under subparagraph (A), and

19 ‘‘(iii) at any time during or after such calendar

20 year and on or before the date of the application by

21 such individual for benefits based on such individ22 ual’s wages and self-employment income, such indi23 vidual submits to the Commissioner of Social Secu24 rity, in such form as the Commissioner shall pre25 scribe by regulations, a written statement that the
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1 requirements of clause (i) are met with respect to

2 such calendar year,

3 then the number by which such elapsed years are reduced

4 under this paragraph pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall

5 be increased by one (up to a combined total not exceeding

6 5) for each such calendar year.

7 ‘‘(C)(i)(I) No calendar year shall be disregarded by

8 reason of subparagraph (B) (in determining such individ9 ual’s benefit computation years) unless the individual had

10 less than the applicable dollar amount (in effect for such

11 calendar year under this clause) of earnings as described

12 in section 203(f)(5) for such year.

13 ‘‘(II) Except as otherwise provided in subclause (III),

14 the applicable dollar amount in effect under this clause

15 for any calendar year is $2,000.

16 ‘‘(III) In each calendar year after 1996, the Commis17 sioner of Social Security shall determine and publish in

18 the Federal Register, on or before November 1 of such

19 calendar year, the applicable dollar amount which shall be

20 effective under this clause for the next calendar year. Such

21 dollar amount shall be equal to the larger of the applicable

22 dollar amount which is effective under this clause for the

23 calendar year in which such determination is made or,

24 subject to subclause (VII), the product described in sub25 clause (IV).
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1 ‘‘(IV) The product described in this subclause is the

2 product derived by multiplying the applicable dollar

3 amount which is effective under this clause for the cal4 endar year in which the determination under subclause

5 (III) is made, by the ratio of the amount described in sub6 clause (V) to the amount described in subclause (VI).

7 ‘‘(V) The amount described in this subclause is the

8 national average wage index (as defined in section

9 209(k)(1)) for the calendar year before the calendar year

10 in which the determination under subclause (III) is made.

11 ‘‘(VI) The amount described in this subclause is the

12 national average wage index (as defined in section

13 209(k)(1)) for 1995 or, if later, the calendar year before

14 the most recent calendar year in which a determination

15 resulting in an increase in the applicable dollar amount

16 was made under subclause (III).

17 ‘‘(VII) If the product described in subclause (IV) is

18 not a multiple of $1.00, such product shall be rounded

19 to the next higher multiple of $1.00 in any case in which

20 such product is a multiple of $0.50 but not of $1.00, and

21 to the nearest multiple of $1.00 in any other case.

22 ‘‘(ii) No calendar year shall be disregarded by reason

23 of subparagraph (B) (in determining such individual’s

24 benefit computation years) in connection with a child re25 ferred to in subparagraph (B)(i)(I) (and not referred to
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1 in subparagraph (B)(i)(II)) unless the individual was liv2 ing with the child substantially throughout the period in

3 such year in which the child was alive and under the age

4 of 12 in such year.

5 ‘‘(iii) No calendar year shall be disregarded by reason

6 of subparagraph (B) (in determining such individual’s

7 benefit computation years) in connection with a child, par8 ent, or spouse referred to in subparagraph (B)(i)(II) un9 less the individual was living with such child, parent, or

10 spouse substantially throughout a period of 180 consecu11 tive days in such year throughout which such child, par12 ent, or spouse was a chronically dependent individual.

13 ‘‘(iv) The particular calendar years to be disregarded

14 under this subparagraph (in determining such benefit

15 computation years) shall be those years (not otherwise dis16 regarded under subparagraph (A)) which, before the appli17 cation of subsection (f), meet the conditions of the preced18 ing provisions of this subparagraph.

19 ‘‘(v) This subparagraph shall apply only to the extent

20 that its application would not result in a lower primary

21 insurance amount.

22 ‘‘(D)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, the term

23 ‘chronically dependent individual’ means an individual

24 who—
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1 ‘‘(I) is dependent on a daily basis on another

2 person who is living with the individual and is assist3 ing the individual without monetary compensation in

4 the performance of at least 2 of the activities of

5 daily living (described in clause (ii)), and

6 ‘‘(II) without such assistance could not perform

7 such activities of daily living.

8 ‘‘(ii) The ‘activities of daily living’, referred to in

9 clause (i), are the following:

10 ‘‘(I) Eating.

11 ‘‘(II) Bathing.

12 ‘‘(III) Dressing.

13 ‘‘(IV) Toileting.

14 ‘‘(V) Transferring in and out of a bed or in and

15 out of a chair.

16 ‘‘(E) The number of an individual’s benefit computa17 tion years as determined under this paragraph shall in no

18 case be less than 2.’’.

19 SEC. 47002. EFFECTIVE DATE AND RELATED PROVISIONS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by section

21 47001 shall apply only with respect to computation base

22 years after 1985, and only with respect to benefits payable

23 for months after December 1996.

24 (b) NOTICE AND PROCEDURES.—
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1 (1) 60-DAY GRACE PERIOD AFTER INITIAL ISSU2 ANCE OF FINAL REGULATIONS FOR CURRENT BENE3 FICIARIES AND APPLICANTS.—The requirements of

4 clause (iii) of section 215(b)(2)(B) of the Social Se5 curity Act (as amended by section 47001) shall be

6 treated as satisfied, in the case of a statement—

7 (A) which is filed by an individual who is,

8 as of the date of the first issuance in final form

9 of the regulations required under such clause, a

10 recipient of monthly benefits under section

11 202(a) or 223 of the Social Security Act, or an

12 applicant for such benefits, and

13 (B) with respect to which the requirements

14 of such clause would be met but for the date of

15 the filing of such statement,

16 if such statement is submitted to the Commissioner

17 of Social Security not later than 60 days after the

18 date of the first issuance in final form of such regu19 lations.

20 (2) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—

21 (A) NOTICE TO CURRENT BENEFICIARIES

22 AND APPLICANTS.—The Commissioner of Social

23 Security shall issue, not later than the date of

24 the first issuance in final form of the regula25 tions required under clause (iii) of section
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1 215(b)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (as

2 amended by section 47001), regulations estab3 lishing procedures to ensure that—

4 (i) persons who are, as of such date,

5 recipients of monthly benefits under sec6 tion 202(a) or 223 of the Social Security

7 Act, or applicants for such benefits, are

8 fully informed of the amendments made by

9 section 47001; and

10 (ii) such persons are invited to com11 ply, and given a reasonable opportunity to

12 comply, with the requirements of section

13 215(b)(2)(B)(iii) of the Social Security Act

14 (as amended by section 47001), as pro15 vided in paragraph (1).

16 Upon receiving from a recipient described in

17 clauses (i) and (ii) a written statement referred

18 to in clause (iii) of section 215(b)(2)(B) of the

19 Social Security Act (as amended by section

20 47001) with respect to which the requirements

21 of such clause are treated as satisfied, the Com22 missioner shall redetermine the amount of such

23 benefits to the extent necessary to take into ac24 count the amendments made by section 47001

25 (and if such redetermination results in an in-
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1 crease in such amount the increase shall be ef2 fective as provided in subsection (a)).

3 (B) NOTICE TO FUTURE APPLICANTS.—

4 Such regulations required under subparagraph

5 (A) shall also provide procedures to ensure that

6 applicants for benefits under section 202(a) or

7 223 of the Social Security Act are given the op8 portunity, at the time of their application, to in9 dicate and verify any additional years which

10 may be disregarded under section 215(b)(2)(B)

11 of the Social Security Act (as amended by sec12 tion 47001).

13 SEC. 47003. REPEAL OF 7-YEAR RESTRICTION ON ELIGI14 BILITY FOR WIDOW’S AND WIDOWER’S INSUR15 ANCE BENEFITS BASED ON DISABILITY.

16 (a) WIDOW’S INSURANCE BENEFITS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(e) of the Social

18 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(e)) is amended—

19 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking

20 ‘‘which began before the end of the period spec21 ified in paragraph (4)’’;

22 (B) in paragraph (1)(F)(ii), by striking

23 ‘‘(I) in the period specified in paragraph (4)

24 and (II)’’;
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1 (C) by striking paragraph (4) and by re2 designating paragraphs (5) through (9) as

3 paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; and

4 (D) in paragraph (4)(A)(ii) (as redesig5 nated), by striking ‘‘whichever’’ and all that fol6 lows through ‘‘begins’’ and inserting ‘‘the first

7 day of the seventeenth month before the month

8 in which her application is filed’’.

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

10 (A) Section 202(e)(1)(F)(i) of such Act

11 (42 U.S.C. 402(e)(1)(F)(i)) is amended by

12 striking ‘‘paragraph (5)’’ and inserting ‘‘para13 graph (4)’’.

14 (B) Section 202(e)(1)(C)(ii)(III) of such

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 402(e)(2)(C)(ii)(III)) is amend16 ed by striking ‘‘paragraph (8)’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘paragraph (7)’’.

18 (C) Section 202(e)(2)(A) of such Act (42

19 U.S.C. 402(e)(2)(A)) is amended by striking

20 ‘‘paragraph (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph

21 (6)’’.

22 (D) Section 226(e)(1)(A)(i) of such Act

23 (42 U.S.C. 426(e)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by

24 striking ‘‘202(e)(4)’’.

25 (b) WIDOWER’S INSURANCE BENEFITS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(f) of such Act

2 (42 U.S.C. 402(f)) is amended—

3 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking

4 ‘‘which began before the end of the period spec5 ified in paragraph (5)’’;

6 (B) in paragraph (1)(F)(ii), by striking

7 ‘‘(I) in the period specified in paragraph (5)

8 and (II)’’;

9 (C) by striking paragraph (5) and by re10 designating paragraphs (6) through (9) as

11 paragraphs (5) through (8), respectively; and

12 (D) in paragraph (5)(A)(ii) (as redesig13 nated), by striking ‘‘whichever’’ and all that fol14 lows through ‘‘begins’’ and inserting ‘‘the first

15 day of the seventeenth month before the month

16 in which his application is filed’’.

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

18 (A) Section 202(f)(1)(F)(i) of such Act (42

19 U.S.C. 402(f)(1)(F)(i)) is amended by striking

20 ‘‘paragraph (6)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph

21 (5)’’.

22 (B) Section 202(f)(1)(C)(ii)(III) of such

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 402(f)(2)(C)(ii)(III)) is amend24 ed by striking ‘‘paragraph (8)’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘paragraph (7)’’.
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1 (C) Section 226(e)(1)(A)(i) of such Act (as

2 amended by subsection (a)(2)) is further

3 amended by striking ‘‘, 202(f)(1)(B)(ii), and

4 202(f)(5)’’ and inserting ‘‘and

5 202(f)(1)(B)(ii)’’.

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

7 this section shall apply with respect to benefits for months

8 after December 1996 for which applications are filed or

9 pending on or after January 1, 1997.

10 SEC. 47004. INCREASE IN WIDOW’S AND WIDOWER’S INSUR11 ANCE BENEFITS BY REASON OF DELAYED RE12 TIREMENT.

13 (a) DELAYED RETIREMENT CREDIT FOR WIDOW’S

14 AND WIDOWER’S BENEFITS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(w)(1) of the So16 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402(w)(1)) is amend17 ed—

18 (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘old-age

19 insurance benefit’’ and inserting ‘‘old-age, wid20 ow’s, or widower’s insurance benefit’’;

21 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the

22 number of increment months for any individ23 ual’’ in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)

24 and inserting ‘‘the number of increment months

25 for any individual to whom an old-age, widow’s,
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1 or widower’s insurance benefit is payable as de2 scribed in paragraph (1)’’; and

3 (C) by striking paragraph (2)(B) and in4 serting the following:

5 ‘‘(B) with respect to which—

6 ‘‘(i) in the case of an individual to

7 whom an old-age insurance benefit is pay8 able, such individual was a fully insured

9 individual (as defined in section 214(a))

10 and either was not entitled to such a bene11 fit or suffered deductions under section

12 203(b) or 203(c) in amounts equal to the

13 amount of such benefit, and

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual to

15 whom a widow’s or widower’s insurance

16 benefit is payable, such individual satisfied

17 subparagraphs (A), (B), and (D) of sub18 section (e)(1) or (f)(1) and either was not

19 entitled to such a benefit or suffered de20 ductions under section 203(b) or 203(c) in

21 amounts equal to the amount of such bene22 fit.’’.

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO SECTION

24 202(w).—
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1 (A) Section 202(w)(3) of such Act (42

2 U.S.C. 402(w)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘old3 age’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘old4 age, widow’s, or widower’s’’.

5 (B) Section 202(w)(5) of such Act (42

6 U.S.C. 402(w)(5)) is amended—

7 (i) by striking ‘‘If an individual’s pri8 mary insurance amount’’ and inserting ‘‘If

9 the primary insurance amount on which an

10 individual’s old-age, widow’s, or widower’s

11 insurance benefit is based’’;

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘old-age’’ each place it

13 appears and inserting ‘‘old-age, widow’s, or

14 widower’s’’; and

15 (iii) by striking ‘‘his primary insur16 ance amount’’ each place it appears and

17 inserting ‘‘the primary insurance amount’’.

18 (C) Section 202(w)(6) of such Act (42

19 U.S.C. 402(w)(6)) is amended—

20 (i) by striking ‘‘old-age’’ each place it

21 appears and inserting ‘‘old-age, widow’s, or

22 widower’s’’; and

23 (ii) by adding at the end (after and

24 below subparagraph (D)) the following new

25 sentence:
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1 ‘‘For purposes of this paragraph, an individual is deemed

2 to become eligible for an old-age insurance benefit on the

3 first day of the month in which such individual attains

4 age 62, and for a widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit

5 on the first day of the month in which such individual

6 attains age 60.’’.

7 (3) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

8 (A) Section 202(e)(2)(A) of such Act (42

9 U.S.C. 402(e)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting

10 ‘‘and subsection (w)’’ after ‘‘subsection (q)’’.

11 (B) Section 202(f)(3)(A) of such Act (42

12 U.S.C. 402(f)(3)(A)) is amended by inserting

13 ‘‘and subsection (w)’’ after ‘‘subsection (q)’’.

14 (b) TREATMENT OF DELAYED RETIREMENT IN

15 CASES OF SIMULTANEOUS ENTITLEMENT TO OLD-AGE

16 INSURANCE BENEFITS AND WIDOW’S OR WIDOWER’S IN17 SURANCE BENEFITS.—Section 202(w) of the Social Secu18 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 402(w)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘The amount’’ in paragraph (1)

20 and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (7), the

21 amount’’; and

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

23 paragraph:

24 ‘‘(7) If for any month an individual is entitled (prior

25 to the application of this subsection) both to an old-age
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1 insurance benefit and to a widow’s or widower’s insurance

2 benefit, the resulting increase (if any) in the amount of

3 the widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit under para4 graph (1) shall be made (prior to the application of sub5 section (k)(3)(A)) in lieu of any increase in the amount

6 of the old-age insurance benefit under such paragraph, un7 less—

8 ‘‘(A) the amount of such old-age insurance ben9 efit would be greater than the amount of such wid10 ow’s or widower’s insurance benefit after the appli11 cation of paragraph (1) to each such benefit, or

12 ‘‘(B) the increase which would otherwise be

13 made under such paragraph in the amount of such

14 old-age insurance benefit would result (under the

15 language following subparagraph (F) in the first

16 sentence of subsection (e)(1) or (f)(1)) in the termi17 nation of the individual’s entitlement to widow’s or

18 widower’s insurance benefits.’’.

19 SEC. 47005. EFFECTIVE DATE.

20 The amendments made by section 47004 shall apply

21 with respect to widow’s and widower’s insurance benefits

22 (under section 202(e) and (f) of the Social Security Act)

23 for months after the month in which this subtitle is en24 acted.
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1 SEC. 47006. EXEMPTION FROM TWO-YEAR WAITING PERIOD

2 FOR DIVORCED SPOUSE’S BENEFITS FOLLOW3 ING THE DIVORCE IN CASES OF PRIOR RE4 CEIPT OF SPOUSE’S BENEFITS.

5 (a) WIFE’S INSURANCE BENEFITS.—Section

6 202(b)(5)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

7 402(b)(5)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘divorced wife—’’

8 and all that follows through ‘‘shall be entitled’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘divorced wife meets the requirements of subpara10 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1), shall be enti11 tled’’.

12 (b) HUSBAND’S INSURANCE BENEFITS.—Section

13 202(c)(5)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(c)(5)(A)) is

14 amended by striking ‘‘divorced husband—’’ and all that

15 follows through ‘‘shall be entitled’’ and inserting ‘‘divorced

16 husband meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A)

17 through (D) of paragraph (1), shall be entitled’’.

18 (c) EXEMPTION FROM DEDUCTIONS ON ACCOUNT OF

19 WORK.—Section 203(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C.

20 403(b)(2)) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)(A) Except as’’ and all that

22 follows through ‘‘the benefit to which’’ and inserting

23 the following: ‘‘(2) In any case in which any of the

24 other persons referred to in paragraph (1)(B) is en25 titled to monthly benefits as a divorced spouse under
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1 subsection (b) or (c) of section 202 for any month,

2 the benefit to which’’; and

3 (2) by striking subparagraph (B).

4 SEC. 47007. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 The amendments made by section 47006 shall apply

6 with respect to benefits for months after the date of the

7 enactment of this subtitle.

8 SEC. 47008. FULL BENEFITS FOR DISABLED WIDOWS AND

9 WIDOWERS WITHOUT REGARD TO AGE.

10 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR WIDOW’S INSURANCE BENE11 FITS.—Section 202(e) of the Social Security Act (42

12 U.S.C. 402(e)) is amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘has at14 tained age 50 but has not attained age 60 and’’;

15 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘after at16 taining age 50 if she was entitled before such mar17 riage occurred’’ and inserting ‘‘after having been en18 titled’’; and

19 (3) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘after at20 taining age 50’’.

21 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF WIDOWER’S INSURANCE BENE22 FITS.—Section 202(f) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 402(f)) is

23 amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘has at25 tained age 50 but has not attained age 60 and’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking ‘‘after at2 taining age 50 if he was entitled before such mar3 riage occurred’’ and inserting ‘‘after having been en4 titled’’; and

5 (3) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘after at6 taining age 50’’.

7 SEC. 47009. EXEMPTION FROM REDUCTIONS IN BENEFITS.

8 Section 202(q) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

9 402(q)) is amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘age 50’’

11 and inserting ‘‘age 60’’; and

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

13 paragraph:

14 ‘‘(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

15 section, there shall be no reduction under this subsection

16 in the widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit of an indi17 vidual for any month in which such individual is under

18 a disability (as defined in section 223(d)); and none of

19 the provisions of this subsection shall apply with respect

20 to such benefit even though such benefit may have been

21 so reduced prior to the onset of such disability.’’.

22 SEC. 47010. EFFECTIVE DATE AND REDETERMINATION OF

23 BENEFITS.

24 The amendments made by sections 47008 and 47009

25 shall apply with respect to monthly insurance benefits pay-
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1 able under title II of the Social Security Act for months

2 after the month in which this subtitle is enacted. The

3 Commissioner of Social Security (without the necessity of

4 any application therefor) shall redetermine the amount of

5 any widow’s or widower’s insurance benefit which is pay6 able for the month in which this subtitle is enacted in

7 order to reflect such amendments as provided in the pre8 ceding sentence.

9 TITLE V—ECONOMIC IMPACT OF

10 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

11 Subtitle A—Workplace Violence

12 Prevention Tax Credit

13 SEC. 51001. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

14 The Congress finds that—

15 (1) there is an increasing awareness by the

16 business community and the country as a whole re17 garding the serious problem of workplace violence

18 against women;

19 (2) there is an increased recognition that work20 place violence against women has severe implications

21 for the health, safety, and economic well-being of

22 women, as well as the efficiency and profitability of

23 American companies;

24 (3) recent crime statistics clearly show the seri25 ous threat of workplace violence against women;
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1 (4) homicide is the leading cause of death for

2 women on the job, and husbands, boyfriends, and

3 ex-partners commit 15 percent of all workplace

4 homicides against women;

5 (5) an estimated 8 percent of all rapes occur

6 while victims are working or on duty, at an average

7 annual number of 13,000 workplace rapes each year;

8 (6) husbands and boyfriends commit 13,000

9 acts of violence against women in the workplace

10 every year;

11 (7) women are more likely than men to be at12 tacked at work by someone known to them, and 5

13 percent of women victimized at work are attacked by

14 a husband, boyfriend, or ex-partner;

15 (8) surveys of business executives and corporate

16 security directors also underscore the heavy toll that

17 workplace violence takes on American women and

18 American businesses;

19 (9) 49 percent of senior executives recently sur20 veyed said domestic violence has a harmful effect on

21 their company’s productivity, 47 percent said spous22 al abuse negatively impacts attendance, and 44 per23 cent said domestic violence increases health care

24 costs;
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1 (10) 94 percent of corporate security and safety

2 directors at companies nationwide rank domestic vio3 lence as a high-risk security problem;

4 (11) the public and private sectors—including

5 the legal, medical, social services, business, and reli6 gious communities—must come together to combat

7 violence against women in the workplace; and

8 (12) the Congress, too, must play a role in en9 couraging companies to promulgate workplace edu10 cation and safety programs to combat violence

11 against women.

12 SEC. 51002. CREDIT FOR COSTS TO EMPLOYERS OF IMPLE13 MENTING WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAMS

14 TO COMBAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub16 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

17 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new

18 section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 45C. WORKPLACE SAFETY PROGRAM CREDIT.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the

21 workplace safety program credit determined under this

22 section for the taxable year is, for any employer, an

23 amount equal to 40 percent of the violence against women

24 safety and education costs paid or incurred by such em25 ployer during the taxable year.
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1 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

2 ‘‘(1) VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN SAFETY AND

3 EDUCATION COST.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘violence

5 against women safety and education cost’

6 means any cost certified by the Attorney Gen7 eral to the Secretary as being for the purpose

8 of—

9 ‘‘(i) ensuring the safety of employees

10 from violent crimes against women,

11 ‘‘(ii) providing counseling to employ12 ees with respect to violent crimes against

13 women,

14 ‘‘(iii) providing legal or medical serv15 ices to employees subjected to, or at risk

16 from, violent crimes against women,

17 ‘‘(iv) educating employees about the

18 issue of violent crimes against women, or

19 ‘‘(v) implementing human resource or

20 personnel policies initiated to protect em21 ployees from violent crimes against women.

22 ‘‘(B) TYPES OF COSTS.—Such term in23 cludes costs certified by the Attorney General to

24 the Secretary as being for the purpose of—
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1 ‘‘(i) the hiring of new security person2 nel in order to address violent crimes

3 against women,

4 ‘‘(ii) the creation of buddy systems or

5 escort systems for walking employees to

6 parking lots, parked cars, subway stations,

7 or bus stops, in order to address violent

8 crimes against women,

9 ‘‘(iii) the purchase or installation of

10 new security equipment, including surveil11 lance equipment, lighting fixtures, cardkey

12 access systems, and identification systems,

13 in order to address violent crimes against

14 women,

15 ‘‘(iv) the establishment of a hotline or

16 a counseling service about violent crimes

17 against women, for the use of individual

18 employees,

19 ‘‘(v) the retention of an attorney to

20 provide legal services to employees seeking

21 restraining orders or other legal recourse

22 from violent crimes against women,

23 ‘‘(vi) the establishment of medical

24 services addressing the medical needs of
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1 employees who are victims of violent crimes

2 against women,

3 ‘‘(vii) the retention of a financial ex4 pert or an accountant to provide financial

5 counseling to employees seeking to escape

6 from violent crimes against women,

7 ‘‘(viii) the establishment of an edu8 cation program for employees, consisting of

9 seminars or training sessions about violent

10 crimes against women,

11 ‘‘(ix) studies of the cost, impact, or

12 extent of violent crimes against women at

13 the employer’s place of business, if such

14 studies are made available to the public

15 and protect the identity of employees in16 cluded in the study,

17 ‘‘(x) the publication of a regularly dis18 seminated newsletter or other regularly

19 disseminated educational materials about

20 violent crimes against women,

21 ‘‘(xi) the implementation of leave poli22 cies for the purpose of allowing victims of

23 violent crimes against women to pursue

24 legal redress against assailants, including

25 leave from work to attend meetings with
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1 attorneys, to give evidentiary statements or

2 depositions, and to attend hearings or

3 trials in court,

4 ‘‘(xii) the implementation of flexible

5 work policies for the purpose of allowing

6 employees who are victims of violent crimes

7 against women, or employees at risk with

8 respect to such crimes, to avoid assailants,

9 or

10 ‘‘(xiii) the implementation of transfer

11 policies for the purpose of allowing employ12 ees subjected to violent crimes against

13 women to change office locations within

14 the company in order to avoid assailants,

15 including payment of costs for the transfer

16 and relocation of an employee to another

17 city, county, State, or country for the pur18 pose of maintaining the employee’s safety

19 from violent crimes against women.

20 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION OF POSSIBLE TAX

21 CONSEQUENCES.—In no event shall any cost for

22 goods or services which may be included in the

23 income of any employee receiving or benefiting

24 from such goods or services be treated as a vio25 lence against women safety and education cost
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1 unless the employer notifies the employee in

2 writing of the possibility of such inclusion.

3 ‘‘(2) VIOLENT CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘violent

5 crimes against women’ includes sexual assault

6 and domestic violence.

7 ‘‘(B) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term

8 ‘domestic violence’ includes felony or mis9 demeanor crimes of violence committed by—

10 ‘‘(i) a current or former spouse of the

11 victim,

12 ‘‘(ii) a person with whom the victim

13 shares a child in common,

14 ‘‘(iii) a person who is cohabitating

15 with or has cohabitated with the victim as

16 a spouse,

17 ‘‘(iv) a person similarly situated to a

18 spouse of the victim under the domestic vi19 olence or family laws of the jurisdiction in

20 which the employee resides or the employer

21 is located, or

22 ‘‘(v) any other adult person against a

23 victim who is protected from the person’s

24 acts under the domestic or family violence
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1 laws of the jurisdiction in which the em2 ployee resides or the employer is located.

3 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘employee’

5 includes any employee of the employer or of any

6 related person, and any spouse or dependent of

7 such an employee.

8 ‘‘(B) PARTNERS AND PARTNERSHIPS.—

9 The term ‘employee’ includes a partner and the

10 term ‘employer’ includes a partnership.

11 ‘‘(C) RELATED PERSONS.—Persons shall

12 be treated as related to each other if such per13 sons are treated as a single employer under

14 subsection (a) or (b) of section 52.

15 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.—No

16 credit or deduction shall be allowed under any other provi17 sion of this title for any amount for which a credit is al18 lowed under this section.’’

19 (b) CARRYFORWARD, CARRYBACK, AND DEDUCTION

20 FOR UNUSED CREDITS.—

21 (1) CARRYFORWARD AND CARRYBACK.—Sub22 section (a) of section 38 of such Code (relating to

23 general business credit) is amended by striking

24 ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (10), by striking the

25 period at the end of paragraph (11) and inserting ‘‘,
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1 plus’’, and by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(12) the workplace safety program credit de4 termined under section 45C.’’

5 (2) TRANSITIONAL RULE FOR CARRYBACKS.—

6 Subsection (d) of section 39 of such Code (relating

7 to transitional rules) is amended by adding at the

8 end the following new paragraph:

9 ‘‘(7) NO CARRYBACK OF SECTION 45C CREDIT

10 BEFORE EFFECTIVE DATE.—No portion of the un11 used business credit for any taxable year which is

12 attributable to the workplace safety program credit

13 determined under section 45C may be carried back

14 to a taxable year beginning on or before the date of

15 the enactment of section 45C.’’

16 (3) DEDUCTION FOR UNUSED CREDITS.—Sub17 section (c) of section 196 of such Code (relating to

18 deduction for certain unused business credits) is

19 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

20 (6), by striking the period at the end of paragraph

21 (7) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the end

22 the following new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(8) the workplace safety program credit deter24 mined under section 45C.’’
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1 (c) CREDIT NOT A DEFENSE IN LEGAL ACTIONS.—

2 The allowance of a credit under section 45C of the Inter3 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this subtitle) shall

4 not absolve employers of their responsibilities under any

5 other law and shall not be construed as a defense to any

6 legal action (other than legal action by the Secretary of

7 the Treasury under such Code).

8 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

9 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1

10 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing new item:

‘‘Sec. 45C. Workplace safety program credit.’’

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

13 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

14 the date of the enactment of this subtitle.

15 Subtitle B—Insurance Protection

16 for Victims of Domestic Violence

17 SEC. 52001. PROHIBITION OF HEALTH INSURANCE DIS18 CRIMINATION WITH RESPECT TO VICTIMS OF

19 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

20 The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et

21 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new

22 title:
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1 ‘‘TITLE XXVII—PROHIBITION OF

2 HEALTH INSURANCE DIS3 CRIMINATION WITH RESPECT

4 TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VI5 OLENCE

6 ‘‘SEC. 2701. LIMITATIONS ON UNDERWRITING.

7 ‘‘An insurer may not deny or cancel health insurance,

8 or vary the terms and conditions of health insurance—

9 ‘‘(1) to an individual on the basis that the indi10 vidual or family member—

11 ‘‘(A) is, has been, or may be the subject of

12 an act of domestic violence;

13 ‘‘(B) has had prior injuries that resulted

14 from an act of domestic violence;

15 ‘‘(C) seeks, has sought, or should have

16 sought medical or psychological treatment for

17 protection against an act of domestic violence;

18 or

19 ‘‘(D) seeks, has sought, or should have

20 sought shelter from an act of domestic violence;

21 or

22 ‘‘(2) to or for a group or employer on the basis

23 that the group includes or the employer employs, or

24 provides or subsidizes insurance for, an individual

25 described in paragraph (1).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 2702. LIMITATION ON DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.

2 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), regardless of the manner in which information

4 was received, an insurer may not disclose or be compelled

5 (by subpoena or any other means) to disclose information

6 concerning the status of an individual as a victim of do7 mestic violence (including the relationship of a medical

8 condition to an incident or pattern of domestic violence),

9 or the status of an individual as a family member, em10 ployer, associate, or person in a relationship with an indi11 vidual who is the victim of domestic violence, unless the

12 individual involved provides a written authorization.

13 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1),

14 information concerning the abuse status of an individual

15 may be disclosed if such disclosure—

16 ‘‘(1) is required under the specific order of a

17 Federal or State court; or

18 ‘‘(2) is required by the State Insurance Com19 missioner.

20 ‘‘SEC. 2703. ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS.

21 ‘‘(a) ROLE OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSUR22 ANCE COMMISSIONERS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall request

24 the National Association of Insurance Commis25 sioners to develop, in consultation with nonprofit do26 mestic violence victim advocacy organizations, within
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1 9 months after the date of the enactment of this

2 title, model standards that incorporate the limita3 tions on underwriting set forth in section 2701, and

4 provide procedures for enforcement for such provi5 sions, including a private right of action.

6 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF STANDARDS.—If the Associa7 tion develops recommended regulations specifying

8 the standards within the period, the Secretary shall

9 review the standards. The review shall be completed

10 within 90 days after the date the regulations are de11 veloped. Unless the Secretary determines within the

12 period that such standards do not meet the require13 ments, such standards shall serve as the standards

14 under this title, with such amendments as the Sec15 retary determines to be necessary.

16 ‘‘(b) CONTINGENCY.—If the Association does not de17 velop the model regulations within the 9 month period be18 ginning on the date of the enactment of this title, or the

19 Secretary determines that the regulations do not specify

20 standards that meet the requirements described in sub21 section (a), the Secretary shall specify, within 15 months

22 after the date of the enactment of this title, standards to

23 carry out the requirements.

24 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF STANDARDS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall submit to

2 the Secretary, by the deadline specified in paragraph

3 (2), a report on actions the State is taking to imple4 ment and enforce the standards established under

5 this section with respect to insurers and health in6 surance coverage offered or renewed not later than

7 such deadline.

8 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR REPORT.—Each State

9 shall file the report described in paragraph (1) not

10 later than 1 year after the date that standards are

11 established under subsection (a) or, in the event of

12 the failure of the Association to develop timely model

13 regulations, under subsection (b).

14 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ROLE.—

15 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY.—If the Secretary

16 determines that a State has failed to submit a report

17 by the deadline specified by subsection (c), or finds

18 that the State has not implemented and provided

19 adequate enforcement of the standards established

20 under subsection (a) or (b), the Secretary shall no21 tify the State and provide the State a period of 60

22 days in which to submit the report.

23 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION OF ALTERNATIVE EN24 FORCEMENT MECHANISM.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, after the 60-day

2 period, the Secretary finds that such a failure

3 has not been corrected, the Secretary shall

4 within 30 days provide for a mechanism for the

5 implementation and enforcement of such stand6 ards in the State as the Secretary determines to

7 be appropriate.

8 ‘‘(B) CIVIL PENALTY.—Under any imple9 mentation and enforcement mechanism estab10 lished by the Secretary pursuant to this para11 graph, the Secretary shall have the authority to

12 impose on an insurer a civil monetary penalty

13 in the amount of $10,000 for each day during

14 which such insurer violates the requirements

15 described in section 2701, or the standards de16 veloped under this section. Liability for such

17 penalty shall begin to accrue on the 30th day

18 after the Secretary has provided such insurer

19 with notice of its noncompliance, if the insurer

20 has failed to correct the deficiency by such date.

21 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—Any such im22 plementation and enforcement mechanism es23 tablished by the Secretary shall take effect with

24 respect to insurers, and health insurance cov25 erage offered or renewed, on or after 3 months
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1 after the date of the Secretary’s finding under

2 paragraph (1), and until the date the Secretary

3 finds that such a failure has been corrected.

4 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHT OF ACTION.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any individual

6 aggrieved as a result of conduct prohibited

7 by section 2701 may bring a civil action in

8 the appropriate United States district

9 court against the insurer.

10 ‘‘(B) RELIEF.—Upon proof of such

11 conduct by a preponderance of the evi12 dence, the insurer shall be subject to a civil

13 penalty that may include temporary, pre14 liminary, or permanent injunctive relief

15 and compensatory and punitive damages,

16 as well as the costs of suit and reasonable

17 fees for the aggrieved individual’s attor18 neys. With respect to compensatory dam19 ages, the aggrieved individual may elect, at

20 any time prior to the rendering of final

21 judgment, to recover in lieu of actual dam22 ages, an award of statutory damages in the

23 amount of $5,000 for each violation.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 2704. APPLICATION TO GROUP HEALTH PLANS AND

2 ENFORCEMENT.

3 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Subject to subsection (b), the

4 prohibitions in section 2701 and the standards developed

5 under section 2702 shall apply to group health plans pro6 viding health coverage in the same manner as they apply

7 to insurers providing health insurance coverage. The pen8 alty described in section 2702(d)(2)(B) may be imposed

9 by the Secretary of Labor on group health plans that are

10 not in compliance with the requirements of sections 2701

11 and 2702.

12 ‘‘(b) SUBSTITUTION OF FEDERAL OFFICIALS.—For

13 purposes of subsection (a), any reference in section 2702

14 to—

15 ‘‘(1) a State or the Secretary of Health and

16 Human Services is deemed to be a reference to the

17 Secretary of Labor; and

18 ‘‘(2) an insurer or health insurance coverage is

19 deemed to be a reference to a group health plan and

20 health coverage, respectively.

21 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—For purposes of part 5 of sub22 title B of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Secu23 rity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C 1131 et seq.) the provisions

24 of this title insofar as they relate to group health plans

25 shall be deemed to be provisions of title I of such Act irre26 spective of exclusions under section 4(b) of such Act.
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1 ‘‘(d) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—With respect to the

2 regulatory authority of the Secretary of Labor under this

3 title pursuant to subsection (c), section 505 of the Em4 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

5 U.S.C. 1135) shall apply.

6 ‘‘SEC. 2705. DEFINITIONS.

7 ‘‘For purposes of this title:

8 ‘‘(1) ACT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term

9 ‘act of domestic violence’ means the occurrence of

10 one or more of the following acts between family or

11 household members, current or former sexual or inti12 mate partners, or persons sharing biological parent13 hood—

14 ‘‘(A) attempting to cause or intentionally,

15 knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury,

16 rape, or sexual abuse as such term is defined in

17 section 2242 of title 18, United States Code;

18 ‘‘(B) placing, by physical menace, another

19 individual in reasonable fear of imminent seri20 ous bodily injury;

21 ‘‘(C) infliction of false imprisonment; or

22 ‘‘(D) physically or sexually abusing minor

23 children.
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1 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATION.—The term ‘Association’

2 means the National Association of Insurance Com3 missioners.

4 ‘‘(3) INSURER.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘insurer’

6 means a health benefit plan or a health care

7 provider that conducts activities related to the

8 protection of public health.

9 ‘‘(B) HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN.—The term

10 ‘health benefit plan’ means any public or pri11 vate entity or program that provides for pay12 ments for health care, including—

13 ‘‘(i) a group health plan (as defined in

14 section 607 of the Employee Retirement

15 Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C.

16 1167)) or a multiple employer welfare ar17 rangement (as defined in section 3(40) of

18 such Act) that provides health benefits;

19 and

20 ‘‘(ii) any other health insurance ar21 rangement, including any arrangement

22 consisting of a hospital or medical expense

23 incurred policy or certificate, hospital or

24 medical service plan contract, or health
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1 maintenance organization subscriber con2 tract.

3 ‘‘(C) HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.—The term

4 ‘health care provider’ means a provider of serv5 ices (as defined in section 1861(u) of the Social

6 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395u)), a physician,

7 a supplier, or any other person furnishing

8 health care, including a Federal or State pro9 gram that provides directly for the provision of

10 health care to beneficiaries.’’.

11 Subtitle C—Fairness to Minority

12 Women Health

13 SEC. 53001. EXCEPTION TO AFDC INCOME AND RESOURCES

14 ATTRIBUTION RULE FOR CERTAIN BATTERED

15 ALIENS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 415(f) of the Social Secu17 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 615(f)) is amended—

18 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

19 striking ‘‘who is—’’ and inserting ‘‘who—’’;

20 (2) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by in21 serting ‘‘is’’ before ‘‘admitted’’;

22 (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘is’’ before

23 ‘‘paroled’’;

24 (4) in paragraph (4)—
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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘is’’ before ‘‘granted’’;

2 and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end;

4 (5) in paragraph (5)—

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘is’’ before ‘‘a Cuban’’;

6 and

7 (B) by striking the period at the end and

8 inserting a semicolon; and

9 (6) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(6) is battered by, or is the subject of extreme

11 cruelty (including physical acts resulting in physical

12 injury or a threat of physical injury, sexual abuse,

13 rape, or mental abuse) perpetrated by, the spouse or

14 other person who executed the affidavit of support

15 or similar agreement referred to in subsection (a)

16 with respect to the alien, but only after the first day

17 on which the battery or cruelty occurs after the alien

18 enters into the United States; or

19 ‘‘(7) is a dependent child, and a relative with

20 whom the child is living is battered by, or is the sub21 ject of extreme cruelty (including physical acts re22 sulting in physical injury or a threat of physical in23 jury, sexual abuse, rape, or mental abuse) per24 petrated by, the parent or other person who executed

25 the affidavit of support or similar agreement re-
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1 ferred to in subsection (a) with respect to the alien,

2 but only after the first day on which the battery or

3 cruelty occurs after the alien enters into the United

4 States.’’.

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

6 subsection (a) shall take effect 90 days after the date of

7 the enactment of this subtitle.

8 SEC. 53002. AMENDMENT TO THE FOOD STAMP ACT OF 1977.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(i) of the Food Stamp

10 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2014(i)) is amended by adding at

11 the end the following:

12 ‘‘(F) If an alien is battered by the alien’s sponsor,

13 or is the subject of extreme cruelty perpetrated by the

14 sponsor, after such alien enters the United States, then

15 after the date the battery or cruelty occurs, this subsection

16 (other than subparagraph (E) of paragraph (2)) shall not

17 apply with respect to such alien and to any child of such

18 alien less than 18 years of age and residing with such

19 alien.’’.

20 (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take

21 effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this sub22 title.
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1 SEC. 53003. REQUIRING CERTAIN RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL

2 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO HAVE PERSON3 NEL AVAILABLE WHO SPEAK PREDOMINANT

4 LANGUAGE USED IN AREA.

5 (a) PROVIDERS OF OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECO6 LOGICAL SERVICES.—

7 (1) MEDICAID.—Section 1903(i) of the Social

8 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(i)) is amended—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para10 graph (14);

11 (B) by striking the period at the end of

12 paragraph (15) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

13 (C) by inserting after paragraph (15) the

14 following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(16) with respect to any amount expended for

16 obstetrical or gynecological services furnished by or

17 through a hospital, clinic, or other institutional pro18 vider, unless the hospital, clinic, or provider has

19 available at least one individual who is able to com20 municate in the predominant language used by resi21 dents of the area in which the hospital, clinic, or

22 provider is located (as determined by the Secretary

23 on the basis of information provided by the Sec24 retary of Commerce pursuant to the most recent de25 cennial census).’’.
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1 (2) FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES.—Section

2 1001 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.

3 300) is amended—

4 (A) by redesignating subsections (c) and

5 (d) as subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and

6 (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the

7 following subsection:

8 ‘‘(c) The Secretary may make a grant under this sec9 tion only if the applicant involved agrees to ensure that,

10 of the individuals providing services under the grant, at

11 least one will be an individual who is able to communicate

12 in the predominant language used by residents of the area

13 in which the family planning project involved is located

14 (as determined by the Secretary on the basis of informa15 tion provided by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to

16 the most recent decennial census).’’.

17 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

18 by this subsection shall apply to services furnished

19 on or after October 1, 1996.

20 (b) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Family Violence Pre22 vention and Services Act (42 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.)

23 is amended by adding at the end the following new

24 section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 319. AVAILABILITY OF BILINGUAL SERVICES.

2 ‘‘No funds may be made available under this title for

3 any provider of shelter or related assistance unless the

4 provider has available at least one individual who is able

5 to communicate in the predominant language used by resi6 dents of the area in which the provider is located (as deter7 mined by the Secretary on the basis of information pro8 vided by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to the most

9 recent decennial census).’’.

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

11 by paragraph (1) shall apply to funds made available

12 on or after October 1, 1996.

13 SEC. 53004. STUDY REGARDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND

14 LATINA WOMEN.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to cases of domestic

16 violence in which Latina women are the victims, the Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with

18 the Attorney General of the United States, shall conduct

19 a study for the following purposes:

20 (1) To determine the incidence of such cases,

21 and to provide a comparison of such estimate with

22 the relevant incidence for other populations of

23 women (utilizing existing data regarding such other

24 populations).

25 (2) To determine whether and to what extent

26 the causes and effects for such cases are different
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1 than for cases of domestic violence in which other

2 populations of women are the victims (utilizing exist3 ing data regarding such other populations).

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date

5 of the enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary of Health

6 and Human Services shall submit to the Congress a report

7 describing the findings made in the study under subsection

8 (a).

9 Subtitle D—Battered Women’s

10 Employment Protection

11 SEC. 54001. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

12 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

13 (1) violence against women is the leading cause

14 of physical injury to women, and the Department of

15 Justice estimates that intimate partners commit

16 more than one million violent crimes against women

17 every year;

18 (2) the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that

19 women will account for two-thirds of all new en20 trants into the workforce between now and the year

21 2000;

22 (3) violence against women dramatically affects

23 women’s workforce participation, insofar as one24 quarter of battered women surveyed had lost a job

25 due at least in part to the effects of domestic vio-
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1 lence, and over half had been harassed by their

2 abuser at work;

3 (4) the availability of economic support is a

4 critical factor in women’s ability to leave abusive sit5 uations that threaten them and their children, and

6 over half of battered women surveyed stayed with

7 their batterers because they lacked resources to sup8 port themselves and their children;

9 (5) a report by the New York City Victims

10 Services Agency found that abusive spouses and

11 lovers harass 74 percent of battered women at work

12 and 54 percent of battering victims miss at least 3

13 days of work per month and 56 percent are late for

14 work at least 5 times per month, and a University

15 of Minnesota study found that 24 percent of women

16 in support groups for battered women had lost a job

17 partly because of being abused;

18 (6) a survey of State unemployment insurance

19 agency directors by the Federal Advisory Council on

20 Unemployment Compensation found that in 31

21 States battered women who leave work as a result

22 of domestic violence do not qualify for unemploy23 ment benefits, in 9 States the determination often

24 varies depending on the facts and circumstances,
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1 and in only 13 States are they usually considered

2 qualified for unemployment benefits;

3 (7) a study by the New York State Department

4 of Labor found that, when filing for unemployment

5 insurance benefits, domestic violence victims fre6 quently hide their victimization and do not disclose

7 the domestic violence as a reason for their problems

8 with the job or need to separate from employment;

9 (8) the same New York State study found that

10 75 percent of employed victims of domestic violence

11 must communicate with doctors, lawyers, shelters,

12 counselors, family and friends from their workplaces

13 because they cannot do so at home;

14 (9) 49 percent of senior executives recently sur15 veyed said domestic violence has a harmful effect on

16 their company’s productivity, 47 percent said domes17 tic violence negatively affects attendance, and 44

18 percent said domestic violence increases health care

19 costs, and the Bureau of National Affairs estimates

20 that domestic violence costs employers between 3

21 and 5 billion dollars per year; and

22 (10) existing Federal and State legislation does

23 not expressly authorize battered women to take leave

24 from work to seek legal assistance and redress,
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1 counseling, or assistance with safety planning and

2 activities.

3 (b) PURPOSES.—Pursuant to the affirmative power

4 of Congress to enact this subtitle under section 5 of the

5 Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, as well as

6 under section 8 of Article I of the Constitution, the pur7 poses of this subtitle are—

8 (1) to promote the national interest in reducing

9 domestic violence by enabling victims of domestic vi10 olence to maintain the financial independence nec11 essary to leave abusive situations, to achieve safety

12 and minimize the physical and emotional injuries

13 from domestic violence, and to reduce the devastat14 ing economic consequences of domestic violence,

15 by—

16 (A) providing unemployment insurance for

17 victims of domestic violence who are forced to

18 leave their employment as a result of domestic

19 violence; and

20 (B) entitling employed victims of domestic

21 violence to take reasonable leave to seek medi22 cal help, legal assistance, counseling, and safety

23 planning and assistance without penalty from

24 their employer;
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1 (2) to promote the purposes of the Fourteenth

2 Amendment by protecting the civil and economic

3 rights of victims of domestic violence and by further4 ing the equal opportunity of women and men to em5 ployment and economic self-sufficiency;

6 (3) to minimize the negative impact on inter7 state commerce from dislocations of employees and

8 harmful effects on productivity, health care costs,

9 and employer costs from domestic violence; and

10 (4) to accomplish the purposes described in

11 paragraphs (1) , (2) and (3) in a manner that ac12 commodates the legitimate interests of employers.

13 SEC. 54002. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

14 (a) UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.—Section

15 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend16 ed—

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

18 (18),

19 (2) by striking the period at the end of para20 graph (19) and inserting ‘‘; and’’,

21 (3) by adding after paragraph (19) the follow22 ing:

23 ‘‘(20) compensation is to be provided where an

24 individual is separated from employment due to cir-
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1 cumstances directly resulting from the individual’s

2 experience of domestic violence.’’,

3 (4) by redesignating subsections (b) through (f)

4 as subsections (c) through (g), respectively, and

5 (5) by adding after subsection (a) the following:

6 ‘‘(b) CONSTRUCTION.—

7 ‘‘(1) For the purpose of determining, under

8 subsection (a)(20), whether an employee’s separation

9 from employment is ‘directly resulting’ from the in10 dividual’s experience of domestic violence, it shall be

11 sufficient if the separation from employment re12 sulted from—

13 ‘‘(A) the employee’s reasonable fear of fu14 ture domestic violence at or en route to or from

15 her place of employment;

16 ‘‘(B) the employee’s wish to relocate to an17 other geographic area in order to avoid future

18 domestic violence against the employee or the

19 employee’s family;

20 ‘‘(C) the employee’s need to recover from

21 traumatic stress resulting from the employee’s

22 experience of domestic violence;

23 ‘‘(D) the employer’s denial of the employ24 ee’s request for temporary leave from employ25 ment to deal with domestic violence and its
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1 aftermath, as provided in section 54003 of the

2 Economic Equity Act of 1996; or

3 ‘‘(E) any other respect in which domestic

4 violence causes the employee to reasonably be5 lieve that termination of employment is nec6 essary for the future safety of the employee or

7 the employee’s family.

8 ‘‘(2) For purposes of subsection (a)(20), where

9 State law requires the employee to have made rea10 sonable efforts to retain employment as a condition

11 for receiving unemployment compensation, it shall be

12 sufficient that the employee—

13 ‘‘(A) sought protection from or assistance

14 in responding to domestic violence, including

15 calling the police or seeking legal, social work,

16 medical, clergy, or other assistance;

17 ‘‘(B) sought safety, including refuge in a

18 shelter or temporary or permanent relocation,

19 whether or not the employee actually obtained

20 such refuge or accomplished such relocation; or

21 ‘‘(C) reasonably believed that options such

22 as a leave, transfer, or alternative work sched23 ule would not be sufficient to guarantee the em24 ployee or the employee’s family’s safety.
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1 ‘‘(3) For purposes of subsection (a)(20), where

2 State law requires the employee to actively search

3 for employment after separation from employment

4 as a condition for receiving unemployment com5 pensation, such requirement shall be deemed to be

6 met where the employee is temporarily unable to ac7 tively search for employment because the employee is

8 engaged in seeking safety or relief for the employee

9 or the employee’s family from domestic violence, in10 cluding—

11 ‘‘(A) going into hiding or relocating or at12 tempting to do so, including activities associ13 ated with such relocation or hiding, such as

14 seeking to obtain sufficient shelter, food, school15 ing for children, or other necessities of life for

16 the employee or the employee’s family;

17 ‘‘(B) actively pursuing legal protection or

18 remedies, including meeting with the police,

19 going to court to make inquiries or file papers,

20 meeting with attorneys, or attending court pro21 ceedings; or

22 ‘‘(C) participating in psychological, social,

23 or religious counseling or support activities to

24 assist the employee in ending domestic violence.
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1 ‘‘(4) In determining if an employee meets the

2 requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), the

3 employer or reviewer of any claim of an employee

4 may require the employee to provide a statement

5 along with—

6 ‘‘(A) documentation, such as police or

7 court records, or documentation from a shelter

8 worker, attorney, clergy, medical or other pro9 fessional from whom the employee has sought

10 assistance in dealing with domestic violence; or

11 ‘‘(B) other corroborating evidence, such as

12 a statement from any other individual with

13 knowledge of the circumstances which provide

14 the basis for the claim, or physical evidence of

15 domestic violence, such as photographs, torn or

16 bloody clothes, etc.’’

17 (b) SOCIAL SECURITY PERSONNEL TRAINING.—Sec18 tion 303(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

19 503(a)(4)) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (4)

20 through (10) as paragraphs (5) through (11), respectively,

21 and by adding after paragraph (3) the following:

22 ‘‘(4) Such methods of administration as will en23 sure that claims reviewers and hearing personnel are

24 adequately trained in the nature and dynamics of

25 domestic violence and in methods of ascertaining in-
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1 formation about possible experiences of domestic vio2 lence, so that employment separations stemming

3 from domestic violence are reliably screened, identi4 fied, and adjudicated.’’.

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3306 of the Internal Rev6 enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(u) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domestic vio9 lence’ includes abuse committed against an employee or

10 a family member of the employee by—

11 ‘‘(1) a current or former spouse of the em12 ployee;

13 ‘‘(2) a person with whom the employee shares

14 a child in common;

15 ‘‘(3) a person who is cohabitating with or has

16 cohabitated with the employee as a romantic or inti17 mate partner; or

18 ‘‘(4) a person from whom the employee would

19 be eligible for protection under the domestic vio20 lence, protection order, or family laws of the juris21 diction in which the employee resides or the em22 ployer is located.

23 ‘‘(v) ABUSE.—The term ‘abuse’ includes—

24 ‘‘(1) physical acts resulting in, or threatening to

25 result in, physical injury;
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1 ‘‘(2) sexual abuse, sexual activity involving a

2 dependent child, or threats of or attempts at sexual

3 abuse;

4 ‘‘(3) mental abuse, including threats, intimida5 tion, acts designed to induce terror, or restraints on

6 liberty; and

7 ‘‘(4) deprivation of medical care, housing, food

8 or other necessities of life.’’.

9 SEC. 54003. LEAVE FROM EMPLOYMENT.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Employers subject to the Federal

11 Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq),

12 any State law addressing family, medical, sick, or other

13 kind of leave from employment, or an employment benefits

14 program or policy or collective bargaining agreement ad15 dressing family, medical, sick, or other kind of leave from

16 employment, shall provide leave to employees seeking tem17 porary absences from employment to deal with domestic

18 violence and its aftermath in accordance with this section.

19 (b) EXISTING LEAVE USEABLE FOR DOMESTIC VIO20 LENCE.—Where family, medical, sick, or any other kind

21 of leave from employment is available to employees pursu22 ant to the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

23 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), any State law, an existing em24 ployment benefits program or plan, or collective bargain25 ing agreement, employees shall be entitled to use such
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1 leave for the purpose of dealing with domestic violence and

2 its aftermath.

3 (c) MINIMUM LEAVE FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any employee who is not en5 titled to leave from employment for the purpose of

6 dealing with domestic violence and its aftermath

7 pursuant to subsection (b) or who has used up the

8 employee’s available leave pursuant to subsection (b)

9 and who is not an employee who has taken 12 weeks

10 of leave for the purpose of dealing with domestic vio11 lence and its aftermath, shall be entitled to take up

12 to 10 days per year of unpaid leave without penalty,

13 for that purpose.

14 (2) SUBSTITUTION.—An employee may elect, or

15 an employer may require the employee, to substitute

16 accrued paid leave for any part of the 10 days of un17 paid leave provided under paragraph (1).

18 (d) DEALING WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ITS

19 AFTERMATH.—The following activities constitute means

20 of ‘‘dealing with domestic violence and its aftermath,’’

21 which shall render an employee eligible for leave under this

22 section:

23 (1) Experiencing domestic violence.

24 (2) Seeking medical attention for injuries

25 caused by domestic violence, except for ‘‘serious
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1 health conditions’’ where covered by the Family and

2 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).

3 (3) Seeking legal assistance or remedies, includ4 ing communicating with the police or an attorney, or

5 participating in any legal proceeding related to do6 mestic violence.

7 (4) Attending support groups for victims of do8 mestic violence.

9 (5) Obtaining psychological counseling related

10 to experiences of domestic violence.

11 (6) Participating in safety planning and other

12 actions to increase safety from future domestic vio13 lence, including temporary or permanent relocation.

14 (7) Any other activity necessitated by domestic

15 violence which must be undertaken during hours of

16 employment.

17 (e) CONSTRUCTION.—In determining if an employee

18 meets the requirements of subsections (b), (c), and (d),

19 the employer or reviewer of any claim of an employee may

20 require the employee to provide a statement along with—

21 (1) documentation, such as police or court

22 records, or documentation from a shelter worker, at23 torney, clergy, medical or other professional from

24 whom the employee has sought assistance in dealing

25 with domestic violence; or
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1 (2) other corroborating evidence, such as a

2 statement from any other individual with knowledge

3 of the circumstances which provide the basis for the

4 claim, or physical evidence of domestic violence, such

5 as photographs, torn or bloody clothes, etc.

6 (f) ENFORCEMENT.—

7 (1) PUBLIC ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary of

8 Labor shall have the powers set forth in subsections

9 (b), (c), (d) and (e) of section 107 of the Family and

10 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617) for the

11 purpose of public enforcement of any alleged viola12 tions of this section against any employer.

13 (2) PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT.—

14 (A) PRIVATE AND FEDERAL EMPLOY15 ERS.—The remedies and procedures set forth in

16 subsection (a) of section 107 of the Family and

17 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617)

18 shall be the remedies and procedures pursuant

19 to which an employee may initiate a legal action

20 against a Federal or private employer for al21 leged violations of this section.

22 (B) STATE EMPLOYERS.—

23 (i) QUI TAM ACTIONS.—

24 (I) An employee of a State em25 ployer may bring a civil action for a
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1 violation of this section for the em2 ployee and for the United States Gov3 ernment (referred to as a ‘Qui Tam’

4 action). The action shall be brought in

5 the name of the United States Gov6 ernment. The action may be dismissed

7 only if the court and the Secretary of

8 Labor give written consent to the dis9 missal stating their reasons for con10 senting. The Qui Tam plaintiff may

11 recover damages or injunctive relief to

12 the same extent provided in subpara13 graph (A).

14 (II) The right provided by sub15 clause (I) to bring a Qui Tam action

16 shall terminate on the filing of a com17 plaint by the Secretary of Labor in an

18 action seeking damages or monetary

19 relief on behalf of the affected em20 ployee under paragraph (1) unless

21 that action is dismissed without preju22 dice on motion of the Secretary of

23 Labor.

24 (3) EMPLOYER LIABILITY UNDER OTHER

25 LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to
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1 limit the liability of an employer to an employee for

2 harm suffered relating to the employee’s experience

3 of domestic violence pursuant to any other State or

4 Federal law or legal remedy.

5 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

6 (1) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ includes

7 any person subject to the Federal Family and Medi8 cal Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) or

9 any State law addressing family, medical, sick, or

10 any other kind of leave from employment, or any

11 employer granting family, medical, sick, or other

12 kind of leave from employment under an employ13 ment benefits program or policy or collective bar14 gaining agreement in effect as of the date of enact15 ment of this subtitle.

16 (2) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘employee’ refers to

17 any person eligible to receive leave pursuant to the

18 Federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29

19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), any State law addressing med20 ical, family, sick, or other kind of leave from employ21 ment, or an employment benefits program or policy

22 or collective bargaining agreement in effect as of the

23 date of enactment of this subtitle.

24 (3) DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The term ‘domestic

25 violence’ has the meaning assigned to such term by
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1 section 3306(u) of the Internal Revenue Code of

2 1986.

3 SEC. 54004. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS AND EMPLOYMENT

4 BENEFITS.

5 (1) MORE PROTECTIVE.—Nothing in this sub6 title or the amendments made by this subtitle shall

7 be construed to supersede any provision of any Fed8 eral, State or local law, collective bargaining agree9 ment, or other employment benefit program which

10 provides greater unemployment compensation or

11 leave benefits for employed victims of domestic vio12 lence than the rights established under this subtitle

13 or such amendments.

14 (2) LESS PROTECTIVE.—The rights established

15 for employees under this subtitle or the amendments

16 made by this subtitle shall not be diminished by any

17 collective bargaining agreement, any employment

18 benefit program or plan, or any State or local law.

19 Subtitle E—Domestic Violence

20 Legal Services Eligibility

21 SEC. 55001. INCOME RULE FOR VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIO22 LENCE.

23 Section 1007(a) of the Legal Services Corporation

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 2996f(a)) is amended by inserting after

25 and below paragraph (10) the following: ‘‘In establishing
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1 income levels under paragraph (2)(A) to determine if a

2 client is eligible for assistance, the Corporation, in the case

3 of a client who is the victim of domestic violence, shall

4 prescribe that only the income of such a client will be con5 sidered in making such determination. For purposes of the

6 preceding sentence, the term ‘domestic violence’ has the

7 meaning given such term by section 2003(1) of the Omni8 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1988 (42

9 U.S.C. 3796gg–2(1)).’’.

Æ