I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 785

To improve and strengthen the child support collection system.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 1, 1995

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mrs. KENNELLY,

Mrs. MORELLA, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. SCHROEDER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. RIVERS, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. DUNN of Washington,

Mr. GREENWOOD, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. PRYCE, Ms. MOLINARI, Mrs.

CLAYTON, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and, in addition, to the

Committees on the Judiciary, National Security, Government Reform and

Oversight, International Relations, Economic and Educational Opportunities, and Banking and Financial Services, 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 improve and strengthen the child support collection

system.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE; TABLE OF CON4 TENTS.

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

6 ‘‘Child Support Responsibility Act of 1995’’.
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1 (b) REFERENCE TO SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Except

2 as otherwise specifically provided, wherever in this Act an

3 amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to or

4 repeal of a section or other provision, the reference shall

5 be considered to be made to that section or other provision

6 of the Social Security Act.

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

8 this Act is as follows:

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

Subtitle A—Eligibility and Other Matters Concerning Title IV–D Program

Clients

Sec. 101. State obligation to provide paternity establishment and child support

enforcement services.

Sec. 102. Distribution of payments.

Sec. 103. Due process rights.

Sec. 104. Privacy safeguards.

Subtitle B—Program Administration and Funding

Sec. 111. Federal matching payments.

Sec. 112. Performance-based incentives and penalties.

Sec. 113. Federal and State reviews and audits.

Sec. 114. Required reporting procedures.

Sec. 115. Automated data processing requirements.

Sec. 116. Director of CSE program; staffing study.

Sec. 117. Funding for secretarial assistance to State programs.

Sec. 118. Reports and data collection by the Secretary.

Subtitle C—Locate and Case Tracking

Sec. 121. Central State and case registry.

Sec. 122. Centralized collection and disbursement of support payments.

Sec. 123. Amendments concerning income withholding.

Sec. 124. Locator information from interstate networks.

Sec. 125. Expanded Federal Parent Locator Service.

Sec. 126. Use of social security numbers.

Subtitle D—Streamlining and Uniformity of Procedures

Sec. 131. Adoption of uniform State laws.

Sec. 132. Improvements to full faith and credit for child support orders.

Sec. 133. State laws providing expedited procedures.

Subtitle E—Paternity Establishment

Sec. 141. State laws concerning paternity establishment.
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Sec. 142. Outreach for voluntary paternity establishment.

Subtitle F—Establishment and Modification of Support Orders

Sec. 151. National Child Support Guidelines Commission.

Sec. 152. Simplified process for review and adjustment of child support orders.

Subtitle G—Enforcement of Support Orders

Sec. 161. Federal income tax refund offset.

Sec. 162. Internal revenue service collection of arrears.

Sec. 163. Authority to collect support from Federal employees.

Sec. 164. Enforcement of child support obligations of members of the Armed

Forces.

Sec. 165. Motor vehicle liens.

Sec. 166. Voiding of fraudulent transfers.

Sec. 167. State law authorizing suspension of licenses.

Sec. 168. Reporting arrearages to credit bureaus.

Sec. 169. Extended statute of limitation for collection of arrearages.

Sec. 170. Charges for arrearages.

Sec. 171. Denial of passports for nonpayment of child support.

Sec. 172. International child support enforcement.

Subtitle H—Medical Support

Sec. 181. Technical correction to ERISA definition of medical child support

order.

Subtitle I—Effect of Enactment

Sec. 191. Effective dates.

Sec. 192. Severability.

1 Subtitle A—Eligibility and Other

2 Matters Concerning Title IV–D

3 Program Clients

4 SEC. 101. STATE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE PATERNITY ES5 TABLISHMENT AND CHILD SUPPORT EN6 FORCEMENT SERVICES.

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

8 (42 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

9 following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(12) USE OF CENTRAL CASE REGISTRY AND

2 CENTRALIZED COLLECTIONS UNIT.—Procedures

3 under which—

4 ‘‘(A) every child support order established

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

6 1998, is recorded in the central case registry

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

8 and

9 ‘‘(B) child support payments are collected

10 through the centralized collections unit estab11 lished in accordance with section 454B—

12 ‘‘(i) on and after October 1, 1998,

13 under each order subject to wage withhold14 ing under section 466(b); and

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

16 under each other order required to be re17 corded in such central case registry under

18 this paragraph or section 454A(e), except

19 as provided in subparagraph (C); and

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

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

22 opt out of the procedure for payment of support

23 through the centralized collections unit (but not

24 the procedure for inclusion in the central case

25 registry) by filing with the State agency a writ-
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1 ten agreement, signed by both parties, to an

2 alternative payment procedure; and

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

4 becomes void whenever either party advises the

5 State agency of an intent to vacate the agree6 ment.’’.

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

8 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

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

10 following:

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

12 ‘‘(A) to provide appropriate services under

13 this part to—

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

15 an assignment is effective under section

16 402(a)(26), 471(a)(17), or 1912 (except in

17 cases where the State agency determines,

18 in accordance with paragraph (25), that it

19 is against the best interests of the child to

20 do so); and

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

22 (i)—

23 ‘‘(I) with respect to whom an in24 dividual applies for such services; and
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1 ‘‘(II) (on and after October 1,

2 1998) each child with respect to

3 whom a support order is recorded in

4 the central State case registry estab5 lished under section 454A, regardless

6 of whether application is made for

7 services under this part; and

8 ‘‘(B) to enforce the support obligation es9 tablished with respect to the custodial parent of

10 a child described in subparagraph (A) unless

11 the parties to the order which establishes the

12 support obligation have opted, in accordance

13 with section 466(a)(12)(C), for an alternative

14 payment procedure.’’; and

15 (2) in paragraph (6)—

16 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in17 serting the following:

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

19 made available to nonresidents on the same

20 terms as to residents;’’;

21 (B) in subparagraph (B)—

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘on individuals not re23 ceiving assistance under part A’’ after

24 ‘‘such services shall be imposed’’; and
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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘but no fees or costs

2 shall be imposed on any absent or custo3 dial parent or other individual for inclusion

4 in the central State registry maintained

5 pursuant to section 454A(e)’’; and

6 (C) in each of subparagraphs (B), (C), and

7 (D)—

8 (i) by indenting such subparagraph

9 and aligning its left margin with the left

10 margin of subparagraph (A); and

11 (ii) by striking the final comma and

12 inserting a semicolon.

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) Section 452(g)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C.

15 652(g)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘454(6)’’ each

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

17 (2) Section 454(23) (42 U.S.C. 654(23)) is

18 amended, effective October 1, 1998, by striking ‘‘in19 formation as to any application fees for such services

20 and’’.

21 (3) Section 466(a)(3)(B) (42 U.S.C.

22 666(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘in the case of

23 overdue support which a State has agreed to collect

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

25 case’’.
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1 (4) Section 466(e) (42 U.S.C. 666(e)) is

2 amended by striking ‘‘or (6)’’.

3 SEC. 102. DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.

4 (a) DISTRIBUTIONS THROUGH STATE CHILD SUP5 PORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO FORMER ASSISTANCE

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

7 amended—

8 (1) in subparagraph (A)—

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘except as otherwise spe10 cifically provided in section 464 or 466(a)(3),’’

11 after ‘‘is effective,’’; and

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

13 follows through the semicolon; and

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

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

16 (b) DISTRIBUTION TO A FAMILY CURRENTLY RE17 CEIVING AFDC.—Section 457 (42 U.S.C. 657) is amend18 ed—

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

20 subsection (b) as subsection (a);

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

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (2),

23 to read as follows:

24 ‘‘(a) IN THE CASE OF A FAMILY RECEIVING

25 AFDC.—Amounts collected under this part during any
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1 month as support of a child who is receiving assistance

2 under part A (or a parent or caretaker relative of such

3 a child) shall (except in the case of a State exercising the

4 option under subsection (b)) be distributed as follows:

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

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

7 shall be taken from each of—

8 ‘‘(A) amounts received in a month which

9 represent payments for that month; and

10 ‘‘(B) amounts received in a month which

11 represent payments for a prior month which

12 were made by the absent parent in the month

13 when due;

14 and shall be paid to the family without affecting its

15 eligibility for assistance or decreasing any amount

16 otherwise payable as assistance to such family dur17 ing such month;’’;

18 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or (B)’’

19 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘; then (B)

20 from any remainder, amounts equal to arrear21 ages of such support obligations assigned, pur22 suant to part A, to any other State or States

23 shall be paid to such other State or States and

24 used to pay any such arrearages (with appro25 priate reimbursement of the Federal Govern-
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1 ment to the extent of its participation in the fi2 nancing); and then (C) any remainder shall be

3 paid to the family.’’.

4 (3) by inserting after subsection (a), as redesig5 nated, the following new subsection:

6 ‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE DISTRIBUTION IN CASE OF FAM7 ILY RECEIVING AFDC.—In the case of a State electing

8 the option under this subsection, amounts collected as de9 scribed in subsection (a) shall be distributed as follows:

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

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

12 shall be taken from each of—

13 ‘‘(A) amounts received in a month which

14 represent payments for that month; and

15 ‘‘(B) amounts received in a month which

16 represent payments for a prior month which

17 were made by the absent parent in the month

18 when due;

19 and shall be paid to the family without affecting its

20 eligibility for assistance or decreasing any amount

21 otherwise payable as assistance to such family dur22 ing such month;

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

24 equal to the balance of support owed for the current

25 month shall be paid to the family;
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1 ‘‘(3) third, from any remainder, amounts equal

2 to arrearages of such support obligations assigned,

3 pursuant to part A, to the State making the collec4 tion shall be retained and used by such State to pay

5 any such arrearages (with appropriate reimburse6 ment of the Federal Government to the extent of its

7 participation in the financing);

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

9 equal to arrearages of such support obligations as10 signed, pursuant to part A, to any other State or

11 States shall be paid to such other State or States

12 and used to pay any such arrearages (with appro13 priate reimbursement of the Federal Government to

14 the extent of its participation in the financing); and

15 ‘‘(5) fifth, any remainder shall be paid to the

16 family.’’.

17 (c) DISTRIBUTION TO A FAMILY NOT RECEIVING

18 AFDC.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 457(c) (42 U.S.C.

20 657(c)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(c) IN CASE OF FAMILY NOT RECEIVING AFDC.—

22 Amounts collected by a State agency under this part dur23 ing any month as support of a child who is not receiving

24 assistance under part A (or of a parent or caretaker rel-
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1 ative of such a child) shall (subject to the remaining provi2 sions of this section) be distributed as follows:

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

4 support owed for such month shall be paid to the

5 family;

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

7 equal to arrearages of such support obligations for

8 months during which such child did not receive as9 sistance under part A shall be paid to the family;

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

11 to arrearages of such support obligations assigned to

12 the State making the collection pursuant to part A

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

14 such arrearages (with appropriate reimbursement of

15 the Federal Government to the extent of its partici16 pation in the financing);

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

18 equal to arrearages of such support obligations as19 signed to any other State pursuant to part A shall

20 be paid to such other State or States, and used to

21 pay such arrearages, in the order in which such ar22 rearages accrued (with appropriate reimbursement

23 of the Federal Government to the extent of its par24 ticipation in the financing).’’.
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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

2 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1,

3 1999.

4 (d) DISTRIBUTION TO A CHILD RECEIVING ASSIST5 ANCE UNDER TITLE IV–E.—Section 457(d) (42 U.S.C.

6 657(d)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph

7 (1), by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding provisions

8 of this section, amounts’’ and inserting the following:

9 ‘‘(d) IN CASE OF A CHILD RECEIVING ASSISTANCE

10 UNDER TITLE IV–E.—Amounts’’.

11 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and

12 Human Services shall promulgate regulations—

13 (1) under part D of title IV of the Social Secu14 rity Act, establishing a uniform nationwide standard

15 for allocation of child support collections from an ob16 ligor owing support to more than one family; and

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

18 standards applicable to States electing the alter19 native formula under section 457(b) of such Act for

20 distribution of collections on behalf of families re21 ceiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children,

22 designed to minimize irregular monthly payments to

23 such families.

24 (f) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C.

25 654) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘(11)’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘(11)(A)’’; and

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (12) as sub4 paragraph (B) of paragraph (11).

5 (g) MANDATORY CHILD SUPPORT PASS-THROUGH.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(a)(8)(A)(vi) (42

7 U.S.C. 602(a)(8)(A)(vi)) is amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘$50’’ each place such

9 term appears and inserting ‘‘$50, or, if greater,

10 $50 adjusted by the CPI (as prescribed in sec11 tion 406(i));’’; and

12 (B) by striking the semicolon at the end

13 and inserting ‘‘or, in lieu of each dollar amount

14 specified in this clause, such greater amount as

15 the State may choose (and provide for in its

16 State plan);’’.

17 (2) CPI ADJUSTMENT.—Section 406 (42

18 U.S.C. 606) is amended by adding at the end the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(i) For purposes of this part, an amount is ‘adjusted

21 by the CPI’ for any month in a calendar year by multiply22 ing the amount involved by the ratio of—

23 ‘‘(1) the Consumer Price Index (as prepared by

24 the Department of Labor) for the third quarter of

25 the preceding calendar year, to
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1 ‘‘(2) such Consumer Price Index for the third

2 quarter of calendar year 1996,

3 and rounding the product, if not a multiple of $10, to the

4 nearer multiple of $10.’’.

5 SEC. 103. DUE PROCESS RIGHTS.

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

7 amended by section 102(f) of this Act, is amended by in8 serting after paragraph (11) the following new paragraph:

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

10 ‘‘(A) individuals who are applying for or

11 receiving services under this part, or are parties

12 to cases in which services are being provided

13 under this part—

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

15 which support obligations might be estab16 lished or modified; and

17 ‘‘(ii) receive a copy of any order estab18 lishing or modifying a child support obliga19 tion, or (in the case of a petition for modi20 fication) a notice of determination that

21 there should be no change in the amount

22 of the child support award, within 14 days

23 after issuance of such order or determina24 tion;
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1 ‘‘(B) individuals applying for or receiving

2 services under this part have access to a fair

3 hearing that meets standards established by the

4 Secretary and ensures prompt consideration

5 and resolution of complaints (but the resort to

6 such procedure shall not stay the enforcement

7 of any support order); and

8 ‘‘(C)(i) individuals adversely affected by

9 the establishment or modification of (or, in the

10 case of a petition for modification, the deter11 mination that there should be no change in) a

12 child support order shall be afforded not less

13 than 30 days after the receipt of the order or

14 determination to initiate proceedings to chal15 lenge such order or determination; and

16 ‘‘(ii) the State may not provide to any

17 noncustodial parent of a child representation re18 lating to the establishment or modification of

19 an order for the payment of child support with

20 respect to that child, unless the State makes

21 provision for such representation outside the

22 State agency;’’.

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

24 subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.
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1 SEC. 104. PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.

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

3 U.S.C. 454) is amended—

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

5 (23);

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of para7 graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

8 (3) by adding after paragraph (24) the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘(25) will have in effect safeguards applicable

11 to all sensitive and confidential information handled

12 by the State agency designed to protect the privacy

13 rights of the parties, including—

14 ‘‘(A) safeguards against unauthorized use

15 or disclosure of information relating to proceed16 ings or actions to establish paternity, or to es17 tablish or enforce support;

18 ‘‘(B) prohibitions on the release of infor19 mation on the whereabouts of one party to an20 other party against whom a protective order

21 with respect to the former party has been en22 tered; and

23 ‘‘(C) prohibitions on the release of infor24 mation on the whereabouts of one party to an25 other party if the State has reason to believe

26 that the release of the information may result
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1 in physical or emotional harm to the former

2 party.’’.

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

4 subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1997.

5 Subtitle B—Program

6 Administration and Funding

7 SEC. 111. FEDERAL MATCHING PAYMENTS.

8 (a) INCREASED BASE MATCHING RATE.—Section

9 455(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(2)) is amended to read as

10 follows:

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

12 purposes of paragraph (1)(A) is—

13 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 1997, 69 percent,

14 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 1998, 72 percent, and

15 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 1999 and succeeding

16 fiscal years, 75 percent.’’.

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

18 U.S.C. 655) is amended—

19 (1) in subsection (a)(1), in the matter preced20 ing subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘From’’ and in21 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (c), from’’; and

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow23 ing new subsection:

24 ‘‘(c) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Notwithstanding

25 the provisions of subsection (a), total expenditures for the
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1 State program under this part for fiscal year 1997 and

2 each succeeding fiscal year, reduced by the percentage

3 specified for such fiscal year under subsection (a)(2)(A),

4 (B), or (C)(i), shall not be less than such total expendi5 tures for fiscal year 1996, reduced by 66 percent.’’.

6 SEC. 112. PERFORMANCE-BASED INCENTIVES AND PEN7 ALTIES.

8 (a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO FEDERAL MATCH9 ING RATE.—Section 458 (42 U.S.C. 658) is amended to

10 read as follows:

11 ‘‘INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS TO MATCHING RATE

12 ‘‘SEC. 458. (a) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENT.—(1) IN

13 GENERAL.—In order to encourage and reward State child

14 support enforcement programs which perform in an effec15 tive manner, the Federal matching rate for payments to

16 a State under section 455(a)(1)(A), for each fiscal year

17 beginning on or after October 1, 1998, shall be increased

18 by a factor reflecting the sum of the applicable incentive

19 adjustments (if any) determined in accordance with regu20 lations under this section with respect to Statewide pater21 nity establishment and to overall performance in child sup22 port enforcement.

23 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—(A) IN GENERAL.—The Sec24 retary shall specify in regulations—

25 ‘‘(i) the levels of accomplishment, and rates of

26 improvement as alternatives to such levels, which
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1 States must attain to qualify for incentive adjust2 ments under this section; and

3 ‘‘(ii) the amounts of incentive adjustment that

4 shall be awarded to States achieving specified ac5 complishment or improvement levels, which amounts

6 shall be graduated, ranging up to—

7 ‘‘(I) 5 percentage points, in connection

8 with Statewide paternity establishment; and

9 ‘‘(II) 10 percentage points, in connection

10 with overall performance in child support en11 forcement.

12 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In setting performance stand13 ards pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) and adjustment

14 amounts pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary

15 shall ensure that the aggregate number of percentage

16 point increases as incentive adjustments to all States do

17 not exceed such aggregate increases as assumed by the

18 Secretary in estimates of the cost of this section as of

19 June 1995, unless the aggregate performance of all States

20 exceeds the projected aggregate performance of all States

21 in such cost estimates.

22 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF INCENTIVE ADJUST23 MENT.—The Secretary shall determine the amount (if

24 any) of incentive adjustment due each State on the basis

25 of the data submitted by the State pursuant to section
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1 454(15)(B) concerning the levels of accomplishment (and

2 rates of improvement) with respect to performance indica3 tors specified by the Secretary pursuant to this section.

4 ‘‘(4) FISCAL YEAR SUBJECT TO INCENTIVE ADJUST5 MENT.—The total percentage point increase determined

6 pursuant to this section with respect to a State program

7 in a fiscal year shall apply as an adjustment to the appli8 cable percent under section 455(a)(2) for payments to

9 such State for the succeeding fiscal year.

10 ‘‘(5) RECYCLING OF INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENT.—A

11 State shall expend in the State program under this part

12 all funds paid to the State by the Federal Government

13 as a result of an incentive adjustment under this section.

14 ‘‘(b) MEANING OF TERMS.—For purposes of this sec15 tion—

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Statewide paternity establish17 ment percentage’ means, with respect to a fiscal

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

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

20 children in the State under one year of age for

21 whom paternity is established or acknowledged

22 during the fiscal year, to

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

24 of wedlock in the State during such fiscal year;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘overall performance in child sup2 port enforcement’ means a measure or measures of

3 the effectiveness of the State agency in a fiscal year

4 which takes into account factors including—

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

6 child support order in which such an order was

7 established;

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

9 support is being paid;

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

11 child support due; and

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

13 program, as determined in accordance with

14 standards established by the Secretary in regu15 lations.’’.

16 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF PAYMENTS UNDER PART D OF

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

18 amended by section 111(a) of this Act, is amended—

19 (1) by striking the period at the end of sub20 paragraph (C)(ii) and inserting a comma; and

21 (2) by adding after and below subparagraph

22 (C), flush with the left margin of the subsection, the

23 following:

24 ‘‘increased by the incentive adjustment factor (if any) de25 termined by the Secretary pursuant to section 458.’’.
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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 454(22)

2 (42 U.S.C. 654(22)) is amended—

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

4 place it appears and inserting ‘‘incentive adjust5 ments’’; and

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

7 made to the State for such period’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘any increases in Federal payments to the State re9 sulting from such incentive adjustments’’.

10 (d) CALCULATION OF IV–D PATERNITY ESTABLISH11 MENT PERCENTAGE.—(1) Section 452(g)(1) (42 U.S.C.

12 652(g)(1)) is amended in the matter preceding subpara13 graph (A) by inserting ‘‘its overall performance in child

14 support enforcement is satisfactory (as defined in section

15 458(b) and regulations of the Secretary), and’’ after

16 ‘‘1994,’’.

17 (2) Section 452(g)(2) (42 U.S.C. 652(g)(2)) is

18 amended—

19 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preced20 ing clause (i)—

21 (i) by striking ‘‘paternity establishment

22 percentage’’ and inserting ‘‘IV–D paternity es23 tablishment percentage’’; and

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘(or all States, as the case

25 may be)’’;
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1 (B) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘during

2 the fiscal year’’;

3 (C) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), by striking ‘‘as

4 of the end of the fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘in the

5 fiscal year or, at the option of the State, as of the

6 end of such year’’;

7 (D) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), by striking ‘‘or

8 (E) as of the end of the fiscal year’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘in the fiscal year or, at the option of the State, as

10 of the end of such year’’;

11 (E) in subparagraph (A)(iii)—

12 (i) by striking ‘‘during the fiscal year’’;

13 and

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

15 (F) in the matter following subparagraph (A)—

16 (i) by striking ‘‘who were born out of wed17 lock during the immediately preceding fiscal

18 year’’ and inserting ‘‘born out of wedlock’’;

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘such preceding fiscal

20 year’’ both places it appears and inserting ‘‘the

21 preceding fiscal year’’; and

22 (iii) by striking ‘‘or (E)’’ the second place

23 it appears.

24 (3) Section 452(g)(3) (42 U.S.C. 652(g)(3)) is

25 amended—
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1 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and redesig2 nating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs

3 (A) and (B), respectively;

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

5 striking ‘‘the percentage of children born out-of-wed6 lock in the State’’ and inserting ‘‘the percentage of

7 children in the State who are born out of wedlock

8 or for whom support has not been established’’; and

9 (C) in subparagraph (B), as redesignated—

10 (i) by inserting ‘‘and overall performance

11 in child support enforcement’’ after ‘‘paternity

12 establishment percentages’’; and

13 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and securing support’’

14 before the period.

15 (e) REDUCTION OF PAYMENTS UNDER PART D OF

16 TITLE IV.—

17 (1) NEW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 455 (42

18 U.S.C. 655) is amended by inserting after sub19 section (b) the following:

20 ‘‘(c)(1) If the Secretary finds, with respect to a State

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

22 after October 1, 1997—

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

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

25 program in such fiscal year failed to achieve the IV–
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1 D paternity establishment percentage (as defined in

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

3 overall performance in child support enforcement (as

4 defined in section 458(b)(2)), or to meet other per5 formance measures that may be established by the

6 Secretary, or

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

8 State data conducted pursuant to section

9 452(a)(4)(C), that the State data submitted pursu10 ant to section 454(15)(B) is incomplete or unreli11 able; and

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

13 year—

14 ‘‘(i) the State failed to take sufficient cor15 rective action to achieve the appropriate per16 formance levels as described in subparagraph

17 (A)(i) of this paragraph, or

18 ‘‘(ii) the data submitted by the State pur19 suant to section 454(15)(B) is incomplete or

20 unreliable,

21 the amounts otherwise payable to the State under this

22 part for quarters following the end of such succeeding fis23 cal year, prior to quarters following the end of the first

24 quarter throughout which the State program is in compli-
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1 ance with such performance requirement, shall be reduced

2 by the percentage specified in paragraph (2).

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

4 shall be—

5 ‘‘(A) not less than 6 nor more than 8 percent,

6 or

7 ‘‘(B) not less than 8 nor more than 12 percent,

8 if the finding is the second consecutive finding made

9 pursuant to paragraph (1), or

10 ‘‘(C) not less than 12 nor more than 15 per11 cent, if the finding is the third or a subsequent con12 secutive such finding.

13 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, section

14 402(a)(27), and section 452(a)(4), a State which is deter15 mined as a result of an audit to have submitted incomplete

16 or unreliable data pursuant to section 454(15)(B), shall

17 be determined to have submitted adequate data if the Sec18 retary determines that the extent of the incompleteness

19 or unreliability of the data is of a technical nature which

20 does not adversely affect the determination of the level of

21 the State’s performance.’’.

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

23 (A) Section 403 (42 U.S.C. 603) is amend24 ed by striking subsection (h).
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1 (B) Section 452(a)(4) (42 U.S.C.

2 652(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘403(h)’’

3 each place such term appears and inserting

4 ‘‘455(c)’’.

5 (C) Subsections (d)(3)(A), (g)(1), and

6 (g)(3)(A) of section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) are

7 each amended by striking ‘‘403(h)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘455(c)’’.

9 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.—

10 (1) INCENTIVE ADJUSTMENTS.—(A) The

11 amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c)

12 shall become effective October 1, 1997, except to the

13 extent provided in subparagraph (B).

14 (B) Section 458 of the Social Security Act, as

15 in effect prior to the enactment of this section, shall

16 be effective for purposes of incentive payments to

17 States for fiscal years prior to fiscal year 1999.

18 (2) PENALTY REDUCTIONS.—(A) The amend19 ments made by subsection (d) shall become effective

20 with respect to calendar quarters beginning on and

21 after the date of enactment of this Act.

22 (B) The amendments made by subsection (e)

23 shall become effective with respect to calendar quar24 ters beginning on and after the date one year after

25 the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 113. FEDERAL AND STATE REVIEWS AND AUDITS.

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

3 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘(14)’’ and

5 inserting ‘‘(14)(A)’’;

6 (2) by redesignating paragraph (15) as sub7 paragraph (B) of paragraph (14); and

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) the fol9 lowing new paragraph:

10 ‘‘(15) provide for—

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

12 reports to the Secretary on the State program

13 under this part, which shall include such infor14 mation as may be necessary to measure State

15 compliance with Federal requirements for expe16 dited procedures and timely case processing,

17 using such standards and procedures as are re18 quired by the Secretary, under which the State

19 agency will determine the extent to which such

20 program is in conformity with applicable re21 quirements with respect to the operation of

22 State programs under this part (including the

23 status of complaints filed under the procedure

24 required under paragraph (12)(B)); and

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

26 State automated data processing system and
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1 transmitting to the Secretary data and calcula2 tions concerning the levels of accomplishment

3 (and rates of improvement) with respect to ap4 plicable performance indicators (including IV–D

5 paternity establishment percentages and overall

6 performance in child support enforcement) to

7 the extent necessary for purposes of sections

8 452(g) and 458.’’.

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

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

11 ‘‘(4)(A) review data and calculations transmit12 ted by State agencies pursuant to section

13 454(15)(B) on State program accomplishments with

14 respect to performance indicators for purposes of

15 section 452(g) and 458, and determine the amount

16 (if any) of penalty reductions pursuant to section

17 455(c) to be applied to the State;

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

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

20 conformity with Federal requirements; evaluate any

21 elements of a State program in which significant de22 ficiencies are indicated by such report on the status

23 of complaints under the State procedure under sec24 tion 454(12)(B); and, as appropriate, provide to the

25 State agency comments, recommendations for addi-
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1 tional or alternative corrective actions, and technical

2 assistance; and

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

4 government auditing standards of the United States

5 Comptroller General—

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

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

8 meet requirements of this part, or of regula9 tions implementing such requirements, concern10 ing performance standards and reliability of

11 program data) to assess the completeness, reli12 ability, and security of the data, and the accu13 racy of the reporting systems, used for the cal14 culations of performance indicators specified in

15 subsection (g) and section 458;

16 ‘‘(ii) of the adequacy of financial manage17 ment of the State program, including assess18 ments of—

19 ‘‘(I) whether Federal and other funds

20 made available to carry out the State pro21 gram under this part are being appro22 priately expended, and are properly and

23 fully accounted for; and

24 ‘‘(II) whether collections and disburse25 ments of support payments and program
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•HR 785 IH

1 income are carried out correctly and are

2 properly and fully accounted for; and

3 ‘‘(iii) for such other purposes as the Sec4 retary may find necessary;’’.

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

6 this section shall be effective with respect to calendar

7 quarters beginning on or after the date one year after en8 actment of this section.

9 SEC. 114. REQUIRED REPORTING PROCEDURES.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 452(a)(5) (42 U.S.C.

11 652(a)(5)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and establish proce12 dures to be followed by States for collecting and reporting

13 information required to be provided under this part, and

14 establish uniform definitions (including those necessary to

15 enable the measurement of State compliance with the re16 quirements of this part relating to expedited processes and

17 timely case processing) to be applied in following such pro18 cedures’’ before the semicolon.

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

20 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 104(a) of this Act,

21 is amended—

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

23 (24);

24 (2) by striking the period at the end of para25 graph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
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•HR 785 IH

1 (3) by adding after paragraph (25) the follow2 ing:

3 ‘‘(26) provide that the State shall use the defi4 nitions established under section 452(a)(5) in col5 lecting and reporting information as required under

6 this part.’’.

7 SEC. 115. AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS.

8 (a) REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Section 454(16)

9 (42 U.S.C. 654(16)) is amended—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘, at the option of the State,’’;

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘and operation by the State

12 agency’’ after ‘‘for the establishment’’;

13 (C) by inserting ‘‘meeting the requirements of

14 section 454A’’ after ‘‘information retrieval system’’;

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

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

17 (E) by striking ‘‘(i)’’; and

18 (F) by striking ‘‘(including’’ and all that follows

19 and inserting a semicolon.

20 (2) Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amend21 ed by inserting after section 454 the following new section:

22 ‘‘AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING

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

24 requirements of this section, for purposes of the require25 ment of section 454(16), a State agency shall have in op26 eration a single statewide automated data processing and
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1 information retrieval system which has the capability to

2 perform the tasks specified in this section, and performs

3 such tasks with the frequency and in the manner specified

4 in this part or in regulations or guidelines of the Sec5 retary.

6 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—The automated sys7 tem required under this section shall perform such func8 tions as the Secretary may specify relating to management

9 of the program under this part, including—

10 ‘‘(1) controlling and accounting for use of Fed11 eral, State, and local funds to carry out such pro12 gram; and

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

14 Federal reporting requirements on a timely basis.

15 ‘‘(c) CALCULATION OF PERFORMANCE INDICA16 TORS.—In order to enable the Secretary to determine the

17 incentive and penalty adjustments required by sections

18 452(g) and 458, the State agency shall—

19 ‘‘(1) use the automated system—

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

21 State performance with respect to paternity es22 tablishment and child support enforcement in

23 the State; and

24 ‘‘(B) to calculate the IV–D paternity es25 tablishment percentage and overall performance
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1 in child support enforcement for the State for

2 each fiscal year; and

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

4 the completeness, and reliability of, and ready access

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

6 accuracy of the calculations described in paragraph

7 (1)(B).

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

9 State agency shall have in effect safeguards on the integ10 rity, accuracy, and completeness of, access to, and use of

11 data in the automated system required under this section,

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

13 safeguards as the Secretary specifies in regulations):

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

15 policies concerning access to data by State agency

16 personnel, and sharing of data with other persons,

17 which—

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

19 to the extent necessary to carry out program re20 sponsibilities;

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

22 for particular program purposes, and the per23 sonnel permitted access to such data; and
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•HR 785 IH

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

2 for a limited program purpose is not used or

3 redisclosed for another, impermissible purpose.

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

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

6 strict adherence to the policies specified under para7 graph (1).

8 ‘‘(3) MONITORING OF ACCESS.—Routine mon9 itoring of access to and use of the automated sys10 tem, through methods such as audit trails and feed11 back mechanisms, to guard against and promptly

12 identify unauthorized access or use.

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

14 agency shall have in effect procedures to ensure that

15 all personnel (including State and local agency staff

16 and contractors) who may have access to or be re17 quired to use sensitive or confidential program data

18 are fully informed of applicable requirements and

19 penalties, and are adequately trained in security pro20 cedures.

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

22 in effect administrative penalties (up to and includ23 ing dismissal from employment) for unauthorized ac24 cess to, or disclosure or use of, confidential data.’’.
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1 (3) REGULATIONS.—Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) is

2 amended by adding at the end the following:

3 ‘‘(j) The Secretary shall prescribe final regulations

4 for implementation of the requirements of section 454A

5 not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of

6 this subsection.’’.

7 (4) IMPLEMENTATION TIMETABLE.—Section

8 454(24) (42 U.S.C. 654(24)), as amended by sections

9 104(a)(2) and 114(b)(1) of this Act, is amended to read

10 as follows:

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

12 an automated data processing and information re13 trieval system—

14 ‘‘(A) by October 1, 1995, meeting all re15 quirements of this part which were enacted on

16 or before the date of enactment of the Family

17 Support Act of 1988; and

18 ‘‘(B) by October 1, 1999, meeting all re19 quirements of this part enacted on or before the

20 date of enactment of the Child Support Respon21 sibility Act of 1995 (but this provision shall not

22 be construed to alter earlier deadlines specified

23 for elements of such system), except that such

24 deadline shall be extended by 1 day for each
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1 day (if any) by which the Secretary fails to

2 meet the deadline imposed by section 452(j);’’.

3 (b) SPECIAL FEDERAL MATCHING RATE FOR DE4 VELOPMENT COSTS OF AUTOMATED SYSTEMS.—Section

5 455(a) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)) is amended—

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)—

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

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

9 (B) by striking ‘‘so much of’’; and

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

11 all that follows and inserting ‘‘, and’’; and

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

13 paragraph:

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

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

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

17 the Secretary finds are for a system meeting the require18 ments specified in section 454(16), or meeting such re19 quirements without regard to clause (D) thereof.

20 ‘‘(B)(i) The Secretary shall pay to each State, for

21 each quarter in fiscal years 1997 through 2001, the per22 centage specified in clause (ii) of so much of State expend23 itures described in subparagraph (1)(B) as the Secretary

24 finds are for a system meeting the requirements specified

25 in section 454(16) and 454A, subject to clause (iii).
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1 ‘‘(ii) The percentage specified in this clause, for pur2 poses of clause (i), is the higher of—

3 ‘‘(I) 80 percent, or

4 ‘‘(II) the percentage otherwise applicable to

5 Federal payments to the State under subparagraph

6 (A) (as adjusted pursuant to section 458).’’.

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

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

9 Law 100–485) is repealed.

10 (d) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—For additional provi11 sions of section 454A, as added by subsection (a) of this

12 section, see the amendments made by sections 121,

13 122(c), and 133(d) of this Act.

14 SEC. 116. DIRECTOR OF CSE PROGRAM; STAFFING STUDY.

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

16 U.S.C. 652(a)) is amended in the matter preceding para17 graph (1) by striking ‘‘directly’’.

18 (b) STAFFING STUDIES.—

19 (1) SCOPE.—The Secretary of Health and

20 Human Services shall, directly or by contract, con21 duct studies of the staffing of each State child sup22 port enforcement program under part D of title IV

23 of the Social Security Act. Such studies shall include

24 a review of the staffing needs created by require25 ments for automated data processing, maintenance
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1 of a central case registry and centralized collections

2 of child support, and of changes in these needs re3 sulting from changes in such requirements. Such

4 studies shall examine and report on effective staffing

5 practices used by the States and on recommended

6 staffing procedures.

7 (2) FREQUENCY OF STUDIES.—The Secretary

8 shall complete the first staffing study required under

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

10 additional studies subsequently at appropriate inter11 vals.

12 (3) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The Sec13 retary shall submit a report to the Congress stating

14 the findings and conclusions of each study conducted

15 under this subsection.

16 SEC. 117. FUNDING FOR SECRETARIAL ASSISTANCE TO

17 STATE PROGRAMS.

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

19 115(a)(3) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end

20 the following new subsection:

21 ‘‘(k) FUNDING FOR FEDERAL ACTIVITIES ASSISTING

22 STATE PROGRAMS.—(1) There shall be available to the

23 Secretary, from amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1996

24 and each succeeding fiscal year for payments to States
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1 under this part, the amount specified in paragraph (2) for

2 the costs to the Secretary for—

3 ‘‘(A) information dissemination and technical

4 assistance to States, training of State and Federal

5 staff, staffing studies, and related activities needed

6 to improve programs (including technical assistance

7 concerning State automated systems);

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

9 projects of regional or national significance relating

10 to the operation of State programs under this part;

11 and

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

13 Service under section 453, to the extent such costs

14 are not recovered through user fees.

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

16 fiscal year is the amount equal to a percentage of the re17 duction in Federal payments to States under part A on

18 account of child support (including arrearages) collected

19 in the preceding fiscal year on behalf of children receiving

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

21 determined on the basis of the most recent reliable data

22 available to the Secretary as of the end of the third cal23 endar quarter following the end of such preceding fiscal

24 year), equal to—
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1 ‘‘(A) 1 percent, for the activities specified in

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

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

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

5 SEC. 118. REPORTS AND DATA COLLECTION BY THE SEC6 RETARY.

7 (a) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—(1) Section

8 452(a)(10)(A) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(A)) is amended—

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

10 part, including—’’; and

11 (B) by adding at the end the following indented

12 clauses:

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

14 payments collected as a result of services

15 furnished during such fiscal year to indi16 viduals receiving services under this part;

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

18 Federal Government of furnishing such

19 services to those individuals; and

20 ‘‘(iii) the number of cases involving

21 families—

22 ‘‘(I) who became ineligible for aid

23 under part A during a month in such

24 fiscal year; and
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1 ‘‘(II) with respect to whom a

2 child support payment was received in

3 the same month;’’.

4 (2) Section 452(a)(10)(C) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(C))

5 is amended—

6 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i)—

7 (i) by striking ‘‘with the data required

8 under each clause being separately stated for

9 cases’’ and inserting ‘‘separately stated for (1)

10 cases’’;

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘cases where the child was

12 formerly receiving’’ and inserting ‘‘or formerly

13 received’’;

14 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or 1912’’ after

15 ‘‘471(a)(17)’’; and

16 (iv) by inserting ‘‘(2)’’ before ‘‘all other’’;

17 (B) in each of clauses (i) and (ii), by striking

18 ‘‘, and the total amount of such obligations’’;

19 (C) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘described in’’

20 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘in which support

21 was collected during the fiscal year;’’;

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

23 (E) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vii),

24 and inserting after clause (iii) the following new

25 clauses:
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1 ‘‘(iv) the total amount of support col2 lected during such fiscal year and distrib3 uted as current support;

4 ‘‘(v) the total amount of support col5 lected during such fiscal year and distrib6 uted as arrearages;

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

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

9 (3) Section 452(a)(10)(G) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)(G))

10 is amended by striking ‘‘on the use of Federal courts

11 and’’.

12 (4) Section 452(a)(10) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(10)) is

13 amended by striking all that follows subparagraph (I).

14 (b) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.—Section

15 469 (42 U.S.C. 669) is amended—

16 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in17 serting the following:

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

19 fiscal year basis, up-to-date statistics, by State, with re20 spect to services to establish paternity and services to es21 tablish child support obligations, the data specified in sub22 section (b), separately stated, in the case of each such

23 service, with respect to—

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

25 aid under plans approved under part A (or E); and
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1 ‘‘(2) families not receiving such aid.

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

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

4 State agency administering the plan under this part

5 in which such service is needed; and

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

7 service has been provided.’’; and

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

9 inserting ‘‘(b)(2)’’.

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

11 this section shall be effective with respect to fiscal year

12 1996 and succeeding fiscal years.

13 Subtitle C—Locate and Case

14 Tracking

15 SEC. 121. CENTRAL STATE AND CASE REGISTRY.

16 Section 454A, as added by section 115(a)(2) of this

17 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(e) CENTRAL CASE REGISTRY.—(1) IN GEN19 ERAL.—The automated system required under this section

20 shall perform the functions, in accordance with the provi21 sions of this subsection, of a single central registry con22 taining records with respect to each case in which services

23 are being provided by the State agency (including, on and

24 after October 1, 1998, each order specified in section

25 466(a)(12)), using such standardized data elements (such
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1 as names, social security numbers or other uniform identi2 fication numbers, dates of birth, and case identification

3 numbers), and containing such other information (such as

4 information on case status) as the Secretary may require.

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

6 central registry shall include a record of—

7 ‘‘(A) the amount of monthly (or other periodic)

8 support owed under the support order, and other

9 amounts due or overdue (including arrears, interest

10 or late payment penalties, and fees);

11 ‘‘(B) the date on which or circumstances under

12 which the support obligation will terminate under

13 such order;

14 ‘‘(C) all child support and related amounts col15 lected (including such amounts as fees, late payment

16 penalties, and interest on arrearages);

17 ‘‘(D) the distribution of such amounts collected;

18 and

19 ‘‘(E) the birth date of the child for whom the

20 child support order is entered.

21 ‘‘(3) UPDATING AND MONITORING.—The State agen22 cy shall promptly establish and maintain, and regularly

23 monitor, case records in the registry required by this sub24 section, on the basis of—
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1 ‘‘(A) information on administrative actions and

2 administrative and judicial proceedings and orders

3 relating to paternity and support;

4 ‘‘(B) information obtained from matches with

5 Federal, State, or local data sources;

6 ‘‘(C) information on support collections and dis7 tributions; and

8 ‘‘(D) any other relevant information.

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

10 INFORMATION.—The automated system required under

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

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

13 standardized format or formats, as may be required by

14 the Secretary, and to share and match data with, and re15 ceive data from, other data bases and data matching serv16 ices, in order to obtain (or provide) information necessary

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

18 or Federal agencies) to carry out responsibilities under

19 this part. Data matching activities of the State agency

20 shall include at least the following:

21 ‘‘(1) DATA BANK OF CHILD SUPPORT OR22 DERS.—Furnish to the Data Bank of Child Support

23 Orders established under section 453(h) (and update

24 as necessary, with information including notice of

25 expiration of orders) minimal information (to be
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1 specified by the Secretary) on each child support

2 case in the central case registry.

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

4 Exchange data with the Federal Parent Locator

5 Service for the purposes specified in section 453.

6 ‘‘(3) AFDC AND MEDICAID AGENCIES.—Ex7 change data with State agencies (of the State and

8 of other States) administering the programs under

9 part A and title XIX, as necessary for the perform10 ance of State agency responsibilities under this part

11 and under such programs.

12 ‘‘(4) INTRA- AND INTERSTATE DATA

13 MATCHES.—Exchange data with other agencies of

14 the State, agencies of other States, and interstate

15 information networks, as necessary and appropriate

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

17 purposes of this part.’’.

18 SEC. 122. CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT

19 OF SUPPORT PAYMENTS.

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

21 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 104(a) and 114(b)

22 of this Act, is amended—

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

24 (25);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (3) by adding after paragraph (26) the follow4 ing new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(27) provide that the State agency, on and

6 after October 1, 1998—

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

8 unit for the collection and disbursement of child

9 support under orders being enforced under this

10 part, in accordance with section 454B; and

11 ‘‘(B) will have sufficient State staff (con12 sisting of State employees), and (at State op13 tion) contractors reporting directly to the State

14 agency to monitor and enforce support collec15 tions through such centralized unit, including

16 carrying out the automated data processing re17 sponsibilities specified in section 454A(g) and

18 to impose, as appropriate in particular cases,

19 the administrative enforcement remedies speci20 fied in section 466(c)(1).’’.

21 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTRALIZED COLLECTION

22 UNIT.—Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669) is amend23 ed by adding after section 454A the following new section:
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1 ‘‘CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT OF

2 SUPPORT PAYMENTS

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

4 requirement of section 454(27), the State agency must op5 erate a single centralized, automated unit for the collection

6 and disbursement of support payments, coordinated with

7 the automated data system required under section 454A,

8 in accordance with the provisions of this section, which

9 shall be—

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

11 by two or more State agencies under a regional co12 operative agreement), or by a single contractor re13 sponsible directly to the State agency; and

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

15 (including interstate collection and disbursement) of

16 payments under support orders in all cases being en17 forced by the State pursuant to section 454(4).

18 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—The centralized col19 lections unit shall use automated procedures, electronic

20 processes, and computer-driven technology to the maxi21 mum extent feasible, efficient, and economical, for the col22 lection and disbursement of support payments, including

23 procedures—

24 ‘‘(1) for receipt of payments from parents, em25 ployers, and other States, and for disbursements to
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1 custodial parents and other obligees, the State agen2 cy, and the State agencies of other States;

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

4 ‘‘(3) to ensure prompt disbursement of the cus5 todial parent’s share of any payment; and

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

7 timely information on the current status of support

8 payments.’’.

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

10 added by section 115(a)(2) of this Act and as amended

11 by section 121 of this Act, is amended by adding at the

12 end the following new subsection:

13 ‘‘(g) CENTRALIZED COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION

14 OF SUPPORT PAYMENTS.—The automated system re15 quired under this section shall be used, to the maximum

16 extent feasible, to assist and facilitate collections and dis17 bursement of support payments through the centralized

18 collections unit operated pursuant to section 454B,

19 through the performance of functions including at a mini20 mum—

21 ‘‘(1) generation of orders and notices to em22 ployers (and other debtors) for the withholding of

23 wages (and other income)—

24 ‘‘(A) within two working days after receipt

25 (from the directory of New Hires established
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1 under section 453(i) or any other source) of no2 tice of and the income source subject to such

3 withholding; and

4 ‘‘(B) using uniform formats directed by

5 the Secretary;

6 ‘‘(2) ongoing monitoring to promptly identify

7 failures to make timely payment; and

8 ‘‘(3) automatic use of enforcement mechanisms

9 (including mechanisms authorized pursuant to sec10 tion 466(c)) where payments are not timely made.’’.

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

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

13 SEC. 123. AMENDMENTS CONCERNING INCOME WITHHOLD14 ING.

15 (a) MANDATORY INCOME WITHHOLDING.—(1) Sec16 tion 466(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(1)) is amended to read

17 as follows:

18 ‘‘(1) INCOME WITHHOLDING.—(A) UNDER OR19 DERS ENFORCED UNDER THE STATE PLAN.—Proce20 dures described in subsection (b) for the withholding

21 from income of amounts payable as support in cases

22 subject to enforcement under the State plan.

23 ‘‘(B) UNDER CERTAIN ORDERS PREDATING

24 CHANGE IN REQUIREMENT.—Procedures under

25 which all child support orders issued (or modified)
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1 before October 1, 1996, and which are not otherwise

2 subject to withholding under subsection (b), shall be3 come subject to withholding from wages as provided

4 in subsection (b) if arrearages occur, without the

5 need for a judicial or administrative hearing.’’.

6 (2) Section 466(a)(8) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(8)) is re7 pealed.

8 (3) Section 466(b) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)) is amended—

9 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

10 striking ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub11 section (a)(1)(A)’’;

12 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking all that fol13 lows ‘‘administered by’’ and inserting ‘‘the State

14 through the centralized collections unit established

15 pursuant to section 454B, in accordance with the re16 quirements of such section 454B.’’;

17 (C) in paragraph (6)(A)(i)—

18 (i) by inserting ‘‘, in accordance with time19 tables established by the Secretary,’’ after

20 ‘‘must be required’’; and

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘to the appropriate agency’’

22 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘to the State

23 centralized collections unit within 5 working

24 days after the date such amount would (but for

25 this subsection) have been paid or credited to
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1 the employee, for distribution in accordance

2 with this part.’’;

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

4 a standard format prescribed by the Secretary, and’’

5 after ‘‘shall’’; and

6 (E) in paragraph (6)(D)—

7 (i) by striking ‘‘employer who discharges’’

8 and inserting ‘‘employer who—(A) discharges’’;

9 (ii) by relocating subparagraph (A), as des10 ignated, as an indented subparagraph after and

11 below the introductory matter;

12 (iii) by striking the period at the end; and

13 (iv) by adding after and below subpara14 graph (A) the following new subparagraph:

15 ‘‘(B) fails to withhold support from wages,

16 or to pay such amounts to the State centralized

17 collections unit in accordance with this sub18 section.’’.

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

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

21 (c) DEFINITION OF TERMS.—The Secretary shall

22 promulgate regulations providing definitions, for purposes

23 of part D of title IV of the Social Security Act, for the

24 term ‘‘income’’ and for such other terms relating to in-
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1 come withholding under section 466(b) of such Act as the

2 Secretary may find it necessary or advisable to define.

3 SEC. 124. LOCATOR INFORMATION FROM INTERSTATE NET4 WORKS.

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

6 section 123(a)(2) of this Act, is amended by inserting

7 after paragraph (7) the following new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(8) LOCATOR INFORMATION FROM INTER9 STATE NETWORKS.—Procedures ensuring that the

10 State will neither provide funding for, nor use for

11 any purpose (including any purpose unrelated to the

12 purposes of this part), any automated interstate net13 work or system used to locate individuals—

14 ‘‘(A) for purposes relating to the use of

15 motor vehicles; or

16 ‘‘(B) providing information for law en17 forcement purposes (where child support en18 forcement agencies are otherwise allowed access

19 by State and Federal law),

20 unless all Federal and State agencies administering

21 programs under this part (including the entities es22 tablished under section 453) have access to informa23 tion in such system or network to the same extent

24 as any other user of such system or network.’’.
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1 SEC. 125. EXPANDED FEDERAL PARENT LOCATOR SERVICE.

2 (a) EXPANDED AUTHORITY TO LOCATE INDIVIDUALS

3 AND ASSETS.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a), by striking all that follows

5 ‘‘subsection (c))’’ and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘, for the purpose of establishing parentage, establishing,

7 setting the amount of, modifying, or enforcing child sup8 port obligations—

9 ‘‘(1) information on, or facilitating the discov10 ery of, the location of any individual—

11 ‘‘(A) who is under an obligation to pay

12 child support;

13 ‘‘(B) against whom such an obligation is

14 sought; or

15 ‘‘(C) to whom such an obligation is owed,

16 including such individual’s social security num17 ber (or numbers), most recent residential ad18 dress, and the name, address, and employer

19 identification number of such individual’s em20 ployer; and

21 ‘‘(2) information on the individual’s wages (or

22 other income) from, and benefits of, employment (in23 cluding rights to or enrollment in group health care

24 coverage); and
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1 ‘‘(3) information on the type, status, location,

2 and amount of any assets of, or debts owed by or

3 to, any such individual.’’; and

4 (2) in subsection (b)—

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

6 by striking ‘‘social security’’ and all that follows

7 through ‘‘absent parent’’ and inserting ‘‘infor8 mation specified in subsection (a)’’; and

9 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before

10 the period ‘‘, or from any consumer reporting

11 agency (as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair

12 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f))’’;

13 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting before the

14 period ‘‘, or by consumer reporting agencies’’.

15 (b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR DATA FROM FEDERAL

16 AGENCIES.—Section 453(e)(2) (42 U.S.C. 653(e)(2)) is

17 amended in the fourth sentence by inserting before the

18 period ‘‘in an amount which the Secretary determines to

19 be reasonable payment for the data exchange (which

20 amount shall not include payment for the costs of obtain21 ing, compiling, or maintaining the data)’’.

22 (c) ACCESS TO CONSUMER REPORTS UNDER FAIR

23 CREDIT REPORTING ACT.—(1) Section 608 of the Fair

24 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681f) is amended—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘, limited to’’ and inserting ‘‘to

2 a governmental agency (including the entire

3 consumer report, in the case of a Federal, State, or

4 local agency administering a program under part D

5 of title IV of the Social Security Act, and limited

6 to’’; and

7 (B) by striking ‘‘employment, to a govern8 mental agency’’ and inserting ‘‘employment, in the

9 case of any other governmental agency)’’.

10 (2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR REPORTS BY STATE

11 AGENCIES AND CREDIT BUREAUS.—Section 453 (42

12 U.S.C. 653) is amended by adding at the end the following

13 new subsection:

14 ‘‘(g) The Secretary is authorized to reimburse costs

15 to State agencies and consumer credit reporting agencies

16 the costs incurred by such entities in furnishing informa17 tion requested by the Secretary pursuant to this section

18 in an amount which the Secretary determines to be rea19 sonable payment for the data exchange (which amount

20 shall not include payment for the costs of obtaining, com21 piling, or maintaining the data).’’.

22 (d) DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURN INFORMATION.—

23 (1) Section 6103(1)(6)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue

24 Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘, but only if’’ and

25 all that follows and inserting a period.
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1 (2) Section 6103(1)(8)(A) of the Internal Revenue

2 Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘Federal,’’ before

3 ‘‘State or local’’.

4 (e) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—

5 (1) Sections 452(a)(9), 453(a), 453(b), 463(a),

6 and 463(e) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(9), 653(a), 653(b),

7 663(a), and 663(e)) are each amended by inserting

8 ‘‘Federal’’ before ‘‘Parent’’ each place it appears.

9 (2) Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended in

10 the heading by adding ‘‘FEDERAL’’ before ‘‘PAR11 ENT’’.

12 (f) NEW COMPONENTS.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C.

13 653), as amended by subsection (c)(2) of this section, is

14 amended by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(h) DATA BANK OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1,

17 1998, In order to assist States in administering

18 their State plans under this part and parts A, F,

19 and G, and for the other purposes specified in this

20 section, the Secretary shall establish and maintain in

21 the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated

22 registry to be known as the Data Bank of Child

23 Support Orders, which shall contain abstracts of

24 child support orders and other information described

25 in paragraph (2) on each case in each State central
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1 case registry maintained pursuant to section

2 454A(e), as furnished (and regularly updated), pur3 suant to section 454A(f), by State agencies admin4 istering programs under this part.

5 ‘‘(2) CASE INFORMATION.—The information re6 ferred to in paragraph (1), as specified by the Sec7 retary, shall include sufficient information (including

8 names, social security numbers or other uniform

9 identification numbers, and State case identification

10 numbers) to identify the individuals who owe or are

11 owed support (or with respect to or on behalf of

12 whom support obligations are sought to be estab13 lished), and the State or States which have estab14 lished or modified, or are enforcing or seeking to es15 tablish, such an order.

16 ‘‘(i) DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1,

18 1998, In order to assist States in administering

19 their State plans under this part and parts A, F,

20 and G, and for the other purposes specified in this

21 section, the Secretary shall establish and maintain in

22 the Federal Parent Locator Service an automated

23 directory to be known as the directory of New Hires,

24 containing—
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1 ‘‘(A) information supplied by employers on

2 each newly hired individual, in accordance with

3 paragraph (2); and

4 ‘‘(B) information supplied by State agen5 cies administering State unemployment com6 pensation laws, in accordance with paragraph

7 (3).

8 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER INFORMATION.—

9 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—Subject

10 to subparagraph (D), each employer shall fur11 nish to the Secretary, for inclusion in the direc12 tory established under this subsection, not later

13 than 10 days after the date (on or after Octo14 ber 1, 1998) on which the employer hires a new

15 employee (as defined in subparagraph (C)), a

16 report containing the name, date of birth, and

17 social security number of such employee, and

18 the employer identification number of the em19 ployer.

20 ‘‘(B) REPORTING METHOD AND FOR21 MAT.—The Secretary shall provide for trans22 mission of the reports required under subpara23 graph (A) using formats and methods which

24 minimize the burden on employers, which shall

25 include—
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1 ‘‘(i) automated or electronic trans2 mission of such reports;

3 ‘‘(ii) transmission by regular mail;

4 and

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

6 form required for purposes of compliance

7 with section 3402 of the Internal Revenue

8 Code of 1986.

9 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYEE DEFINED.—For purposes

10 of this paragraph, the term ‘employee’ means

11 any individual subject to the requirement of

12 section 3402(f)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code

13 of 1986.

14 ‘‘(D) PAPERWORK REDUCTION REQUIRE15 MENT.—As required by the information re16 sources management policies published by the

17 Director of the Office of Management and

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

19 44, United States Code, the Secretary, in order

20 to minimize the cost and reporting burden on

21 employers, shall not require reporting pursuant

22 to this paragraph if an alternative reporting

23 mechanism can be developed that either relies

24 on existing Federal or State reporting or en25 ables the Secretary to collect the needed infor-
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1 mation in a more cost-effective and equally ex2 peditious manner, taking into account the re3 porting costs on employers.

4 ‘‘(E) CIVIL MONEY PENALTY ON NON5 COMPLYING EMPLOYERS.—(i) Any employer

6 that fails to make a timely report in accordance

7 with this paragraph with respect to an individ8 ual shall be subject to a civil money penalty, for

9 each calendar year in which the failure occurs,

10 of the lesser of $500 or 1 percent of the wages

11 or other compensation paid by such employer to

12 such individual during such calendar year.

13 ‘‘(ii) Subject to clause (iii), the provisions

14 of section 1128A (other than subsections (a)

15 and (b) thereof) shall apply to a civil money

16 penalty under clause (i) in the same manner as

17 they apply to a civil money penalty or proceed18 ing under section 1128A(a).

19 ‘‘(iii) Any employer with respect to whom

20 a penalty under this subparagraph is upheld

21 after an administrative hearing shall be liable to

22 pay all costs of the Secretary with respect to

23 such hearing.

24 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT SECURITY INFORMATION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Each

2 State agency administering a State unemploy3 ment compensation law approved by the Sec4 retary of Labor under the Federal Unemploy5 ment Tax Act shall furnish to the Secretary of

6 Health and Human Services extracts of the re7 ports to the Secretary of Labor concerning the

8 wages and unemployment compensation paid to

9 individuals required under section 303(a)(6), in

10 accordance with subparagraph (B).

11 ‘‘(B) MANNER OF COMPLIANCE.—The ex12 tracts required under subparagraph (A) shall be

13 furnished to the Secretary of Health and

14 Human Services on a quarterly basis, with re15 spect to calendar quarters beginning on and

16 after October 1, 1996, by such dates, in such

17 format, and containing such information as re18 quired by that Secretary in regulations.

19 ‘‘(j) DATA MATCHES AND OTHER DISCLOSURES.—

20 ‘‘(1) VERIFICATION BY SOCIAL SECURITY AD21 MINISTRATION.—(A) The Secretary shall transmit

22 data on individuals and employers maintained under

23 this section to the Social Security Administration to

24 the extent necessary for verification in accordance

25 with subparagraph (B).
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1 ‘‘(B) The Social Security Administration shall

2 verify the accuracy of, correct or supply to the ex3 tent necessary and feasible, and report to the Sec4 retary, the following information in data supplied by

5 the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph (A):

6 ‘‘(i) the name, social security number, and

7 birth date of each individual; and

8 ‘‘(ii) the employer identification number of

9 each employer.

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

11 the purpose of locating individuals for purposes of

12 paternity establishment and establishment and en13 forcement of child support, the Secretary shall—

14 ‘‘(A) match data in the directory of New

15 Hires against the child support order abstracts

16 in the Data Bank of Child Support Orders not

17 less often than every 2 working days; and

18 ‘‘(B) report information obtained from

19 such a match to concerned State agencies oper20 ating programs under this part not later than

21 2 working days after such match.

22 ‘‘(3) DATA MATCHES AND DISCLOSURES OF

23 DATA IN ALL REGISTRIES FOR TITLE IV PROGRAM

24 PURPOSES.—The Secretary shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) perform matches of data in each com2 ponent of the Federal Parent Locator Service

3 maintained under this section against data in

4 each other such component (other than the

5 matches required pursuant to paragraph (1)),

6 and report information resulting from such

7 matches to State agencies operating programs

8 under this part and parts A, F, and G; and

9 ‘‘(B) disclose data in such registries to

10 such State agencies,

11 to the extent, and with the frequency, that the Sec12 retary determines to be effective in assisting such

13 States to carry out their responsibilities under such

14 programs.

15 ‘‘(k) FEES.—

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

17 shall reimburse the Commissioner of Social Security,

18 at a rate negotiated between the Secretary and the

19 Commissioner, the costs incurred by the Commis20 sioner in performing the verification services speci21 fied in subsection (j).

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

23 Secretary shall reimburse costs incurred by State

24 employment security agencies in furnishing data as

25 required by subsection (j)(3), at rates which the Sec-
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1 retary determines to be reasonable (which rates shall

2 not include payment for the costs of obtaining, com3 piling, or maintaining such data).

4 ‘‘(3) FOR INFORMATION FURNISHED TO STATE

5 AND FEDERAL AGENCIES.—State and Federal agen6 cies receiving data or information from the Secretary

7 pursuant to this section shall reimburse the costs in8 curred by the Secretary in furnishing such data or

9 information, at rates which the Secretary determines

10 to be reasonable (which rates shall include payment

11 for the costs of obtaining, verifying, maintaining,

12 and matching such data or information).

13 ‘‘(l) RESTRICTION ON DISCLOSURE AND USE.—Data

14 in the Federal Parent Locator Service, and information

15 resulting from matches using such data, shall not be used

16 or disclosed except as specifically provided in this section.

17 ‘‘(m) RETENTION OF DATA.—Data in the Federal

18 Parent Locator Service, and data resulting from matches

19 performed pursuant to this section, shall be retained for

20 such period (determined by the Secretary) as appropriate

21 for the data uses specified in this section.

22 ‘‘(n) INFORMATION INTEGRITY AND SECURITY.—The

23 Secretary shall establish and implement safeguards with

24 respect to the entities established under this section de25 signed to—
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1 ‘‘(1) ensure the accuracy and completeness of

2 information in the Federal Parent Locator Service;

3 and

4 ‘‘(2) restrict access to confidential information

5 in the Federal Parent Locator Service to authorized

6 persons, and restrict use of such information to au7 thorized purposes.

8 ‘‘(o) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not

9 be liable to either a State or an individual for inaccurate

10 information provided to a component of the Federal Par11 ent Locator Service section and disclosed by the Secretary

12 in accordance with this section.’’.

13 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

14 (1) TO PART D OF TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL SE15 CURITY ACT.—Section 454(8)(B) (42 U.S.C.

16 654(8)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(B) the Federal Parent Locator Service

18 established under section 453;’’.

19 (2) TO FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT TAX ACT.—

20 Section 3304(16) of the Internal Revenue Code of

21 1986 is amended—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health, Edu23 cation, and Welfare’’ each place such term ap24 pears and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Health and

25 Human Services’’;
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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking

2 ‘‘such information’’ and all that follows and in3 serting ‘‘information furnished under subpara4 graph (A) or (B) is used only for the purposes

5 authorized under such subparagraph;’’;

6 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub7 paragraph (A);

8 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as

9 subparagraph (C); and

10 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (A)

11 the following new subparagraph:

12 ‘‘(B) wage and unemployment compensa13 tion information contained in the records of

14 such agency shall be furnished to the Secretary

15 of Health and Human Services (in accordance

16 with regulations promulgated by such Sec17 retary) as necessary for the purposes of the di18 rectory of New Hires established under section

19 453(i) of the Social Security Act, and’’.

20 (3) TO STATE GRANT PROGRAM UNDER TITLE

21 III OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 303(a)

22 (42 U.S.C. 503(a)) is amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para24 graph (8);
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1 (B) by striking the period at the end of

2 paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (C) by adding after paragraph (9) the fol4 lowing new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(10) The making of quarterly electronic re6 ports, at such dates, in such format, and containing

7 such information, as required by the Secretary of

8 Health and Human Services under section 453(i)(3),

9 and compliance with such provisions as such Sec10 retary may find necessary to ensure the correctness

11 and verification of such reports.’’.

12 SEC. 126. USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.

13 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENT.—Section 466(a) (42

14 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by section 101(a) of this Act,

15 is amended by adding at the end the following new para16 graph:

17 ‘‘(13) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS RE18 QUIRED.—Procedures requiring the recording of so19 cial security numbers—

20 ‘‘(A) of both parties on marriage licenses

21 and divorce decrees; and

22 ‘‘(B) of both parents, on birth records and

23 child support and paternity orders.’’.

24 (b) CLARIFICATION OF FEDERAL POLICY.—Section

25 205(c)(2)(C)(ii) (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended
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1 by striking the third sentence and inserting ‘‘This clause

2 shall not be considered to authorize disclosure of such

3 numbers except as provided in the preceding sentence.’’.

4 Subtitle D—Streamlining and

5 Uniformity of Procedures

6 SEC. 131. ADOPTION OF UNIFORM STATE LAWS.

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

8 sections 101(a) and 128(a) of this Act, is amended by add9 ing at the end the following new paragraph:

10 ‘‘(14) INTERSTATE ENFORCEMENT.—(A) ADOP11 TION OF UIFSA.—Procedures under which the State

12 adopts in its entirety (with the modifications and ad13 ditions specified in this paragraph) not later than

14 January 1, 1997, and uses on and after such date,

15 the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, as ap16 proved by the National Conference of Commissioners

17 on Uniform State Laws in August, 1992.

18 ‘‘(B) EXPANDED APPLICATION OF UIFSA.—The

19 State law adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A)

20 shall be applied to any case—

21 ‘‘(i) involving an order established or modi22 fied in one State and for which a subsequent

23 modification is sought in another State; or

24 ‘‘(ii) in which interstate activity is required

25 to enforce an order.
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1 ‘‘(C) JURISDICTION TO MODIFY ORDERS.—The

2 State law adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of

3 this paragraph shall contain the following provision

4 in lieu of section 611(a)(1) of the Uniform Inter5 state Family Support Act described in such subpara6 graph (A):

7 ‘‘ ‘(1) the following requirements are met:

8 ‘‘ ‘(i) the child, the individual obligee, and

9 the obligor—

10 ‘‘ ‘(I) do not reside in the issuing

11 State; and

12 ‘‘ ‘(II) either reside in this State or

13 are subject to the jurisdiction of this State

14 pursuant to section 201; and

15 ‘‘ ‘(ii) (in any case where another State is

16 exercising or seeks to exercise jurisdiction to

17 modify the order) the conditions of section 204

18 are met to the same extent as required for pro19 ceedings to establish orders; or’.

20 ‘‘(D) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—The State law

21 adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall recog22 nize as valid, for purposes of any proceeding subject

23 to such State law, service of process upon persons

24 in the State (and proof of such service) by any
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1 means acceptable in another State which is the initi2 ating or responding State in such proceeding.

3 ‘‘(E) COOPERATION BY EMPLOYERS.—The

4 State law adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A)

5 shall provide for the use of procedures (including

6 sanctions for noncompliance) under which all entities

7 in the State (including for-profit, nonprofit, and gov8 ernmental employers) are required to provide

9 promptly, in response to a request by the State

10 agency of that or any other State administering a

11 program under this part, information on the employ12 ment, compensation, and benefits of any individual

13 employed by such entity as an employee or contrac14 tor.’’.

15 SEC. 132. IMPROVEMENTS TO FULL FAITH AND CREDIT

16 FOR CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

17 Section 1738B of title 28, United States Code, is

18 amended—

19 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘subsection

20 (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (e), (f), and (i)’’;

21 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting after the 2nd

22 undesignated paragraph the following:

23 ‘‘ ‘child’s home State’ means the State in which

24 a child lived with a parent or a person acting as par25 ent for at least six consecutive months immediately
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1 preceding the time of filing of a petition or com2 parable pleading for support and, if a child is less

3 than six months old, the State in which the child

4 lived from birth with any of them. A period of tem5 porary absence of any of them is counted as part

6 of the six-month period.’’;

7 (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘by a court

8 of a State’’ before ‘‘is made’’;

9 (4) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘and sub10 sections (e), (f), and (g)’’ after ‘‘located’’;

11 (5) in subsection (d)—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘individual’’ before ‘‘con13 testant’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and in15 serting ‘‘subsections (e) and (f)’’;

16 (6) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘make a modi17 fication of a child support order with respect to a

18 child that is made’’ and inserting ‘‘modify a child

19 support order issued’’;

20 (7) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘pursuant

21 to subsection (i)’’ before the semicolon;

22 (8) in subsection (e)(2)—

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘individual’’ before ‘‘con24 testant’’ each place such term appears; and
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1 (B) by striking ‘‘to that court’s making the

2 modification and assuming’’ and inserting ‘‘with

3 the State of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction

4 for a court of another State to modify the order

5 and assume’’;

6 (9) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as

7 subsections (g) and (h), respectively;

8 (10) by inserting after subsection (e) the follow9 ing:

10 ‘‘(f) RECOGNITION OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—

11 If one or more child support orders have been issued in

12 this or another State with regard to an obligor and a child,

13 a court shall apply the following rules in determining

14 which order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclu15 sive jurisdiction and enforcement:

16 ‘‘(1) If only one court has issued a child sup17 port order, the order of that court must be recog18 nized.

19 ‘‘(2) 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, the order of that

23 court must be recognized.

24 ‘‘(3) If two or more courts have issued child

25 support orders for the same obligor and child, and
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1 only one of the courts would have continuing, exclu2 sive jurisdiction under this section, an order issued

3 by a court in the current home State of the child

4 must be recognized, but if an order has not been is5 sued in the current home State of the child, the

6 order most recently issued must be recognized.

7 ‘‘(4) If two or more courts have issued child

8 support orders for the same obligor and child, and

9 none of the courts would have continuing, exclusive

10 jurisdiction under this section, a court may issue a

11 child support order, which must be recognized.

12 ‘‘(5) The court that has issued an order recog13 nized under this subsection is the court having con14 tinuing, exclusive jurisdiction.’’;

15 (11) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘PRIOR’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘MODIFIED’’; and

18 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and in19 serting ‘‘subsections (e) and (f)’’;

20 (12) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated)—

21 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘includ22 ing the duration of current payments and other

23 obligations of support’’ before the comma; and

24 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘arrears

25 under’’ after ‘‘enforce’’; and
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1 (13) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(i) REGISTRATION FOR MODIFICATION.—If there is

3 no individual contestant or child residing in the issuing

4 State, the party or support enforcement agency seeking

5 to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child support order

6 issued in another State shall register that order in a State

7 with jurisdiction over the nonmovant for the purpose of

8 modification.’’.

9 SEC. 133. STATE LAWS PROVIDING EXPEDITED PROCE10 DURES.

11 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.—Section 466 (42

12 U.S.C. 666) is amended—

13 (1) in subsection (a)(2), in the first sentence, to

14 read as follows: ‘‘Expedited administrative and judi15 cial procedures (including the procedures specified in

16 subsection (c)) for establishing paternity and for es17 tablishing, modifying, and enforcing support obliga18 tions.’’; and

19 (2) by adding after subsection (b) the following

20 new subsection:

21 ‘‘(c) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—The procedures

22 specified in this subsection are the following:

23 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION BY STATE AGEN24 CY.—Procedures which give the State agency the au25 thority (and recognize and enforce the authority of
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1 State agencies of other States), without the necessity

2 of obtaining an order from any other judicial or ad3 ministrative tribunal (but subject to due process

4 safeguards, including (as appropriate) requirements

5 for notice, opportunity to contest the action, and op6 portunity for an appeal on the record to an inde7 pendent administrative or judicial tribunal), to take

8 the following actions relating to establishment or en9 forcement of orders:

10 ‘‘(A) GENETIC TESTING.—To order genetic

11 testing for the purpose of paternity establish12 ment as provided in section 466(a)(5).

13 ‘‘(B) DEFAULT ORDERS.—To enter a de14 fault order, upon a showing of service of proc15 ess and any additional showing required by

16 State law—

17 ‘‘(i) establishing paternity, in the case

18 of any putative father who refuses to sub19 mit to genetic testing; and

20 ‘‘(ii) establishing or modifying a sup21 port obligation, in the case of a parent (or

22 other obligor or obligee) who fails to re23 spond to notice to appear at a proceeding

24 for such purpose.
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1 ‘‘(C) SUBPOENAS.—To subpoena any fi2 nancial or other information needed to estab3 lish, modify, or enforce an order, and to sanc4 tion failure to respond to any such subpoena.

5 ‘‘(D) ACCESS TO PERSONAL AND FINAN6 CIAL INFORMATION.—To obtain access, subject

7 to safeguards on privacy and information secu8 rity, to the following records (including auto9 mated access, in the case of records maintained

10 in automated data bases):

11 ‘‘(i) records of other State and local

12 government agencies, including—

13 ‘‘(I) vital statistics (including

14 records of marriage, birth, and di15 vorce);

16 ‘‘(II) State and local tax and rev17 enue records (including information

18 on residence address, employer, in19 come and assets);

20 ‘‘(III) records concerning real

21 and titled personal property;

22 ‘‘(IV) records of occupational and

23 professional licenses, and records con24 cerning the ownership and control of
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1 corporations, partnerships, and other

2 business entities;

3 ‘‘(V) employment security

4 records;

5 ‘‘(VI) records of agencies admin6 istering public assistance programs;

7 ‘‘(VII) records of the motor vehi8 cle department; and

9 ‘‘(VIII) corrections records; and

10 ‘‘(ii) certain records held by private

11 entities, including—

12 ‘‘(I) customer records of public

13 utilities and cable television compa14 nies; and

15 ‘‘(II) information (including in16 formation on assets and liabilities) on

17 individuals who owe or are owed sup18 port (or against or with respect to

19 whom a support obligation is sought)

20 held by financial institutions (subject

21 to limitations on liability of such enti22 ties arising from affording such ac23 cess).
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1 ‘‘(E) INCOME WITHHOLDING.—To order

2 income withholding in accordance with sub3 section (a)(1) and (b) of section 466.

4 ‘‘(F) CHANGE IN PAYEE.—(In cases where

5 support is subject to an assignment under sec6 tion 402(a)(26), 471(a)(17), or 1912, or to a

7 requirement to pay through the centralized col8 lections unit under section 454B) upon provid9 ing notice to obligor and obligee, to direct the

10 obligor or other payor to change the payee to

11 the appropriate government entity.

12 ‘‘(G) SECURE ASSETS TO SATISFY ARREAR13 AGES.—For the purpose of securing overdue

14 support—

15 ‘‘(i) to intercept and seize any peri16 odic or lump-sum payment to the obligor

17 by or through a State or local government

18 agency, including—

19 ‘‘(I) unemployment compensa20 tion, workers’ compensation, and

21 other benefits;

22 ‘‘(II) judgments and settlements

23 in cases under the jurisdiction of the

24 State or local government; and

25 ‘‘(III) lottery winnings;
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1 ‘‘(ii) to attach and seize assets of the

2 obligor held by financial institutions;

3 ‘‘(iii) to attach public and private re4 tirement funds in appropriate cases, as de5 termined by the Secretary; and

6 ‘‘(iv) to impose liens in accordance

7 with paragraph (a)(4) and, in appropriate

8 cases, to force sale of property and dis9 tribution of proceeds.

10 ‘‘(H) INCREASE MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—

11 For the purpose of securing overdue support, to

12 increase the amount of monthly support pay13 ments to include amounts for arrearages (sub14 ject to such conditions or restrictions as the

15 State may provide).

16 ‘‘(I) SUSPENSION OF DRIVERS’ LI17 CENSES.—To suspend drivers’ licenses of indi18 viduals owing past-due support, in accordance

19 with subsection (a)(16).

20 ‘‘(2) SUBSTANTIVE AND PROCEDURAL RULES.—

21 The expedited procedures required under subsection

22 (a)(2) shall include the following rules and author23 ity, applicable with respect to all proceedings to es24 tablish paternity or to establish, modify, or enforce

25 support orders:
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1 ‘‘(A) LOCATOR INFORMATION; PRESUMP2 TIONS CONCERNING NOTICE.—Procedures

3 under which—

4 ‘‘(i) the parties to any paternity or

5 child support proceedings are required

6 (subject to privacy safeguards) to file with

7 the tribunal before entry of an order, and

8 to update as appropriate, information on

9 location and identity (including Social Se10 curity number, residential and mailing ad11 dresses, telephone number, driver’s license

12 number, and name, address, and telephone

13 number of employer); and

14 ‘‘(ii) in any subsequent child support

15 enforcement action between the same par16 ties, the tribunal shall be authorized, upon

17 sufficient showing that diligent effort has

18 been made to ascertain such party’s cur19 rent location, to deem due process require20 ments for notice and service of process to

21 be met, with respect to such party, by de22 livery to the most recent residential or em23 ployer address so filed pursuant to clause

24 (i).
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1 ‘‘(B) STATEWIDE JURISDICTION.—Proce2 dures under which—

3 ‘‘(i) the State agency and any admin4 istrative or judicial tribunal with authority

5 to hear child support and paternity cases

6 exerts statewide jurisdiction over the par7 ties, and orders issued in such cases have

8 statewide effect; and

9 ‘‘(ii) (in the case of a State in which

10 orders in such cases are issued by local ju11 risdictions) a case may be transferred be12 tween jurisdictions in the State without

13 need for any additional filing by the peti14 tioner, or service of process upon the re15 spondent, to retain jurisdiction over the

16 parties.’’.

17 (c) EXCEPTIONS FROM STATE LAW REQUIRE18 MENTS.—Section 466(d) (42 U.S.C. 666(d)) is amend19 ed—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘(d) If’’ and inserting the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTIONS FROM REQUIREMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

24 if’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(2) NONEXEMPT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec4 retary shall not grant an exemption from the re5 quirements of—

6 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(5) (concerning proce7 dures for paternity establishment);

8 ‘‘(B) subsection (a)(10) (concerning modi9 fication of orders);

10 ‘‘(C) subsection (a)(12) (concerning re11 cording of orders in the central State case reg12 istry);

13 ‘‘(D) subsection (a)(13) (concerning re14 cording of Social Security numbers);

15 ‘‘(E) subsection (a)(14) (concerning inter16 state enforcement); or

17 ‘‘(F) subsection (c) (concerning expedited

18 procedures), other than paragraph (1)(A) there19 of (concerning establishment or modification of

20 support amount).’’.

21 (d) AUTOMATION OF STATE AGENCY FUNCTIONS.—

22 Section 454A, as added by section 115(a)(2) of this Act

23 and as amended by sections 121 and 122(c) of this Act,

24 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub25 section:
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1 ‘‘(h) EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—

2 The automated system required under this section shall

3 be used, to the maximum extent feasible, to implement any

4 expedited administrative procedures required under sec5 tion 466(c).’’.

6 Subtitle E—Paternity

7 Establishment

8 SEC. 141. STATE LAWS CONCERNING PATERNITY ESTAB9 LISHMENT.

10 (a) STATE LAWS REQUIRED.—Section 466(a)(5) (42

11 U.S.C. 666(a)(5)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(5)’’ and inserting the follow13 ing:

14 ‘‘(5) PROCEDURES CONCERNING PATERNITY ES15 TABLISHMENT.—’’;

16 (2) in subparagraph (A)—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘(A)(i)’’ and inserting the

18 following:

19 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT PROCESS AVAIL20 ABLE FROM BIRTH UNTIL AGE EIGHTEEN.—

21 (i)’’; and

22 (B) by indenting clauses (i) and (ii) so

23 that the left margin of such clauses is 2 ems to

24 the right of the left margin of paragraph (4);

25 (3) in subparagraph (B)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘(B)’’ and inserting the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES CONCERNING GENETIC

4 TESTING.—(i)’’;

5 (B) in clause (i), as redesignated, by in6 serting before the period ‘‘, where such request

7 is supported by a sworn statement (I) by such

8 party alleging paternity setting forth facts es9 tablishing a reasonable possibility of the req10 uisite sexual contact of the parties, or (II) by

11 such party denying paternity setting forth facts

12 establishing a reasonable possibility of the

13 nonexistence of sexual contact of the parties;’’;

14 (C) by inserting after and below clause (i)

15 (as redesignated) the following new clause:

16 ‘‘(ii) Procedures which require the State

17 agency, in any case in which such agency orders

18 genetic testing—

19 ‘‘(I) to pay costs of such tests, subject

20 to recoupment (where the State so elects)

21 from the putative father if paternity is es22 tablished; and

23 ‘‘(II) to obtain additional testing in

24 any case where an original test result is
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1 disputed, upon request and advance pay2 ment by the disputing party.’’;

3 (4) by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D) and

4 inserting the following:

5 ‘‘(C) PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—(i)

6 Procedures for a simple civil process for volun7 tarily acknowledging paternity under which the

8 State must provide that, before a mother and a

9 putative father can sign an acknowledgment of

10 paternity, the putative father and the mother

11 must be given notice, orally, in writing, and in

12 a language that each can understand, of the al13 ternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the

14 rights (including, if 1 parent is a minor, any

15 rights afforded due to minority status) and re16 sponsibilities that arise from, signing the ac17 knowledgment.

18 ‘‘(ii) Such procedures must include a hos19 pital-based program for the voluntary acknowl20 edgment of paternity focusing on the period im21 mediately before or after the birth of a child.

22 ‘‘(iii) Such procedures must require the

23 State agency responsible for maintaining birth

24 records to offer voluntary paternity establish25 ment services.
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1 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall prescribe regula2 tions governing voluntary paternity establish3 ment services offered by hospitals and birth

4 record agencies. The Secretary shall prescribe

5 regulations specifying the types of other entities

6 that may offer voluntary paternity establish7 ment services, and governing the provision of

8 such services, which shall include a requirement

9 that such an entity must use the same notice

10 provisions used by, the same materials used by,

11 provide the personnel providing such services

12 with the same training provided by, and evalu13 ate the provision of such services in the same

14 manner as, voluntary paternity establishment

15 programs of hospitals and birth record agen16 cies.

17 ‘‘(v) Such procedures must require the

18 State and those required to establish paternity

19 to use only the affidavit developed under section

20 452(a)(7) for the voluntary acknowledgment of

21 paternity, and to give full faith and credit to

22 such an affidavit signed in any other State.

23 ‘‘(D) STATUS OF SIGNED PATERNITY AC24 KNOWLEDGMENT.—(i) Procedures under which

25 a signed acknowledgment of paternity is consid-
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1 ered a legal finding of paternity, subject to the

2 right of any signatory to rescind the acknowl3 edgment within 60 days.

4 ‘‘(ii)(I) Procedures under which, after the

5 60-day period referred to in clause (i), a signed

6 acknowledgment of paternity may be challenged

7 in court only on the basis of fraud, duress, or

8 material mistake of fact, with the burden of

9 proof upon the challenger, and under which the

10 legal responsibilities (including child support

11 obligations) of any signatory arising from the

12 acknowledgment may not be suspended during

13 the challenge, except for good cause shown.

14 ‘‘(II) Procedures under which, after the

15 60-day period referred to in clause (i), a minor

16 who signs an acknowledgment of paternity

17 other than in the presence of a parent or court18 appointed guardian ad litem may rescind the

19 acknowledgment in a judicial or administrative

20 proceeding, until the earlier of—

21 ‘‘(aa) attaining the age of majority; or

22 ‘‘(bb) the date of the first judicial or

23 administrative proceeding brought (after

24 the signing) to establish a child support

25 obligation, visitation rights, or custody
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1 rights with respect to the child whose pa2 ternity is the subject of the acknowledg3 ment, and at which the minor is rep4 resented by a parent, guardian ad litem, or

5 attorney.’’;

6 (5) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(E) BAR ON ACKNOWLEDGMENT RATIFI9 CATION PROCEEDINGS.—Procedures under

10 which no judicial or administrative proceedings

11 are required or permitted to ratify an unchal12 lenged acknowledgment of paternity.’’;

13 (6) by striking subparagraph (F) and inserting

14 the following:

15 ‘‘(F) ADMISSIBILITY OF GENETIC TESTING

16 RESULTS.—Procedures—

17 ‘‘(i) requiring that the State admit

18 into evidence, for purposes of establishing

19 paternity, results of any genetic test that

20 is—

21 ‘‘(I) of a type generally acknowl22 edged, by accreditation bodies des23 ignated by the Secretary, as reliable

24 evidence of paternity; and
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1 ‘‘(II) performed by a laboratory

2 approved by such an accreditation

3 body;

4 ‘‘(ii) that any objection to genetic

5 testing results must be made in writing not

6 later than a specified number of days be7 fore any hearing at which such results may

8 be introduced into evidence (or, at State

9 option, not later than a specified number

10 of days after receipt of such results); and

11 ‘‘(iii) that, if no objection is made, the

12 test results are admissible as evidence of

13 paternity without the need for foundation

14 testimony or other proof of authenticity or

15 accuracy.’’; and

16 (7) by adding after subparagraph (H) the

17 following new subparagraphs:

18 ‘‘(I) NO RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL.—Proce19 dures providing that the parties to an action to

20 establish paternity are not entitled to jury trial.

21 ‘‘(J) TEMPORARY SUPPORT ORDER BASED

22 ON PROBABLE PATERNITY IN CONTESTED

23 CASES.—Procedures which require that a tem24 porary order be issued, upon motion by a party,

25 requiring the provision of child support pending
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1 an administrative or judicial determination of

2 parentage, where there is clear and convincing

3 evidence of paternity (on the basis of genetic

4 tests or other evidence).

5 ‘‘(K) PROOF OF CERTAIN SUPPORT AND

6 PATERNITY ESTABLISHMENT COSTS.—Proce7 dures under which bills for pregnancy, child8 birth, and genetic testing are admissible as evi9 dence without requiring third-party foundation

10 testimony, and shall constitute prima facie evi11 dence of amounts incurred for such services and

12 testing on behalf of the child.

13 ‘‘(L) WAIVER OF STATE DEBTS FOR CO14 OPERATION.—At the option of the State, proce15 dures under which the tribunal establishing pa16 ternity and support has discretion to waive

17 rights to all or part of amounts owed to the

18 State (but not to the mother) for costs related

19 to pregnancy, childbirth, and genetic testing

20 and for public assistance paid to the family

21 where the father cooperates or acknowledges

22 paternity before or after genetic testing.

23 ‘‘(M) STANDING OF PUTATIVE FATHERS.—

24 Procedures ensuring that the putative father
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1 has a reasonable opportunity to initiate a pater2 nity action.’’.

3 (b) NATIONAL PATERNITY ACKNOWLEDGMENT AFFI4 DAVIT.—Section 452(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(7)) is

5 amended by inserting ‘‘, and develop an affidavit to be

6 used for the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity which

7 shall include the social security account number of each

8 parent’’ before the semicolon.

9 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 468 (42

10 U.S.C. 668) is amended by striking ‘‘a simple civil process

11 for voluntarily acknowledging paternity and’’.

12 SEC. 142. OUTREACH FOR VOLUNTARY PATERNITY ESTAB13 LISHMENT.

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

15 (42 U.S.C. 654(23)) is amended by adding at the end the

16 following new subparagraph:

17 ‘‘(C) publicize the availability and encour18 age the use of procedures for voluntary estab19 lishment of paternity and child support through

20 a variety of means, which—

21 ‘‘(i) include distribution of written

22 materials at health care facilities (includ23 ing hospitals and clinics), and other loca24 tions such as schools;
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1 ‘‘(ii) may include pre-natal programs

2 to educate expectant couples on individual

3 and joint rights and responsibilities with

4 respect to paternity (and may require all

5 expectant recipients of assistance under

6 part A to participate in such pre-natal pro7 grams, as an element of cooperation with

8 efforts to establish paternity and child sup9 port);

10 ‘‘(iii) include, with respect to each

11 child discharged from a hospital after birth

12 for whom paternity or child support has

13 not been established, reasonable follow-up

14 efforts (including at least one contact of

15 each parent whose whereabouts are known,

16 except where there is reason to believe

17 such follow-up efforts would put mother or

18 child at risk), providing—

19 ‘‘(I) in the case of a child for

20 whom paternity has not been estab21 lished, information on the benefits of

22 and procedures for establishing pater23 nity; and

24 ‘‘(II) in the case of a child for

25 whom paternity has been established
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1 but child support has not been estab2 lished, information on the benefits of

3 and procedures for establishing a

4 child support order, and an applica5 tion for child support services;’’.

6 (b) ENHANCED FEDERAL MATCHING.—Section

7 455(a)(1)(C) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)(C)) is amended—

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before ‘‘laboratory costs’’,

9 and

10 (2) by inserting before the semicolon ‘‘, and (ii)

11 costs of outreach programs designed to encourage

12 voluntary acknowledgment of paternity’’.

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.—(1) The amendments made

14 by subsection (a) shall become effective October 1, 1997.

15 (2) The amendments made by subsection (b) shall be

16 effective with respect to calendar quarters beginning on

17 and after October 1, 1996.

18 Subtitle F—Establishment and

19 Modification of Support Orders

20 SEC. 151. NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES COMMIS21 SION.

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

23 commission to be known as the ‘‘National Child Support

24 Guidelines Commission’’ (in this section referred to as the

25 ‘‘Commission’’).
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1 (b) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Commission shall de2 velop a national child support guideline for consideration

3 by the Congress that is based on a study of various guide4 line models, the benefits and deficiencies of such models,

5 and any needed improvements.

6 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

7 (1) NUMBER; APPOINTMENT.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

9 be composed of 12 individuals appointed jointly

10 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services

11 and the Congress, not later than January 15,

12 1997, of which—

13 (i) 2 shall be appointed by the Chair14 man of the Committee on Finance of the

15 Senate, and 1 shall be appointed by the

16 ranking minority member of the Commit17 tee;

18 (ii) 2 shall be appointed by the Chair19 man of the Committee on Ways and Means

20 of the House of Representatives, and 1

21 shall be appointed by the ranking minority

22 member of the Committee; and

23 (iii) 6 shall be appointed by the Sec24 retary of Health and Human Services.
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1 (B) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—

2 Members of the Commission shall have exper3 tise and experience in the evaluation and devel4 opment of child support guidelines. At least 1

5 member shall represent advocacy groups for

6 custodial parents, at least 1 member shall rep7 resent advocacy groups for noncustodial par8 ents, and at least 1 member shall be the direc9 tor of a State program under part D of title

10 IV of the Social Security Act.

11 (2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member shall be

12 appointed for a term of 2 years. A vacancy in the

13 Commission shall be filled in the manner in which

14 the original appointment was made.

15 (d) COMMISSION POWERS, COMPENSATION, ACCESS

16 TO INFORMATION, AND SUPERVISION.—The first sentence

17 of subparagraph (C), the first and third sentences of sub18 paragraph (D), subparagraph (F) (except with respect to

19 the conduct of medical studies), clauses (ii) and (iii) of

20 subparagraph (G), and subparagraph (H) of section

21 1886(e)(6) of the Social Security Act shall apply to the

22 Commission in the same manner in which such provisions

23 apply to the Prospective Payment Assessment Commis24 sion.
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1 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the ap2 pointment of members, the Commission shall submit to

3 the President, the Committee on Ways and Means of the

4 House of Representatives, and the Committee on Finance

5 of the Senate, a recommended national child support

6 guideline and a final assessment of issues relating to such

7 a proposed national child support guideline.

8 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

9 6 months after the submission of the report described in

10 subsection (e).

11 SEC. 152. SIMPLIFIED PROCESS FOR REVIEW AND ADJUST12 MENT OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 466(a)(10) (42 U.S.C.

14 666(a)(10)) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(10) PROCEDURES FOR MODIFICATION OF

16 SUPPORT ORDERS.—

17 ‘‘(A)(i) Procedures under which—

18 ‘‘(I) every 3 years, at the request of

19 either parent subject to a child support

20 order, the State shall review and, as appro21 priate, adjust the order in accordance with

22 the guidelines established under section

23 467(a) if the amount of the child support

24 award under the order differs from the

25 amount that would be awarded in accord-
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1 ance with such guidelines, without a re2 quirement for any other change in cir3 cumstances; and

4 ‘‘(II) upon request at any time of ei5 ther parent subject to a child support

6 order, the State shall review and, as appro7 priate, adjust the order in accordance with

8 the guidelines established under section

9 467(a) based on a substantial change in

10 the circumstances of either such parent.

11 ‘‘(ii) Such procedures shall require both

12 parents subject to a child support order to be

13 notified of their rights and responsibilities pro14 vided for under clause (i) at the time the order

15 is issued and in the annual information ex16 change form provided under subparagraph (B).

17 ‘‘(B) Procedures under which each child

18 support order issued or modified in the State

19 after the effective date of this subparagraph

20 shall require the parents subject to the order to

21 provide each other with a complete statement of

22 their respective financial condition annually on

23 a form which shall be established by the Sec24 retary and provided by the State. The Secretary
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1 shall establish regulations for the enforcement

2 of such exchange of information.’’.

3 Subtitle G—Enforcement of

4 Support Orders

5 SEC. 161. FEDERAL INCOME TAX REFUND OFFSET.

6 (a) CHANGED ORDER OF REFUND DISTRIBUTION

7 UNDER INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—Section 6402(c) of

8 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘The amount’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount’’;

11 (2) by striking ‘‘paid to the State. A reduction’’

12 and inserting ‘‘paid to the State.

13 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES FOR OFFSET.—A reduction’’;

14 (3) by striking ‘‘has been assigned’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘has not been assigned’’; and

16 (4) by striking ‘‘and shall be applied’’ and all

17 that follows and inserting ‘‘and shall thereafter be

18 applied to satisfy any past-due support that has

19 been so assigned.’’.

20 (b) ELIMINATION OF DISPARITIES IN TREATMENT

21 OF ASSIGNED AND NON-ASSIGNED ARREARAGES.—(1)

22 Section 464(a) (42 U.S.C. 664(a)) is amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) OFF24 SET AUTHORIZED.—’’;

25 (B) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (i) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘which

2 has been assigned to such State pursuant to

3 section 402(a)(26) or section 471(a)(17)’’; and

4 (ii) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘in

5 accordance with section 457 (b)(4) or (d)(3)’’

6 and inserting ‘‘as provided in paragraph (2)’’;

7 (C) in paragraph (2), to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(2) The State agency shall distribute amounts

9 paid by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to

10 paragraph (1)—

11 ‘‘(A) in accordance with section 457 (a)(4)

12 or (d)(3), in the case of past-due support as13 signed to a State pursuant to section

14 402(a)(26) or section 471(a)(17); and

15 ‘‘(B) to or on behalf of the child to whom

16 the support was owed, in the case of past-due

17 support not so assigned.’’;

18 (D) in paragraph (3)—

19 (i) by striking ‘‘or (2)’’ each place it ap20 pears; and

21 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking

22 ‘‘under paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘on ac23 count of past-due support described in para24 graph (2)(B)’’.
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1 (2) Section 464(b) (42 U.S.C. 664(b)) is

2 amended—

3 (A) by striking ‘‘(b)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(b)

4 REGULATIONS.—’’; and

5 (B) by striking paragraph (2).

6 (3) Section 464(c) (42 U.S.C. 664(c)) is

7 amended—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided

9 in paragraph (2), as’’ and inserting ‘‘(c) DEFI10 NITION.—As’’; and

11 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).

12 (c) TREATMENT OF LUMP-SUM TAX REFUND

13 UNDER AFDC.—

14 (1) EXEMPTION FROM LUMP-SUM RULE.—Sec15 tion 402(a)(17) (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(17)) is amended

16 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘but this para17 graph shall not apply to income received by a family

18 that is attributable to a child support obligation

19 owed with respect to a member of the family and

20 that is paid to the family from amounts withheld

21 from a Federal income tax refund otherwise payable

22 to the person owing such obligation, to the extent

23 that such income is placed in a qualified asset ac24 count (as defined in section 406(j)) the total
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1 amounts in which, after such placement, does not

2 exceed $10,000;’’.

3 (2) QUALIFIED ASSET ACCOUNT DEFINED.—

4 Section 406 (42 U.S.C. 606), as amended by section

5 102(g)(2) of this Act, is amended by adding at the

6 end the following:

7 ‘‘(j)(1) The term ‘qualified asset account’ means a

8 mechanism approved by the State (such as individual re9 tirement accounts, escrow accounts, or savings bonds) that

10 allows savings of a family receiving aid to families with

11 dependent children to be used for qualified distributions.

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘qualified distribution’ means a dis13 tribution from a qualified asset account for expenses di14 rectly related to 1 or more of the following purposes:

15 ‘‘(A) The attendance of a member of the family

16 at any education or training program.

17 ‘‘(B) The improvement of the employability (in18 cluding self-employment) of a member of the family

19 (such as through the purchase of an automobile).

20 ‘‘(C) The purchase of a home for the family.

21 ‘‘(D) A change of the family residence.’’.

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

23 this section shall become effective October 1, 1999.
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1 SEC. 162. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE COLLECTION OF

2 ARREARS.

3 (a) AMENDMENT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE.—

4 Section 6305(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is

5 amended—

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘except as

7 provided in paragraph (5)’’ after ‘‘collected’’;

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

9 (3);

10 (3) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (4) and inserting a comma;

12 (4) by adding after paragraph (4) the following

13 new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(5) no additional fee may be assessed for ad15 justments to an amount previously certified pursu16 ant to such section 452(b) with respect to the same

17 obligor.’’; and

18 (5) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Health, Edu19 cation, and Welfare’’ each place it appears and in20 serting ‘‘Secretary of Health and Human Services’’.

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

22 this section shall become effective October 1, 1997.

23 SEC. 163. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT SUPPORT FROM FED24 ERAL EMPLOYEES.

25 (a) CONSOLIDATION AND STREAMLINING OF AU26 THORITIES.—
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1 (1) Section 459 (42 U.S.C. 659) is amended in

2 the caption by inserting ‘‘INCOME WITHHOLDING,’’

3 before ‘‘GARNISHMENT’’.

4 (2) Section 459(a) (42 U.S.C. 659(a)) is

5 amended—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)

7 CONSENT TO SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.—

8 (B) by striking ‘‘section 207’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘section 207 of this Act and 38 U.S.C.

10 5301’’; and

11 (C) by striking all that follows ‘‘a private

12 person,’’ and inserting ‘‘to withholding in ac13 cordance with State law pursuant to subsections

14 (a)(1) and (b) of section 466 and regulations of

15 the Secretary thereunder, and to any other legal

16 process brought, by a State agency administer17 ing a program under this part or by an individ18 ual obligee, to enforce the legal obligation of

19 such individual to provide child support or ali20 mony.’’.

21 (3) Section 459(b) (42 U.S.C. 659(b)) is

22 amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(b) CONSENT TO REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO

24 PRIVATE PERSON.— Except as otherwise provided herein,

25 each entity specified in subsection (a) shall be subject,
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1 with respect to notice to withhold income pursuant to sub2 section (a)(1) or (b) of section 466, or to any other order

3 or process to enforce support obligations against an indi4 vidual (if such order or process contains or is accompanied

5 by sufficient data to permit prompt identification of the

6 individual and the moneys involved), to the same require7 ments as would apply if such entity were a private per8 son.’’.

9 (4) Section 459(c) (42 U.S.C. 659(c)) is redes10 ignated and relocated as paragraph (2) of subsection

11 (f), and is amended—

12 (A) by striking ‘‘responding to interrog13 atories pursuant to requirements imposed by

14 section 461(b)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘taking ac15 tions necessary to comply with the requirements

16 of subsection (A) with regard to any individ17 ual’’; and

18 (B) by striking ‘‘any of his duties’’ and all

19 that follows and inserting ‘‘such duties.’’.

20 (5) Section 461 (42 U.S.C. 661) is amended by

21 striking subsection (b), and section 459 (42 U.S.C.

22 659) is amended by inserting after subsection (b)

23 (as added by paragraph (3) of this subsection) the

24 following:
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1 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF AGENT; RESPONSE TO NOTICE

2 OR PROCESS.—(1) The head of each agency subject to the

3 requirements of this section shall—

4 ‘‘(A) designate an agent or agents to receive or5 ders and accept service of process; and

6 ‘‘(B) publish (i) in the appendix of such regula7 tions, (ii) in each subsequent republication of such

8 regulations, and (iii) annually in the Federal Reg9 ister, the designation of such agent or agents, identi10 fied by title of position, mailing address, and tele11 phone number.’’.

12 (6) Section 459 (42 U.S.C. 659) is amended by

13 striking subsection (d) and by inserting after sub14 section (c)(1) (as added by paragraph (5) of this

15 subsection) the following:

16 ‘‘(2) Whenever an agent designated pursuant to para17 graph (1) receives notice pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or

18 (b) of section 466, or is effectively served with any order,

19 process, or interrogatories, with respect to an individual’s

20 child support or alimony payment obligations, such agent

21 shall—

22 ‘‘(A) as soon as possible (but not later than fif23 teen days) thereafter, send written notice of such no24 tice or service (together with a copy thereof) to such
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1 individual at his duty station or last-known home

2 address;

3 ‘‘(B) within 30 days (or such longer period as

4 may be prescribed by applicable State law) after re5 ceipt of a notice pursuant to subsection (a)(1) or (b)

6 of section 466, comply with all applicable provisions

7 of such section 466; and

8 ‘‘(C) within 30 days (or such longer period as

9 may be prescribed by applicable State law) after ef10 fective service of any other such order, process, or

11 interrogatories, respond thereto.’’.

12 (7) Section 461 (42 U.S.C. 661) is amended by

13 striking subsection (c), and section 459 (42 U.S.C.

14 659) is amended by inserting after subsection (c) (as

15 added by paragraph (5) and amended by paragraph

16 (6) of this subsection) the following:

17 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY OF CLAIMS.—In the event that a gov18 ernmental entity receives notice or is served with process,

19 as provided in this section, concerning amounts owed by

20 an individual to more than one person—

21 ‘‘(1) support collection under section 466(b)

22 must be given priority over any other process, as

23 provided in section 466(b)(7);

24 ‘‘(2) allocation of moneys due or payable to an

25 individual among claimants under section 466(b)
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1 shall be governed by the provisions of such section

2 466(b) and regulations thereunder; and

3 ‘‘(3) such moneys as remain after compliance

4 with subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be available to

5 satisfy any other such processes on a first-come,

6 first-served basis, with any such process being satis7 fied out of such moneys as remain after the satisfac8 tion of all such processes which have been previously

9 served.’’.

10 (8) Section 459(e) (42 U.S.C. 659(e)) is

11 amended by striking ‘‘(e)’’ and inserting the follow12 ing:

13 ‘‘(e) NO REQUIREMENT TO VARY PAY CYCLES.—’’.

14 (9) Section 459(f) (42 U.S.C. 659(f)) is amend15 ed by striking ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting the following:

16 ‘‘(f) RELIEF FROM LIABILITY.—(1)’’.

17 (10) Section 461(a) (42 U.S.C. 661(a)) is re18 designated and relocated as section 459(g), and is

19 amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘(g)’’ and inserting the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—’’; and

23 (B) by striking ‘‘section 459’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘this section’’.
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1 (11) Section 462 (42 U.S.C. 662) is amended

2 by striking subsection (f), and section 459 (42

3 U.S.C. 659) is amended by inserting the following

4 after subsection (g) (as added by paragraph (10) of

5 this subsection):

6 ‘‘(h) MONEYS SUBJECT TO PROCESS.—(1) Subject to

7 subsection (i), moneys paid or payable to an individual

8 which are considered to be based upon remuneration for

9 employment, for purposes of this section—

10 ‘‘(A) consist of—

11 ‘‘(i) compensation paid or payable for per12 sonal services of such individual, whether such

13 compensation is denominated as wages, salary,

14 commission, bonus, pay, allowances, or other15 wise (including severance pay, sick pay, and in16 centive pay);

17 ‘‘(ii) periodic benefits (including a periodic

18 benefit as defined in section 228(h)(3)) or other

19 payments—

20 ‘‘(I) under the insurance system es21 tablished by title II;

22 ‘‘(II) under any other system or fund

23 established by the United States which

24 provides for the payment of pensions, re25 tirement or retired pay, annuities, depend-
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1 ents’ or survivors’ benefits, or similar

2 amounts payable on account of personal

3 services performed by the individual or any

4 other individual;

5 ‘‘(III) as compensation for death

6 under any Federal program;

7 ‘‘(IV) under any Federal program es8 tablished to provide ‘black lung’ benefits;

9 or

10 ‘‘(V) by the Secretary of Veterans Af11 fairs as pension, or as compensation for a

12 service-connected disability or death (ex13 cept any compensation paid by such Sec14 retary to a former member of the Armed

15 Forces who is in receipt of retired or re16 tainer pay if such former member has

17 waived a portion of his retired pay in order

18 to receive such compensation); and

19 ‘‘(iii) worker’s compensation benefits paid

20 under Federal or State law; but

21 ‘‘(B) do not include any payment—

22 ‘‘(i) by way of reimbursement or otherwise,

23 to defray expenses incurred by such individual

24 in carrying out duties associated with his em25 ployment; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) as allowances for members of the uni2 formed services payable pursuant to chapter 7

3 of title 37, United States Code, as prescribed

4 by the Secretaries concerned (defined by section

5 101(5) of such title) as necessary for the effi6 cient performance of duty.’’.

7 (12) Section 462(g) (42 U.S.C. 662(g)) is re8 designated and relocated as section 459(i) (42

9 U.S.C. 659(i)).

10 (13)(A) Section 462 (42 U.S.C. 662) is amend11 ed—

12 (i) in subsection (e)(1), by redesignating

13 subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as clauses (i),

14 (ii), and (iii); and

15 (ii) in subsection (e), by redesignating

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

17 and (B).

18 (B) Section 459 (42 U.S.C. 659) is amended by

19 adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec21 tion—’’.

22 (C) Subsections (a) through (e) of section 462

23 (42 U.S.C. 662), as amended by subparagraph (A)

24 of this paragraph, are relocated and redesignated as

25 paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively of section
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1 459(j) (as added by subparagraph (B) of this para2 graph, (42 U.S.C. 659(j)), and the left margin of

3 each of such paragraphs (1) through (4) is indented

4 2 ems to the right of the left margin of subsection

5 (i) (as added by paragraph (12) of this subsection).

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

7 (1) TO PART D OF TITLE IV.—Sections 461 and

8 462 (42 U.S.C. 661), as amended by subsection (a)

9 of this section, are repealed.

10 (2) TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE.—Sec11 tion 5520a of title 5, United States Code, is amend12 ed, in subsections (h)(2) and (i), by striking ‘‘sec13 tions 459, 461, and 462 of the Social Security Act

14 (42 U.S.C. 659, 661, and 662)’’ and inserting ‘‘sec15 tion 459 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

16 659)’’.

17 (c) MILITARY RETIRED AND RETAINER PAY.—(1)

18 DEFINITION OF COURT.—Section 1408(a)(1) of title 10,

19 United States Code, is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara21 graph (B);

22 (B) by striking the period at the end of sub23 paragraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

24 (C) by adding after subparagraph (C) the fol25 lowing new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(D) any administrative or judicial tribu2 nal of a State competent to enter orders for

3 support or maintenance (including a State

4 agency administering a State program under

5 part D of title IV of the Social Security Act).’’;

6 (2) DEFINITION OF COURT ORDER.—Section

7 1408(a)(2) of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘or a

8 court order for the payment of child support not included

9 in or accompanied by such a decree or settlement,’’ before

10 ‘‘which—’’.

11 (3) PUBLIC PAYEE.—Section 1408(d) of such title is

12 amended—

13 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘to spouse’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘to (or for benefit of)’’; and

15 (B) in paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by

16 inserting ‘‘(or for the benefit of such spouse or

17 former spouse to a State central collections unit or

18 other public payee designated by a State, in accord19 ance with part D of title IV of the Social Security

20 Act, as directed by court order, or as otherwise di21 rected in accordance with such part D)’’ before ‘‘in

22 an amount sufficient’’.

23 (4) RELATIONSHIP TO PART D OF TITLE IV.—Sec24 tion 1408 of such title is amended by adding at the end

25 the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—In any case

2 involving a child support order against a member who has

3 never been married to the other parent of the child, the

4 provisions of this section shall not apply, and the case

5 shall be subject to the provisions of section 459 of the

6 Social Security Act.’’.

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

8 this section shall become effective 6 months after the date

9 of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 164. ENFORCEMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGA11 TIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.

12 (a) AVAILABILITY OF LOCATOR INFORMATION.—

13 (1) MAINTENANCE OF ADDRESS INFORMA14 TION.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish a

15 centralized personnel locator service that includes

16 the address of each member of the Armed Forces

17 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Upon re18 quest of the Secretary of Transportation, addresses

19 for members of the Coast Guard shall be included in

20 the centralized personnel locator service.

21 (2) TYPE OF ADDRESS.—

22 (A) RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS.—Except as

23 provided in subparagraph (B), the address for

24 a member of the Armed Forces shown in the lo-
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1 cator service shall be the residential address of

2 that member.

3 (B) DUTY ADDRESS.—The address for a

4 member of the Armed Forces shown in the loca5 tor service shall be the duty address of that

6 member in the case of a member—

7 (i) who is permanently assigned over8 seas, to a vessel, or to a routinely

9 deployable unit; or

10 (ii) with respect to whom the Sec11 retary concerned makes a determination

12 that the member’s residential address

13 should not be disclosed due to national se14 curity or safety concerns.

15 (3) UPDATING OF LOCATOR INFORMATION.—

16 Within 30 days after a member listed in the locator

17 service establishes a new residential address (or a

18 new duty address, in the case of a member covered

19 by paragraph (2)(B)), the Secretary concerned shall

20 update the locator service to indicate the new ad21 dress of the member.

22 (4) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The Sec23 retary of Defense shall make information regarding

24 the address of a member of the Armed Forces listed
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1 in the locator service available, on request, to the

2 Federal Parent Locator Service.

3 (b) FACILITATING GRANTING OF LEAVE FOR AT4 TENDANCE AT HEARINGS.—

5 (1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of each

6 military department, and the Secretary of Transpor7 tation with respect to the Coast Guard when it is

8 not operating as a service in the Navy, shall pre9 scribe regulations to facilitate the granting of leave

10 to a member of the Armed Forces under the juris11 diction of that Secretary in a case in which—

12 (A) the leave is needed for the member to

13 attend a hearing described in paragraph (2);

14 (B) the member is not serving in or with

15 a unit deployed in a contingency operation (as

16 defined in section 101 of title 10, United States

17 Code); and

18 (C) the exigencies of military service (as

19 determined by the Secretary concerned) do not

20 otherwise require that such leave not be grant21 ed.

22 (2) COVERED HEARINGS.—Paragraph (1) ap23 plies to a hearing that is conducted by a court or

24 pursuant to an administrative process established

25 under State law, in connection with a civil action—
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1 (A) to determine whether a member of the

2 Armed Forces is a natural parent of a child; or

3 (B) to determine an obligation of a mem4 ber of the Armed Forces to provide child sup5 port.

6 (3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub7 section:

8 (A) The term ‘‘court’’ has the meaning

9 given that term in section 1408(a) of title 10,

10 United States Code.

11 (B) The term ‘‘child support’’ has the

12 meaning given such term in section 462 of the

13 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 662).

14 (c) PAYMENT OF MILITARY RETIRED PAY IN COM15 PLIANCE WITH CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.—

16 (1) DATE OF CERTIFICATION OF COURT

17 ORDER.—Section 1408 of title 10, United States

18 Code, is amended—

19 (A) by redesignating subsection (i) as sub20 section (j); and

21 (B) by inserting after subsection (h) the

22 following new subsection (i):

23 ‘‘(i) CERTIFICATION DATE.—It is not necessary that

24 the date of a certification of the authenticity or complete25 ness of a copy of a court order or an order of an adminis-
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1 trative process established under State law for child sup2 port received by the Secretary concerned for the purposes

3 of this section be recent in relation to the date of receipt

4 by the Secretary.’’.

5 (2) PAYMENTS CONSISTENT WITH ASSIGN6 MENTS OF RIGHTS TO STATES.—Section 1408(d)(1)

7 of such title is amended by inserting after the first

8 sentence the following: ‘‘In the case of a spouse or

9 former spouse who, pursuant to section 402(a)(26)

10 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 602(26)), as11 signs to a State the rights of the spouse or former

12 spouse to receive support, the Secretary concerned

13 may make the child support payments referred to in

14 the preceding sentence to that State in amounts con15 sistent with that assignment of rights.’’.

16 (3) ARREARAGES OWED BY MEMBERS OF THE

17 UNIFORMED SERVICES.—Section 1408(d) of such

18 title is amended by adding at the end the following

19 new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(6) In the case of a court order or an order of an

21 administrative process established under State law for

22 which effective service is made on the Secretary concerned

23 on or after the date of the enactment of this paragraph

24 and which provides for payments from the disposable re25 tired pay of a member to satisy the amount of child sup-
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1 port set forth in the order, the authority provided in para2 graph (1) to make payments from the disposable retired

3 pay of a member to satisy the amount of child support

4 set forth in a court order or an order of an administrative

5 process established under State law shall apply to payment

6 of any amount of child support arrearages set forth in that

7 order as well as to amounts of child support that currently

8 become due.’’.

9 SEC. 165. MOTOR VEHICLE LIENS.

10 Section 466(a)(4) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(4)) is amend11 ed—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(4) Procedures’’ and inserting

13 the following:

14 ‘‘(4) LIENS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Procedures’’; and

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub17 paragraph:

18 ‘‘(B) MOTOR VEHICLE LIENS.—Procedures

19 for placing liens for arrears of child support on

20 motor vehicle titles of individuals owing such

21 arrears equal to or exceeding two months of

22 support, under which—

23 ‘‘(i) any person owed such arrears

24 may place such a lien;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the State agency administering

2 the program under this part shall system3 atically place such liens;

4 ‘‘(iii) expedited methods are provided

5 for—

6 ‘‘(I) ascertaining the amount of

7 arrears;

8 ‘‘(II) affording the person owing

9 the arrears or other titleholder to con10 test the amount of arrears or to ob11 tain a release upon fulfilling the sup12 port obligation;

13 ‘‘(iv) such a lien has precedence over

14 all other encumbrances on a vehicle title

15 other than a purchase money security in16 terest; and

17 ‘‘(v) the individual or State agency

18 owed the arrears may execute on, seize,

19 and sell the property in accordance with

20 State law.’’.

21 SEC. 166. VOIDING OF FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS.

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

23 sections 101(a), 128(a), and 131 of this Act, is amended

24 by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(15) FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS.—Procedures

2 under which—

3 ‘‘(A) the State has in effect—

4 ‘‘(i) the Uniform Fraudulent Convey5 ance Act of 1981,

6 ‘‘(ii) the Uniform Fraudulent Trans7 fer Act of 1984, or

8 ‘‘(iii) another law, specifying indicia of

9 fraud which create a prima facie case that

10 a debtor transferred income or property to

11 avoid payment to a child support creditor,

12 which the Secretary finds affords com13 parable rights to child support creditors;

14 and

15 ‘‘(B) in any case in which the State knows

16 of a transfer by a child support debtor with re17 spect to which such a prima facie case is estab18 lished, the State must—

19 ‘‘(i) seek to void such transfer; or

20 ‘‘(ii) obtain a settlement in the best

21 interests of the child support creditor.’’.

22 SEC. 167. STATE LAW AUTHORIZING SUSPENSION OF LI23 CENSES.

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

25 sections 101(a), 128(a), 131, and 166 of this Act, is
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1 amended by adding at the end the following new para2 graph:

3 ‘‘(16) AUTHORITY TO WITHHOLD OR SUSPEND

4 LICENSES.—Procedures under which the State has

5 (and uses in appropriate cases) authority (subject to

6 appropriate due process safeguards) to withhold or

7 suspend, or to restrict the use of driver’s licenses,

8 professional and occupational licenses, and rec9 reational licenses of individuals owing overdue child

10 support or failing, after receiving appropriate notice,

11 to comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to

12 paternity or child support proceedings.’’.

13 SEC. 168. REPORTING ARREARAGES TO CREDIT BUREAUS.

14 Section 466(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(7)) is amended

15 to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(7) REPORTING ARREARAGES TO CREDIT BU17 REAUS.—(A) Procedures (subject to safeguards pur18 suant to subparagraph (B)) requiring the State to

19 report periodically to consumer reporting agencies

20 (as defined in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Re21 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) the name of any

22 absent parent who is delinquent by 90 days or more

23 in the payment of support, and the amount of over24 due support owed by such parent.
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1 ‘‘(B) Procedures ensuring that, in carrying out

2 subparagraph (A), information with respect to an

3 absent parent is reported—

4 ‘‘(i) only after such parent has been af5 forded all due process required under State law,

6 including notice and a reasonable opportunity

7 to contest the accuracy of such information;

8 and

9 ‘‘(ii) only to an entity that has furnished

10 evidence satisfactory to the State that the en11 tity is a consumer reporting agency.’’.

12 SEC. 169. EXTENDED STATUTE OF LIMITATION FOR COL13 LECTION OF ARREARAGES.

14 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 466(a)(9) (42 U.S.C.

15 666(a)(9)) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(9) Procedures’’ and inserting

17 the following:

18 ‘‘(9) LEGAL TREATMENT OF ARREARS.—

19 ‘‘(A) FINALITY.—Procedures’’;

20 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B),

21 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively,

22 and by indenting each of such clauses 2 additional

23 ems to the right; and
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1 (3) by adding after and below subparagraph

2 (A), as redesignated, the following new subpara3 graph:

4 ‘‘(B) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Proce5 dures under which the statute of limitations on

6 any arrearages of child support extends at least

7 until the child owed such support is 30 years of

8 age.’’.

9 (b) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENT.—The amend10 ment made by this section shall not be read to require

11 any State law to revive any payment obligation which had

12 lapsed prior to the effective date of such State law.

13 SEC. 170. CHARGES FOR ARREARAGES.

14 (a) STATE LAW REQUIREMENT.—Section 466(a) (42

15 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by sections 101(a), 128(a),

16 131, 166, and 167 of this Act, is amended by adding at

17 the end the following new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(17) CHARGES FOR ARREARAGES.—Proce19 dures providing for the calculation and collection of

20 interest or penalties for arrearages of child support,

21 and for distribution of such interest or penalties col22 lected for the benefit of the child (except where the

23 right to support has been assigned to the State).’’.

24 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and

25 Human Services shall establish by regulation a rule to re-
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1 solve choice of law conflicts arising in the implementation

2 of the amendment made by subsection (a).

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 454(21)

4 (42 U.S.C. 654(21)) is repealed.

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

6 this section shall be effective with respect to arrearages

7 accruing on or after October 1, 1998.

8 SEC. 171. DENIAL OF PASSPORTS FOR NONPAYMENT OF

9 CHILD SUPPORT.

10 (a) HHS CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE.—

11 (1) SECRETARIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—Section

12 452 (42 U.S.C. 652), as amended by sections

13 115(a)(3) and 117 of this Act, is amended by adding

14 at the end the following new subsection:

15 ‘‘(l) CERTIFICATIONS FOR PURPOSES OF PASSPORT

16 RESTRICTIONS.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Where the Secretary re18 ceives a certification by a State agency in accord19 ance with the requirements of section 454(28) that

20 an individual owes arrearages of child support in an

21 amount exceeding $5,000 or in an amount exceeding

22 24 months’ worth of child support, the Secretary

23 shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of

24 State for action (with respect to denial, revocation,

25 or limitation of passports) pursuant to section
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1 171(b) of the Child Support Responsibility Act of

2 1995.

3 ‘‘(2) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall

4 not be liable to an individual for any action with re5 spect to a certification by a State agency under this

6 section.’’.

7 (2) STATE CSE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY.—Sec8 tion 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections

9 104(a), 114(b), and 122(a) of this Act, is amend10 ed—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para12 graph (26);

13 (B) by striking the period at the end of

14 paragraph (27) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

15 (C) by adding after paragraph (27) the fol16 lowing new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(28) provide that the State agency will have in

18 effect a procedure (which may be combined with the

19 procedure for tax refund offset under section 464)

20 for certifying to the Secretary, for purposes of the

21 procedure under section 452(l) (concerning denial of

22 passports) determinations that individuals owe ar23 rearages of child support in an amount exceeding

24 $5,000 or in an amount exceeding 24 months’ worth

25 of child support, under which procedure—
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1 ‘‘(A) each individual concerned is afforded

2 notice of such determination and the con3 sequences thereof, and an opportunity to con4 test the determination; and

5 ‘‘(B) the certification by the State agency

6 is furnished to the Secretary in such format,

7 and accompanied by such supporting docu8 mentation, as the Secretary may require.’’.

9 (b) STATE DEPARTMENT PROCEDURE FOR DENIAL

10 OF PASSPORTS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State,

12 upon certification by the Secretary of Health and

13 Human Services, in accordance with section 452(l)

14 of the Social Security Act, that an individual owes

15 arrearages of child support in excess of $5,000, shall

16 refuse to issue a passport to such individual, and

17 may revoke, restrict, or limit a passport issued pre18 viously to such individual.

19 (2) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—The Secretary of

20 State shall not be liable to an individual for any ac21 tion with respect to a certification by a State agency

22 under this section.

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend24 ments made by this section shall become effective October

25 1, 1996.
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1 SEC. 172. 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 sections 104(a), 114(b),

11 122(a), and 171(a)(2) of this Act, is amended—

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

13 (27);

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

16 (3) by inserting after paragraph (28) the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(29) provide that the State must treat inter19 national child support cases in the same manner as

20 the State treats interstate child support cases.’’.

21 Subtitle H—Medical Support

22 SEC. 181. TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO ERISA DEFINITION

23 OF MEDICAL CHILD SUPPORT ORDER.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609(a)(2)(B) of the Em25 ployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29

26 U.S.C. 1169(a)(2)(B)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘issued by a court of competent

2 jurisdiction’’;

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause

4 (ii) and inserting a comma; and

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

6 following:

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

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

9 issued by an administrative adjudicator and has

10 the force and effect of law under applicable

11 State law.’’.

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

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

14 this section shall take effect on the date of the en15 actment of this Act.

16 (2) PLAN AMENDMENTS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL

17 JANUARY 1, 1996.—Any amendment to a plan re18 quired to be made by an amendment made by this

19 section shall not be required to be made before the

20 first plan year beginning on or after January 1,

21 1996, if—

22 (A) during the period after the date before

23 the date of the enactment of this Act and be24 fore such first plan year, the plan is operated
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1 in accordance with the requirements of the

2 amendments made by this section, and

3 (B) such plan amendment applies retro4 actively to the period after the date before the

5 date of the enactment of this Act and before

6 such first plan year.

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

8 in accordance with the provisions of the plan merely

9 because it operates in accordance with this para10 graph.

11 Subtitle I—Effect of Enactment

12 SEC. 191. EFFECTIVE DATES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifically

14 provided (but subject to subsections (b) and (c))—

15 (1) provisions of this title requiring enactment

16 or amendment of State laws under section 466 of

17 the Social Security Act, or revision of State plans

18 under section 454 of such Act, shall be effective with

19 respect to periods beginning on and after October 1,

20 1996; and

21 (2) all other provisions of this title shall become

22 effective upon enactment.

23 (b) GRACE PERIOD FOR STATE LAW CHANGES.—The

24 provisions of this title shall become effective with respect

25 to a State on the later of—
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1 (1) the date specified in this title, or

2 (2) the effective date of laws enacted by the leg3 islature of such State implementing such provisions,

4 but in no event later than the first day of the first cal5 endar quarter beginning after the close of the first regular

6 session of the State legislature that begins after the date

7 of enactment of this Act. For purposes of the previous

8 sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legisla9 tive session, each year of such session shall be deemed to

10 be a separate regular session of the State legislature.

11 (c) GRACE PERIOD FOR STATE CONSTITUTIONAL

12 AMENDMENT.—A State shall not be found out of compli13 ance with any requirement enacted by this title if it is

14 unable to comply without amending the State constitution

15 until the earlier of—

16 (1) the date one year after the effective date of

17 the necessary State constitutional amendment, or

18 (2) the date five years after enactment of this

19 title.

20 SEC. 192. SEVERABILITY.

21 If any provision of this title or the application thereof

22 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalid23 ity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this

24 title which can be given effect without regard to the invalid
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1 provision or application, and to this end the provisions of

2 this title shall be severable.

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