I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1600

Entitled ‘‘Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act’’.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 1, 1993

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

Committees on Ways and Means, the Judiciary, Banking, Finance and

Urban Affairs, Armed Services, and Education and Labor

A BILL

Entitled ‘‘Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act’’.

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 ‘‘Interstate Child Support Enforcement Act’’.

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

8 as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in this Act an

9 amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to or

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

2 of the Social Security Act.

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

4 this Act is as follows:

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

Sec. 2. Findings, declarations, and purposes.

TITLE I—LOCATE AND CASE TRACKING

Sec. 101. Expansion of use of Federal parent locator system.

Sec. 102. Expansion of data bases accessed by parent locator systems.

Sec. 103. Expansion of access to national network for location of parents.

Sec. 104. Private attorney access to locate and enforcement services.

Sec. 105. Access to law enforcement systems of records.

Sec. 106. State networks for broadcasting warrants.

TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT

Sec. 201. Jurisdiction, service of process, and full faith and credit.

Sec. 202. Service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed

services relating to child support, alimony, and parentage obligations.

Sec. 203. Presumed address of obligor and obligee.

Sec. 204. Notification to custodial parents.

Sec. 205. State uniformity regarding establishment of parentage and support,

jurisdiction and venue, and Federal employee residential status.

Sec. 206. Fair Credit Reporting Act amendments.

Sec. 207. National Child Support Guideline Commission.

Sec. 208. State child support guideline principles.

Sec. 209. Duration of support.

Sec. 210. National subpoena duces tecum.

Sec. 211. Uniform terms in orders.

Sec. 212. Social security numbers on marriage licenses and child support orders.

Sec. 213. Administrative subpoena power.

TITLE III—PARENTAGE

Sec. 301. Parentage.

TITLE IV—ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 401. Anti-assignment clauses amended.

Sec. 402. National reporting of new hires and child support information.

Sec. 403. Direct income withholding.

Sec. 404. Priority of wage withholding.

Sec. 405. Definition of income subject to withholding includes workers’ compensation.

Sec. 406. Consumer Credit Protection Act amendments.

Sec. 407. Election of remedies prohibition.

Sec. 408. Occupational, professional and business licenses
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Sec. 409. Driver’s licenses.

Sec. 410. Attachment of bank accounts.

Sec. 411. Lotteries, settlements, payouts, awards, and forfeitures.

Sec. 412. Fraudulent transfer pursuit.

Sec. 413. Full IRS collection.

Sec. 414. Bonds.

Sec. 415. Tax offset for non-AFDC post-minor child.

Sec. 416. Attachment of public and private retirement funds.

Sec. 417. Reporting to credit bureaus.

Sec. 418. Criminal nonsupport.

Sec. 419. Statutes of limitation.

Sec. 420. Interest.

Sec. 421. Health-care enforcement.

Sec. 422. Bankruptcy.

Sec. 423. Federal Government cooperation in enforcement of support obligations of members of the armed forces and other persons entitled to payments by the Federal Government.

Sec. 424. UIFSA endorsement.

TITLE V—COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION

Sec. 501. Priority of distribution of collections.

Sec. 502. Relationship of AFDC to CSE—limiting reimbursement claims to

award amount.

Sec. 503. Fees for non-AFDC clients.

Sec. 504. Collection and disbursement points for child support.

TITLE VI—FEDERAL ROLE

Sec. 601. Placement and role of the Federal Child Support Agency.

Sec. 602. Training.

Sec. 603. Staffing.

Sec. 604. Funding and incentives for child support agencies.

Sec. 605. Child support definition.

Sec. 606. Audits.

Sec. 607. Child support assurance demonstration projects.

TITLE VII—STATE ROLE

Sec. 701. Prohibition of residency requirement for IV–D services.

Sec. 702. Advocating for children’s economic security.

Sec. 703. Duties of IV–D agencies.

Sec. 704. Broader access to services.

Sec. 705. Process for change of payee in IV–D cases.

TITLE VIII—EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 801. Effective date.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PURPOSES.

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

3 (1) there is a large and growing number of

4 child support and parentage cases annually involving
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1 disputes between parents or presumed parents who

2 reside in different States;

3 (2) the laws by which the courts of the various

4 States determine their authority to establish, en5 force, or modify a child support order, or to estab6 lish parentage are not uniform;

7 (3) those laws, along with the limits imposed by

8 a Federal system, on the authority of each State to

9 take certain actions outside its own boundaries, con10 tribute to—

11 (A) the pressing problem of parties moving

12 to avoid jurisdiction,

13 (B) inequities based solely on choice of

14 domicile,

15 (C) disregard of court orders resulting in

16 massive arrearages nationwide,

17 (D) excessive relitigation of cases,

18 (E) the establishment of conflicting orders

19 by the courts of various States, and

20 (F) inter-jurisdiction travel and commu21 nication that is so expensive and time consum22 ing as to disrupt parties’ occupations and com23 mercial activities; and

24 (4) among the results of these conditions are—
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1 (A) the failure of the courts of such juris2 dictions to give full faith and credit to the judi3 cial proceedings of the other States,

4 (B) the deprivation of rights of liberty and

5 property without due process of law,

6 (C) burdens on commerce among the

7 States, and

8 (D) harm to the welfare of children and

9 their parents and other custodians.

10 (b) DECLARATION.—Based on the findings stated in

11 subsection (a), it is necessary to establish national stand12 ards under which the courts of each State will determine

13 their jurisdiction to establish, enforce, or modify a child

14 support order, or to establish parentage and the effect to

15 be given by each State to such determinations by the

16 courts of other States.

17 (c) PURPOSE.—The general purposes of this Act are

18 to—

19 (1) expand the forums available to establish,

20 enforce, or modify a child support order, or to estab21 lish parentage so that such actions may be heard in

22 the State that has the strongest interest in the

23 child’s financial security;
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1 (2) promote and expand the exchange of infor2 mation and other forms of mutual assistance be3 tween States that are concerned with the same child;

4 (3) facilitate the enforcement of support decrees

5 among the States;

6 (4) discourage continuing interstate controver7 sies over child support in the interest of greater fi8 nancial stability and secure family relationships for

9 the child; and

10 (5) avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict

11 between courts in matters relating to the establish12 ment, enforcement, and modification of child support

13 orders, and to the establishment of parentage, which

14 have resulted in the movement of parties among

15 States and a low percentage of interstate cases with

16 support orders, thereby adversely affecting children’s

17 well-being.

18 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act—

19 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State

20 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the

21 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory or posses22 sion of the United States, and Indian country as de23 fined in section 1151 of title 18, United States

24 Code.
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1 (2) COURT.—The term ‘‘court’’ means a court,

2 administrative process, or quasijudicial process of a

3 State that is authorized to—

4 (A) establish and enforce parentage orders;

5 (B) establish and enforce orders regarding

6 the amount of support payable by a contestant;

7 or

8 (C) modify orders regarding the amount of

9 support payable by a contestant.

10 TITLE I—LOCATE AND CASE

11 TRACKING

12 SEC. 101. EXPANSION OF USE OF FEDERAL PARENT LOCA13 TOR SYSTEM.

14 Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘for the purpose of enforcing

16 support obligations against such parent’’ in sub17 section (a) and inserting ‘‘for the purposes of par18 entage establishment, child support establishment,

19 modification, and enforcement, and child visitation

20 enforcement, provided that safeguards are in place

21 to prevent release of information when it may jeop22 ardize the safety of the children or either parent’’,

23 and

24 (2) by inserting ‘‘and such reasonable fees’’

25 after ‘‘such documents’’ in subsection (d).
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1 SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF DATA BASES ACCESSED BY PAR2 ENT LOCATOR SYSTEMS.

3 (a) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR FEDERAL PAR4 ENT LOCATOR SERVICE.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is

5 amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘the most recent address and

7 place of employment’’ in subsection (b) and inserting

8 ‘‘the most recent residential address, employer name

9 and address, and amounts and nature of income and

10 assets’’,

11 (2) by striking ‘‘the resident parent’’ in sub12 section (c)(3) and inserting ‘‘either parent’’, and

13 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (e) the

14 following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Treasury shall enter into

16 an agreement with the Secretary to provide prompt access

17 for the Secretary (in accordance with this subsection and

18 section 6103(l)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)

19 to the quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns

20 filed by individuals with the Internal Revenue Service.’’.

21 (b) STATE INFORMATION.—Section 466(a) (42

22 U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph

23 (10) the following new paragraphs:

24 ‘‘(11) Procedures under which the State agency

25 shall have automated on-line or batch access (or, if

26 necessary, nonautomated access) to information re-
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1 garding residential addresses, employers and em2 ployer addresses, income and assets, and medical in3 surance benefits with respect to absent parents

4 through various data bases. Such data bases shall

5 include data bases belonging to:

6 ‘‘(A) the State revenue or taxation depart7 ment;

8 ‘‘(B) the State motor vehicle registration

9 department;

10 ‘‘(C) the State employment security de11 partment;

12 ‘‘(D) the State crime information system;

13 ‘‘(E) the State bureau of corrections;

14 ‘‘(F) the State recreational, occupational,

15 and professional licensing department;

16 ‘‘(G) the Secretary of State’s office;

17 ‘‘(H) the State bureau of vital statistics;

18 ‘‘(I) State or local agencies administering

19 public assistance;

20 ‘‘(J) State or local real and personal prop21 erty record departments;

22 ‘‘(K) publicly regulated utility companies

23 located in the State;

24 ‘‘(L) credit reporting agencies located in

25 the State; and
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1 ‘‘(M) trade and labor unions located in the

2 State.

3 ‘‘(12) Procedures under which the State agency

4 shall maintain a child support order registry which

5 shall include—

6 ‘‘(A) each child support order in the State

7 in which the parties agree to the inclusion of

8 such order in the registry; and

9 ‘‘(B) at the option of the State, all other

10 child support orders in the State.’’.

11 (c) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

12 Congress that the Secretary of Health and Human Serv13 ices should investigate pursuant to section 453(e) of the

14 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(e)) accessing Federal

15 data banks not already linked to the Parent Locator Serv16 ice which are deemed more-than-marginally useful to lo17 cate absent parents.

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

19 subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on and after Jan20 uary 1, 1998.

21 SEC. 103. EXPANSION OF ACCESS TO NATIONAL NETWORK

22 FOR LOCATION OF PARENTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is

24 amended by adding at the end the following new sub25 section:
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1 ‘‘(g) The Secretary, through the Office of Child Sup2 port Enforcement, shall expand the Parent Locator Sys3 tem, established under this section to provide a national

4 network based on the comprehensive statewide child sup5 port enforcement systems developed by the various States.

6 Such an expansion—

7 ‘‘(1) would allow each State to—

8 ‘‘(A) locate any absent parent who owes a

9 child support obligation, for whom an obligation

10 is being established, or for whom an order for

11 visitation is being enforced by—

12 ‘‘(i) accessing the records of other

13 State agencies and sources of locate infor14 mation, and

15 ‘‘(ii) accessing Federal sources of lo16 cate information in the same fashion;

17 ‘‘(B) access the files of other States to de18 termine whether there are other child support

19 orders and obtain the details of those orders;

20 ‘‘(C) provide for both on-line and batch

21 processing of locate requests, with on-line ac22 cess restricted to cases in which the information

23 is needed immediately (i.e., court appearances)

24 and batch processing used to ‘troll’ data bases
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1 to locate individuals or update information peri2 odically; and

3 ‘‘(D) direct locate requests to individual

4 States or Federal agencies, broadcast requests

5 to selected States, or broadcast cases to all

6 States when there is no indication of the source

7 of needed information;

8 ‘‘(2) provide for a maximum of 72-hour turn9 around time for information to be broadcast and re10 turned to a requesting State;

11 ‘‘(3) provide ready access to courts of the infor12 mation on the network; and

13 ‘‘(4) access the registry of child support orders

14 for public and private cases maintained at the State

15 level by the State agencies as described in section

16 466(a)(12).’’.

17 (b) EXPANDED STATE INTERACTION WITH NA18 TIONAL NETWORK.—Section 454(16) (42 U.S.C.

19 654(16)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘and (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘(E)’’,

21 and

22 (2) by striking ‘‘enforcement;’’ at the end of

23 subparagraph (E) and inserting ‘‘enforcement, and

24 (F) to provide access to the national network devel25 oped pursuant to section 453(g);’’.
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

2 this section shall take effect on and after January 1, 1998.

3 SEC. 104. PRIVATE ATTORNEY ACCESS TO LOCATE AND EN4 FORCEMENT SERVICES.

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

6 section 102, is amended by inserting after paragraph (12)

7 the following new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(13) Procedures under which private attorneys

9 and pro se obligees are given access to State locate

10 information and enforcement techniques of the State

11 child support enforcement agency, for the limited

12 purpose of establishing, modifying, and enforcing

13 child support, visitation, and parentage orders, pro14 vided that safeguards are in place to prevent release

15 of information when it may jeopardize the safety of

16 the children or either parent. Such procedures may

17 provide for reasonable fees for such access.’’.

18 SEC. 105. ACCESS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS OF

19 RECORDS.

20 The head of the National Criminal Information Cen21 ter, of the National Law Enforcement Telecommuni22 cations Network, and of any other national or regional sys23 tem for tracking individuals shall—
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1 (1) allow access to Federal, State, and local

2 child support enforcement agencies to information

3 held by the Center, Network, or other system; and

4 (2) if an access code is required to allow such

5 access, provide an access code to each child support

6 enforcement agency that applies for one.

7 SEC. 106. STATE NETWORKS FOR BROADCASTING WAR8 RANTS.

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

10 section 104, is amended by inserting after paragraph (13)

11 the following new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(14) Procedures under which the State—

13 ‘‘(A) shall make available for broadcasting

14 on its local and State crime information system

15 failure-to-appear warrants, capiases and bench

16 warrants issued by courts in civil and criminal

17 parentage and child support proceedings; and

18 ‘‘(B) if a defendant or anyone on behalf of

19 the defendant posts security after being ar20 rested, shall remit any subsequent forfeiture to

21 the individual owed the child support obligation

22 to the extent of any arrearage in such obliga23 tion.’’.
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1 TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT

2 SEC. 201. JURISDICTION, SERVICE OF PROCESS, AND FULL

3 FAITH AND CREDIT.

4 (a) STATE LAW.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)),

5 as amended by section 106, is amended by inserting after

6 paragraph (14) the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(15) Procedures under which the State shall—

8 ‘‘(A) treat out-of-State service of process

9 in child support and parentage actions in the

10 same manner as in-State service of process;

11 ‘‘(B) require that notice for the exercise of

12 jurisdiction over nonresident be given in a man13 ner reasonably calculated to give actual notice

14 and may be—

15 ‘‘(i) by personal delivery outside the

16 State in the manner prescribed for service

17 of process within the State;

18 ‘‘(ii) in the manner prescribed by the

19 law of the place in which the service is

20 made;

21 ‘‘(iii) by first-class mail addressed to

22 the individual to be served (if allowed by

23 the State’s rules of civil procedure) or any

24 other form of mail that includes a request

25 for a receipt or signature of such individ-
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1 ual, subject to the requirements of such

2 rules of civil procedure; or

3 ‘‘(iv) as directed by the court, includ4 ing publication if other means of notifica5 tion are ineffective, subject to the require6 ments of the State’s rules of civil proce7 dure;

8 ‘‘(C) require that notice to commence a

9 child support or parentage action be delivered,

10 mailed, or published with sufficient time to

11 allow for serving an answer or other response

12 before any hearing in the State, in accordance

13 with the otherwise applicable rule regarding the

14 commencement of an original action in the

15 State;

16 ‘‘(D) require notice of the commencement

17 of a child support or parentage action to each

18 party whose rights, privileges, duties, or powers

19 may be affected by the action;

20 ‘‘(E) require that proof of service outside

21 the State may be made by the affidavit of the

22 individual who made the service, or in the man23 ner prescribed by the law of the State, by the

24 order under which the service is made, or by

25 the law of the place in which service is made,
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1 and if service is made by mail, proof of service

2 may be by a receipt signed by the addressee or

3 other evidence of delivery to the addressee; and

4 ‘‘(F) require the availability of first-class

5 mail service after the service of the summons

6 and initial pleadings.’’.

7 (b) DECLARATION OF CONGRESSIONAL POLICY.—

8 Based on the findings specified in section 2(a) and pursu9 ant to its powers to enforce the Due Process Clause of

10 the Fifth Amendment, section 5 of the Fourteenth

11 Amendment, the Commerce Clause, the General Welfare

12 Clause, and the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Unit13 ed States Constitution, the Congress declares that due

14 process is satisfied if the courts of a State exercise per15 sonal jurisdiction over a nonresident who is the parent or

16 presumed parent of a resident child in order to establish,

17 enforce, or modify a child support order or to establish

18 parentage.

19 (c) INTERSTATE RECOGNITION OF CHILD SUPPORT

20 AND PARENTAGE ORDERS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 115 of title 28,

22 United States Code, is amended by inserting after

23 section 1738A the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 1738B. Full faith and credit to child support and

2 parentage orders

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the

4 term:

5 ‘‘ ‘Child’ means any individual under the age of

6 18 years, and any individual who has attained the

7 age of 18 years or more for whom a child support

8 order has been issued pursuant to the laws of a

9 State.

10 ‘‘ ‘Child support’ includes periodic and lump

11 sum payments for current and past due economic

12 support, payments of premiums for health insurance

13 for children, payments for or provision of child care,

14 and payments for educational expenses.

15 ‘‘ ‘Child support order’ means a judgment, de16 cree or order of a court requiring the payment of

17 money, whether in periodic amounts or lump sum,

18 for the support of a child and includes permanent

19 and temporary orders, initial orders and modifica20 tions, ongoing support and arrearages.

21 ‘‘ ‘Child’s State’ means the State in which the

22 child currently resides with a parent, or an individ23 ual acting as a parent.

24 ‘‘ ‘Contestant’ means an individual, including a

25 parent, who claims a right to receive child support

26 or is under an order to pay child support, and in-
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1 cludes States and political subdivisions to which sup2 port rights have been assigned.

3 ‘‘ ‘Court’ means a court, administrative process,

4 or quasijudicial process of a State that is authorized

5 to—

6 ‘‘(1) establish and enforce parentage or7 ders;

8 ‘‘(2) establish and enforce orders regarding

9 the amount of support payable by a contestant;

10 or

11 ‘‘(3) modify orders regarding the amount

12 of support payable by a contestant.

13 ‘‘ ‘Modification’ and ‘modify’ refer to a change

14 in a child support order or an order establishing

15 parentage that modifies, replaces, supersedes, or

16 otherwise is made subsequent to such prior order,

17 whether or not made by the same court that issued

18 such prior order.

19 ‘‘ ‘State’ means a State of the United States,

20 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of

21 Puerto Rico, a territory or possession of the United

22 States, and Indian country as defined in section

23 1151 of title 18, United States Code.

24 ‘‘(b) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—The courts of each

25 State shall recognize and enforce according to its terms
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1 a child support order or an order establishing parentage

2 against an individual over whom personal jurisdiction has

3 been exercised, including an order pursuant to a State law

4 that authorizes the courts of the State to exercise personal

5 jurisdiction over nonresidents to the extent permitted by

6 the Constitution of the United States, and shall not mod7 ify such an order except as provided in subsection (c).

8 ‘‘(c) MODIFICATION.—A court of a State may modify

9 a child support order or an order establishing parentage

10 made by a court of another State if—

11 ‘‘(1) it has jurisdiction to make such an order;

12 and

13 ‘‘(2) the court of the other State no longer has

14 continuing, exclusive jurisdiction because—

15 ‘‘(A) the other State no longer is the

16 child’s State or the residence of any contestant;

17 or

18 ‘‘(B) each contestant has filed written con19 sent for the State to modify the order and as20 sume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of such

21 order.

22 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT OF PRIOR ORDERS.—A court of

23 a State which no longer has continuing, exclusive jurisdic24 tion of a child support order or an order establishing par25 entage may enforce such order with respect to unsatisfied
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1 obligations which accrued before the date on which a

2 modification of such order is made under subsection (c).’’.

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis

4 for chapter 115 of title 28, United States Code, is amend5 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 1738A

6 the following new item:

‘‘1738B. Full faith and credit to child support and parentage orders.’’.

7 SEC. 202. SERVICE OF PROCESS ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

8 AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERVICES RE9 LATING TO CHILD SUPPORT, ALIMONY, AND

10 PARENTAGE OBLIGATIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title IV is amended by

12 inserting after section 460 the following new section:

13 ‘‘SERVICE OF PROCESS ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND

14 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERVICES RELATING TO

15 CHILD SUPPORT, ALIMONY, AND PARENTAGE OBLI16 GATIONS.

17 ‘‘SEC. 460A. (a) The head of each agency shall des18 ignate an agent for receipt of service of process for any

19 employee or member of the armed services of such agency

20 relating to any action filed in a State court to establish,

21 enforce, or modify a child support order or an alimony

22 order, or to establish parentage.

23 ‘‘(b) The agent designated under subsection (a) shall

24 receive service of process—
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1 ‘‘(1) at the designated post of duty or regular

2 place of business of the employee or member of the

3 armed services; or

4 ‘‘(2) at a location within the United States for

5 an employee or member of the uniformed services

6 whose post of duty is outside of the United States.

7 ‘‘(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to pro8 hibit any employee or member of the armed services from

9 requesting or being granted a stay or continuance in any

10 action in a Federal or State court, including any relief

11 available under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act

12 of 1940 (50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.).

13 ‘‘(d) For purposes of this section, the term ‘agency’

14 means each agency of the Federal Government, includ15 ing—

16 ‘‘(1) an Executive agency as defined under sec17 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code;

18 ‘‘(2) the Department of Defense with regard to

19 employees of such department and members of the

20 armed services;

21 ‘‘(3) the United States Postal Service and Post22 al Rate Commission;

23 ‘‘(4) any agency of the government of the Dis24 trict of Columbia;
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1 ‘‘(5) any agency of the legislative or judicial

2 branch of the Government; and

3 ‘‘(6) any advisory committee to which the Fed4 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2)

5 applies.’’.

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT FOR GARNISHMENT

7 PROCEEDINGS.—Section 459(b) (42 U.S.C. 659(b)) is

8 amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and

10 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following

11 new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(2) With respect to any Federal employee, including

13 any member of the armed services, the agent designated

14 under paragraph (1) shall receive service of process—

15 ‘‘(A) at the designated post of duty or regular

16 place of business of the employee or member of the

17 armed services; or

18 ‘‘(B) at a location within the United States for

19 an employee or member of the armed services whose

20 post of duty is outside of the United States.

21 ‘‘(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to pro22 hibit any employee or member of the armed services from

23 requesting or being granted a stay or continuance in any

24 action in a Federal or State court, including any relief
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1 available under the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act

2 of 1940 (50 U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.).’’.

3 (c) REGULATIONS.—No later than 270 days after the

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the head of each agency

5 shall promulgate and publish regulations implementing

6 the amendments made by this section.

7 SEC. 203. PRESUMED ADDRESS OF OBLIGOR AND OBLIGEE.

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

9 section 201, is amended by inserting after paragraph (15)

10 the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(16) Procedures under which the State shall—

12 ‘‘(A) require the filing of parents’ residen13 tial addresses, mailing addresses, home tele14 phone numbers, driver’s license numbers, social

15 security numbers, names of employers, address16 es of places of employment, and work telephone

17 numbers with the appropriate court or adminis18 trative agency, on or before the date the final

19 order is issued;

20 ‘‘(B) create the presumption that for the

21 purpose of providing sufficient notice in any

22 support-related action other than the initial

23 notice in an action to establish parentage or es24 tablish a child support order that the last resi25 dential address of the party given to the
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1 appropriate agency or court is the current ad2 dress of the party; and

3 ‘‘(C) ensure that information concerning

4 the location of a parent or child shall not be re5 leased to the other parent if there is a court

6 order for the physical protection of one parent

7 or child entered against the other parent.’’.

8 SEC. 204. NOTIFICATION TO CUSTODIAL PARENTS.

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

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

11 at the end of paragraph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and

12 by inserting after paragraph (24) the following new para13 graph:

14 ‘‘(25) provide that the agency administering the

15 plan—

16 ‘‘(A) notify any individual owed a child

17 support obligation of all hearings in which such

18 obligation might be established, modified, or en19 forced, in a timely fashion to allow custodial

20 parents the opportunity to attend and present

21 evidence to the court, except that failure to ac22 tually notify such individual may not be used as

23 a ground for delay and shall not prevent a

24 court from rendering a decision if the agency
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1 made reasonable attempts to provide such no2 tice; and

3 ‘‘(B) provide custodial parents with a copy

4 of any order that establishes, modifies, or en5 forces a child support obligation within 14 days

6 of the date of the issuance of such order.’’.

7 SEC. 205. STATE UNIFORMITY REGARDING ESTABLISH8 MENT OF PARENTAGE AND SUPPORT, JURIS9 DICTION AND VENUE, AND FEDERAL EM10 PLOYEE RESIDENTIAL STATUS.

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

12 section 203, is amended by inserting after paragraph (16)

13 the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(17) Procedures under which within the

15 State—

16 ‘‘(A) a party seeking both parentage and

17 child support establishment shall be able to

18 bring both in a single cause of action;

19 ‘‘(B) the venue for parentage establish20 ment shall be in the county of residence of the

21 child, when the child and alleged parent who is

22 the defendant reside in different counties within

23 the State;

24 ‘‘(C) a court or agency that issues a par25 entage or child support order shall have con-
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1 tinuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the order

2 until that court or agency transfers jurisdiction

3 to the appropriate court or agency in the county

4 where the child resides, or the parties consent

5 to be bound by another court or agency in the

6 State that has subject matter jurisdiction;

7 ‘‘(D) proceedings for purposes of enforce8 ment and modification shall be transferred to

9 the city, county, or district where the child re10 sides without the need for refiling by the plain11 tiff or re-serving the defendant;

12 ‘‘(E) a court or agency that hears parent13 age or child support claims shall have statewide

14 jurisdiction over the parties, and the parentage

15 and child support orders issued by the court or

16 agency shall have statewide effect for enforce17 ment purposes; and

18 ‘‘(F) visitation denial is not a defense to

19 child support enforcement and the nonpayment

20 of support is not a defense to visitation enforce21 ment.’’.

22 SEC. 206. FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT AMENDMENTS.

23 Section 604 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act

24 (15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended by adding at the end there25 of the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(4) To an agency administering a State plan under

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

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

4 or modified child support award, without the necessity of

5 a court order.’’.

6 SEC. 207. NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINE COMMIS7 SION.

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

9 commission to be known as the ‘‘National Child Support

10 Guidelines Commission’’ (in this section referred to as the

11 ‘‘Commission’’).

12 (b) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Commission shall con13 vene a conference to study the desirability of a national

14 child support guideline, and if such guideline is advisable,

15 the Commission shall develop for congressional consider16 ation a national child support guideline that is based on

17 the conference’s study of various guideline models, the de18 ficiencies of such models and any needed improvements.

19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

20 (1) NUMBER; APPOINTMENT.—

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

22 be composed of 9 individuals appointed jointly

23 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services

24 and the Congress, not later than January 15,

25 1994.
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1 (B) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—

2 Members of the Commission shall be appointed

3 from among those who are able to provide ex4 pertise and experience in the evaluation and de5 velopment of child support guidelines. At least

6 2 of the members shall represent parent child

7 support advocacy groups.

8 (2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member shall be

9 appointed for a term of 1 year. A vacancy in the

10 Commission shall be filled in the manner in which

11 the original appointment was made.

12 (d) COMMISSION POWERS, COMPENSATION, ACCESS

13 TO INFORMATION, AND SUPERVISION.—The first sentence

14 of subparagraph (C), the first and third sentences of sub15 paragraph (D), subparagraph (F) (except with respect to

16 the conduct of medical studies), clauses (ii) and (iii) of

17 subparagraph (G), and subparagraph (H) of section

18 1886(e)(6) of the Social Security Act shall apply to the

19 Commission in the same manner in which such provisions

20 apply to the Prospective Payment Assessment Commis21 sion.

22 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the ap23 pointment of members, the Commission shall report to the

24 President and the Congress on the results of the study

25 described in subsection (b) and the final assessment by
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1 the Commission of issues relating to a national child sup2 port guideline.

3 (f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

4 upon the submission of the report described in subsection

5 (e).

6 SEC. 208. STATE CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINE PRINCIPLES.

7 Section 467 (42 U.S.C. 667) is amended by adding

8 at the end the following new subsections:

9 ‘‘(d) The guidelines established pursuant to sub10 section (a) shall include the following principles:

11 ‘‘(1) A change in the child support amount re12 sulting from the application of the guidelines since

13 the entry of the last support order is sufficient rea14 son for modification of a child support obligation

15 without the necessity of showing any other change in

16 circumstance.

17 ‘‘(2) Any custodial parent requesting a review

18 of a child support award who is not receiving aid for

19 families with dependent children under part A of

20 this title must agree to both review and modification

21 of such award. Such custodial parent shall be ad22 vised of a recalculated support amount based on

23 such review and given an opportunity to decline the

24 pursuit of the modification.
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1 ‘‘(e) The guidelines established pursuant to sub2 section (a) shall take into account the following:

3 ‘‘(1) Work-related or job-training-related child

4 care expenses of either parent for the care of chil5 dren of either parent.

6 ‘‘(2) Health insurance and related uninsured

7 health care expenses, and extraordinary school ex8 penses incurred on behalf of the child of such par9 ents for whom the child support order is sought.

10 ‘‘(3) Multiple family child raising obligations

11 other than those for the child for whom the child

12 support order is sought.’’.

13 SEC. 209. DURATION OF SUPPORT.

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

15 section 205, is amended by inserting after paragraph (17)

16 the following new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(18) Procedures under which the State—

18 ‘‘(A) requires a continuing support obliga19 tion by one or both parents until at least the

20 latter of when a child reaches the age of eight21 een, or graduates from or is no longer enrolled

22 in secondary school or its equivalent, unless a

23 child marries, or is otherwise emancipated by a

24 court of competent jurisdiction;
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1 ‘‘(B) provides that courts with child sup2 port jurisdiction have the discretionary power,

3 pursuant to criteria established by the State, to

4 order—

5 ‘‘(i) child support, payable to an adult

6 child, at least up to the age of 22 for a

7 child enrolled in an accredited postsecond8 ary or vocational school or college and who

9 is a student in good standing;

10 ‘‘(ii) either or both parents to pay for

11 postsecondary school support based on

12 each parent’s financial ability to pay;

13 ‘‘(C) provides for child support to continue

14 beyond the child’s age of majority provided the

15 child is disabled, unable to be self-supportive,

16 and the disability arose during the child’s mi17 nority; and

18 ‘‘(D) provides that courts should consider

19 the effect of child support received on means20 tested governmental benefits and whether to

21 credit governmental benefits against a support

22 award amount.’’.

23 SEC. 210. NATIONAL SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM.

24 Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)) is amended by

25 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (9), by striking
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1 the period at the end of paragraph (10), and by inserting

2 after paragraph (10) the following new paragraphs:

3 ‘‘(11) draft and distribute a national subpoena

4 duces tecum for use by local and State child support

5 agencies and child support litigants to reach income

6 information pertaining to all private, Federal, State,

7 and local government employees, as well as any re8 ceivers of income, such subpoena duces tecum—

9 ‘‘(A) to be limited to evidence regarding

10 the prior 12 months of income or evidence of

11 accumulated income to date,

12 ‘‘(B) to be honored by payors with the

13 timely mailing of the information to a supplied

14 address on the subpoena,

15 ‘‘(C) to be enforced by a hearing held in

16 the payor’s State at which time the payor

17 bears, under penalty of State sanction, the bur18 den of specifying the reasons for not timely

19 honoring the subpoena, and

20 ‘‘(D) the information of which is to be ad21 mitted once offered to prove the truth of the

22 matter asserted; and

23 ‘‘(12) establish a simplified certification process

24 and admissibility procedure for out-of-State docu25 ments in child support or parentage cases.’’.
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1 SEC. 211. UNIFORM TERMS IN ORDERS.

2 Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by

3 section 210, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

4 paragraph (11), by striking the period at the end of para5 graph (12) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after

6 paragraph (12) the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(13) develop, in conjunction with State execu8 tive and judicial organizations, a uniform abstract of

9 a child support order, to be used by all State courts

10 to record the facts of a child support order in a reg11 istry of child support orders established under sec12 tion 466(a)(12), such abstract to include—

13 ‘‘(A) the date that support payments are

14 to commence;

15 ‘‘(B) the circumstances upon which sup16 port payments are to terminate;

17 ‘‘(C) the amount of current child support

18 expressed as a sum certain, arrearages ex19 pressed as a sum certain as of a certain date,

20 and any payback schedule for the arrearages;

21 ‘‘(D) whether the support award is in a

22 lump sum (nonallocated) or per child;

23 ‘‘(E) if the award is lump sum, the event

24 causing a change in the support award and the

25 amount of any change;
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1 ‘‘(F) other expenses, such as those for

2 child care and health care;

3 ‘‘(G) names of the parents;

4 ‘‘(H) social security numbers and dates of

5 birth of the parents;

6 ‘‘(I) names of all children covered by the

7 order;

8 ‘‘(J) dates of birth and social security

9 numbers of children covered by the order;

10 ‘‘(K) court identification (FIPS code,

11 name and address) of the court issuing the

12 order;

13 ‘‘(L) health-care support information; and

14 ‘‘(M) party to contact when additional in15 formation is obtained.’’.

16 SEC. 212. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON MARRIAGE LI17 CENSES AND CHILD SUPPORT ORDERS.

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

19 section 209, is amended by inserting after paragraph (18)

20 the following new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(19) Procedures under which social security

22 numbers of the individuals applying for a marriage

23 license are listed on the license by each applicant’s

24 name.’’.
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1 SEC. 213. ADMINISTRATIVE SUBPOENA POWER.

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

3 section 212, is amended by inserting after paragraph (19)

4 the following new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(20) Procedures under which the State agency

6 may issue subpoenas that require the individual

7 served to produce and deliver documents to or to ap8 pear at a court or administrative agency on a certain

9 date and may sanction an individual for failing to

10 obey the subpoena’s command.’’.

11 TITLE III—PARENTAGE

12 SEC. 301. PARENTAGE.

13 (a) STATE PLAN.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C.

15 654), as amended by section 204, is amended by

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

17 striking the period at the end of paragraph (25) and

18 inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after paragraph

19 (25) the following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(26) in order to encourage voluntary paternity

21 acknowledgement, provide for—

22 ‘‘(A) the development and distribution of

23 material at schools, hospitals, agencies admin24 istering the programs under part A of this title

25 and title XIX, prenatal health-care providers,

26 WIC programs, health departments, clinics, and
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1 other appropriate locations that describe the

2 benefits and responsibilities of paternity estab3 lishment and the process by which paternity

4 services may be obtained,

5 ‘‘(B) outreach programs at hospitals and

6 birthing facilities and programs for prenatal

7 care, child birth, and parenting, and

8 ‘‘(C) the use of consent procedures.’’.

9 (2) ENHANCED FEDERAL MATCH.—Section

10 455(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)) is amended by

11 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (B), by

12 inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end of

13 subparagraph (C), and by inserting after subpara14 graph (C) the following new subparagraph:

15 ‘‘(D) equal to 90 percent (rather than the

16 percentage specified in subparagraph (A)) of so

17 much of the sums expended during such quar18 ter as are attributable to costs incurred in car19 rying out the purposes of section 454(26);’’.

20 (b) STATE LAW.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a))

21 is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘at the option of the State,’’ in

23 paragraph (2)(B), and

24 (2) by adding at the end of paragraph (5) the

25 following new subparagraphs:
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1 ‘‘(C) Procedures under which—

2 ‘‘(i) the opportunity to establish paternity

3 voluntarily and by simple affidavit is available

4 to the unmarried parents of a child at the time

5 of the child’s birth by requiring hospitals and

6 birthing facilities to make explanatory materials

7 and forms available to the parents as part of

8 the birth certificate process;

9 ‘‘(ii) a simple, civil consent procedure is

10 available at any time for individuals who agree

11 to acknowledge parentage of a child;

12 ‘‘(iii) an acknowledgment of parentage may

13 be incorporated in a witnessed, written state14 ment that includes a statement that—

15 ‘‘(I) the individual signing such state16 ment understands the consequences of pa17 ternity establishment,

18 ‘‘(II) such individual is signing the

19 statement voluntarily,

20 ‘‘(III) such individual does not object

21 to the court entering an order for parent22 age, based on the acknowledgment, without

23 notice prior to the entry of the order and

24 without the requirement of pleadings, serv25 ice, summons, testimony or a hearing, and
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1 ‘‘(IV) such individual understands

2 that signing such statement may create an

3 obligation to provide child support; and

4 ‘‘(iv) if under State law a court order is re5 quired to establish paternity, an acknowledg6 ment of parentage as provided for under clause

7 (iii) shall be filed with a State court of appro8 priate jurisdiction within 10 days and a pater9 nity order based on such acknowledgment shall

10 be established without the requirement of plead11 ings, service, summons, testimony or a hearing.

12 ‘‘(D) Procedures under which the opportunity

13 to establish paternity is available to unmarried par14 ents when paternity is contested through an admin15 istrative procedure in accordance with State due

16 process and subject to review de novo by a court of

17 competent jurisdiction.

18 ‘‘(E) Procedures under which an individual who

19 voluntarily acknowledges paternity may request ge20 netic tests within 1 year of such acknowledgment.

21 ‘‘(F) Procedures under which collection of in22 formation for support determination may be done

23 concurrently with the parentage acknowledgment

24 process, so long as consistent with State constitu25 tional law.
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1 ‘‘(G) Procedures under which—

2 ‘‘(i) the State shall use a civil procedure

3 (and not a criminal procedure) for the estab4 lishment of parentage;

5 ‘‘(ii) the standard of evidence for such es6 tablishment is a preponderance of the evidence;

7 and

8 ‘‘(iii) a party may bring a parentage action

9 without joinder of the named child and the

10 State’s law regarding privity of the parties shall

11 govern the res judicata effect of nonjoinder.

12 ‘‘(H) Procedures under which the State estab13 lishes a threshold percentage of probability of par14 entage or a threshold percentage of likelihood of ex15 clusion of those wrongfully accused which creates a

16 presumption of parentage if such parentage testing

17 results are admitted and uncontroverted.

18 ‘‘(I) Procedures under which a resolution of

19 parentage may be made against a noncooperative

20 party who refuses to submit to an order by a court

21 for parentage testing.

22 ‘‘(J) Procedures under which any objection to

23 the parentage testing or to the results of that testing

24 must be made in writing at least 21 days prior to

25 trial, and if no objection is made, the test result is
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1 admitted to prove the truth of the matter asserted,

2 without the need for the attendance of a representa3 tive of the hospital, clinic, or parentage laboratory,

4 except that a party is not prohibited from calling an

5 outside expert witness to refute or support the test6 ing procedure or results, or the mathematical theory

7 on which the test results are based.

8 ‘‘(K) Procedures under which the introduction

9 and admission into evidence, without the need for

10 third-party foundation testimony, of prenatal and

11 post-natal parentage-testing bills is allowed and each

12 bill is regarded as prima facie evidence of the

13 amount incurred on behalf of the child for the proce14 dures included in the bill.

15 ‘‘(L) Procedures under which the State may

16 enter a default order in parentage cases upon proper

17 showing of evidence of parentage and of service of

18 process on the defendant, without requiring the per19 sonal presence of the plaintiff.

20 ‘‘(M) Procedures under which temporary sup21 port orders are entered if—

22 ‘‘(i) the parentage testing results create a

23 presumption of parentage,
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1 ‘‘(ii) the individual from whom support is

2 sought has signed a verified statement of par3 entage; or

4 ‘‘(iii) other clear and convincing evidence is

5 presented that such individual is the child’s

6 parent.

7 ‘‘(N) Procedures under which a party whose

8 parentage has been previously established by law

9 may not plead nonparentage as a defense to a child

10 support action.’’.

11 TITLE IV—ENFORCEMENT

12 SEC. 401. ANTI-ASSIGNMENT CLAUSES AMENDED.

13 Section 462(f)(2) (42 U.S.C. 662(f)(2)) is amended

14 by striking ‘‘(not including’’ and all that follows through

15 ‘‘compensation)’’.

16 SEC. 402. NATIONAL REPORTING OF NEW HIRES AND CHILD

17 SUPPORT INFORMATION.

18 (a) FEDERAL IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEM.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas20 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor,

21 shall establish a system of reporting of new employ22 ees by requiring employers to provide a copy of every

23 new employee’s W–4 form to the child support en24 forcement agency of the State in which the employ25 ment is located.
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1 (2) EXPANDED USE OF FORM.—The Secretary

2 of the Treasury shall modify the W–4 form com3 pleted by the new employee to include—

4 (A) whether a child support obligation is

5 owed by the new employee, and if so, to whom

6 such obligation is payable and the amount of

7 such obligation,

8 (B) whether payment of such obligation is

9 to be by income withholding, and

10 (C) whether the new employee has health

11 care insurance available.

12 (3) EMPLOYER WITHHOLDING OBLIGATION.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Inter14 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to employ15 ment taxes) is amended by inserting after chap16 ter 24 the following new chapter:

17 ‘‘CHAPTER 24A—COLLECTION OF CHILD

18 SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS AT SOURCE

19 OF WAGES

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

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

21 SOURCE OF WAGES.

22 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF WITHHOLDING.—Every em23 ployer making payment of wages shall deduct and with-
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1 hold upon such wages a specified child support obligation

2 amount.

3 ‘‘(b) SPECIFIED CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION

4 AMOUNT.—For purposes of this chapter, the specified

5 child support obligation amount with respect to any em6 ployee shall be determined based on information provided

7 by the employee that has been confirmed or corrected by

8 the State enforcing the wage withholding within which the

9 employer is located under procedures described in section

10 466(a)(21) of the Social Security Act.

11 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT.—The employer shall

12 be liable for the payment of the specified child support

13 obligation amount to the payee identified by the employee.

14 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this chapter

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

16 specified child support obligation amount shall be treated

17 as if it were a tax withheld under chapter 24 and rules

18 similar to the rules of such chapter shall apply.

19 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

20 terms ‘wages’, ‘employee’ and ‘‘employer’ shall have the

21 meanings given to such terms by subsections (a), (c), and

22 (d), respectively.’’

23 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of

24 chapters of subtitle C of the Internal Revenue

25 Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the
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1 item relating to chapter 24 the following new

2 item:

‘‘CHAPTER 24A. Child support obligations collected at source of

wages.’’.

3 (4) WITHHELD CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS

4 REPORTED ON W–2 FORMS.—Subsection (a) of sec5 tion 6051 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re6 lating to receipts for employees) is amended by

7 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (8), by strik8 ing the period at the end of paragraph (9) and in9 serting ‘‘, and’’, and by inserting after paragraph

10 (9) the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(10) the total amount of specified child sup12 port obligations withheld under section 3411.’’.

13 (b) STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEM.—Section

14 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by section 213,

15 is amended by inserting after paragraph (20) the following

16 new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(21) Procedures under which the State shall—

18 ‘‘(A) impose monetary penalties on—

19 ‘‘(i) any individual who owes child

20 support obligations who fails to report

21 such obligations on a Federal income tax

22 W–4 form at time of employment;

23 ‘‘(ii) any employer who fails to for24 ward such W–4 form to the State child
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1 support enforcement agency within 10 cal2 endar days of the date of the employment

3 of such individual; and

4 ‘‘(iii) any employer who fails to with5 hold the child support obligation and dis6 burse such obligation to the individual

7 owed such obligation within 10 calendar

8 days of the date of the payroll, using elec9 tronic funds transfer, if possible, unless

10 otherwise notified by such State agency;

11 ‘‘(B) confirm the information provided

12 under subparagraph (A)(ii) or identify child

13 support obligations that have not been reported

14 by the new employee through the use of the

15 Parent Locator System established under sec16 tion 453;

17 ‘‘(C) notify the employer in cases where

18 the employee has not correctly reported on the

19 W–4 using a standard wage withholding notice

20 developed by the Federal Office of Child Sup21 port Enforcement under section 452(a)(14);

22 ‘‘(D) broadcast over the Parent Locator

23 System to other States information based on

24 W–4 form information that has been sent to the

25 State child support enforcement agency; and
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1 ‘‘(E) in the event of a match between the

2 W–4 related information and the abstract of

3 support orders on file in the State registry of

4 child support orders, notify the individual owed

5 a child support obligation or such individual’s

6 designee of such information.

7 If an individual owed a child support obligation who

8 is not utilizing the State program under this part

9 desires the wage withholding services described in

10 this paragraph, such individual shall be required to

11 apply for assistance under the State plan.’’.

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions and amend13 ments made by this section shall take effect on and after

14 January 1, 1998.

15 SEC. 403. DIRECT INCOME WITHHOLDING.

16 (a) STATE LAW.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 466(b) (42 U.S.C.

18 666(b)) is amended by adding at the end the follow19 ing new paragraphs:

20 ‘‘(11) Any individual or entity engaged in com21 merce, as a condition of doing business in the State,

22 shall honor income withholding notices or orders is23 sued by a court or agency of any other State. Serv24 ice of the notice may be by first-class mail, or di25 rectly served on the income source. The individual or
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1 entity served shall immediately provide a copy of the

2 notice to the employee. The individual or entity shall

3 honor the withholding notice or order—

4 ‘‘(A) if such notice or order is regular on

5 its face,

6 ‘‘(B) regardless of the location of the em7 ployee’s workplace.

8 If such notice or order is fully complied with, the in9 dividual or entity may not be held liable for wrongful

10 withholding.

11 ‘‘(12) In any case under this part, if a contest

12 to or refusal to comply with an income withholding

13 notice or order occurs, the State seeking withholding

14 shall send an informational copy of the withholding

15 notice or order to the registry established under sub16 section (a)(14) in the State in which the employee

17 is employed or which is the source of the income.’’.

18 (2) CONTEST HEARING.—Paragraph (4) of sec19 tion 466(b) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)) is amended by add20 ing at the end the following new subparagraph:

21 ‘‘(C) If the employee requests a hearing to con22 test the withholding based on a mistake of fact, that

23 hearing may be held in the State of the income

24 source or the State of the employee’s employment,

25 with a determination made within 45 days of the
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1 mailing of the withholding notice or order to the in2 come source. The State where any hearing is held

3 shall provide the appropriate services in cases en4 forced under the State plan to ensure that the inter5 ests of the individual owed the child support obliga6 tion are represented.’’.

7 (3) EMPLOYER RECORDS.—Paragraph (6) of

8 section 466(b) (42 U.S.C. 666(b)) is amended by

9 adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

10 ‘‘(E) The employer shall maintain records of

11 payroll deductions taken in compliance with this sec12 tion and make such records available upon request

13 to the State or individual enforcing the wage with14 holding order.’’.

15 (b) UNIFORM WITHHOLDING NOTICE.—Section

16 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by section 211,

17 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

18 (12), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (13)

19 and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after paragraph

20 (13) the following new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(14) develop a uniform withholding notice to

22 be used in all income withholding cases, such notice

23 to list the number of children covered by such notice

24 and to be generic to allow for the service of the same

25 notice on subsequent or concurrent sources of in-
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1 come without the necessity of obtaining from the

2 decisionmaker a new, income-source-specific notice.’’.

3 SEC. 404. PRIORITY OF WAGE WITHHOLDING.

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

5 section 403, is amended by inserting after paragraph (14)

6 the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(13) Procedures under which, absent a request

8 by the custodial parent, the presumptive priority of

9 withholding under a child support or income with10 holding order is—

11 ‘‘(A) payments on current support obliga12 tions,

13 ‘‘(B) payments of premiums for health in14 surance for dependent children, and

15 ‘‘(C) payments on past due child support

16 obligations and unreimbursed health-care ex17 penses.

18 In the case of multiple withholding orders affecting

19 the same employee, payments shall be made to each

20 child on a pro rata basis.’’.

21 SEC. 405. DEFINITION OF INCOME SUBJECT TO WITHHOLD22 ING INCLUDES WORKERS’ COMPENSATION.

23 Section 462 (42 U.S.C. 662(f)) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘For purposes of section 459’’

2 and inserting ‘‘For purposes of section 459 and, in

3 the case of subsection (f), this part’’,

4 (2) by striking the period at the end of para5 graph (2) of subsection (f) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and

6 (3) by adding at the end of subsection (f) the

7 following new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(3) workers’ compensation benefits.’’.

9 SEC. 406. CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION ACT AMEND10 MENTS.

11 (a) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAWS.—Section 307 of

12 the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1677) is

13 amended—

14 (1) by striking ‘‘This’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN

15 GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), this’’;

16 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

17 (1);

18 (3) by striking the period at the end of para19 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and

20 (4) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(3) providing a cause of action, either by the

22 State or a private individual, to enforce a Federal or

23 State law related to garnishment for the purpose of

24 securing child support.
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1 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a)(1) does not apply

2 to the laws of any State that prohibit or restrict garnish3 ments for the purpose of securing support for any per4 son.’’.

5 (b) OTHER FORMS OF INCOME.—Title III of the

6 Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.)

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

8 ‘‘SEC. 308. OTHER FORMS OF INCOME.

9 ‘‘This title does not apply to forms of income that

10 are not earnings within the definition contained in section

11 302(a).’’.

12 (c) PRIORITY OF DEBTS.—Title III of the Consumer

13 Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.), as amend14 ed by subsection (b), is further amended by adding at the

15 end the following new section:

16 ‘‘SEC. 309. PRIORITY OF DEBTS.

17 ‘‘If an individual’s disposable earnings are not suffi18 cient to pay—

19 ‘‘(1) a garnishment intended to satisfy a Fed20 eral debt; and

21 ‘‘(2) a garnishment intended to satisfy a debt

22 related to the support of any child,

23 the Federal debt shall be satisfied through garnishment

24 only after the debt related to child support has first been

25 satisfied.’’.
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1 (d) ADDITIONAL INDEBTEDNESS IN ANTI-DIS2 CHARGE SECTION.—Section 304 of the Consumer Credit

3 Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1674) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(c) The prohibition contained in subsection (a) shall

6 apply to any employee whose earnings are subject to gar7 nishment for more than one indebtedness, if the additional

8 indebtedness arises from an order for the support of a

9 child.’’.

10 SEC. 407. ELECTION OF REMEDIES PROHIBITION.

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

12 section 402, is amended by inserting after paragraph (21)

13 the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(22) Procedures under which the doctrine of

15 election of remedies may not be invoked in child sup16 port cases.’’.

17 SEC. 408. OCCUPATIONAL, PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS

18 LICENSES

19 (a) STATE HOLD BASED ON WARRANT OR SUPPORT

20 DELINQUENCY.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as

21 amended by section 407, is amended by inserting after

22 paragraph (22) the following new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(23) Procedures under which the State occu24 pational licensing and regulating departments and
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1 agencies may not issue or renew occupational, pro2 fessional, or business licenses of—

3 ‘‘(A) noncustodial parents who are the sub4 ject of outstanding failure to appear warrants,

5 capiases, and bench warrants related to a child

6 support proceeding that appear on the State’s

7 crime information system, until removed from

8 the system; and

9 ‘‘(B) individuals who are delinquent in

10 their child support obligation, until the pro se

11 obligee, the obligee’s attorney, or a State pros12 ecutor responsible for child support enforcement

13 consents to, or a court that is responsible for

14 the order’s enforcement orders, the release of

15 the hold on the license, or an expedited inquiry

16 and review is completed while such individual is

17 granted a 60-day temporary license.’’.

18 (b) FEDERAL HOLD BASED ON SUPPORT DELIN19 QUENCY.—No Federal agency may issue or renew occupa20 tional, professional, or business licenses of individuals who

21 are delinquent in their child support obligation, until the

22 pro se obligee, the obligee’s attorney or a State prosecutor

23 responsible for child support enforcement consents to, or

24 a court that is responsible for the order’s enforcement or25 ders, the release of the hold on the license, or an expedited
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1 inquiry and review is completed while such individual is

2 granted a 60-day temporary license.

3 (c) WAIVER OF FEDERAL IMMUNITY.—The Federal

4 Government shall waive its sovereign immunity claims for

5 this limited purpose and cooperate fully with local and

6 State officials regarding license issuances or renewals.

7 SEC. 409. DRIVER’S LICENSES.

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

9 section 408, is amended by inserting after paragraph (23)

10 the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(24) Procedures under which the State motor

12 vehicle department may not issue or renew a driver’s

13 license (other than a temporary license of not more

14 than 60-days duration) of any noncustodial parent

15 who is the subject of an outstanding failure to ap16 pear warrant, capias, or bench warrant related to a

17 child support proceeding that appears on the State’s

18 crime information system, until removed from the

19 system.’’.

20 SEC. 410. ATTACHMENT OF BANK ACCOUNTS.

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

22 section 409, is amended by inserting after paragraph (24)

23 the following new paragraph:

24 ‘‘(25) Procedures under which the State shall

25 authorize post-judgment seizure of the bank ac-
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1 counts of delinquent child support obligors without

2 the need to obtain a separate court order for the at3 tachment. The funds shall be frozen pending notice

4 to and an expedited opportunity to be heard for the

5 account holder or holders. If the account holder or

6 holders do not successfully challenge the freeze, the

7 part of the account subject to the freeze up to the

8 amount of the child support debt shall be turned

9 over to the individual or State seeking the execu10 tion.’’.

11 SEC. 411. LOTTERIES, SETTLEMENTS, PAYOUTS, AWARDS,

12 AND FORFEITURES.

13 Paragraph (4) of section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a))

14 is amended by inserting before the period the following:

15 ‘‘, including the following:

16 ‘‘(A) A lottery player’s winnings from a

17 State lottery or a gambler’s winnings in a

18 State-sanctioned or tribal-sanctioned gambling

19 house or casino held by the distributor.

20 ‘‘(B) Insurance settlements or policy pay21 outs held by the insurance carrier or the risk22 holder.

23 ‘‘(C) State or Federal court awards, judg24 ments, or settlements held by either the attor25 ney for the payor or the pro se payor.
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1 ‘‘(D) Property seized and forfeited to the

2 State when an individual has been convicted of

3 a crime involving forfeiture of property.’’.

4 SEC. 412. FRAUDULENT TRANSFER PURSUIT.

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

6 section 410, is amended by inserting after paragraph (25)

7 the following new paragraph:

8 ‘‘(26) Procedures that allow the State to void

9 fraudulent conveyances of property that are made in

10 an attempt to avoid child support obligations.’’.

11 SEC. 413. FULL IRS COLLECTION.

12 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the

13 Congress that the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue

14 Services should instruct the field offices and agents of the

15 Internal Revenue Service to give a high priority to re16 quests for the use of full collection in delinquent child sup17 port cases, and to set uniform standards for full collection

18 to ensure its expeditious and effective implementation.

19 (b) SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE.—The Secretary of the

20 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and

21 Human Services, shall by regulation simplify the full col22 lection process and reduce the amount of child support

23 arrearage needed before an individual may apply for full

24 collection, and shall report to the Congress by January
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1 1, 1995, on the actions taken and the effect of such ac2 tions.

3 SEC. 414. BONDS.

4 Paragraph (6) of section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a))

5 is amended by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(6)’’ and by adding

6 at the end the following new subparagraph:

7 ‘‘(B) In cases not involving absent parents, pro8 cedures which allow the posting of a cash bond, se9 curity deposit, or personal undertaking with the

10 State child enforcement agency if child support pay11 ments are not timely made, with the refund of funds

12 (other than the costs of posting) if the individual

13 who owes a child support obligation makes full pay14 ments for a prescribed period of time.’’.

15 SEC. 415. TAX OFFSET FOR NONAFDC POST-MINOR CHILD.

16 Section 464(c) (42 U.S.C. 664(c)) is amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(1) Except as provided in para18 graph (2), as’’ and inserting ‘‘As’’, and

19 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3).

20 SEC. 416. ATTACHMENT OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE RETIRE21 MENT FUNDS.

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

23 section 412, is amended by inserting after paragraph (26)

24 the following new paragraph:

25 ‘‘(27) Procedures under which—
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1 ‘‘(A) an individual owed a child support

2 obligation may attach lump sum funds invested

3 by the individual who owes such obligation or

4 the employer of such individual in public and

5 private retirement plans, including any funds

6 that are prematurely reachable by such individ7 ual without loss of employment even if the dis8 tribution would cause a penalty or tax to such

9 individual for early withdrawal;

10 ‘‘(B) all early withdrawal penalties or taxes

11 remain the responsibility of the individual who

12 owes such obligation; and

13 ‘‘(C) the attachment is made without the

14 requirement of a separate court order, with no15 tice and an expedited hearing provided if re16 quested.’’.

17 SEC. 417. REPORTING TO CREDIT BUREAUS.

18 Section 466(a)(7)(A) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(7)(A)) is

19 amended by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘2-month’s

20 worth of support’’.

21 SEC. 418. CRIMINAL NONSUPPORT.

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

23 section 416 is amended by inserting after paragraph (27)

24 the following new paragraph:

25 ‘‘(28) Procedures under which—
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1 ‘‘(A) criminal nonsupport penalties may be

2 imposed; and

3 ‘‘(B) the use immunity may be granted to

4 compel testimony in civil child support proceed5 ings where the defendant claims a Fifth

6 Amendment privilege against self-incrimination,

7 and once granted, bars Federal or other State

8 prosecution for criminal nonsupport based on

9 the testimony given in the civil proceeding in

10 which use immunity was granted.’’.

11 SEC. 419. STATUTES OF LIMITATION.

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

13 666(a)), as amended by section 418, is amended by insert14 ing after paragraph (28) the following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(29) Procedures which permit the enforcement

16 of any child support order until at least the child’s

17 30th birthday.’’.

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

19 this section shall apply to orders entered before, on, and

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

21 SEC. 420. INTEREST.

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

23 section 419, is amended by inserting after paragraph (29)

24 the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(30) Procedures under which the State child

2 support enforcement agency is required to assess

3 and collect interest on all child support judgments,

4 at the rate determined for interest on money judg5 ments, and in addition to any late payment fee im6 posed by the State under section 454(21).’’.

7 SEC. 421. HEALTH-CARE ENFORCEMENT.

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

9 section 420, is amended by inserting after paragraph (30)

10 the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(31) Procedures under which—

12 ‘‘(A) a rebuttable presumption is estab13 lished that the individual owed a child support

14 obligation shall have the right to choose the ap15 propriate health care insurance for the children

16 of the parties;

17 ‘‘(B) in making the appropriate order for

18 health care insurance, the court shall consider

19 the availability, coverage, and cost of any pro20 posed insurance plan;

21 ‘‘(C) the insurance premium and

22 noncovered health care expenses are appor23 tioned between the parents pursuant to a for24 mula included in the State’s child support

25 guideline;
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1 ‘‘(D) any insurance premium or sum-cer2 tain health care expense for which the individ3 ual who owes such obligation is responsible

4 shall be included in the child support order;

5 ‘‘(E) the individual owed such obligation

6 under the child support order may act in the

7 place of the insured, including the right to

8 make direct application for insurance, and to

9 make claims and sign claim forms to the same

10 extent as the insured could;

11 ‘‘(F) if the individual who owes such obli12 gation is securing the insurance, such individual

13 shall provide, within 30 days of the order, writ14 ten proof to the individual owed such obligation

15 and the State child support enforcement agency

16 that insurance has been obtained or an applica17 tion made for insurance, and the date the in18 surance coverage is to take effect;

19 ‘‘(G) each welfare benefit plan operating

20 under the laws of the State is required to in21 clude in such plan that—

22 ‘‘(i) the employer or union shall re23 lease to the individual owed such obligation

24 or the State child enforcement agency,

25 upon request, information on the depend-
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1 ent coverage including the name of the in2 surer,

3 ‘‘(ii) the employer or union or insurer

4 shall provide all necessary reimbursement

5 forms to such individual, and

6 ‘‘(iii) the employer or union shall pro7 vide claim forms and enrollment cards to

8 such individual and honor the signature of

9 such individual on the claim form;

10 ‘‘(H) courts shall quantify ‘reasonable cost’

11 in the order providing for medical support; and

12 ‘‘(I) employers located in the State are re13 quired to provide notice, using an address pro14 vided by the State child support enforcement

15 agency, to the custodial parent for children of

16 any termination or change in benefit of an in17 surance plan under which children in the par18 ent’s care are covered.’’.

19 SEC. 422. BANKRUPTCY.

20 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 101 of title 11, United

21 States Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (12)

22 the following new paragraph:

23 ‘‘(12a) ‘debt for child support’ means a debt to

24 a child for maintenance for or support of the child

25 within the meaning of section 523(a)(5).’’.
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1 (b) EXCEPTION FROM AUTOMATIC STAY.—Section

2 362(b) of title 11, United States Code, is amended—

3 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’;

4 (2) by adding ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(B) under subsection (a), of the commence8 ment or continuation of a civil action or administra9 tive proceeding against the debtor—

10 ‘‘(i) to establish parentage;

11 ‘‘(ii) to establish, review, adjust, or modify

12 a judgment or order creating a debt for child

13 support; or

14 ‘‘(iii) to enforce or collect on a judgment or

15 order issued in such an action or proceeding;’’.

16 (c) TREATMENT OF DEBT FOR CHILD SUPPORT IN

17 PROCEEDINGS UNDER CHAPTERS 11, 12, AND 13.—

18 (1) CHAPTER 11.—Section 1123(a) of title 11,

19 United States Code, is amended—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para21 graph (6);

22 (B) by striking the period at the end of

23 paragraph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

24 (C) by adding at the end the following new

25 paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(8) provide for the full payment when due of

2 debts for child support, unless the parent in custody

3 or guardian of the child agrees otherwise.’’.

4 (2) CHAPTER 12.—Section 1222(a) of title 11,

5 United States Code, is amended—

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

8 (B) by striking the period at the end of

9 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

10 (C) by adding at the end the following new

11 paragraph:

12 ‘‘(4) provide for the full payment when due of

13 debts for child support, unless the parent in custody

14 or guardian of the child agrees otherwise.’’.

15 (3) CHAPTER 13.—Section 1322(a) of title 11,

16 United States Code, is amended—

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para18 graph (2);

19 (B) by striking the period at the end of

20 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

21 (C) by adding at the end the following new

22 paragraph:

23 ‘‘(4) provide for the full payment when due of

24 debts for child support, unless the parent in custody

25 or guardian of the child agrees otherwise.’’.
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1 (d) ASSERTION OF CLAIM FOR CHILD SUPPORT.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 5 of

3 title 11, United States Code, is amended by adding

4 at the end the following new section:

5 ‘‘§ 511. Assertion of claim for child support

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A claim for payment of a debt

7 for child support may be asserted by the filing of a claim

8 form that describes the debt.

9 ‘‘(b) FEE.—No fee shall be charged for the filing of

10 a claim described in subsection (a).

11 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPEARANCE.—A claim

12 described in subsection (a) may be made in any court by

13 a person appearing—

14 ‘‘(1) in proper person; or

15 ‘‘(2) through an attorney admitted to practice

16 in any district court, without the attorney’s being re17 quired to meet any admission requirements other

18 than those applicable in the district in which the at19 torney is admitted to practice.’’.

20 (2) BANKRUPTCY RULES.—Pursuant to section

21 2705 of title 28, United States Code, the Bank22 ruptcy Rules shall be amended as necessary to im23 plement section 511 of title 11, United States Code,

24 as added by paragraph (1); until the Bankruptcy

25 Rules are so amended, any provision of the Bank-
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1 ruptcy Rules or the rules of any court that is incon2 sistent with that section is superseded by that sec3 tion.

4 (e) CLARIFICATION OF THE NONDISCHARGEABILITY

5 OF STATE PUBLIC DEBTS AND ASSIGNED CHILD SUP6 PORT BASED ON THE PROVISION OF EXPENDITURES

7 UNDER PARTS A AND E OF TITLE IV OF THE SOCIAL

8 SECURITY ACT.—Section 523 of title 11, United States

9 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new

10 subsection:

11 ‘‘(f) For the purposes of subsection (a)(5), a debt to

12 a child of the debtor for maintenance for or support of

13 the child includes State public debts and assigned child

14 support based on the provision of expenditures under

15 parts A and E of title IV of the Social Security Act (43

16 U.S.C. 401 et seq. and 470 et seq.).’’.

17 SEC. 423. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COOPERATION IN EN18 FORCEMENT OF SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS OF

19 MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES AND

20 OTHER PERSONS ENTITLED TO PAYMENTS

21 BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

22 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CURRENT LOCATOR INFORMA23 TION.—The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regula24 tions providing for each worldwide personnel locator serv-
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1 ice of the Armed Forces and each installation personnel

2 locator service of the Armed Forces—

3 (1) to include the residential address of each

4 member of the Armed Forces listed in such service;

5 (2) in the case of a change of duty station or

6 residential address of a member so listed, to be up7 dated with regard to the residential address of the

8 member within 30 days after the change of duty sta9 tion or residential address; and

10 (3) to make the information regarding the

11 member’s residential address available, on request,

12 to any authorized person (as defined in section

13 453(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(c))

14 for the purposes of part D of title IV of such Act.

15 (b) FACILITATING THE GRANTING OF LEAVE FOR

16 ATTENDANCE AT HEARINGS.—

17 (1) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Secretary

18 of each military department shall prescribe regula19 tions to facilitate the granting of leave to a member

20 of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of that

21 Secretary when necessary for the member to attend

22 a hearing of a Court that is conducted in connection

23 with a civil action—

24 (A) to determine whether the member is a

25 natural parent of a child; or
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1 (B) to determine an obligation of the mem2 ber to provide child support.

3 (2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The regulations may

4 authorize a waiver of the applicability of the regula5 tions to a member of the Armed Forces when—

6 (A) the member is serving in an area of

7 combat operations; or

8 (B) such a waiver is otherwise necessary in

9 the national security interest of the United

10 States.

11 (3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

12 (A) The term ‘‘Court’’ has the meaning

13 given such term in section 1408(a) of title 10,

14 United States Code.

15 (B) The term ‘‘child support’’ has the

16 meaning given such term in section 462 of the

17 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 662).

18 (c) PAYMENT OF MILITARY RETIRED PAY IN COM19 PLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS.—

20 (1) DATE OF CERTIFICATION OF COURT

21 ORDER.—Section 1408 of title 10, United States

22 Code, is amended—

23 (A) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub24 section (i); and
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1 (B) by inserting after subsection (g) the

2 following new subsection (h):

3 ‘‘(h) CERTIFICATION DATE.—It is not necessary that

4 the date of a certification of the authenticity or complete5 ness of a copy of a court order for child support received

6 by the Secretary concerned for the purposes of this section

7 be recent in relation to the date of receipt.’’.

8 (2) PAYMENTS CONSISTENT WITH ASSIGN9 MENTS OF RIGHTS TO STATES.—

10 (A) AUTHORITY.—Subsection (d)(1) of

11 such section is amended by inserting after the

12 first sentence the following: ‘‘In the case of a

13 spouse or former spouse who, pursuant to sec14 tion 402(a)(26) of the Social Security Act (42

15 U.S.C. 602(26)), assigns to a State the rights

16 of the spouse or former spouse to receive sup17 port, the Secretary concerned may make the

18 child support payments referred to in the pre19 ceding sentence to that State in amounts con20 sistent with the assignment of rights.’’.

21 (B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Subsection

22 (c)(2) of such section is amended—

23 (i) by inserting after the first sentence

24 the following: ‘‘The second sentence of sub-
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1 section (d)(1) shall not be construed to

2 create any such right, title, or interest.’’;

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’;

4 and

5 (ii) by designating the last sentence as

6 subparagraph (B).

7 (3) ARREARAGES OWED BY MEMBERS OF THE

8 UNIFORMED SERVICES.—Part D of title IV (42

9 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended by inserting after

10 section 465 the following new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 465A. PAYMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGES

12 OWED BY MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED

13 SERVICES.

14 ‘‘Any authority, requirement, or procedure provided

15 in this part or section 1408 of title 10, United States

16 Code, that applies to the payment of child support owed

17 by a member of the uniformed services (as defined in sec18 tion 101 of title 37, United States Code) shall apply to

19 the payment of child support arrearages as well as to

20 amounts of child support that are currently due.’’.

21 SEC. 424. UIFSA ENDORSEMENT.

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

23 at the end the following new subsection:

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

25 State must have in effect laws which adopt without mate-
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1 rial change by January 1, 1996, the officially approved

2 version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act

3 adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on

4 Uniform State Laws and approved by the American Bar

5 Association House of Delegates on February 9, 1993.’’.

6 TITLE V—COLLECTION AND

7 DISTRIBUTION

8 SEC. 501. PRIORITY OF DISTRIBUTION OF COLLECTIONS.

9 (a) STATE DISTRIBUTION PLAN.—Section 457 (42

10 U.S.C. 657) is amended by adding at the end the following

11 new subsection:

12 ‘‘(e) The amounts collected as support by a State

13 pursuant to a plan approved under this part during any

14 fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1994 (except

15 amounts collected through a tax refund offset), shall (sub16 ject to subsection (d) be distributed as follows:

17 ‘‘(1) To a current month’s child support obliga18 tion.

19 ‘‘(2) After the fulfillment of the current

20 month’s obligation, to debts owed the family (other

21 than obligations under this title); if any right to

22 child support were assigned to the State, then all ar23 rearages that accrued after the child no longer re24 ceived assistance under this title are to be distrib25 uted to the family; States may include any
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1 preassignment family-debt arrearages at this priority

2 level.

3 ‘‘(3) To reimburse the State making the collec4 tion for any assistance payments made to the family

5 (with appropriate reimbursement of the Federal

6 Government to the extent of its participation in the

7 financing).

8 ‘‘(4) To reimburse other States for payments

9 described in paragraph (3) (in the order in which

10 such payments occurred). The collecting State shall

11 continue to enforce the order until all such payments

12 have been reimbursed and to transmit the collections

13 and identifying information to the other State.’’.

14 (b) STUDY AND PILOT PROJECTS.—The Comptroller

15 General of the United States (hereafter in this subsection

16 referred to as the ‘‘Comptroller General’’) shall analyze

17 the existing child support distribution system under sec18 tion 457 of the Social Security Act and authorize pilot

19 projects for the distribution of arrearages in the following

20 order:

21 (1) Application of all support collected first to

22 a current month’s child support obligation.

23 (2) Application of funds collected in excess of

24 the amount of the current month’s obligation to
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1 debts owed the family (other than obligations under

2 this title).

3 (3) Using funds collected in excess of the debts

4 to the family and in excess of the amount of the cur5 rent support obligation, to reimburse the State mak6 ing the collection for any assistance payments made

7 to the family (with appropriate reimbursement of the

8 Federal Government to the extent of its participa9 tion in the financing).

10 (4) Using funds collected in excess of the cur11 rent month’s support obligation after the debt to the

12 family and the collecting State have been satisfied,

13 to reimburse other States for payments described in

14 paragraph (3) (in the order in which such payments

15 occurred). The collecting State shall continue to en16 force the order until all such payments have been re17 imbursed and to transmit the collections and identi18 fying information to the other State.

19 (5) Subject to paragraph (6), the priority of

20 distribution of interest shall reflect the distribution

21 priority for the child support installment or the title

22 IV of the Social Security Act grant on which the in23 terest accrued.

24 (6) A State’s right to retain interest on as25 signed support is limited to the grant amount paid
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1 by that State. All additional interest is to be distrib2 uted to the individual owed such support.

3 The pilot projects shall be awarded to States that allow

4 for the indefinite tolling of the statute of limitations on

5 debts under title IV of the Social Security Act and are

6 not governed by Federal case law that allows for the

7 dischargeability of such debts in bankruptcy. In analyzing

8 each pilot project a cost-benefit analysis, a welfare-medic9 aid-food stamp cost-avoidance analysis, and an analysis of

10 the family impact including a present value dollar valu11 ation of the distribution scheme shall be reported to the

12 Comptroller General. The Comptroller General shall re13 port the results of the study and pilot projects to the Con14 gress.

15 (c) REVISION OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX REFUND

16 OFFSET.—Section 6402 of the Internal Revenue Code of

17 1986 (relating to authority to make credits or refunds)

18 is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘after any other reductions al20 lowed by law (but before’’ in subsection (c) and in21 serting ‘‘before any other reductions allowed by law

22 (and before’’, and

23 (2) by striking ‘‘with respect to past-due sup24 port collected pursuant to an assignment under sec-
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1 tion 402(a)(26) of the Social Security Act’’ in sub2 section (d).

3 (d) FIFTY-DOLLAR DISREGARDED FOR ALL MEANS4 TESTED PROGRAM.—Section 457(b)(1) (42 U.S.C.

5 657(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘under this part or

6 under any other Federal program which determines eligi7 bility for assistance or amount of such assistance based

8 on the income or assets of the applicant for or recipient

9 of such assistance’’ after ‘‘during such month’’.

10 (e) FILL-THE-GAP POLICIES ENCOURAGED.—The

11 Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, upon re12 quest by any State, grant a waiver under section

13 1115(a)(1) of the Social Security Act with respect to the

14 date limitations under section 402(a)(28) of such Act.

15 SEC. 502. RELATIONSHIP OF AFDC TO CSE—LIMITING REIM16 BURSEMENT CLAIMS TO AWARD AMOUNT.

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

18 section 421, is amended by inserting after paragraph (31)

19 the following new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(32) Procedures under which any claims for

21 the child’s portion of the assistance under this title

22 such State may have against a noncustodial parent

23 shall be limited to the amount specified as child sup24 port under a court or administrative order.’’.
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1 SEC. 503. FEES FOR NONAFDC CLIENTS.

2 Clause (ii) of section 454(6)(E) (42 U.S.C.

3 654(6)(E)) shall be amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the State, from any

5 individual other than the custodial parent;’’.

6 SEC. 504. COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT POINTS FOR

7 CHILD SUPPORT.

8 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

9 301, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para10 graph (25), by striking the period at the end of paragraph

11 (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after para12 graph (26) the following new paragraph:

13 ‘‘(27) provide either one central, statewide col14 lection, accounting, and disbursement point for cases

15 under this part or several local or regional collection

16 and disbursement points throughout the State for all

17 cases.’’.

18 TITLE VI—FEDERAL ROLE

19 SEC. 601. PLACEMENT AND ROLE OF THE FEDERAL CHILD

20 SUPPORT AGENCY.

21 Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by

22 section 403 is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘under the direction of a des24 ignee of the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘to be known

25 as the Office of Child Support Enforcement, under

26 the direction of an assistant secretary appointed by
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1 the President with the advice and consent of the

2 Senate’’;

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘using a methodology that re4 flects cost-avoidance as well as cost-recovery’’ after

5 ‘‘the States and the Federal Government’’ in para6 graph (10)(A);

7 (3) by inserting ‘‘, including a separate legal

8 counsel for the Office’’ after ‘‘Enforcement’’ in para9 graph (10)(B);

10 (4) by redesignating subparagraphs (H) and (I)

11 of paragraph (10) as subparagraphs (I) and (J) of

12 such paragraph, respectively, and by inserting after

13 subparagraph (G) of such paragraph the following

14 new subparagraph:

15 ‘‘(H) the budgetary allocation of the $50

16 pass through equally between part A and this

17 part;’’; and

18 (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

19 (13), by striking the period at the end of paragraph

20 (14) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after

21 paragraph (14) the following new paragraph:

22 ‘‘(15) initiate and actively pursue with other

23 Federal agencies, coordinated efforts on Federal leg24 islation.’’.
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1 SEC. 602. TRAINING.

2 (a) FEDERAL TRAINING ASSISTANCE.—Section

3 452(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)(7)) is amended by inserting

4 ‘‘and training’’ after ‘‘technical assistance’’.

5 (b) STATE TRAINING PROGRAM.—Section 454 (42

6 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 504, is amended by

7 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (26), by striking

8 the period at the end of paragraph (27) and inserting ‘‘;

9 and’’, and by inserting after paragraph (27) the following

10 new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(28) provide that the State will develop and

12 implement a training program which provides train13 ing no less than annually to all personnel providing

14 functions under the State plan.’’.

15 (c) REPORT.—Section 452(a)(10) (42 U.S.C.

16 652(a)(10)), as amended by section 601, is amended by

17 redesignating subparagraphs (I) and (J) as subpara18 graphs (J) and (K), respectively, and by inserting after

19 subparagraph (H) the following new subparagraph:

20 ‘‘(I) the training activities at the Federal

21 and State levels, the training audit, and the

22 amount of funds expended on training;’’.

23 SEC. 603. STAFFING.

24 Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by

25 section 601, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of

26 paragraph (14), by striking the period at the end of para-
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1 graph (15) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after

2 paragraph (15) the following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(16) conduct staffing studies for each State

4 child support enforcement program, including each

5 agency and court involved in the child support proc6 ess, and report such results to the Congress and

7 State officials.’’.

8 SEC. 604. FUNDING AND INCENTIVES FOR CHILD SUPPORT

9 AGENCIES.

10 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United

11 States shall study the incentive formula under section 458

12 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 458) and investigate

13 the feasibility, costs, and benefits of the following:

14 (1) Encouraging States to centralize functions

15 at the State level.

16 (2) Abolishing minimum incentives to States as

17 well as the requirement that incentive funds be

18 passed to local child support enforcement agencies.

19 (3) Exploring incentive formula that are based

20 on increases in FFP for States that exceed perform21 ance criteria instead of the present percentage of

22 collections formula.

23 (4) Promoting quality control.

24 (5) Providing financial incentives for the en25 forcement of health-care expenses.
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1 (6) Providing for a Federal incentive formula

2 that would include tying incentive amounts to per3 formance criteria that include total collections as a

4 denominator (not solely the amount of AFDC collec5 tions) and which are not solely based on cost-benefit

6 criteria alone.

7 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the Unit8 ed States shall report the results of the study described

9 in subsection (a) to the Congress not later than 1996.

10 SEC. 605. CHILD SUPPORT DEFINITION.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) is

12 amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section:

14 ‘‘(j) For purposes of this part, the term ‘child sup15 port’ includes periodic and lump sum payments for current

16 and past due economic support, payments of premiums for

17 health insurance for children, payments for or provision

18 of child care, and payments for educational expenses.’’.

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 462(b) (42

20 U.S.C. 662(b)) is amended—

21 (1) by inserting ‘‘and lump sum’’ after ‘‘peri22 odic’’, and

23 (2) by inserting ‘‘child care,’’ after ‘‘clothing,’’.
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1 SEC. 606. AUDITS.

2 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Health and Human

3 Services shall contract for a study of the audit process

4 of the Office of Child Support Enforcement to develop cri5 teria and methodology for auditing State child support en6 forcement agencies established under part D of title IV

7 of the Social Security Act. The study shall be designed

8 to result in improvements to the auditing process that in9 clude—

10 (1) reduction in the resources required to per11 form the audit,

12 (2) simplified procedures for States to follow in

13 obtaining samples,

14 (3) the feasibility of sampling cases for needed

15 action as opposed to the present audit methods that

16 require sampling plans for each audit criteria, and

17 (4) a more timely audit period of review.

18 The study shall also be designed to determine a penalty

19 process that focuses on improving the delivery of child

20 support services and not harming families, specifically a

21 penalty that is not tied to the reduction of funds available

22 to the States to provide payments under the Aid to Fami23 lies with Dependent Children program. Such a plan should

24 include the escrowing of funds withheld as penalties for

25 use by States in a federally approved program improve26 ment.
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1 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary of Health and Human

2 Services shall report the results of the study described in

3 subsection (a) to the Congress not later than 90 days after

4 completion of the study.

5 (c) CONTINUATION OF OCSE’S AUDIT REVIEW.—

6 From the date of the report described in subsection (b),

7 the audit review of the Office of Child Support Enforce8 ment shall be limited to cases open on such date and cases

9 closed within 180 days before such date, unless there is

10 a specific need for a longitudinal review of State agency

11 case handling that includes cases that have been closed

12 for more than 180 days. The criteria for longitudinal re13 views shall be established by regulation by the Secretary

14 of Health and Human Services. The Office of Child Sup15 port Enforcement shall continue to impose timeframes for

16 implementation and audit standards for each mandated

17 function under part D of title IV of the Social Security

18 Act.

19 SEC. 607. CHILD SUPPORT ASSURANCE DEMONSTRATION

20 PROJECTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to encourage States to

22 provide a guaranteed minimum level of child support for

23 every child not receiving such support, the Secretary of

24 Health and Human Services (hereafter in this section re25 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall make grants to not less
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1 than 6 States to conduct demonstration projects for the

2 purpose of establishing or improving a system of assured

3 minimum child support payments in accordance with this

4 section.

5 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—An application for

6 grants under this section shall be submitted by the Gov7 ernor of a State and shall—

8 (1) contain a description of the proposed child

9 support assurance project to be established, imple10 mented, or enhanced using amounts provided under

11 this section, including the specific activities to be un12 dertaken and the agencies that will be involved;

13 (2) specify whether the project will be carried

14 out throughout the State or in limited areas of the

15 State;

16 (3) estimate the number of children who will be

17 eligible for assured minimum child support payments

18 under the project, and the amounts to which such

19 children will be entitled on average as individuals

20 and in the aggregate;

21 (4) describe the child support guidelines and re22 view procedures which are in use in the State and

23 any expected modifications;
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1 (5) contain a commitment by the State to carry

2 out the project during a period of not less than 3

3 fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 1994;

4 (6) specify the extent to which the State has

5 implemented (or will implement during the duration

6 of the project) major enforcement initiatives, such as

7 central registries, centralized administration, auto8 mated computer systems, administrative law sys9 tems, universal wage withholding, updating of or10 ders, access to State data bases, legal procedures for

11 paternity establishment (including in-hospital pater12 nity establishment), and enforcement tools;

13 (7) specify the current relative quality of the

14 State enforcement system as compared to other

15 States, including the ratio of collections to accounts

16 receivables for the immediate past year, the ratio of

17 collections to accounts receivables for all past years,

18 the ratio of collections to administrative expendi19 tures, and the paternity establishment rate;

20 (8) provide assurances that the State perform21 ance meets or exceeds the national median paternity

22 establishment rate (as defined in section 452(g)(2)

23 of the Social Security Act) and provide assurances

24 the State will continue to improve its performance in

25 the number of cases in which—
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1 (A) paternity is established,

2 (B) child support orders are collected, and

3 (C) child support collections are made; and

4 (9) contain such other information as the Sec5 retary may require by regulation.

6 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use amounts pro7 vided under a grant awarded under this section to carry

8 out a child support assurance project designed to provide

9 a minimum monthly child support benefit for each child

10 in the State to the extent that such minimum child sup11 port is not paid in a month by the noncustodial parent.

12 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—(1) A child support assurance

13 project funded under this section shall provide that—

14 (A) the custodial parent is eligible for the as15 sured child support benefit if—

16 (i) such parent establishes paternity and

17 has a child support order established;

18 (ii) more than 1 year has passed since

19 such parent applied, in writing to the State for

20 the establishment of paternity and a child sup21 port order and has complied with the require22 ments of paragraph (3), but neither paternity

23 nor a child support order has been established

24 due to circumstances beyond the control of the

25 parent; or
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1 (iii) with respect to the custodial parent,

2 the danger of physical abuse of such parent is

3 shown;

4 (B) the assured child support benefit shall be

5 paid promptly to the custodial parent at least once

6 a month and shall be offset and reduced to the ex7 tent that the custodial parent receives child support

8 in a month from the noncustodial parent; and

9 (C) in the event that the family as a whole be10 comes ineligible for Aid to Families With Dependent

11 Children under part A of title IV of the Social Secu12 rity Act due to consideration of assured child sup13 port benefits, the continuing eligibility of the care14 taker for Aid to Families With Dependent Children

15 under such title shall be calculated without consider16 ation of the assured child support benefit.

17 (2) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘child’’

18 means an individual who is of such an age, disability, or

19 educational status as to be eligible for child support as

20 provided by the law of the State in which such individual

21 resides.

22 (3) The requirements of this paragraph are as fol23 lows:

24 (A) Provide the name of the alleged father.
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1 (B) Provide sufficient information to verify the

2 identity of the person named, including the present

3 address of the person, the past or present place of

4 employment of the person, the past or present school

5 attended by the person, the name and address of the

6 person’s parents, friends or relatives that can pro7 vide location information for the person, the tele8 phone number of the person, the social security

9 number of the person, the date of birth of the per10 son, or other information that, if reasonable efforts

11 were made by the State, could lead to identify a par12 ticular person to be served with process.

13 (C) Continue to provide all other relevant infor14 mation that the applicant has that may be requested

15 by the State.

16 (D) Appear at required interviews, conference

17 hearings or legal proceedings, if notified in advance

18 and an illness or emergency does not prevent attend19 ance.

20 (E) Submit (along with the child) to genetic

21 tests.

22 (4) For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘cir23 cumstances beyond the control of the parent’’ includes—

24 (A) failure of the State to make reasonable and

25 timely efforts to locate the noncustodial parent,
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1 (B) instances in which the noncustodial parent

2 cannot be located despite the State’s reasonable ef3 forts because the noncustodial parent has dis4 appeared or moved out of the country,

5 (C) instances in which the noncustodial parent

6 has been located but the State has failed to serve

7 such parent with the legal papers,

8 (D) cases in which the State or courts have

9 failed to complete the legal process to establish pa10 ternity or set an award, and

11 (E) other cases in which the State’s or court’s

12 action or inaction has resulted in the failure to es13 tablish paternity or set an award.

14 (e) CONSIDERATION AND PRIORITY OF APPLICA15 TIONS.—The Secretary shall consider all applications re16 ceived from States desiring to conduct demonstration

17 projects under this section and shall approve the 6 applica18 tions which appear likely to contribute significantly to the

19 achievement of the purpose of this section. In selecting

20 States to conduct demonstration projects under this sec21 tion, the Secretary shall consider geographic diversity, va22 riety in types of support guideline models used, and vari23 ation in population of the applicants.

24 (f) EVALUATION AND REPORTS.—(1) Each State

25 that conducts a demonstration project under this section
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1 shall, as a part of such demonstration project, conduct an

2 interim and a final evaluation of the effectiveness of the

3 demonstration project and shall submit an interim and

4 final report to the Secretary concerning the results of the

5 evaluation and any improvements in child support enforce6 ment.

7 (2) The evaluation and report submitted by a State

8 to the Secretary shall analyze and describe (in such a

9 manner as prescribed by the Secretary)—

10 (A) the impact of the child support assurance

11 project on the economic and noneconomic well-being

12 of children and adults in both custodial and

13 noncustodial households;

14 (B) the work force participation rates of both

15 custodial and noncustodial parents as a result of

16 participation in the child support assurance project;

17 (C) the impact of the child support assurance

18 project on Aid to Families With Dependent Children

19 participation rates, grants, and funding levels;

20 (D) the impact of the child support assurance

21 project on paternity establishment;

22 (E) a comparison of enforcement effectiveness

23 in intrastate and interstate cases;

24 (F) administrative policies and laws of the Fed25 eral Government and the State or a political subdivi-
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1 sion of the State, identified by the State as impedi2 ments to the implementation of child support assur3 ance;

4 (G) the measures that the State has taken to

5 implement the project and the lessons learned there6 from by the State; and

7 (H) any other relevant items as the Secretary

8 may require.

9 (g) DURATION.—A demonstration project conducted

10 under this section shall be commenced not later than fiscal

11 year 1994 and shall be conducted for not less than 3 and

12 not more than 5 consecutive fiscal years, except that the

13 Secretary may terminate a project before the end of such

14 period if the Secretary determines that the State conduct15 ing the project is not in substantial compliance with the

16 terms of the application approved by the Secretary under

17 this section.

18 (h) COST SAVINGS RECOVERY.—The Secretary shall

19 develop a methodology to identify any State cost savings

20 realized in connection with the implementation of a child

21 support assurance project conducted under this section.

22 Any such savings realized as a result of the implementa23 tion of a child support assurance project shall be utilized

24 for child support enforcement improvements or expansions

25 and improvements in the Aid to Families With Dependent
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1 Children Program conducted under part A of title IV of

2 the Social Security Act within the participating State, and

3 Federal expenditures for such project within the State

4 shall be reduced in proportion to any such savings.

5 (i) EVALUATION AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Three

6 and 5 years after commencement of the first State child

7 support assurance project, the Secretary shall conduct an

8 evaluation of each such project and submit a report to the

9 Committee on Finance and the Committee on Labor and

10 Human Resources of the Senate, and the Committee on

11 Ways and Means and the Committee on Education and

12 Labor of the House of Representatives concerning the ef13 fectiveness of the child support assurance projects funded

14 under this section. Such report shall analyze the reports

15 received by the Secretary under subsection (f) from each

16 participating State and shall compare the effects of dif17 ferent types of child support guidelines.

18 (j) RESTRICTIONS ON MATCHING AND USE OF

19 FUNDS.—(1) A State conducting a demonstration project

20 under this section shall be required—

21 (A) except as provided in paragraph (2), to pro22 vide not less than 15 percent of the total amounts

23 expended in each calendar year of the project to pay

24 the costs associated with the project funded under

25 this section; and
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1 (B) to maintain its level of expenditures for

2 child support collection, enforcement, and payment

3 at the same level, or at a higher level, than such ex4 penditures were prior to such State’s participation in

5 a demonstration project provided by this section.

6 (2) A State participating in a demonstration project

7 under this section may provide no less than 10 percent

8 of the total amounts expended to pay the costs associated

9 with the project funded under this section in years after

10 the first year such project is conducted in a State if the

11 State meets the improvements specified in subsection

12 (b)(6).

13 (k) TREATMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT BENEFIT.—

14 Any assured child support benefit received by an individ15 ual under this section shall be considered child support

16 for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

17 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

18 are authorized to be appropriated and are appropriated

19 such sums as may be necessary in each of the fiscal years

20 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998, to carry out the pur21 poses of this section.
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1 TITLE VII—STATE ROLE

2 SEC. 701. PROHIBITION OF RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR

3 IV–D SERVICES.

4 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

5 602, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para6 graph (27), by striking the period at the end of paragraph

7 (28) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after para8 graph (28) the following new paragraph:

9 ‘‘(29) provide that an applicant may not be de10 nied services under the plan solely because of the ap11 plicant’s nonresidency in that State.’’.

12 SEC. 702. ADVOCATING FOR CHILDREN’S ECONOMIC SECU13 RITY.

14 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

15 701, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para16 graph (28), by striking the period at the end of paragraph

17 (29) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after para18 graph (29) the following new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(30) provide that the State agency administer20 ing the plan shall advocate to promote the greatest

21 economic security possible for children, within the

22 ability of the individual who owes a child support ob23 ligation to pay such obligation.’’.
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1 SEC. 703. DUTIES OF IV–D AGENCIES.

2 Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section

3 702, is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para4 graph (29), by striking the period at the end of paragraph

5 (30) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by inserting after para6 graph (30) the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(31) provide that the State agency administer8 ing the plan shall provide to all custodial parents—

9 ‘‘(A) a written description of available

10 services and a statement articulating the prior11 ity of distribution and the degree of confiden12 tiality of information;

13 ‘‘(B) a statement that before the agency

14 consents to a dismissal with prejudice or a re15 duction of arrearages, the agency shall provide

16 notice to the last known address at least 30

17 days before dismissal;

18 ‘‘(C) written quarterly reports on case sta19 tus;

20 ‘‘(D) a statement that services under this

21 part are mandatory if an individual is deter22 mined eligible under part A; and

23 ‘‘(E) a statement that while eligibility

24 under part A is being determined, an applicant

25 is eligible for services under this part and all
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1 application fees are deferred pending such de2 termination.’’.

3 SEC. 704. BROADER ACCESS TO SERVICES.

4 It is the sense of the Congress that State and local

5 child support enforcement agencies should provide—

6 (1) offices in easily accessible locations near

7 public transportation,

8 (2) office hours that allow parents to meet with

9 attorneys and caseworkers without taking time off

10 from work, and

11 (3) office environments conducive to discussion

12 of legal and personal matters in privacy (e.g., indi13 vidual interview rooms and child care facilities).

14 SEC. 705. PROCESS FOR CHANGE OF PAYEE IN IV–D CASES.

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

16 section 502, is amended by inserting after paragraph (32)

17 the following new paragraph:

18 ‘‘(33) Procedures under which a change in

19 payee may not require a court hearing or order to

20 take effect and may be done administratively, as

21 long as a statement by an agency official is included

22 in the court or administrative file documenting the

23 change.’’.
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1 TITLE VIII—EFFECTIVE DATE

2 SEC. 801. EFFECTIVE DATE.

3 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amend4 ments made by this Act shall take effect on and after Jan5 uary 1, 1996.

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