H. R. 3694
One Hundred Third Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-four
An Act
To amend title 5, United States Code, to permit the garnishment of an annuity
under the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees’ Retirement
System, if necessary to satisfy a judgment against an annuitant for physically,
sexually, or emotionally abusing a child.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Abuse Accountability
Act’’.
SEC. 2. GARNISHMENT AUTHORITY.
(a) CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—(1) Section 8345(j)(1)
of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(j)(1) Payments under this subchapter which would otherwise
be made to an employee, Member, or annuitant based on service
of that individual shall be paid (in whole or in part) by the Office
to another person if and to the extent expressly provided for in
the terms of—
‘‘(A) any court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separa-
tion, or the terms of any court order or court-approved property
settlement agreement incident to any court decree of divorce,
annulment, or legal separation; or
‘‘(B) any court order or other similar process in the nature
of garnishment for the enforcement of a judgment rendered
against such employee, Member, or annuitant, for physically,
sexually, or emotionally abusing a child.
In the event that the Office is served with more than 1 decree,
order, or other legal process with respect to the same moneys
due or payable to any individual, such moneys shall be available
to satisfy such processes on a first-come, first-served basis, with
any such process being satisfied out of such moneys as remain
after the satisfaction of all such processes which have been pre-
viously served.’’.
(2) Section 8345(j)(2) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by inserting ‘‘other legal process,’’ after ‘‘order,’’.
(3) Section 8345(j)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(3) For the purpose of this subsection—
‘‘(A) the term ‘court’ means any court of any State, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam,
the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands, and any
Indian court;
H. R. 3694—2
‘‘(B) the term ‘judgment rendered for physically, sexually,
or emotionally abusing a child’ means any legal claim perfected
through a final enforceable judgment, which claim is based
in whole or in part upon the physical, sexual, or emotional
abuse of a child, whether or not that abuse is accompanied
by other actionable wrongdoing, such as sexual exploitation
or gross negligence; and
‘‘(C) the term ‘child’ means an individual under 18 years
of age.’’.
(b) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—(1) Section
8467(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘(a) Payments under this chapter which would otherwise be
made to an employee, Member, or annuitant (including an employee,
Member, or annuitant as defined in section 8331) based on service
of that individual shall be paid (in whole or in part) by the Office
or the Executive Director, as the case may be, to another person
if and to the extent expressly provided for in the terms of—
‘‘(1) any court decree of divorce, annulment, or legal separa-
tion, or the terms of any court order or court-approved property
settlement agreement incident to any court decree of divorce,
annulment, or legal separation; or
‘‘(2) any court order or other similar process in the nature
of garnishment for the enforcement of a judgment rendered
against such employee, Member, or annuitant, for physically,
sexually, or emotionally abusing a child.
In the event that the Office or the Executive Director, as the
case may be, is served with more than 1 decree, order, or other
legal process with respect to the same moneys due or payable
to any individual, such moneys shall be available to satisfy such
processes on a first-come, first-served basis, with any such process
being satisfied out of such moneys as remain after the satisfaction
of all such processes which have been previously served.’’.
(2) Section 8467(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by inserting ‘‘other legal process,’’ after ‘‘order,’’.
(3) Section 8467 of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) For the purpose of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘judgment rendered for physically, sexually,
or emotionally abusing a child’ means any legal claim perfected
through a final enforceable judgment, which claim is based
in whole or in part upon the physical, sexual, or emotional
abuse of a child, whether or not that abuse is accompanied
by other actionable wrongdoing, such as sexual exploitation
or gross negligence; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘child’ means an individual under 18 years
of age.’’.
(4) Section 8437(e)(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended
by striking the period at the end of the first sentence and inserting
the following: ‘‘or relating to the enforcement of a judgment for
physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child as provided
under section 8467(a).’’.
H. R. 3694—3
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the
date of enactment of this Act, and shall apply with respect to
any decree, order, or other legal process, or notice of agreement
received by the Office of Personnel Management or the Executive
Director of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board on
or after such date of enactment.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.