I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 95
To improve the interstate enforcement of child support and parentage court
orders, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 4, 1995
Mrs. KENNELLY (for herself, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. ESHOO,
Ms. NORTON, Mr. EVANS, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. FILNER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr.
SHAYS, Mr. KLINK, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, and Mr. NEAL) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means and, in addition, to the Committees on Resources, Government
Reform and Oversight, National Security, International Relations, the
Judiciary, Banking and Financial Services, and House Oversight, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To improve the interstate enforcement of child support and
parentage court orders, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE; TABLE OF CON-
TENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Interstate Child Support Act of 1995’’.
(b) REFERENCE TO SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Except
as otherwise specifically provided, wherever in this Act an
amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to or
repeal of a section or other provision, the reference shall
be considered to be made to that section or other provision
of the Social Security Act.
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
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 functions of Federal Parent Locator Service.
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 access to locate and enforcement services.
Sec. 105. National reporting of new hires and child support information.
Sec. 106. Access to law enforcement records systems.
Sec. 107. Broadcasting of warrants on State networks.
Sec. 108. Case monitoring.
Sec. 109. Access to financial records.
TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT
Sec. 201. Service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed
services in connection with proceedings relating to child sup-
port and parentage obligations.
Sec. 202. Presumed address of obligor and obligee.
Sec. 203. Notice to custodial parents.
Sec. 204. Uniform State rules in parentage and child support cases.
Sec. 205. Fair Credit Reporting Act amendment.
Sec. 206. National Child Support Guidelines Commission.
Sec. 207. Guideline principles.
Sec. 208. Duration of support.
Sec. 209. Evidence.
Sec. 210. Telephonic appearance in interstate cases.
Sec. 211. Uniform terms in orders.
Sec. 212. Social security numbers on marriage licenses, divorce decrees, parent-
age decrees, and birth certificates.
Sec. 213. Administrative subpoena power.
Sec. 214. Legal assistance programs.
Sec. 215. Indian child support.
Sec. 216. Support orders outreach and demonstrations.
TITLE III—PARENTAGE
Sec. 301. Parentage.
TITLE IV—ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 401. Direct wage withholding.
Sec. 402. Priorities in application of withheld wages.
Sec. 403. Additional benefits subject to garnishment.
Sec. 404. Consumer Credit Protection Act amendments.
Sec. 405. Prohibition against use of election of remedies doctrine to prevent col-
lection of child support.
Sec. 406. Hold on occupational, professional, and business licenses.
Sec. 407. Driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations denied to persons failing to
appear in child support cases.
Sec. 408. Liens on certificates of vehicle title.
Sec. 409. Attachment of bank accounts.
Sec. 410. Seizure of lottery winnings, settlements, payouts, awards, and be-
quests, and sale of forfeited property, to pay child support ar-
rearages.
Sec. 411. Fraudulent transfer pursuit.
Sec. 412. Full IRS collection.
Sec. 413. Tax refund offset program expanded to cover non-AFDC post-minor
children.
Sec. 414. Attachment of public and private retirement funds.
Sec. 415. Statutes of limitation.
Sec. 416. Interest.
Sec. 417. Armed Forces cooperation in enforcement of support obligations of
members and former members of the Armed Forces.
Sec. 418. States required to enact the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.
Sec. 419. IRS reconciliation process.
Sec. 420. Denial of passports to noncustodial parents subject to State arrest
warrants in cases of nonpayment of child support.
Sec. 421. Denial of Federal benefits, loans, guarantees, and employment to cer-
tain persons with large child support arrearages.
Sec. 422. States required to order courts to allow assignment of life insurance
benefits to satisfy child support arrearages.
Sec. 423. Interests in jointly held property subject to assignment to satisfy
child support arrearages.
Sec. 424. International child support enforcement.
TITLE V—COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION
Sec. 501. Priorities in distribution of collected child support.
Sec. 502. State claims against noncustodial parent limited to assistance pro-
vided to the child.
Sec. 503. Fees for non-AFDC clients.
Sec. 504. Collection and disbursement points for child support.
Sec. 505. Sense of the Congress that States should encourage parents to use
the State child support agency to collect and process child sup-
port payments.
TITLE VI—FEDERAL ROLE
Sec. 601. Placement and role of the Office of Child Support Enforcement.
Sec. 602. Training.
Sec. 603. Staffing.
Sec. 604. Demonstration projects to test alternative approaches to incentive
funding for State child support programs.
Sec. 605. Child support definition.
Sec. 606. Audits.
Sec. 607. Child support assurance demonstration projects.
Sec. 608. Children’s trust fund.
Sec. 609. Study of reasons for nonpayment of child support.
Sec. 610. Study of effectiveness of administrative processes; report.
Sec. 611. Publication of best child support practices.
Sec. 612. Establishment of permanent child support advisory committee.
TITLE VII—STATE ROLE
Sec. 701. Advocation of children’s economic security.
Sec. 702. Duties of State child support agencies.
Sec. 703. Sense of the Congress regarding quality of and accessibility to child
support services.
Sec. 704. Process for change of payee in IV–D cases.
Sec. 705. Sense of the Congress supporting use of administrative procedures in
child support cases.
Sec. 706. Sense of the Congress supporting establishment of State child sup-
port councils.
TITLE VIII—JOBS FOR UNEMPLOYED NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS
Sec. 801. Parents Fair Share Demonstration Projects.
TITLE IX—EFFECTIVE DATE
Sec. 901. Effective date.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS, DECLARATIONS, AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) there is a large and growing number of
child support and parentage cases annually involving
disputes between parents or presumed parents who
reside in different States;
(2) the laws by which the courts of the various
States determine their authority to establish, en-
force, or modify a child support order, or to deter-
mine parentage are not uniform;
(3) those laws, along with the limits imposed by
a Federal system, on the authority of each State to
take certain actions outside its own boundaries, con-
tribute to—
(A) the pressing problem of parties moving
to avoid jurisdiction;
(B) inequities based solely on choice of
domicile;
(C) disregard of court orders resulting in
massive arrearages nationwide;
(D) excessive relitigation of cases;
(E) the establishment of conflicting orders
by the courts of various States; and
(F) interjurisdiction travel and commu-
nication that is so expensive and time consum-
ing as to disrupt parties’ occupations and com-
mercial activities; and
(4) among the results of these conditions are—
(A) the failure of the courts of such juris-
dictions to give full faith and credit to the judi-
cial proceedings of the other States;
(B) the deprivation of rights of liberty and
property without due process of law;
(C) burdens on commerce among the
States; and
(D) harm to the welfare of children and
their parents and other custodians.
(b) DECLARATION.—Based on the findings stated in
subsection (a), it is necessary to establish national stand-
ards under which the courts of each State will determine
their jurisdiction to establish, enforce, or modify a child
support order, or to determine parentage and the effect
to be given by each State to such determinations by the
courts of other States.
(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) expand the forums available to establish,
enforce, or modify a child support order, or to deter-
mine parentage so that such actions may be heard
in the State that has the strongest interest in the
child’s financial security;
(2) promote and expand the exchange of infor-
mation and other forms of mutual assistance be-
tween States that are concerned with the same child;
(3) facilitate the enforcement of support decrees
among the States;
(4) discourage continuing interstate controver-
sies over child support in the interest of greater fi-
nancial stability and secure family relationships for
the child; and
(5) avoid jurisdictional competition and conflict
between courts in matters relating to the establish-
ment, enforcement, and modification of child support
orders, and to the determination of parentage, which
have resulted in the movement of parties among
States and a low percentage of interstate cases with
support orders, thereby adversely affecting children’s
well-being.
(d) STATE.—For purposes of this section, the term
‘‘State’’ means the several States, the District of Colum-
bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories and
possessions of the United States, and Indian country (as
defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code).
TITLE I—LOCATE AND CASE
TRACKING
SEC. 101. EXPANSION OF FUNCTIONS OF FEDERAL PARENT
LOCATOR SERVICE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘enforcing
support obligations against such parent’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘establishing parentage, establishing, modifying,
and enforcing child support obligations, and enforc-
ing child visitation rights and responsibilities, and
which shall use safeguards to prevent the disclosure
of information in cases that would jeopardize the
safety of the custodial parent or any child of the
custodial parent’’;
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting after the 2nd
sentence the following: ‘‘Information with respect to
an absent parent shall not be disclosed to any person
if the disclosure would jeopardize the safety of the
custodial parent or any child of the custodial parent.
Information with respect to an absent parent shall
not be disclosed to any person (other than the custo-
dial parent) unless the custodial parent has been no-
tified in advance of the disclosure.’’; and
(3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘and such
reasonable fees’’ after ‘‘such documents’’.
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of
the Congress that—
(1) the denial of visitation rights under a child
support order should be treated as irrelevant in any
action brought to enforce the support provisions of
the order; and
(2) the failure to pay child support pursuant to
a child support order should be treated as irrelevant
in any action brought to enforce visitation rights
under the order.
SEC. 102. EXPANSION OF DATA BASES ACCESSED BY PAR-
ENT LOCATOR SYSTEMS.
(a) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR FEDERAL PAR-
ENT LOCATOR SERVICE.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘the most re-
cent address and place of employment’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘the most recent residential address, employer
name and address, and amounts and nature of in-
come and assets’’;
(2) in subsection (c)(3), by striking ‘‘the resi-
dent parent’’ and inserting ‘‘either parent’’; and
(3) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(4) The Secretary of the Treasury shall enter into
an agreement with the Secretary to provide prompt access
by the Secretary (in accordance with this subsection and
section 6103(l)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
to the quarterly estimated Federal income tax returns
filed by individuals with the Internal Revenue Service.’’.
(b) STATE
INFORMATION.—Section 466(a) (42
U.S.C. 666(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph
(10) the following:
‘‘(11) Procedures under which the State child
support enforcement agency shall have automated
on-line 
or 
batch 
access 
(or, 
if 
necessary,
each such order, containing such information
and in such form as the Secretary may pre-
scribe pursuant to section 452(a)(11).’’.
(c) FEDERAL REGISTRY OF ABSTRACTS OF CHILD
SUPPORT ORDERS.—Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C 652(a)),
as amended by section 212(a) of this Act, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (11), by striking the period at
the end of the 2nd sentence and inserting ‘‘; and’’;
and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(12) maintain a registry of all child support
order abstracts received from States pursuant to
section 466(a)(12)(B).’’.
(d) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of
the Congress that the Secretary of Health and Human
Services should investigate, pursuant to section 453(e) of
the Social Security Act, accessing Federal data banks that
are not linked to the Parent Locator Service which are
more than marginally useful in locating absent parents.
SEC. 103. EXPANSION OF ACCESS TO NATIONAL NETWORK
FOR LOCATION OF PARENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 453 (42 U.S.C. 653) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) The Secretary shall expand the Parent Locator
Service to establish a national network based on the com-
prehensive statewide child support enforcement systems
developed by the States, to—
‘‘(1) allow each State to—
‘‘(A) locate any absent parent who owes
child support, for whom a child support obliga-
tion is being established, or for whom an order
for visitation is being enforced, by—
‘‘(i) accessing the records of other
State agencies and sources of locate infor-
mation directly from one computer system
to another; and
‘‘(ii) accessing Federal sources of lo-
cate information in the same fashion;
‘‘(B) access the files of other States to de-
termine whether there are other child support
orders and obtain the details of those orders;
‘‘(C) provide for both on-line and batch
processing of locate requests, with on-line ac-
cess restricted to cases in which the information
is needed immediately (for such reasons as
court appearances) and batch processing used
to ‘troll’ data bases to locate individuals or up-
date information periodically; and
‘‘(D) direct locate requests to individual
States or Federal agencies, broadcast requests
to selected States, or broadcast cases to all
States when there is no indication of the source
of needed information;
‘‘(2) provide for a maximum of 48-hour turn-
around time for information to be broadcast and re-
turned to a requesting State;
‘‘(3) provide ready access to courts of the infor-
mation on the network by location of a computer
terminal in each court; and
‘‘(4) access the registry of child support orders
for public and private cases maintained at the State
level by the State agencies as described in section
466(a)(12).’’.
(b) EXPANDED STATE INTERACTION WITH NA-
TIONAL
NETWORK.—Section 
454(16) 
(42 
U.S.C.
654(16)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and (E)’’ and inserting ‘‘(E)’’;
and
(2) by striking ‘‘enforcement;’’ and inserting
‘‘enforcement, and (F) to provide access to the na-
tional network developed pursuant to section
453(g);’’.
(c) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that the national network established under sec-
tion 453(g) of the Social Security Act should be used to
access State records only through the agency that admin-
isters the State plan approved under part D of title IV
of such Act.
SEC. 104. PRIVATE ACCESS TO LOCATE AND ENFORCEMENT
SERVICES.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 102(b) of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (12) the following:
‘‘(13)(A) Procedures under which private attor-
neys and pro se obligees must be given access to
State locate resources and through enforcement
techniques of the State child support enforcement
agency, for the purpose of establishing, modifying,
and enforcing child support, visitation, and parent-
age orders, in accordance with safeguards estab-
lished—
‘‘(i) to provide the custodial parent ad-
vance notice of any release of information with
respect to a noncustodial parent; and
‘‘(ii) to prevent release of information with
respect to a noncustodial parent if the release
may jeopardize the safety of the noncustodial
parent, the custodial parent, or any child of ei-
ther parent; and
‘‘(B) The procedures described in subparagraph
(A) must require the State—
‘‘(i) to develop and publish guidelines im-
plementing the safeguards described in sub-
paragraph (A); and
‘‘(ii) if the State provides for reasonable
fees for the access referred to in subparagraph
(A), to establish such fees in accordance with
guidelines developed and published by the State
that set schedules for such fees.’’.
SEC. 105. NATIONAL REPORTING OF NEW HIRES AND CHILD
SUPPORT INFORMATION.
(a) FEDERAL IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor,
shall establish a system of reporting of new employ-
ees by requiring employers to provide a copy of every
new employee’s W–4 form to the employment secu-
rity agency of the State in which the employment is
located.
(2) EXPANDED USE OF FORM.—The Secretary
of the Treasury shall modify the W–4 form to be
completed by a new employee to enable the employee
to indicate on the form—
(A) whether the employee owes child sup-
port, and if so—
(i) to whom the support is payable
and the amount of the support payable;
and
(ii) whether the support is to be paid
through wage withholding; and
(B) whether health care insurance is avail-
able to the new employee, and, if so, whether
the new employee has obtained such insurance
for the dependent children of the new employee.
(3) EMPLOYER WITHHOLDING OBLIGATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the Inter-
nal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to employ-
ment taxes) is amended by inserting after chap-
ter 24 the following new chapter:
‘‘CHAPTER 24A—COLLECTION OF CHILD
SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS AT SOURCE
ON WAGES
‘‘Sec. 3411. Child support obligations collected at source.
‘‘SEC. 3411. CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS COLLECTED AT
SOURCE.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF WITHHOLDING.—Every em-
ployer making payment of wages shall deduct and with-
hold upon such wages a specified child support obligation
amount.
‘‘(b) SPECIFIED
CHILD
SUPPORT
OBLIGATION
AMOUNT.—For purposes of this chapter, the specified
child support obligation amount with respect to any em-
ployee shall be determined based on—
‘‘(1) information provided by the employee, or,
if an agency of the State in which the employer is
located notifies the employer that such information
is inaccurate, information provided by the agency;
and
‘‘(2) information contained in any wage with-
holding order received by the employer from any
State.
‘‘(c) LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT.—The employer shall
be liable for the payment of the specified child support
obligation amount to the individual entitled to such pay-
ment.
‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of this chapter
(and so much of subtitle F as relates to this chapter), any
specified child support obligation amount shall be treated
as if it were a tax withheld under chapter 24 and rules
similar to the rules of such chapter shall apply.’’
(B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of
chapters of subtitle C of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the
item relating to chapter 24 the following new
item:
‘‘CHAPTER 24A. Child support obligations collected at source.’’
(4) WITHHELD CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS
REPORTED ON W–2 FORMS.—Subsection (a) of sec-
tion 6051 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (re-
lating to receipts for employees) is amended by
striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (8), by strik-
ing the period at the end of paragraph (9) and in-
serting ‘‘, and’’, and by inserting after paragraph
(9) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(10) the total amount of specified child sup-
port obligations withheld under section 3411.’’
(b) STATE IMPLEMENTATION OF SYSTEM.—Section
466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by section 104
of this Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (13)
the following:
‘‘(14) Procedures under which the State shall—
‘‘(A) use the Parent Locator Service estab-
lished under section 453 to access information
in the national registry of child support orders
maintained pursuant to section 452(a)(12) with
respect to new employee, compare such infor-
mation with the information reported on W–4
forms of new employees, and identify child sup-
port obligations not reported on such forms;
‘‘(B) if child support information from the
W–4 form of a new employee agrees with infor-
mation with respect to the new employee in the
national registry of child support orders main-
tained pursuant to section 452(a)(12), notify
the individual owed the support (or the individ-
ual’s designee) of such information;
‘‘(C) notify an employer of any new em-
ployee who has not reported on the W–4 form
a child support obligation of the new employee,
using the wage withholding order developed
under section 452(a)(14);
‘‘(D) impose monetary penalties on—
‘‘(i) any individual who owes child
support and fails to report the obligation
to provide the support on a Federal income
tax W–4 form at time of employment;
‘‘(ii) any employer who fails to for-
ward a W–4 form for a new employee to
the State employment security agency
within 10 calendar days of the date of the
first payroll from which the new employee
is paid; and
‘‘(iii) any employer who fails to with-
hold from the pay of any new employee
who reports a child support obligation on
a W–4 form an amount equal to the sup-
port owed, or fails to pay to the individual
owed the obligation the amount so with-
held, within 10 calendar days of the date
of the payroll, using electronic funds trans-
fer, if possible, unless otherwise notified by
a State agency;
‘‘(E) provide the services described in this
paragraph to any individual owed child support
who applies for assistance under the State plan;
and
‘‘(F) on request of another State, broad-
cast over the Parent Locator Service to such
other State child support information from W–
4 forms that have been sent to the State em-
ployment security agency.’’.
SEC. 106. ACCESS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS SYS-
TEMS.
(a) ACCESS
BY CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES.—The head of the National Criminal Informa-
tion Center, the head of the National Law Enforcement
Telecommunications Network, and the head of any other
national or regional system for tracking individuals shall
each—
(1) allow Federal, State, and local child support
enforcement agencies access to the information of
the system for purposes of establishing paternity or
a child support obligation of an individual tracked
by the system, using appropriate safeguards to pre-
vent improper release of such information; and
(2) if an access code is required to gain such
access, provide the access code to each child support
enforcement agency that applies for the code.
(b) LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDING.—A non-Federal
system for tracking individuals that fails to comply with
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall not be eligi-
ble to receive Federal funding for the system.
SEC. 107. BROADCASTING OF WARRANTS ON STATE NET-
WORKS.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 105 of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (14) the following:
‘‘(15) Procedures under which the State—
‘‘(A) shall broadcast on any State or local
crime information system each failure-to-appear
warrant, capias, and bench warrant issued by a
State court in any proceeding related to child
support; and
‘‘(B) shall, in a criminal case, remit to any
individual to whom the defendant owes child
support any security posted by or on behalf of
the defendant and forfeited, to the extent of
any arrearage in the payment of the support.’’.
SEC. 108. CASE MONITORING.
Section 454(16)(E) (42 U.S.C. 654(16)(E)) is
amended by inserting ‘‘, not less frequently that once
every 3 years’’ before the semicolon.
SEC. 109. ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RECORDS.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 105 of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (15) the following:
‘‘(16) Procedures under which the State may
obtain access to financial records maintained with
respect to any person by any financial institution
doing business in the State, for the purpose of estab-
lishing or enforcing a child support obligation of the
person.’’.
TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT
SEC. 201. SERVICE OF PROCESS ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERVICES IN
CONNECTION WITH PROCEEDINGS RELATING
TO CHILD SUPPORT AND PARENTAGE OBLI-
GATIONS.
Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–670) is amended
by inserting after section 460 the following:
‘‘SEC. 460A. SERVICE OF PROCESS ON FEDERAL EMPLOY-
EES AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED SERV-
ICES IN CONNECTION WITH PROCEEDINGS
RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT AND PARENT-
AGE OBLIGATIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of each Government
agency shall, in accordance with applicable regulations
under subsection (b), designate an agent for receipt of
service of process, for any Federal employee or member
of the Armed Forces serving in or under such agency, in
connection with an action, brought in a court of competent
jurisdiction within any State, territory, or possession of
the United States, for obtaining a child support order or
for establishing parentage.
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Regulations governing the im-
plementation of this section with respect to the executive,
legislative, or judicial branch of the Government shall be
promulgated by the authority or authorities responsible
for promulgating regulations under section 461 with re-
spect to the branch of Government involved.
‘‘(c) INTERPRETIVE RULE.—This section shall not be
construed to prevent any otherwise eligible individual from
requesting or being granted a stay or continuance in any
judicial proceeding, including a judicial proceeding under
the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940 (50
U.S.C. App. 501 et seq.).
‘‘(d) GOVERNMENT AGENCY DEFINED.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘Government agency’ means
each agency of the Federal Government, including—
‘‘(1) an Executive agency (as defined by section
105 of title 5, United States Code);
‘‘(2) the Department of Defense, to the extent
that any Federal employee serving in or under that
agency or any member of the Armed Services is in-
volved;
‘‘(3) the United States Postal Service and the
Postal Rate Commission;
‘‘(4) the government of the District of Colum-
bia;
‘‘(5) an agency within the legislative or judicial
branch of the Government; and
‘‘(6) an advisory committee to which the Fed-
eral Advisory Committee Act applies.’’.
SEC. 202. PRESUMED ADDRESS OF OBLIGOR AND OBLIGEE.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 107 of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (16) the following:
‘‘(17) Procedures under which the State shall—
‘‘(A) require the court or administrative
agency with authority to issue the final order in
a child support or parentage case to require
each party subject to the order to file with the
court or administrative agency, on or before the
date the order is issued—
‘‘(i) the party’s residential address or
addresses;
‘‘(ii) the party’s mailing address or
addresses;
‘‘(iii) the party’s home telephone num-
ber or numbers;
‘‘(iv) the party’s driver’s license num-
ber;
‘‘(v) the party’s social security ac-
count number;
‘‘(vi) the name of each employer of
the party;
‘‘(vii) the addresses of each place of
employment of the party; and
‘‘(viii) the party’s work telephone
number or numbers;
‘‘(B) require the court or administrative
agency in any action related to child support to
presume, for the purpose of providing sufficient
notice (other than the initial notice in an action
to establish parentage or a child support order),
that the noncustodial parent resides at the last
residential address given by the noncustodial
parent to the court or agency, or a more recent
address provided in good faith by the parent
owed the support obligation; and
‘‘(C) ensure that information concerning
the location of a custodial parent or a child of
the custodial parent is not released to a
noncustodial parent if a court order has been
issued against the noncustodial parent for the
physical protection of the custodial parent or
the child.’’.
SEC. 203. NOTICE TO CUSTODIAL PARENTS.
Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(23);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (24) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (24) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(25) provide that the agency administering the
plan—
‘‘(A) shall make reasonable attempts to
provide timely notice to any individual owed
child support of any proceeding to establish,
modify, or enforce the support obligation;
‘‘(B) shall not delay any such proceeding
solely due to the failure of the custodial parent
to appear; and
‘‘(C) shall, within 14 days after the date
an order that establishes, modifies, or enforces
a child support obligation is issued, provide the
custodial parent of the child with a copy of the
order.’’.
SEC. 204. UNIFORM STATE RULES IN PARENTAGE AND
CHILD SUPPORT CASES.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 202 of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (17) the following:
‘‘(18) Procedures under which, in the State—
‘‘(A) a party may, in a single cause of ac-
tion, seek judicial determination of the parent-
age of a child and judicial establishment of a
child support order with respect to the child;
‘‘(B) the venue for determination of par-
entage of a child shall be in the county of resi-
dence of the child;
‘‘(C) a court or agency that issues a par-
entage or child support order shall have con-
tinuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the order
until the court or agency transfers such juris-
diction to the appropriate court or agency in
the county of residence of the child, or the par-
ties consent to be bound by another court or
agency in the State that has subject matter ju-
risdiction;
‘‘(D) proceedings to enforce or modify of a
child support order may be transferred to the
city, county, or district in which the child re-
sides without any requirement that the order be
filed or the defendant be served again;
‘‘(E) a court or agency that hears a par-
entage or child support cases shall have state-
wide jurisdiction over the parties to the case,
and the parentage and child support orders is-
sued by the court or agency shall have state-
wide effect for enforcement purposes; and
‘‘(F) denial of visitation rights may not be
used as a defense in an action to enforce an ob-
ligation to provide child support and the failure
to provide child support may not be used as a
defense in an action to enforce visitation
rights.’’.
SEC. 205. FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT AMENDMENT.
Section 604 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act
(15 U.S.C. 1681b) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(4) To a State agency administering a State plan
under section 454 of the Social Security Act, for use to
establish or modify a child support award.’’.
SEC. 206. NATIONAL CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES COMMIS-
SION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a
commission to be known as the ‘‘National Child Support
Guidelines Commission’’ (in this section referred to as the
‘‘Commission’’).
(b) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Commission shall con-
vene a conference to study the desirability of a national
child support guideline, and if such guideline is advisable,
the Commission shall develop for congressional consider-
ation a national child support guideline that is based on
the conference’s study of various guideline models, the de-
ficiencies of such models, and any needed improvements,
taking into consideration differences in the cost of living
in different areas of the United States. In developing such
guideline, the Commission shall consider indexing the
guideline to the cost of living, specifying minimum (rather
than maximum) amounts, or using other methodologies to
reflect such differences.
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) NUMBER; APPOINTMENT.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall
be composed of 9 individuals appointed jointly
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services
and the Congress, not later than March 15,
1996.
(B) 
QUALIFICATIONS
OF
MEMBERS.—
Members of the Commission shall be appointed
from among those who are able to provide ex-
pertise and experience in the evaluation and de-
velopment of child support guidelines.
(2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—Each member shall be
appointed for a term of 2 years. A vacancy in the
Commission shall be filled in the manner in which
the original appointment was made.
(d) COMMISSION POWERS, COMPENSATION, ACCESS
TO INFORMATION, AND SUPERVISION.—The first sentence
of subparagraph (C), the first and third sentences of sub-
paragraph (D), subparagraph (F) (except with respect to
the conduct of medical studies), clauses (ii) and (iii) of
subparagraph (G), and subparagraph (H) of section
1886(e)(6) of the Social Security Act shall apply to the
Commission in the same manner in which such provisions
apply to the Prospective Payment Assessment Commis-
sion.
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the ap-
pointment of members, the Commission shall submit to
the President, the Committee on Ways and Means of the
House of Representatives, and the Committee on Finance
of the Senate, a report on the results of the study de-
scribed in subsection (b) and the final assessment by the
Commission of issues relating to a national child support
guideline.
(f) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate
upon the submission of the report described in subsection
(e).
SEC. 207. GUIDELINE PRINCIPLES.
Section 467 (42 U.S.C. 667) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(d) The guidelines established pursuant to sub-
section (a) shall be based on, and applied in accordance
with, the following principles:
‘‘(1) A change in the child support amount re-
sulting from the application of the guidelines since
the entry of the last support order is sufficient rea-
son for modification of a child support obligation
without the necessity of showing any other change in
circumstance. The State may set a minimum time-
frame between reviews of modifications based on the
guidelines, absent other changes in circumstances.
‘‘(2) Not later than January 1, 1997, each
State shall establish automatic child support order
review procedures based on the automated calcula-
tion of the amount of support to which a child is en-
titled, to ensure that the amount is sufficient to
meet the needs of the child, and takes into account
any changes in the income of the parents of the
child.
‘‘(3) The State shall advise any custodial parent
who is not receiving aid under a State plan approved
under part A of the review of a child support award
made with respect to a child of the custodial parent,
of any proposed modification in the amount of the
award based on the review, and of the right of the
custodial parent to decline to seek the modification.
‘‘(e) The guidelines established pursuant to sub-
section (a) may consider the treatment of the following:
‘‘(1) Work-related or job-training-related child
care expenses of either parent for the care of chil-
dren of either parent.
‘‘(2) Health insurance and related uninsured
health care expenses, and school expenses incurred
on behalf of the child for whom the child support
order is sought.
‘‘(3) Multiple family child raising obligations
other than those for the child for whom the child
support order is sought.
‘‘(f) Each State must publish the guidelines estab-
lished pursuant to subsection (a).’’.
SEC. 208. DURATION OF SUPPORT.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C.
666(a)), as amended by section 205 of this Act, is amend-
ed by inserting after paragraph (17) the following:
‘‘(18) Procedures under which the State—
‘‘(A) imposes on 1 or both parents of a
child an obligation to continue to provide sup-
port for the child until not earlier than the later
of the date the child attains 18 years of age or
the date the child is graduated from or is no
longer enrolled in secondary school or its equiv-
alent, unless the child is married or is otherwise
emancipated by a court of competent jurisdic-
tion;
‘‘(B) provides that courts with jurisdiction
over child support cases may, in accordance
with criteria established by the State, order—
‘‘(i) child support, payable to an adult
child, at least up to the age of 22 years for
a child enrolled in an accredited post-
secondary or vocational school or college
who is a student in good standing; and
‘‘(ii) either or both parents to pay for
postsecondary school support based on
each parent’s financial ability to pay;
‘‘(C) provides for child support to continue
beyond the child’s minority if the child is dis-
abled, unable to be self-supportive, and the dis-
ability arose during the child’s minority; and
‘‘(D) provides that courts should consider
the effect of child support received on means-
tested governmental benefits and whether to
credit governmental benefits against a support
award amount.’’.
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of
the Congress that, if children receive child support while
obtaining postsecondary education, they will attain higher
levels of education affording them a greater chance to
break the welfare cycle.
SEC. 209. EVIDENCE.
(a) NATIONAL SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM.—Section
452(a) (42 U.S.C. 652(a)), as amended by sections 210(a)
and 102(c) of this Act, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(11);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (12) and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(13) develop and distribute a national sub-
poena duces tecum, which shall be designed to be
used by any State or local child support agency or
child support litigant to reach income information on
the prior 12 months of income or on accumulated in-
come to date of any recipient of income;
‘‘(14) establish a simplified certification process
and admissibility procedure for out-of-State docu-
ments in child support or parentage cases.’’.
(b) STATE
LAWS.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C.
666(a)), as amended by section 208 of this Act, is amend-
ed by inserting after paragraph (19) the following:
‘‘(20) Procedures under which—
‘‘(A) in a child support case in the State—
‘‘(i) the subpoena duces tecum devel-
oped pursuant to section 452(a)(13) shall
be used, if necessary, to reach income in-
formation on the prior 12 months of in-
come or on accumulated income to date of
any individual;
‘‘(ii) an entity that is a source of in-
come for the individual may comply with
such a subpoena by timely mailing the in-
formation described in the subpoena to an
address supplied in the subpoena;
‘‘(iii) the State shall permit such a
subpoena to be enforced against such an
entity in the State, with the entity bearing
the burden of justifying any failure to com-
ply with the subpoena; and
‘‘(iv) information supplied by an en-
tity in response to such a subpoena shall
be admissible to prove the truth of the in-
formation;
‘‘(B) a certified copy of an out-of-State
order, decree, or judgment related to child sup-
port or parentage shall be admitted once of-
fered in the courts of the State if the order, de-
cree, or judgment is regular on its face;
‘‘(C) electronically transmitted information
and documents faxed to a court or administra-
tive agency that contain information related to
the amount of a child support obligation and
the terms of the order imposing the obligation
may be offered as evidence of the amount and
the 
terms, 
and 
electronically 
transmitted
records of payment of a child support agency
that are regular on their face shall be admissi-
ble as evidence in a child support or parentage
proceeding to prove the truth of the matter as-
serted in the records;
‘‘(D) out-of-State depositions, interrog-
atories, admissions of fact, and other discovery
documents may be offered and shall be admit-
ted in a child support or parentage proceeding
to prove the truth of the matters asserted in
the documents if regular on their face and if
such documents comply with the appropriate
discovery rule or law of the State where the dis-
covery was conducted; and
‘‘(E) written, videotaped, or audiotaped
evidence related to a child support or parentage
proceeding may be offered and shall be admit-
ted to prove the truth of the matter asserted
therein.’’.
SEC. 210. TELEPHONIC APPEARANCE IN INTERSTATE
CASES.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 209(b) of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (20) the following:
‘‘(21) Procedures under which the parties to an
interstate parentage or child support administrative
or judicial proceeding may appear and participate by
telephonic means in lieu of appearing personally.’’.
SEC. 211. UNIFORM TERMS IN ORDERS.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Section 452(a) (42 U.S.C.
652(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and’’ after
the semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at
the end of the 2nd sentence and inserting ‘‘; and’’;
and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(11) not later than 12 months after the date
of the enactment of this paragraph, develop, in con-
junction with State executive and judicial organiza-
tions, a uniform abstract of a child support order,
for use by all State courts to record, with respect to
each child support order in the child support order
registry established under section 466(a)(12)—
‘‘(A) the date support payments are to
begin under the order;
‘‘(B) the circumstances upon which sup-
port payments are to end under the order;
‘‘(C) the amount of child support payable
pursuant to the order expressed as a sum cer-
tain to be paid on a monthly basis, arrearages
expressed as a sum certain as of a certain date,
and any payback schedule for the arrearages;
‘‘(D) whether the order awards support in
a lump sum (nonallocated) or per child;
‘‘(E) if the award is in a lump sum, the
event causing a change in the support award
and the amount of any change;
‘‘(F) other expenses covered by the order;
‘‘(G) the names of the parents subject to
the order;
‘‘(H) the social security account numbers
of the parents;
‘‘(I) the name, date of birth, and social se-
curity account number (if any) of each child
covered by the order;
‘‘(J) the identification (FIPS code, name,
and address) of the court that issued the order;
‘‘(K) any information on health care sup-
port required by the order; and
‘‘(L) the party to contact if additional in-
formation is obtained.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act.
SEC. 212. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON MARRIAGE LI-
CENSES, DIVORCE DECREES, PARENTAGE DE-
CREES, AND BIRTH CERTIFICATES.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 211 of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (21) the following:
‘‘(22) Procedures under which the social secu-
rity account number (if any) of—
‘‘(A) each individual applying for a mar-
riage license is to be listed by the individual’s
name on the license;
‘‘(B) each party granted a divorce decree is
to be listed by the party’s name on the decree,
if any party to the decree is pregnant or a par-
ent; and
‘‘(C) each individual determined to be a
parent of a child in an action to establish par-
entage is to be listed by the individual’s name
on the decree containing the determination; and
‘‘(D) each parent of a child is to be listed
by the parent’s name on the child’s birth certifi-
cate.’’.
SEC. 213. ADMINISTRATIVE SUBPOENA POWER.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by
section 214 of this Act, is amended by inserting after
paragraph (22) the following:
‘‘(23) Procedures under which the State child
support enforcement agency may issue a subpoena
which—
‘‘(A) requires the individual served to
produce and deliver documents to, or to appear
at, a court or administrative agency on a cer-
tain date; and
‘‘(B) penalizes an individual for failing to
comply with the subpoena.’’.
SEC. 214. LEGAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
(a) USE OF FUNDS FOR CHILD SUPPORT CASES.—
The Legal Services Corporation shall ensure that at least
10 percent of the funds it provides to each recipient in
a fiscal year be used to assist eligible clients to obtain child
support to which they may be entitled.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
(1) the term ‘‘child support’’ means a payment
of money or provision of a benefit for the support
of a child, and includes periodic and lump-sum pay-
ments for current and past due economic support,
payments of premiums for health insurance for chil-
dren, payments for or provision of child care, and
payments for educational expenses; and
(2) the terms ‘‘eligible client’’ and ‘‘recipient’’
have the meanings given those terms in section 1002
of the Legal Services Corporation Act (42 U.S.C.
2996a).
SEC. 215. INDIAN CHILD SUPPORT.
(a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that—
(1) children residing on Indian reservations be
accorded the same right of support that is currently
afforded off-reservation children; and
(2) State and tribal governments should, to the
greatest extent possible, ensure that jurisdictional is-
sues do not prevent any Indian child, on- or off-res-
ervation, from receiving support to which the child
is entitled.
(b) FULL FAITH
AND CREDIT
OF SUPPORT OR-
DERS.—The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C.
1901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘TITLE IV—INDIAN CHILD
SUPPORT
‘‘SEC. 401. FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.
‘‘(a) Every Indian tribe shall give full faith and credit
to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of the
United States, every State, and every territory or posses-
sion of the United States applicable to Indian child sup-
port proceedings to the same extent that the Indian tribe
gives full faith and credit to public acts, records, and judi-
cial proceedings of any other entity pursuant to section
101(d) of this Act.
‘‘(b) The United States, every State, every territory
or possession of the United States, and every Indian tribe
shall give full faith and credit to the public acts, records,
and judicial proceedings of any Indian tribe applicable to
Indian child support proceedings to the same extent that
such entities give full faith and credit to public acts,
records, and judicial proceedings of any other entity.’’.
SEC. 216. SUPPORT ORDERS OUTREACH AND DEMONSTRA-
TIONS.
(a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the
Congress that States should work with community-based
organizations with ties to underserved populations to de-
velop better methods to reach and work with such popu-
lations to encourage the filing of more support orders.
(b) STATES REQUIRED TO CONDUCT SURVEYS OF
UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Part D of title IV (42
U.S.C. 651–669) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘SEC. 470. STATE SURVEYS OF UNDERSERVED POPU-
LATIONS.
‘‘Each State, as a condition for having a State plan
approved under this part, must conduct surveys to identify
populations underserved by child support services, and de-
velop outreach programs to serve such populations in
places such as child care centers, parenting classes, pre-
natal classes, and unemployment offices.’’.
(2) FEDERAL FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION.—Sec-
tion 455(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)) is amended—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking
‘‘and’’ at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (C) by adding ‘‘and’’
at the end; and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C)
the following:
‘‘(D) equal to 90 percent of so much of the
sums expended during such quarter as are attrib-
utable to operating programs described in section
470,’’.
(c) MATERIALS TO ASSIST PERSONS WITH LOW LIT-
ERACY LEVELS.—The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall fund demonstration projects and technical
assistance grants to States to develop applications and in-
formational materials directed to individuals with low lit-
eracy levels or difficulties reading English.
(d) REVIEW OF WRITTEN MATERIALS.—The Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall review all writ-
ten materials provided to persons served by the Office of
Child Support Enforcement to ensure that any require-
ment contained in the materials is presented clearly and
in a manner that is easily understandable by such persons.
(e) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TO IMPROVE CO-
ORDINATION BETWEEN CERTAIN STATE PUBLIC ASSIST-
ANCE AGENCIES.—The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall make grants to States to conduct dem-
onstration projects to test various methods for improving
the coordination of services and case processing between
the State agency referred to in section 402(a)(3) of the
Social Security Act and the State agency referred to in
section 454(3) of such Act.
(f) REFERRAL OF CUSTODIAL PARENTS TO COMMU-
NITY RESOURCES TO COMBAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—
Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by section 203
of this Act, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(24);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (25) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(26) provide that the agency administering the
plan—
‘‘(A) may represent custodial parents in
custody cases; and
‘‘(B) must refer to appropriate community
resources custodial parents against whom or
whose children violence has been threatened as
a result of cooperation with a State agency in
establishing or enforcing a child support order,
in accordance with procedures developed by the
State to reduce the risk of violence, such as ex-
empting the custodial parent from any require-
ment of face-to-face meetings with persons
other than from the agency.’’.
TITLE III—PARENTAGE
SEC. 301. PARENTAGE.
(a) STATE PLAN.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C.
654), as amended by section 216(f) of this Act, is
amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (25);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (26) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (26) the
following:
‘‘(27) in order to encourage voluntary paternity
acknowledgement, provide for—
‘‘(A) the development and distribution of
material at schools, hospitals (not later than 2
years after the effective date of this paragraph),
agencies administering the programs under part
A of this title and title XIX, prenatal health
care providers, WIC programs, health depart-
ments, clinics, and other appropriate locations
that describe the benefits and responsibilities of
paternity establishment and the process by
which paternity services may be obtained; and
‘‘(B) the use of consent procedures.’’.
(2) ENHANCED
FEDERAL
MATCH.—Section
455(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 655(a)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (B);
(B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (C); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C)
the following:
‘‘(D) equal to 90 percent (rather than the
percentage specified in subparagraph (A)) of so
much of the sums expended during such quar-
ter as are attributable to costs incurred in car-
rying out section 454(27) and the 2nd sentence
of section 466(a)(5)(C);’’.
(b) STATE LAW.—Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)),
as amended by section 214 of this Act, is amended by in-
serting after paragraph (23) the following:
‘‘(24) Procedures under which—
‘‘(A) in a parentage case, an individual
who signs the signature line provided for a fa-
ther on a State birth certificate is rebuttably
presumed to be a parent of the child, and a
birth certificate so signed is admissible as evi-
dence of such parentage;
‘‘(B) a simple, civil consent procedure is
available for individuals who agree to acknowl-
edge parentage of a child;
‘‘(C) an acknowledgment of parentage of a
child—
‘‘(i) may be incorporated in a wit-
nessed, written statement which includes a
statement that the individual—
‘‘(I) 
understands 
the 
con-
sequences of paternity acknowledg-
ment;
‘‘(II) is signing the statement
voluntarily; and
‘‘(III) does not object to a court
entering an order for parentage of the
child based on the acknowledgment,
without notice before the order is is-
sued and without the requirement of
pleadings, service, summons, testi-
mony, or a hearing;
‘‘(ii) is registered as part of the proc-
ess of registering the birth certificate of
the child; and